Personality
BY: ANIA SYROWATKA
M A R C H 5 TH, 2 0 0 8
Personality
 Who we are – our uniqueness
 Influences our behavior, thoughts, moods,
attitudes, emotions, even our unconscious
feelings
 Is reflected in our interactions with other
people and the environment around us
 Can predict how we would act or react under
different situations
Definition of Personality
A definition of personality:
“Personality is a stable set of internal characteristics
and tendencies that determine the psychological
behavior of people. The behavior determined by
personality is relatively consistent over time.”
Definition of Personality
Picking up the theme of behavior, this has two classes of
determinants: personality and environment
BEHAVIOR (B) = F [PERSONALITY (P), ENVIRONMENT (E)]
Personality variables represent internal causes of behavior,
while environmental variables are external causes
Definition of Personality
A more detailed formula:
BEHAVIOR = F [(a) HEREDITY or PHYSIOLOGY,
(b) PAST LEARNING, (c) FLUCTUATING LEVELS OF
AROUSAL, & (d) the ENVIRONMENT].
(a), (b), and (c) are internal, so personality includes
physiological & learned aspects.
It is generally agreed that personality variables are both
internal and consistent over time.
Linking Personality to Disease
Possible routes:
Personality directly causes the disease; personality
disorders
Personality causes disease indirectly, mediated via
health behaviors or exposures
Personality moderates the link between the cause and
the illness – making the illness worse or better (effect
modifier)
Personality Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – IV)
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Personality Disorders in 3 main clusters or groups
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Cluster A (the Odd Eccentric Group – Psychotics)
paranoid, schizoid & schizotypal personality disorders
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Cluster B (Dramatic, Erratic Group – Extraverts)
antisocial, borderline, histrionic & narcissistic personality disorders
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Cluster C (Anxious, Fearful Group – Neurotics)
avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders
Timeline
1758 – Franz Joseph Gall was born. He was the founder of phrenology, which links personality to head
shape.
1848 - Phineas P. Gage was injured in a dynamite explosion, which blasted a rod into his brain. Gage
survived, but his personality was drastically altered.
1902 – Erik Erikson born. He created “Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development” and described
personality development from birth until death.
1916 - Hans Eysenck born. He created the ‘factor model of personality’, which includes Psychoticism,
Extraversion, Neuroticism.
1921 - Hermann Rorschach's published his book Psychodiagnostik, introduced inkblot personality tests.
1923 - Sigmund Freud published The Ego and the Id.
1948 - Robert W. White's classic book The Abnormal Personality was published. It is an account of
disordered behaviour.
1954 – Abraham Maslow published his book Motivation and Personality, describing his theory of a
hierarchy of needs.
1963 - Albert Bandura first described the concept of observational learning to explain personality
development.
1980 - Carl Rogers published A Way Of Being, based in self-actualization theories.
Behaviourist Theories
 Behaviourist theories propose that personality results
from an interaction between the individual and the
environment.
 Behaviourist theorists study observable and measurable
behaviours. They reject theories that include internal
thoughts and feelings.
 Behaviourist theorists include B. F. Skinner and Albert
Bandura.
Psychodynamic Theories
 Psychodynamic theories of personality focus on the influence
of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on
personality.
 Psychodynamic theorists include Freud and Erickson.
 Freud introduced three components of personality; the id,
ego, and superego. The id is in charge of needs and urges. The
superego is responsible for ideals and morals. The ego
moderates between the id, the superego, and reality.
 Erikson proposed that personality progresses via a series of
stages and conflicts arise at each stage. Success in each stage
is dependent on overcoming the conflicts.
Humanist Theories
 Humanist theories focus on the importance of free
will and individual experience in the development of
personality.
 Humanist theorists highlight the concept of self-
actualization. This is an innate need for personal
growth and serves to motivate behaviour.
 Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow.
