According to Norman Munn, “Personality is a unique combination of individual's physical structure, needs, interests, abilities and aptitudes.

Factors Shaping Personality

Hereidty

• Heredity implies all those characteristics that an individual inherits from his parents. Heredity affects the physical and mental makeup of a person.

• For example, inherent physical characteristics like height, physical structure, colour of eyes, etc.

Endocrine Glands

• Endocrine glands such as the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, adrenals gonads, etc. play an important role in shaping personality of an individual.

• Over secretion or the under secretion of hormones produced by various glands may adversely affect the personality of an individual.

• For example, an over secretion of the thyroxin hormone produced by thyroid gland leads to nervous tension, irritability, restlessness and emotional instability, etc. which may adversely affect the personality of an individual.

Family

• Family is one of the most important factors influecning personality of an individual.

• The elements related to family such as structure of family, socio-economic status of family, emotional, academic and cultural environment in family, interactions between family members, child rearing practices followed by parents, etc. have significant effects on personality of an individual.

• For example, in a family having warm emotional atmosphere, parents have healthier relations with their children. Love and respect shown by parents towards their children boosts the self-confidence and self-esteem of children. This in turn positively affects the personality of children. On the contrary, over protection, rejection, negligence, etc. shown by parents towards their children leads to low self-esteem and low self-confidence among children which have adverse effects on the personality of children.

Peer Group

• Peers are a pervasive aspect of our social life. Peers surround us in our everyday lives from early childhood until old age. Members of the same classroom, workplace or sports club, etc. constitute peer group.

• The peer group may influence personality in a positive as well as negative manner. For example, good habits such as studying regularly, developing healthy attitude towards one’s own gender and the opposite gender, etc. may be developed by being in a good company of friends.

• Similarly, the unhealthy habits such as bunking lectures, developing various addictions, showing aggressive tendencies and bullying etc. may be developed by being in a bad company of friends.

School

• The school plays an important role in the personality development of students.

• The elements related to school like the teaching learning process, academic activities and cocurricular facilities provided by school, teachers’ rapport with students, school discipline and policies etc. have a significant impact on the personality of students.

• For example, a creative, well qualified, experienced and well-mannered teacher acts as a role model for his / her students. Such teachers provide maximum opportunities for the optimum development of the potential of their students. This in turn helps students to develop their personality in a healthier manner.

Mass Media

• Internet and other forms of mass media are now deeply integrated in almost everyone’s daily lives. Mass media is a source of entertainment, informal education, socialization, etc. to many of us.

• Nowadays, majority of adolescents spend more and more time in front of the TV, mobile and computer which may affect their personality.

• For example, mass media may help an individual to have an updated knowledge of current affairs, etc. which in turn positively affects the development of an individual’s personality.

• On the other hand, an excessive addiction of using media may cause disconnection from the world, egocentrism, sleep deprivation, poor academic performance, insecurity, anti-social behaviours, loneliness, etc. which in turn adversely affects the development of an individual’s personality.

Culture

• Cultural factors also play an important role in shaping the personality of an individual.

• Every culture has its own set of values, beliefs, norms, etc. influencing thoughts, feelings and behaviour patterns of an individual.

• For example, leadership qualities, listening skills, entrepreneurial skills, tendencies to cooperate with others, etc. may differ from culture to culture and therefore people from different cultural backgrounds may have different personalities

OCEAN Model

• Robert McCrae and Paul Costa (1987) developed a theory of personality explaining the five major factors of personality.

• According to them personality traits are considered as basic tendencies that are rooted in biology and that interact with external influences including culture in shaping the skills, habits, tastes, and values of the individual.

• : (1) Openness to experience (O) : Openness to experience is a trait related to appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, creativity, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience.

• (2) Conscientiousness (C) : Conscientiousness is a trait showing tendency to display self discipline.

• It is related to the way in which people control, regulate, and direct their impulses. People having high conscientiousness are well organized, responsible, dependable, hardworking

• (3) Extroversion (E) : Extroversion is a trait characterized by breadth of activities and energy creation from external means.

• People having high extroversion are talkative, enthusiastic, open minded, sociable, assertive, and courageous.

• (4) Agreeableness (A) : The agreeableness is a trait showing an ability of an individual to get along with people and concern for social harmony.

• People having high agreeableness are kind, loving, caring, friendly and cooperative whereas people having low agreeableness are uncooperative, jealous, hostile and argumentative.

• (5) Neuroticism (N) : Neuroticism is a trait showing the tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or depression.

• People having high neuroticism are anxious, depressed, irritable, fearful, impulsive, angry and unstable.