Main Difference – Character vs Personality
The main difference between character and personality is that character refers to one’s distinct traits or qualities while personality refers to the collection of abilities, behaviours, beliefs, ideologies, attitudes, etc.
Observing someone’s personality helps us to get an overall idea about that person’s character. Therefore, these two human attributes are interconnected with each other. However, people are different from each other, which makes each one a unique individual.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Character
– Definition, Characteristics, Significance
2. What is Personality
– Definition, Characteristics, Significance
3. What is the Difference Between Character and Personality
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Character, Morals, Personality
What is Character
The basic definition of character can be referred to as the qualities of an individual. A person could have good as well as bad qualities, and depending on these qualities, we can decide the character of the particular individual. A person becomes outstanding in the society because of his/her character. Character is developed once a person is born, and it is further developed depending on the social associations he/she encounters.
Character brings reputation to an individual. The society in which he/she lives in has a great influence on molding his/her character. However, the character of a person cannot be identified easily, since character traits don’t usually come to the surface in an individual unless in specific situations. Therefore, it is quite difficult to deduce the real character of someone within a short period of time, and one has to observe an individual for some time in order to understand his/her character.
When it comes to other definitions of character, the role in a play, a novel or a poem is also known as a character. There are varied character types in a drama or novel, they are often distinguished by their moral attributes such as evil characters- often the villain, etc., and good characters- often the hero, heroine, etc. Furthermore, symbols in the writing system can also be defined as characters.
What is Personality
Personality is the showcasing of an individual’s physical, emotional, mental and social characteristics. According to the psychologist Funder (2001) “Personality refers to individuals’ characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour, together with the psychological mechanisms — hidden or not — behind those patterns.” Therefore, personality is the amalgamation of all that person’s qualities, opinions, attitudes and principles; all which make up his character traits.
Unlike character, which cannot be seen easily, personality can be easily observed and understood. An individual’s behavior is shaped according to his/her personality traits. People behave in different manners on different occasions due to their personality differences. Personality is not an inborn feature, but it is developed with the social encounters. So many psychologists and researchers do studies about the personality development of individuals, and there are also so many methods that an individual can follow to improve his/her personality traits. It can be said that the best period to cultivate good personality skills is one’s childhood. That is the developing stage of a person, and it is easy to acquire good personality skills during childhood.
There are varied personality types in people, introvert personality, extrovert personality, emotional personality, jovial personality, and, rational personality are some of them. There are varied tests that determine these personality types as well. However, the main qualities and other characteristic elements of a person stand as priorities when forming that person’s personality.
Difference Between Character and Personality
Definition
Character refers to one’s moral attributes or qualities whereas personality refers to the collection of cognitive abilities, behaviours, beliefs, ideologies, attitudes, etc.
Identification
To identify one’s character, we have to observe him/her for some time. It is very difficult to measure a person’s character just by looking at his/her behavior. However, it is easy to identify a person’s personality traits by observing their physical conduct. This has most to do with behavior and social skills.
Characteristics
Character especially refers to the moral and ethical conduct of an individual while personality especially refers to outward behaviors and the impression created on others. This is another difference between personality and character.
Significance
Since character makes up the moral attributes of an individual, it is important in the overall behavioural patterns in him/her. Similarly, personality, on the whole, is significant in defining the type of person he/she is.
Conclusion
Humans are varied and different from each other. This makes all of them unique individuals. Similarly, each and everyone has unique personalities and characters. Though one’s personality and character are inter-related concepts, there is a difference between them. The difference between personality and character is that character refers to one’s distinct moral traits while personality refers to the collection of cognitive abilities, behaviours, beliefs, ideologies, attitudes, etc.
