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Introduction to Social Work
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Personality Development * A.S. Inam Shastri
Introduction This chapter gives an idea about the concept of personality and importance of studying personality for social work practice. It also throws light on the determinants of personality and the pertinence of personality development. The external appearance of personality has also been described in this chapter. This chapter provides a comprehensive idea about personality development of an individual.
Definition of Personality Personality is a widely used word and a variety of meanings are attached to it. According to Allport (1937) there are at least fifty different meanings of the term. He indicates that “Personality” came originally from the Latin word “Persona”. Allport also reports that “personality” is used in at least four distinct senses in the writings of Cicero. First, personality is regarded as an assemblage of personal qualities. In this sense personality belongs to the actor. Second, personality is regarded as the way a person appears to others. In this sense personality pertains to the mask. Third, personality represents the role a person plays in life; a professional, social, or political role such as characters in drama. Finally personality refers to * Prof. A.S. Inam Shastri, M.G. Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi