The word trait refers to an individual’s consistent pattern of behaviour that distinguishes him/her from others. Though every individual has a mixture of attributes, the dominant attribute as defined in degree and over a period of time refers to his/her particular personality trait. Introversion, intelligence, anxiety, aggressiveness, prejudice, musical aptitude, aptitude, sensitivity, seriousness, and friendliness are all examples of personality traits. The traits that people possess and the degree to which they possess them are part of their personality.
Developmental View of Personality
In the developmental view, the decisive role of childhood in shaping the basic character structure of the person is emphasized. Freud, an early theorist, observed that the personality development is governed by the need for satisfying wants through transactions with the external world. This external world also poses danger and insecurity to the individuals due to which the individual is filled with fear and anxiety.Anxiety warns a person of impending danger and motivates him/her to do something about it. When anxiety cannot be coped with rationale methods, an individual has to fall back on defence mechanisms.
When under pressure because of extreme anxiety, you are sometimes forced to resort to
mental strategies called defence mechanisms to relieve the pressure. It is important to
note that the mechanisms reduce mental anxiety. Defence mechanisms are common
and represent self-deception. They prevent the individual from learning more effective
and rational ways of overcoming frustrations.
Using Defense Mechanisms
The salient features of the various defence mechanisms are:
1) Denial: In the denial form, the individual rejects an intolerable reality by denying
its existence. Denial is one of the most primitive of the defence mechanisms.
2) Displacement: In the displacement form, unacceptable feelings or reactions
about a person or a situation are transferred from their true target to another
against which these feelings or reactions can more safely be vented.
3) Repression: In the repression form, dangerous or embarrassing thoughts and
events are banned from memory. This prevents the arousal of anxiety.
Repression is the most basic form of defence mechanism.
4) Sublimation: In the sublimation form, unpleasant or hostile reactions that are
provoked are not expressed but the energy generated is diverted into other
outlets that are socially acceptable.
5) Compensation: In the compensation form, an individual who perceives certain
deficiencies or shortcomings tries to make up or compensate for these in some
other way.
6) Rationalisation: In the rationalisation form, feelings or actions that are
unpleasant to the recipient are projected but are attempted to be justified by the
initiator on the grounds that these are in the recipient’s best interests.
7) Projection: In the projection form, moral anxiety is converted into an objective
fear. The individual attempts to generalise his/her own behaviour through the
thought that others should also exhibit similar behaviour.
8) Reaction Formation: In the reaction form, unacceptable feelings towards
persons or situations are replaced with their exact opposites. For example, a
person hostile towards another, would not only deny the presence of hostile
feeling, but would in fact be demonstrably affectionate or considerate towards
that person.
Importance of Personality Traits
When defined broadly, personality is what makes a person. The secret of life is to know yourself and what you want in life. You need to identify your traits as it is going to lay the foundation for your career. Remaining focused on one’s target has a great bearing in
defining a person’s character.
When applying for a job, being focused means that you have to be clear that the job you are applying for is right for you.
It does not matter if you are a little unclear on your long-range goals. This is because it is quite possible to lose track and become unfocused if too much long term planning is done initially. Therefore, it is often unrealistic to think that you can perfectly plan out your career path.
Before attempting to interact with your prospective employers, you should have a clear
understanding on the kind of job suitable for you. Therefore, while contacting prospective
employers through letters, phone calls, or face-to-face interview, you need to convey to
your employer that you have a clear focus on your career and that you have arrived at
that focus carefully and thoughtfully.
How can you acquire a focus on your career? For this you need to introspect and
analyse your basic traits. This focus on your traits enables you to identify the kind of
environment you may thrive in.
The three questions that you might ask yourself to know your interest areas and skills
are:
- What do I like?
- What are my strengths?
- What do I care about?
While talking about your interests, you need to keep in mind the following points:
- What kind of areas are you really interested in?
- What kind of activities you enjoy doing?
- What are your favourite hobbies, sports, academic subjects, and work
- activities?
Now, you can decide which interests need to be a part of your work life. Similarly for
identifying your skills, consider the following three main areas:
- Learned skills
- Innate skills
- Personality skills (such as hard-working, detail-oriented, or creative)
Decide which of the preceding skills you enjoy using. This is an important factor in
defining a career focus, especially critical in obtaining a job.In addition to assessing your interests, strengths, values, and personality, style plays an important role in shaping your personality.
All of you are aspiring for a bright career in your lives. But you often forget that there are
certain inherent factors that decide the nature of your work. Most of you have qualities
that are suitable for any job or career. Hence, based on your interest in selecting a
career and developing the necessary personality traits, you can be sure of getting what
you aspire.
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