Dr Tabassum Alvi
Assistant Professor Psychiatry
Majmaah University
Learning Objectives

1
Define Personality?
2
Compare different Personality Types?
3
Devise strategies to work with different
personalities?
PERSONALITY
‘The distinctive and characteristic patterns of behaviour,
emotions and thinking that define an individual personal
style and influence interactions with the Environment’
It is stable over time since adolescence and manifested in
different environments and recognizable to acquaintances.
KEY CONCEPTS

TEMPRAMENT
It refers to hereditary aspects of personality e.g.
sensitivity, irritability, moody, friendly etc.
PERSONALITY TRAIT
A stable enduring quality that person shows in most
situations e.g. being friendly, competitive, sociable etc.
PERSONALITY TYPE
A style of personality defined by group of related traits
e.g. introvert, extrovert etc.
Cont…
KEY CONCEPTS

SELF CONCEPT
• A person’s perception of his or her own
personality traits.
• Self concept can be positive or negative.
• Self concept affects personal adjustment.
SELF ESTEEM
A positive evaluation of oneself i.e. regarding oneself
as a worthwhile person
Comparison of Personality Types
Extroversion





 Introversion

They obtain gratification from what is
outside the self“, Extroverts tend to enjoy
human interactions
Enthusiastic/talkative/assertive
energized, and gregarious
Likely to enjoy time spent with people
and find less reward in time spent alone.
They are more prone to boredom when
they are by themselves.
The state of or tendency toward
being wholly or predominantly
concerned with and interested in
one's own mental life“
 They often take pleasure in solitary
activities such as reading, writing,
using computers, hiking and fishing.
 They are more analytical before
speaking.

Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too
much stimulation from social gatherings
Comparison of Personality Types
Type A Personality

 Competitive ,achievement oriented, sense of time
urgency, get angry easily and hostile.
 Appears to promote heart disease, depression and
distress.
 Shorten life span
Type B Personality
 Easy, Non competitive, placid and cool.
 Life span is prolonged.
PERSPECTIVES IN PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT

 Intellectual or Cognitive development
 Psychosexual development
 Social development
How personality is formed


 No-one fully knows the extent to which personality is
determined by genetics and hereditary factors,
compared to the effects of up-bringing, culture,
environment and experience.
 Nature versus Nurture: Most studies seem to indicate
that it's a bit of each, roughly half and half, although
obviously it varies person-to-person.
 Personality changes over time
Intellectual or Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget
KEY CONCEPTS:

Human children are viewed as inquiring scientists who
make up schemas about physical world and assimilate
and accommodate the new information
 Schemas---theories about how physical & social
world operate.
 Assimilation---refers to using existing schemas in
new situation.
 Accommodation---modifying a schema to fit in new
information
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH TO
PERSONALITY
Best known Psychodynamic approach
introduced by Sigmund Freud
Our Personality

• Conscious- things we
are aware of.
• Preconscious- things
we can be aware of if
we think of them.
• Unconscious- deep
hidden reservoir that
holds the true “us”.
All of our desires and
fears.
PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES

 Oral stage
 Anal stage
 Phallic stage
 Latency
 Genital stage

EROGENOUS ZONE
At each stage different part of body becomes a child’s
primary erogenous zone
FIXATION
An unresolved conflict or emotional hang up caused by
over indulgence or by frustration
ORAL STAGE

 1 to 18 months----erogenous zone---mouth
 Oral fixation----dependent personality (passive,
attention seeking, want to be mothered and
showered) aggressive and sarcastic adults.
 Oral traits----over eating, alcoholism, smoking.
ANAL STAGE

 Between ages 18 months to 3 years----erogenous
zone -----anal region
 Anal Fixation---Anal retentive personality---rigid, obsessional, orderly, & compulsively clean
 Anal Fixation---Anal expulsive personality---disorderly, destructive, messy, & cruel
PHALLIC STAGE
 4 to 5 years

 Oedipus Complex: Boy feels interest in mother and
rivalry with father
 Electra Complex: Girl loves father and competes with
mother
 Phallic personality traits – narcissism (Responsible for
formations of disturbed relationship later on)
PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES

LATECY
 From age 6 to puberty psychosexual development is
dormant
GENITAL STAGE
 Begins at puberty
 Person successfully negotiated earlier stages enters
mature phase of adult functioning
Psychosocial Stages of Personality
Development
Psychosocial stages of personality
development

