Personality Theories

“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein

“Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.” Zig Ziglar

Personality Theories

First, let’s cover some history… The study of personality is at least 25 centuries old.  In 450 B.C., Hippocrates described four temperaments. Galen, in 100 A.D. also described four temperaments.  Both scholars differed in their ideas and descriptions. Personality Type theories put everyone into one of several “types” of personalities.  This could be as simple as Type A and Type B, or one of 16 4-letter personality types such as “INFA” which stands for “Introverted, iNtuative, Feeling, Adapting”.  It is also called “The Advocate” and it’s believed that only 1% of the population shares INFA.  So it’s possible 99% of people the INFA interacts with experiences the world differently.

Some differences….. Gordon Allport (1897-1967) was one of the first psychologists to study personality, human attitudes, prejudices and religious beliefs. His theory of personality, which rejected both Freudian psychology and behaviorism, emphasized the uniqueness of the individual and the need to treat problems in terms of present conditions as opposed to childhood experiences. Gordon Allport defined personality as “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psych-social systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.”  Personality is an expression of both body and mind that is fused into a personal identity and expressed through action. Psychodynamic personality theories say the unconscious mind influences who we are.  Psychologists Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson have contributed greatly to this personality theory.

In 1911 Carl Jung recognized that personality was “normal, healthy and biological”. In 1937 Gordon Allport identified personality traits are: more than a nominal existence, are more than habits and can be measured.

Whew!  That’s a lot!  I could of made the above area MUCH longer….  It’s really fascinating the differences.  Some of you probably read through the history with fascination, then others skipped down, really not caring how it came about……..  They want to know just what it has to do with them!!! And guess what???  THAT is a perfect example of the personality differences!! It’s a wonder that everyone isn’t required to learn about their personality because guess what??  Understanding yours helps you understand others!!! But I digress…

Here’s more! Two good personality tests…. The Meyers-Briggs and the Golden Personality Type Profiler are widely used today. Both are complex and founded on years of research. It would be impossible to say one is better than the other. The military has used both and compared them to each other, since the early 2000’s they have been using the Golden Personality Type Profiler. If you want to take a free one that is pretty good and gives a nice long report take Keirsey Temperment Sorter (sorry, as of mid 2010 this is no longer available). Can I make the end of the sentence just link to-  http://www.keirsey.com/sorter/register.aspx  Dr. Keirsey is a leader in the field and the report is easy to understand.  It’s really a “career advisor” but it gives you good personality information.

Now, we have all seen these two scenarios…….. #1 You’ve got Jolly Joe who is a talker, people person and sees “rules” as guidelines…  #2 Then you have Serious Sally who believe EVERY rule must be followed or the sky will fall…… Are either of them more right?  Who is right?  It probably depends on another factor…….  What personality is the boss????  Ah haaaa….  The “boss” is the one that determines who’s right for the sake of “right”.

Which one would you like performing your surgery?  Flying a plane? They both have advantages and we owe the advancement of technology for the differences.  The Jolly Joe’s were probably often test pilots or pushing the medical field.  The Serious Sally’s were making policies and rules to keep us safe. They are both essential!  You need them both on your team!!  Both people often clash and don’t cooperate together, often mistrusting each other but both just perceive reality different.  If you don’t understand and manage those differences you will hamper growth and too many other things to list.

There are so many examples of what different personality traits prefer and what they mean it’s really surprising more emphasis is not placed on this in the work place. Or even for young adults developing a career. For example, I am an ENFA (Extrovert, iNtuative, Feeling, Adapting). In my report it tells me I have a tendency to “change gears” and “when absorbed in your latest project, you think of little else”. So true…  How much easier would my boss’s of been able to manage me had they known? My personality also has draw backs, I dislike routines among a few other things. Wouldn’t it have been beneficial to my previous bosses to know some of my shortcomings? Where they needed to watch for possible re-direction? I was fortunate that a few of my bosses were very good at letting me run things as I saw fit.

It’s good practice, and even just fun, to take a career personality test every so often. Certainly you want to when you’re deciding upon a college major, but even as the years go by and your ideals and skills change, you might be surprised to see how the results of a personality test changes over time.

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