• Print Page
• eMail Page

Search website for :

Home→The Westburn Dictionary of Marketing→P→personality

personality

Definition:
A personal and unique way of responding to the environment; those characteristics that account for differences among people and that are predictive of their behaviour; behavioural traits which have become incorporated into the complete personality of the individual giving rise to stable dispositions to respond to certain situations in characteristic ways. In his Introduction to Psychology (1967), Ernest Hilgard defines personality as 'the configuration of individual characteristics and ways of behaving which determine an individual's unique adjustment to his environment'. While Hilgard is atypical in offering a definition, since most psychologists fail to do so, his definition reflects the consensus concept of personality as a consistent pattern of response. Because of this overall consistency in an individual's pattern of behaviour it is possible to categorize dominant traits and develop a classification of personality 'types'. In turn such classification provides a valuable working construct for marketers, as it enables them to use personality as a factor in developing marketing strategies and marketing mixes to suit them.

Cross-References:

Links:

Figures:

© Westburn Publishers Ltd 2002, The Westburn Dictionary of Marketing edited by Michael J Baker, ISBN 978-0-946433-01-8. www.themarketingdictionary.com. Entry: [Michael J. Baker and Jennifer L. Drayton], [1998].