Personality Types

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Personality types

The enduring characteristics of an individual's behavior, attitude, and feelings in
everyday social situations make up personality. There are many influences on an
individual's personality, including culture, genetics, and early family life (as an infant or young child). Certain studies have shown that people with certain personality characteristics are more suitable for specific occupations or special activities. Personality studies can also reveal the
relationship between specific types of personalities and the incidence of disease, divorce,
and stress-related problems.

There are many different theories concerning the nature and development of
personality and the causes of personality changes. The ancient Greek physician
Hippocrates believed that people behave differently because they have a predominance of
one type of bodily fluid, or humor. According to this theory, people with calm or passive
personalities have one dominant humor, while impulsive and temperamental people have a
different dominant humor. In the 20th century, other classification schemes were
advanced. The German psychiatrist Ernst Kretschmer thought that personality was
determined by the person's body type--such as plump, lean, or athletic. He suggested that
short persons were more likely to be social, friendly, and lively. Both of these theories
remain unproven. Major advances have been made through behavioral genetics, the field
concerned with the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors on individual
behavior. One approach is to study the personalities of identical (monozygotic) twins who
have been separated since birth. Such individuals have the same genetic makeup but differ
in the environments in which they are reared. In a related method of study, the
personalities of individuals who are adopted from birth are compared to the personalities
of their adoptive and biological parents. ...