You are what you consume!

Two weeks break, but now we’re back!

Last session we talked about personality. What is personality? What affects personality? What is my personality? Can a product or a brand have a personality? But one after the other…Let’s start with defining the term “personality”.

In “Essentials of organizational behavior” (2008) Robbins & Judge describe personality as “…the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others. It is most often described in terms of measurable traits that a person exhibits.” In an online dictionary you can find various definitions, such as:

“The quality of being a person; existence as a self-conscious human being; personal identity”

“The pattern of feelings, thoughts, and activities that distinguishes one person from another”

And finally the swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung defines:

"Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living being. It is an act of courage flung in the face of life, the absolute affirmation of all that constitutes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the universal conditions of existence, coupled with the greatest possible freedom of self-determination." (from dictionary.com).

What all these definitions have in common, is that they describe personality as unique for each person. But if personality is so unique…can you influence it? And if yes, what influences it? In class we defined four major aspects that have an impact on personality: Nature, nurture, peers and birth order. 

Nature refers to our genes, whereas nurture refers to the way we are brought up. There have been endless discussions about what has a stronger influence on personality. A common method to study the impact of nurture and nature is to study identical twins, who were brought up in different families. Some of these twins have a similar personality, which underlines the importance of nature (e.g. genes). More about twin studies can be read here. 

Have you ever heard the sentence “She is so responsible; it is because she is the oldest” or “He is absolutely spoilt! Typically only child!” ? This is could be a sign that also birth order has an impact on your personality. Birth order categorizes people in first born, last born, middle children, only children and twins. Each of these have some special characteristics. I am a “Mysterious Middle Child” and that means I am “able to keep secrets, not spoiled, take risks, are realistic, get along well with others, read people well”. But also “Hates confrontation, stubborn, cynical, suspicious, and rebellious” (sounds a lot like me^^). Here you can read more about the different types and birth order.

Another topic we talked about in class was personality tests. If personality is so unique, is it possible to measure it or to categorise personalities? Well, not in an exact manner, but generally it is possible to measure personalities. One of the most used personality tests is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It consists of various different questions that ask how a person react or behave in special situations. There are four different dimensions:

Extraversion/Introversion (E/I): Where do you prefer to focus your attention? How are you energised?

Sensing/Intuition (S/N): What kind of information do you prefer to pay attention to? How do you acquire information?

Thinking/Feeling (T/F): How do you prefer to make decisions?

Judging/Perceiving (J/P): Which lifestyle do you prefer?

This results in 16 different personality types, such as INTJ, ESTJ or ISFP. According to the MBTI I am an INFJ (Introversion, Intuition, Feeling, Judging). This type is described as followed:

“INFJs, making up an estimated 1% of all people, are the most rare type (males even more so). They are introspective, caring, sensitive, gentle and complex people that strive for peace and derive satisfaction from helping others. INFJs are highly intuitive, empathetic and dedicated listeners. These traits tend to act as a "tell me what's wrong" sign on their forehead, hence the nicknames Confidant, Counselor or Empath. INFJs are intensely private and deeply committed to their beliefs.”

According to Ruth, my Simpsons-Character is Lisa Simpson. Not my favourite character, but still okay…I would have been really worried, if my result has been ISTP (Sideshow Bob!!!);-)

Another Personality Test is the Big-5-Test. The five dimensions are 

Openness: One’s range of interests and fascination with novelty

Extroversion: One’s comfort level with relationships

Agreeableness: An individual’s propensity to defer to others

Conscientiousness: A measure of reliability

Neuroticism: A person’s ability to withstand stress

[source: Robbins & Judge: Essentials in organizational behaviour, 2008]

Here you can see my personality according to the Big-5-Test I took on Facebook. My most distinctive trait is Conscientiousness (88%). On Facebook it is  described as: 

“You seem to describe yourself as someone who is a perfectionist. From your responses it appears that you prefer to plan everything to the last detail, which has consequently led to you being very successful and extremely reliable. From your responses it appears that more than most you enjoy seeing your long-term plans come to fruition.”

There are a lot of serious personality tests, but some others are just for fun and not very reliable. In class we tried the “Draw-a-pig!”-Test. Below you can see my pig (I love it…^^) and here you can try the test!

But if human beings have a personality, is it possible to create brands or products with a personality? A lot of firms try to give their brand or product a special image, because:

“Personality is the concept to give life to a brand, to manage ‘identity and image’, to create likeability”.  

In the picture left you can see different types of brand personality. They place this image in their commercials and advertisements, the name or even through the design of the shops. In an article, which Ruth gave to us, the relationship between a person and a brand is compared to a relationship between two people. It underlines the importance that not only the customer is important in that relationship but there are “active partners at each end”. To put it in other words, the brand has also a picture of you in its mind; it’s important to bear in mind what a brand thinks about its customers. A danger, which can occur, is for instance that the brand appears snobbish to some, if it puts too much effort in its exclusiveness or expensiveness. Although the article was quite interesting to read, it seemed also odd to think of a brand as a good friend…or would you compare the relationship to your iPod to the relationship with your mother?;-)

In a group activity we should describe the personality of a chosen brand. We should show pictures, which describe this brand and its personality. In our group we chose the brand Chanel. We described it as an expensive, high-class and elegant brand, but also as female. We thought of Chanel as a rich, classical woman, who lives in a stylish Penthouse in London. It is normal to her to buy expensive cars, jewelry and to go to expensive clubs/lounges. If you want to read more about brand personality, you can read this (as I think very interesting) article.

After that we talked about self-concept. One definition is: "the idea or mental image one has of oneself and one's strengths, weaknesses, status, etc.; self-image." So, this means that the self-concept is a picture you have about yourself. Anyway, it is important to bear in mind that self-concept does not necessary reflect reality. But how do we develop a picture of our self? On theory is the “looking-glass self” by Charles Horton Cooley. It says that we perceive our self through the eyes of people around us, e.g. family, friends, colleagues and so on. It depends on which perspective we choose; for example can your mother and your friend have a different picture of you in their mind.

A very important aspect in the theory of self-concept is the “ideal self”. This refers to a person or a personality we wish to be (“I want to be the coolest guy in school!”). Therefore many marketers try to convince people to buy their products, because it brings them closer to their desired ideal self. As an example watch this adidascommercial:   

It seems to say “Buy adidas, and you will be able to play with the best players!” Furthermore, the slogan “Impossible is nothing” conveys that also the ideal self can be reached. Through the title “Jose +10” the little boy becomes an active part of the team, and it shows that you don’t have to be a famous football player to be in a team with Beckham, Ballack or Zidane (Gosh, if it would be that easy…^^).

Here is another example, how products can help to improve your image: 

Well, also a long blog as an end…I hope you enjoyed reading this philosophical blog and I wish you nice weekJ

Best wishes from Bucks

Rebecca/Lisa/INFJ