Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Preface
- 1 Historical precursors of personality theory
- 2 From illness to wellness models of human nature
- 3 Developmental perspectives on personality: from youth-based to life-span models
- 4 The biology of personality
- 5 Trait theories and the psychology of individual differences
- 6 The puzzle of the self
- 7 Culture and personality
- 8 Gendered personality
- 9 Emotions and reasoning: a definition of the Human
- 10 Taking the measure of the Human: benefits and inherent limitations of personality measures
- 11 Can personality change? The possibilities of psychotherapeutics
- 12 The disordered personality: evolution of nosological systems
- 13 Eight appendices: at the margins of personality psychology
- References
- Author index
- Subject index
7 - Culture and personality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Preface
- 1 Historical precursors of personality theory
- 2 From illness to wellness models of human nature
- 3 Developmental perspectives on personality: from youth-based to life-span models
- 4 The biology of personality
- 5 Trait theories and the psychology of individual differences
- 6 The puzzle of the self
- 7 Culture and personality
- 8 Gendered personality
- 9 Emotions and reasoning: a definition of the Human
- 10 Taking the measure of the Human: benefits and inherent limitations of personality measures
- 11 Can personality change? The possibilities of psychotherapeutics
- 12 The disordered personality: evolution of nosological systems
- 13 Eight appendices: at the margins of personality psychology
- References
- Author index
- Subject index
Summary
Persons in power should be very careful about how they deal with a man who cares nothing for sensual pleasure, nothing for riches, nothing for comfort or praise, or promotion, but is simply determined to do what he believes to be right. He is a dangerous and uncomfortable enemy, because his body, which you can always conquer, gives you so little purchase upon his soul.
Gilbert Murray on Mahatma GandhiToward a working definition of culture
Evolving cultures, however construed, have an impact on the personalities of those who identify with them and are enmeshed in their expectations, directives, standards, political rituals, and values. This commonplace notion merits analysis. To what extent can culture shape personality and even override genetic trait variances in a population? Can humans become more fully integrated personalities by embracing the belief system of a society distinct from the one in which they were educated? Can members of one culture, thoroughly imbued with its values, enter into a meaningful dialogue with members of societies that propagate values incompatible with their own? These questions are of importance to the personality psychologist, and this chapter will attempt to address them.
A definition of culture
We define culture as the distinctive belief systems, patterns of behavior, and significant moral, artistic, familial, vocational, and political structures that are valued by a society, members of which usually speak the same language. It includes such aspects of life as members' preferred cuisine, religious practices, dominant sports, and recreational patterns.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A History of Personality PsychologyTheory, Science, and Research from Hellenism to the Twenty-First Century, pp. 220 - 257Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010