Attributional Style
Attribution –
Aspect of personality that explains how individuals
interpret the cause of their, or other people’s,
behavior. Can be relevant to interpersonal relations,
and thereby indirectly affect health
 Internalizing vs. externalizing attributional styles
Internalizing individuals: adopt health-enhancing
behaviours, take interest in health promotion
messages, and accept control over their health status
 Health locus of control: internal vs. powerful others
vs. chance
Type A Personality
 Time Urgency and Impatience,
e.g. individuals who are frustrated by waiting,
interrupt conversations, walk or talk very quickly, etc.
 Free-Floating Hostility or Aggressiveness
e.g. impatience, rudeness, easily upset by minute
issues, ‘have a short fuse’, etc.
Type A Personality
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Strenuous worker
Poor sleep pattern
Compulsive tendencies
Aggressive
Depressive and neurotic tendencies
Angry
Impatience
Low on introspection
Anxious
Hard driving
Little time for relaxation
Conscientious
Type A Personality
Physical Characteristics:
 Facial Tension (Tight lips, clenched jaw, etc.)
 Tongue Clicking or Teeth Grinding
 Dark Circles Under Eyes
 Facial Sweating (on forehead or upper lip)
Type A Personality
Adverse Effects of Type A Personality:
 Hypertension
 Heart Disease
 Job Stress
 Social Isolation
Type A Personality
Fixed Characteristic vs. Situational Reaction?
Type A personality characteristics are considered to be a reaction to
the environment. Hence, it may be relevant in understanding link
between job stress and ill health
For example,
Many jobs put heavy demands on time
Some workplaces put heavy penalties on mistakes
Some jobs create forms of stress that make employees less patient
Some individuals have a natural tendency of being more intense, this
can be exacerbated by environmental stress, or mitigated by conscious
effort and lifestyle changes.
Type B Personality
- relaxed
- not prone to outbursts of rage or anger
- non-competitive & less driven
- easy-going
- patient
- optimistic
- have a sense of humor
- at peace with their environment and themselves
- able to express their emotions appropriately
- pleasant demeanor
- temporary fearlessness in face of trauma
- hence able to cope with stress effectively
- less susceptible to disease
- though not driven over-achievers, they are often successful
in their professions
Type A/B Personality Research Article
 ‘The Association between Type A Behaviour and
Change in Coronary Risk Factors among Young
Adults’ (Garritty et al, 1990)
 Individuals with a Type A personality had significant
increases in:
- systolic/diastolic blood pressure
- cigarette smoking
 Type B personality experienced no change.
Type C Personality
 Suppression of emotion
 Depression
 Learned helplessness
 Low emotional expressiveness
Type C Research Article
 ‘Colon cancer: personality factors predictive of onset
and stage of presentation’ (Kavan et al, 1995)
 The Type C Personality factors were significantly
correlated with an increased risk of colon cancer
 The matched control sample less likely to develop
cancer
Type C Research Article
 ‘Personality factors and breast cancer risk: a 13-year
follow-up’ (Bleiker et al, 2008)
 Personality factors not statistically significantly
correlated with increased risk of breast cancer, with
or without adjusting for the risk factors
 Therefore, the cancer-prone personality was not
related to breast cancer development.
The Constitutional Predisposition Model
The Personality Induced Hyper-Reactivity Model
Precipitator Of Dangerous Behavior Model
Risk Taking Personality Models
Risk Taking Summary
 The perception of risk produces a cascade of
physiological changes that cause high arousal and
anxiety.
 Psychoanalytic theorists conclude that individuals
who chose to take risks are illogical or pathological
 It can be argued that we have evolved as a species to
take risks in order to survive
 Contemporary psychologists understand that all
types of risk takers rate higher in the Sensation
Seeking personality trait
Risk Taking Research Article
 ‘The Role of Personality Characteristics in Young
Adult Driving’ (Patil et al, 2006)
 Greater risk-taking propensity, physical/verbal
hostility, aggression, and tolerance of deviance
predicted a competitive attitude toward driving, risktaking during driving, high-risk driving, driving
aggression, and drink & driving
 Greater risk taking propensity, physical/verbal
hostility, aggression and expectations for
achievement predicted a higher numbers of offences,
more serious offences, and more points lost
Addictive Personality
 Impulsive behaviour
e.g. difficulty in delaying gratification, antisocial
personality characteristics and sensation seeking.
