THE WISE ONES AND THEIR WORDS ON PERSONALITY
Shakespeare called the world a stage where each of us is playing a part.
Max Weber, a sociologist, talked about 'charisma'. This is a particular component of personality. Do you wonder why people listened to Jesus or Ramkrishna? Some people are born with charisma, and yet lots of people have been known to work upon their natural charisma to influence and guide people (towards both good ends and bad!).
William James, a noted Social Psychologist, said every person has "as many social selves" as the people who know him and carry a mental image of him.
Erving Goffman, a sociologist, following Shakespeare, talked about how we perform parts and roles in real life almost as though we are in a play. He wrote about how we are influenced and guided by social ‘scripts' (how one behaves at a formal interview is different from how one behaves with a gang of close friends out on a holiday). He talked of 'props' that we use (for example: the doctor has his white coat and stethoscope; the rock singer has his 'crazy' attire, the 'mike' and his designer sunshades even in the evening; the school-student has his/her uniform, backpack, pencils, pens and books...).
While much of our social scripts are created by the society we live in, Goffman talked about the space for creativity which when used effectively and artistically can help us to create favourable impressions on others.
The film, 'The Mask', in an amusing and interesting manner explored the matter of identities that we adopt, the roles that we play, the different personalities that jostle around within us, what we most desire to be and how we wish others to see us. If you're saying: The Mask - teaches us something 'wise' about personality?! Yes, well, whoever said that entertainment can't be fun and teach us something valuable at the same time?
And so what do WE say about Personality and Personality development in a nutshell:
- “Your personality is the sum total of your identity as a particular human being. It is a complete description of yourself, including your looks, manners, tastes, ideals, dreams, hopes, fears, loves, mental traits, attitudes, intelligence, knowledge, aptitudes.” – Suvro Sir
- “Personality development is not a matter of fitting-in or sticking out. It is about standing out (and this is the way to all-round success in the game of life).” - Dr. Shilpi Sarkar
Max Weber, a sociologist, talked about 'charisma'. This is a particular component of personality. Do you wonder why people listened to Jesus or Ramkrishna? Some people are born with charisma, and yet lots of people have been known to work upon their natural charisma to influence and guide people (towards both good ends and bad!).
William James, a noted Social Psychologist, said every person has "as many social selves" as the people who know him and carry a mental image of him.
Erving Goffman, a sociologist, following Shakespeare, talked about how we perform parts and roles in real life almost as though we are in a play. He wrote about how we are influenced and guided by social ‘scripts' (how one behaves at a formal interview is different from how one behaves with a gang of close friends out on a holiday). He talked of 'props' that we use (for example: the doctor has his white coat and stethoscope; the rock singer has his 'crazy' attire, the 'mike' and his designer sunshades even in the evening; the school-student has his/her uniform, backpack, pencils, pens and books...).
While much of our social scripts are created by the society we live in, Goffman talked about the space for creativity which when used effectively and artistically can help us to create favourable impressions on others.
The film, 'The Mask', in an amusing and interesting manner explored the matter of identities that we adopt, the roles that we play, the different personalities that jostle around within us, what we most desire to be and how we wish others to see us. If you're saying: The Mask - teaches us something 'wise' about personality?! Yes, well, whoever said that entertainment can't be fun and teach us something valuable at the same time?
And so what do WE say about Personality and Personality development in a nutshell:
- “Your personality is the sum total of your identity as a particular human being. It is a complete description of yourself, including your looks, manners, tastes, ideals, dreams, hopes, fears, loves, mental traits, attitudes, intelligence, knowledge, aptitudes.” – Suvro Sir
- “Personality development is not a matter of fitting-in or sticking out. It is about standing out (and this is the way to all-round success in the game of life).” - Dr. Shilpi Sarkar