For a layperson, personality generally refers to the physical or external appearance of an individual. For example, when we find someone ‘good-looking’, we often assume that the person also has a charming personality. This notion of personality is based on superficial impressions, which may not be correct. In psychological terms, personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations. People can easily describe the way in which they respond to various situations. Certain catchwords (e.g., shy, sensitive, quiet, concerned, warm, etc.) are often used to describe personalities. These words refer to different components of personality. In this sense, personality refers to unique and relatively stable qualities that characterise an individual’s behaviour across different situations over a period of time.

Which of the following is NOT a feature of personality?

Its main features easily change with time.

One of the features of personality is that its main features do not easily change with time. While personality may exhibit situational variations, its core characteristics remain relatively stable over time.