11.1 An Introduction to Personality

personality

Hello Tank The Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University has a robot receptionist named “Tank.” Some of Tank’s behaviors are amazingly humanlike; he blinks, flares his nostrils, and even displays emotional expressions consistent with what he is saying (Simmons et al., 2011). But no matter how “human” Tank may seem, he does not possess a true personality.

Debra Marie Tobin, art director for the Robotics Institute

Looking at Tank, it’s fairly obvious he is not a person. His blue, chiseled face lives in a 15-inch flat-panel LCD screen, and his body looks somewhat like a massive red coffee thermos. He has sensors to detect your presence, but he cannot see your facial expressions, read your body language, or even hear your voice. In fact, the only way to communicate with Tank is by typing on his keyboard, and he can only understand simple questions such as “Where is the ladies’ room?”

Tank is the latest product of Carnegie Mellon’s Social Robots Project, a collaboration between the university’s Robotics Institute and School of Drama. The goal is to “create a robot that can provide useful services, but that also exhibits personality and character” (Gockley et al., 2005, p. 2199). How is this accomplished? Every one of Tank’s behaviors, from the movements of his eyes to the subtle tilts of his head, is preprogrammed by Dr. Simmons’s team of computer whizzes. His backstory and script were written by members of the university’s drama department. It’s all “smoke and mirrors,” according to Dr. Simmons. Creating the illusion of a “personality” turns out to be quite a challenge. This would be no surprise to psychologists studying personality.

What Is Personality?

One of the major challenges of creating social robots is programming behaviors that gel coherently. If you want to craft a robot with a convincing personality, you’d better make sure that everything it does and says fits the part. One out-of-character remark and people will be reminded that they are merely talking to a collection of electrical circuits.

So far we have used the term “personality” rather loosely. The reality is that robots do not actually have personalities. They take on roles or personas whose characteristics may bear resemblance to personalities, but all of their behaviors are programmed by people. Well then, what is personality? Generally speaking, personality refers to the unique core set of characteristics that influence the way one thinks, acts, and feels—characteristics many psychologists would agree are relatively consistent and enduring throughout the life span.

We should point out that personality is not the equivalent of character. When people discuss character, they often are referring to qualities of morality or culture-specific ideas about what makes a person “good” or “bad.” A person who is untrustworthy or makes “poor” choices might be described as having a weak character, while someone who stands up for what she believes might be said to have a strong character. You may hear that the guy with the blue mohawk or the woman with the multiple body piercings is a “real character”—often in a judgmental way. Psychologists try not to make such judgments; our goal is to describe behaviors and characteristics objectively.

Some aspects of adult personality appear to derive from temperament, the distinct patterns of emotional reactions and behaviors observed early in life. Because various temperaments are evident in infants, they appear to have a genetic basis (Plomin, DeFries, Knopik, & Neiderhiser, 2013). And although temperament remains somewhat stable across the life span (Kagan & Snidman, 1991; Sigelman & Rider, 2009), it can be molded by environment (Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005). You can think of temperament as one dimension of the broader construct of personality (Goldsmith et al., 1987).

Psychologists explain the development of personality in a variety of ways, often in accordance with certain theoretical perspectives (TABLE 11.1). You may be familiar with several of these perspectives, but let’s summarize their main points before using them to explore personality:

• Psychoanalytic: Personality is formed very early in life and is strongly influenced by processes of which we are unaware (internal conflicts, aggression, sexual urges); the development of personality depends on the expression of unconscious processes and how caregivers respond.
• Behavioral: Originates from the learning theories; explains how the environment shapes personality and specifically how classical conditioning and reinforcers influence behaviors. Observation and modeling also play a role in personality development.
• Humanistic: We have capabilities we can and should exploit as we strive for personal growth; the choices we make in life influence our personalities; the focus is on the positive aspects of human nature.
• Social-cognitive: Emphasizes relationships, environmental influences, individual behavior, and mental processes that come together to form personality.
• Biological: Physiological and genetic factors, including gene–environment interactions, influence personality development; hormones and neurotransmitters influence personality expression, which correlates with activity in certain brain areas.
• Trait: Focuses on personality traits and dimensions; theories describe and predict behavior, focusing on the present rather than the past.

None of these perspectives can completely account for the development and expression of personality, but they do help describe, explain, and predict behavior. Most also have strong ties to their founders, all of whom were influenced by the historical period in which they lived. Sigmund Freud’s emphasis on sexuality, for example, was partly a reaction to the Victorian era into which he was born.

Our traits, abilities, and experiences are what make us unique. But remember that we share some characteristics with all other humans (physiological make-up, for example), others with a subset of the population (such as our peers), and still others with no one.

In the next section, we will examine these theories of personality in greater depth, but first let’s take a quick detour somewhere fun. How would you describe your sense of humor?

nature AND nurture

The Funny Thing About Personality

Some of us rely on humor to connect with other people, cracking jokes and acting silly for their enjoyment. Others use it as a way to cope with challenges. (We must admit, it does feel good to let loose and laugh when life’s stresses become unbearable.) Both of these styles of humor are viewed as positive, as they strengthen social bonds and promote personal well-being (Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, & Weir, 2003). There are also negative forms of humor, like ridiculing another person to make yourself look good, or poking fun at yourself in a way that seems to erode self-esteem (Martin et al., 2003; McCosker & Moran, 2012).

HUMOR IS VERY MUCH LIKE OTHER ASPECTS OF PERSONALITY—GROUNDED IN BIOLOGY…

Silly Genes Identical twins, who have all the same genes, are more likely to have similar humor styles than fraternal twins, who share only about half their genes (Baughman et al., 2012). This suggests that sense of humor is to some degree inherited.

Education Images/UIG via Getty Images

Where do these styles of humor originate? According to one large Australian study, identical twins (who have identical genes) are more likely to share humor styles than fraternal (nonidentical) twins. What this tells you is that genes matter. In fact, the study suggests that 30–47% of variation in styles of humor can be attributed to genetics (Baughman et al., 2012), and some research shows an even higher proportion (Vernon, Martin, Schermer, Cherkas, & Spector, 2008). But how do you explain the other 53–70% of the variation? Chalk it up to nurture. Humor is very much like other aspects of personality—grounded in biology, but chiseled and refined by a lifetime of experiences.

Keep this nature-and-nurture theme in mind as you explore the theories of personality in the pages to come. To what degree does each perspective recognize the contributions of nature and nurture, and how do these forces interact? Let’s get this discussion rolling with the help of Tank.