 High value placed on nonconformity and a weak
commitment to goal achievement
 Sense of social alienation and tolerance for deviance
 Sense of heightened stress
Spiral of Addictions
Enneagram Basics
The Enneagram is "a
geometric figure that
delineates the nine basic
personality types of human
nature and their complex
interrelationships."
Evaluate your Personality
 Please take the next few minutes to fill out the
personality test to determine your Enneagram type.
Enneagram Types
 Type One (The Reformer) is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and
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perfectionistic.
Type Two (The Helper) is demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and
possessive.
Type Three (The Achiever) is adaptive, excelling, driven, and imageconscious.
Type Four (The Individualist )is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and
temperamental.
Type Five (The Investigator) is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and
isolated.
Type Six (The Loyalist) is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.
Type Seven (The Enthusiast) is spontaneous, versatile, distractible, and
scattered.
Type Eight (The Challenger) is self-confident, decisive, wilful, and
confrontational.
Type Nine (The Peacemaker) is receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and
complacent.
Enneagrams Applied to Health
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Type 1 The Reformer
Excessive use of diets, vitamins, and cleansing techniques (fasts, diet pills, enemas). Undereating for self-control: in extreme cases anorexia and bulimia. Alcohol to relieve tension.
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Type 2 The Helper
Abusing food and over-the-counter medications. Bingeing, especially on sweets and
carbohydrates. Over-eating from feeling "love-starved." Hypochondria to look for sympathy.
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Type 3 The Achiever
Over-stressing the body for recognition. Working out to exhaustion. Starvation diets.
Workaholism. Excessive intake of coffee, stimulants, amphetamines, cocaine, steroids or
excessive surgery for cosmetic improvement.
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Type 4 The Individualist
Over-indulgence in rich foods, sweets, alcohol to alter mood, to socialize, and for emotional
consolation. Lack of physical activity. Bulimia. Depressants. Tobacco, prescription drugs, or
heroin for social anxiety. Cosmetic surgery to erase rejected features.
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Type 5 The Investigator
Poor eating and sleeping habits due to minimizing needs. Neglecting hygiene and nutrition.
Lack of physical activity. Psychotropic drugs for mental stimulation and escape, narcotics for
anxiety.
Enneagram Application
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Type 6 The Loyalist
Rigidity in diet causes nutritional imbalances ("I don't like vegetables.") Working excessively.
Caffeine and amphetamines for stamina, but also alcohol and depressants to deaden anxiety.
Higher susceptibility to alcoholism than many types.
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Type 7 The Enthusiast
The type most prone to addictions: stimulants (caffeine, cocaine, and amphetamines), Ecstasy,
psychotropics, narcotics, and alcohol but tend to avoid other depressants. Wear body out with
effort to stay "up." Excessive cosmetic surgery, pain killers.
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Type 8 The Challenger
Ignore physical needs and problems: avoid medical visits and check-ups. Indulging in rich
foods, alcohol, tobacco while pushing self too hard leads to high stress, strokes, and heart
conditions. Control issues central, although alcoholism and narcotic addictions are possible.
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Type 9 The Peacemaker
Over-eating or under-eating due to lack of self-awareness and repressed anger. Lack of physical
activity. Depressants and psychotropics, alcohol, marijuana, narcotics to deaden loneliness and
anxiety.
Conclusion
Personality has varying influence on:
Health and associated health behaviours in direct and
indirect ways
The main areas of study have been in heart disease and
cancer; chiefly Types A and C personalities
IMPORTANT: Personality effects do not mean that
individuals bring illnesses upon themselves.