Personality and Self concept

Personality

“a person’s unique make up, which consistently influences the way the person responds to his or her environment”

(Solomon, 1999)
"Personality develops from the level of anxiety felt at being a dependent child"

(Horney, 1945)

A customers personality goes a long way into how they perceive a product or service for example a customer’s personality may be very upbeat and therefore the products they purchase may need to resemble that. Another customers personality may be very technological, this would mean that the business may need to attract the customers attention with the latest mobile phone that has all the new technology. The environment plays a big role in the personality of a person for example the way they dress, type of music they listen to and more. From personal experience the environment has a major effect on the way people act. If you live in a high class area you are expected to reflect that in the clothes you wear and the cars you drive. As you can see the area you live in has affected the clothes you buy and the cars you drive. In a wealthy area people are expected to drive high end cars such as Porsche, Ferrari and more.
Values and attributes also play a role personality. The values people have on life may change the way they see things for example, a customer may value a painting, to another customer it is just a painting but to the customer that values it, it is more than just a painting, it is symbolic and has a meaning to it.

Self concepts
“the beliefs a person holds about his or her own attributes & how he or she evaluates those qualities”
“People see themselves as they imagine others see them”
(Solomon, 1999)

Self concept is very important as this is the image you give to other people and how you see yourself for example, you may see yourself as a fun, outgoing person. This is how you see yourself and how you wish to be seen by others. Self concept does not always reflect reality, what one person thinks of themselves may be completely different to how others see them. The difference comes down to the image you give out when with friends, family or colleagues. Self concept can have a big role on the way a person’s life turns out for example, if a person is confident in their ability as a child then as an adult the confidence builds and they are more able to do the things they want without hesitation.

• Self image - the kind of person we think we are - usually comprises social roles, body image & personality traits (very descriptive)

• Ideal Self - is the kind of person we would like to be (e.g. a better mother) which may be slightly or totally different from our self image. The larger the gap the lower our self esteem

• Self esteem - is the extent to which we like ourselves, whether we accept or approve of our self image

where others may see you as fun and outgoing

You may see yourself as dull