Good questions, Rose. I’m reading a book on emotional intelligence, which is really about personality. I’ll give my personal opinion on these questions.
<ul type="square"> [*]What exactly is the definition of a personality?
A simplistic definition might be: it’s your intellectual, emotional, and communicative traits, as well as how you see yourself and how you relate to others.
[*]What contributes to a person's personality?
I think you’re born with a certain amount of our personality. A group of children raised in the same environment often have dramatically different personalities. The environment does affect your personality to some extent, though, as well as the people you spend a lot of time with. Your appearance can also affect your personality. A physically strong person might be more aggressive than a weak person.
[*]Just exactly how does a personality form? Would experience change what personality you ended up with?
Aside from genetics, self-esteem plays a large part in how your personality exhibits itself, although unhealthy self-esteem might actually suppress or inhibit your true personality.
[*]I wonder if there is such a thing as a suppressed personality? I wonder if a personality gets suppressed or doesn't fully develop when you aren't given a chance to express yourself?
That’s funny, I just answered that. Anxiety can also suppress a person’s personality.
[*]What kind of personality you would have if you chose it for yourself? Do you think you could modify or change your personality if you wanted to?
To a great extent, your personality is ingrained. It might be suppressed, but it’s still there. If you are by nature a quiet individual and you try to be outgoing, you’d probably come across as being a phony.[/list]