The Nature of Personality

There are three distinct properties that are of central importance in our discussion of personality.   These are :

(1) Personality is the essence of individual differences.
(2) Personality is consistent and enduring,and
(3) Personality can change.

(1) Personality Reflect Individual Differences: Since the inner characteristics that constitute an individual's personality are unique combination of factors, we can say that no two individuals are exactly or completely alike. Nevertheless,many individuals tends to be similar in terms of a single personality characteristic. For example ,many people can be discribed as "high" in sociability(that is the degree of interest they display in social or group activities ),while others can be described as "low " in sociability.

Personality is a useful consumer behavior concept because it enables us to categorize people into similar consumpting groups on the basis of a single Trait or a few Traits. If each person,were to be diffident in all aspect,it would have been impossible to segment people into similar consuming groups and their would therefore be little reason to develop standardized products and promotional campaigns.

(2) Personality is Consistent and Enduring: An individual's personality,is said to be both consistent and enduring. Both of these qualities are essential if marketers are to explain or predict consumer behavior in terms of personality.

The stable nature of personality suggests that it is unreasonable for marketers to attempt to change consumers personality to conform to their products. What marketers should do is to learn which personality characteristics influence specific consumer responses,and then attempt to appeal to relevant traits inherent in their target group of consumers.

 (3) Personality Can Change: Even though personality tends to be consistent and enduring,it may still change under various circumstances. For example; an individual's personality may be altered because of major life events or as part of a gradual maturing process.