 Trust Vs. Mistrust
 Autonomy Vs. Shame & Doubt
 Initiative Vs. Guilt
 Industry Vs. inferiority
 Identity Vs. Role Confusion
 Intimacy Vs. Isolation
 Generativity Vs. Stagnation
 Integrity Vs. despair

TRUST
MISTRUST
Trust Vs. Mistrust

 Birth to 18 months
 Infancy
 Trustworthiness, sense of hope
 Insecurity, suspiciousness & inability to relate to others
Autonomy Vs. Shame & Doubt

 18 months to 3 years
 Early childhood
 Autonomy----self control without loss of self esteem,
ability to cooperate & express oneself
 Shame & doubt----compulsive, resistant, defiance
Initiative Vs. Guilt

 3 to 5 years
 Late childhood
 Encouragement----develops ability to evaluate one’s own
behavior, sense of purpose, Feels confident in doing
what they want.
 Discouragement----self denial, self resistant or feels
guilty if they do something of their choice.
Industry Vs. inferiority
 6 to 12 years
 School age
 Sense of industry---realization of competence and
realization of their skills.
 Feeling of inferiority---withdrawal and inadequacy
Identity Vs. Role Confusion

 12 to 20 years
 Adolescence
 Identity----coherent sense of self, plans to actualize
one’s abilities
 Role confusion----indecisiveness, possibly antisocial
behavior
Intimacy Vs. Isolation

 20-40 years
 Young & middle adulthood
 Intimacy----Establishment of intimate & personal
relationship
 Isolation----Failure to establish intimacy
Generatively Vs. Stagnation

 40-65 years
 Late adulthood
 Generativity----Creativity, productivity, concern for
others
 Stagnation----Self indulgences, impoverishment of
self
Ego Integrity Vs. despair

 65 years to death
 Adjustment to changing physical self
 Adjusts to deaths of relatives, spouse & friends
 Integrates philosophical & religious values into
understanding of self and promote comfort
 Review accomplishments
 Depression, loss and failure
PERSONALITY DISORDERS

‘Enduring deeply ingrained maladaptive pattern of behaviour or inner
experience that markedly deviates from the expectations of the
individual’s culture, and manifested in different ways:
ways of perceiving and interpreting self and others the rang of mood
and it’s intensity and impulse control.
-Personality traits are inflexible and maladaptive causing either
significant impairment in social or occupational functioning,
subjective distress or others have to suffer.
In the DSM personality disorders are grouped into three clusters
( A, Band C) based on similarities in symptoms, traits and defense
mechanism used.
Cluster A ( odd and eccentric people).
Cluster B ( dramatic, emotional and erratic people).
Cluster C (anxious or fearful people).
Classification of Personality Disorders
Cluster
DSM
ICD
A
Schizoid
Paranoid
Schizotypal
B
Histrionic
Antisocial
Borderline
Narcissistic
Schizoid
Paranoid
..............
Histrionic
Dissocial
Emotionally unstable
.Borderline
.Impulsive type
…………
Avoidant
Dependent
Obsessive Compulsive
Anxious
Dependent
Anankastic
C
PERSONALITY TYPE AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

 Dependent: Has a need to be cared by others, desires for
excessive attention from physician during illness
 Histrionic: May be dramatic and approach physician in an
inappropriate fashion during illness
 Narcissistic: Often feels superior to others and may request
only “top” physician to be involved in treatment or think that
they are the best and others are inferior to them.
PERSONALITY TYPE AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

 Paranoid: Often blames the physician for illness. They
are overly sensitive to a perceived lack of attention or
care from physician
 Passive-Aggressive: Asks for help but then does not
comply with physicians advice
 Schizoid: Becomes even more withdrawn during illness
Personality clashes or just differences?

‘Some people weave burlap into the fabric of our
lives, and some weave gold thread. Both
contribute to make the whole picture
beautiful.'
Anonymous
How to Deal with different people
 Rapport building
 Unconditional positive regard

 Empathy- Step into their shoes
 Understanding the other person solves half of the problem
 Learn to appreciate strengths
 Be patient -Keep on reminding yourself that they are not being difficult, they are
just being themselves.
 Be aware of your weaknesses – It helps the situation if we realize that our
personality type has its own weaknesses and pitfalls that might rankle with
others!
There is no perfect personality type, just personality differences.
Conclusion

 Understanding different personalities helps you
clarify your thoughts and emotions.
 Helps to understand your own self.
 Helps in accepting and dealing with different
people.
Assignment

Write a learning agreement showing how
theories of personality can be applied to
daily practice ?

Thank you