One’s material success is often thought to provide an index of personality. Consequently, having a good personality, in the opinion of many, is the same thing as being well-dressed and wealthy.
In spite of the proverb, “The apparel of successful proclaims the man”, dress is really of negligible importance, and it does not constitute personality.
Education, though valuable, is not strictly necessary. Some even hold that goodness is not essential, for they argue, while many great personalities have been saints, a large number have been great sinners; Beauty is an important factor, but by itself it is negligible. Personality is not the same thing as high birth. Many people with high-sounding titles are unutterable bores.
There are certain basic qualities to be found in all men who rise above their fellows. Vitality or energy, which radiates outwards, impressing others with a sense power and dominance, is one of these qualities.
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Good physical health is another. Intelligence is another prerequisite-, other important qualities are courage, sincerity, diligence, tact, enthusiasm originality, enterprise and good judgment.
A sense of humour is also a valuable asset, provided its possessor does not become cynical or does not treat life as a huge joke.
Self-complacency, unobtrusiveness, quite self-assurance, modesty kindness and character are some additional traits of personality. Sociability, above all, is the most shining trait.
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The sixth sense called “the social sense” is the most important quality of all. The social sense is the ability to feel at home in any social situation is never overawed by people; he knows how to deal with his fellow beings, for he is acquainted with his foibles and weaknesses.
A person possessing this trait may achieve Promotion over his more talented workers, because he can handle men and situations better. Tactfulness, and social sense are not learnt books, but from social interaction, from rubbing shoulders freely with fellow-companions.
Lack of vitality, indifferent health, dullness of wit, timidity, unless, sluggishness, poor judgment, ostentation, selfishness, arrogance, self-disgust, ignorance, indiscipline, lack of originality and lack of enterprise and unsociability are grave defects and they unmake personality.
According to Woodworth, a personality trait is some particular quality of behaviour such as cheerfulness or self-reliance which characterizes the individual. Personality is the product of these different traits, rather than a mere sum of separate qualities. It has some unity.
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For example a certain person is not merely cheerful and self-reliant; he is cheerfully self-reliant. Each individual has his own style or quality which is only roughly characterized by naming his traits. Judgment of personality will be better, if the judge observes the most revealing aspects of the individual, and if he has thorough experience in interpreting those aspects.
By an interview a person can be judged in a short standardized conversational situation. Case study is a comprehensive analysis of a person based on all information about him, including his life history.
Personality Profile
The pairs of extremely contradictory qualities are called the “dimensions of personality.” For example, honesty and dull- wittedness, persistence and waywardness, sociability and egotism ascendance and sub-massiveness, etc
A diagram can best indicate the personality profile of a person whose various traits of personality have been measured; it conveys an impression of the individual’s high or low striding in general and of the evenness or unevenness of his personality.
Sociability is a tendency to behave sociably, to seek company and to participate eagerly in group activities. Ascendancy is to be masterful in any situation. A person, strong in both these traits, would naturally be a good leader. The individual’s several traits conceived as tendencies or forces interact and are combined in his behaviour.
These measurements of personality are designed to locate individuals accurately in comparison with other individuals in various dimensions of personality. An integrated personality is one in which the several traits, interests, and desires are combined in an effective harmonious unity.
This unity is more characteristics of mature adults than of children. Lack of integration of personality is clearly seen in certainmental disorders, and in extreme cases of double personality, multiple personality and “split personality” Measurement of personality is designed to locate an individual accurately in comparison with other individuals in various dimensions of personality.
Rating scales provide a method for indicating intermediate degrees of a trait and permit averaging the judgments of two or more raters.
Questionnaires are used to secure measures of traits such as trouble- finding ascendancy sociability, extroversion-introversion, and of interests and attitudes. If questionnaires are carefully constituted, they will be quite adequate, but their validity must be determined for each particular purpose.
Situation tests are sample life situations in which certain traits can be observed best by any other test. Projective tests evoke imaginative responses which can be scored to reveal basic personality traits and patterns.