Does personality exist in a social vacuum? That is to say, can we describe individual differences in personality in the abstract, without reference to social context, the way we describe individual differences in IQ? Or is individual personality inextricably bound up with social interaction? Are there any individual differences in personality that exist independently of the social context?

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Jayden Herrera

Biology

15 October, 12:36

Does personality exist in a social vacuum? That is to say, can we describe individual differences in personality in the abstract, without reference to social context, the way we describe individual differences in IQ? Or is individual personality inextricably bound up with social interaction? Are there any individual differences in personality that exist independently of the social context?

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Owen Leach · Answer 1

Personality can not exist in a social vacuum, thus there aren't any individual differences in personality that exist independently of the social context.

Several authors which have written about personality, relationships and health such as Markey and Markey (2013), states the importance of interactions and relationships to determine personality and its grade of conscientiousness.

Other components of personality in the 5-Factor Model of personality like Extraversion, Agreeableness, among others, examine health and social relationships for understanding disorders of personality.

Nevertheless, a social vacuum is a theoretical construct that can not be studied in reality, therefore there is not a personality that exists in a social vacuum.