Chapter 29
Temperament, Personality, and Identity
Now
that we’ve dissected your Body-Mind into little pieces, let’s pull back a bit
and consider who you are as a whole being – both from your own self-image
perspective and how you are perceived by others. We all have a temperament, a
personality, and many identities. Let’s differentiate these three traits.
Temperament is your inborn emotional and behavioral style. It is genetic, present from infancy, relatively stable across your lifespan, and based on your nervous system reactivity. It is, for instance, how quickly you get excited, upset, or calm. Are you easily irritated or are you usually unflappable? Are you emotionally intense or easygoing? Are you comfortable meeting new people, or are you more reserved? Is your natural energy level high or low? Temperament is how you naturally respond to the world. If you’ve known a person from their birth into their adulthood, there are certain characteristics that are simply “them”. That is their temperament.
Personality is the pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that you develop over time. It is shaped by your temperament, life experiences, family environment, culture, learning, and life choices. Your personality shows in your habits, social style, and sense of humor. The widely accepted Big Five model of personality is remembered by the acronym OCEAN. That is - Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. There are so many sources for OCEAN self-assessment tests that they are not included in Part V's Self-Reflections.
Personality characteristics are relatively stable. They shape your behavioral patterns over time and across situations. Unlike fleeting moods and temporary states, they are the enduring essence of your individuality. Research shows that genetics account for roughly half of personality variation. Brain structures such as the amygdala for emotional reactivity and the prefrontal cortex for impulse control, along with neurotransmitters, influence traits such as introversion/extroversion, risk-taking, and emotional stability. Your personality impacts your relationships, your work, and your health. Personality not only shapes how we live but also how we connect, adapt, and thrive in a complex world.
Identity is who you understand yourself to be. It is your self-concept, your roles, and the meaning you give to your life. It can change throughout life. It involves beliefs, values, and self-stories. It is influenced by culture, relationships, and choices. It is connected to purpose, belonging, and your worldview. We don’t have just one identity, we have many. There are certain identities that seem unalterable (Race and Ethnicity, Generation and Age, Sexuality and Gender, and Disabilities). Yet most of our identities can be altered repeatedly over the course of our lives – like changing from formal attire to a t-shirt and shorts.
The element of choice is why we will be spending most of our time in this part of the book discussing identities rather than temperament or personality. Yes, it is useful to have self-awareness of our temperament and personality. But doesn’t it make sense to focus on those elements of our human nature over which we can exert some control? [Note: We will discuss Concern, Influence, and Control in Chapter 76.] So, let’s start by talking about how our identities are shaped, chosen, and maintained.