Definition of Personality

Personality is such a complex concept that there really is no one specific definition within the field of
psychology. In general, personality is a unique set of characteristics within a person that work to influence
their beliefs, motivations, emotions, behaviors and even their environment. Personality can also refer to the
ingrained patterns of thoughts, behaviors and motivators that develop throughout their life cycle to influence
the way they perceive the world around them, as well as their beliefs, self-perception and attitude. The study
of personality, with regard to psychology, has been taken on over the years through numerous theories.
These theories shape and influence individual practitioner and researcher views on the subject of personality
psychology. While one particular theory may guide an expert’s practice, most psychology professionals
combine theories to make sense of personality and to help people to move toward psychological wellness.

Psychological theories regarding personality are numerous, however, they all fall within an overall
framework of theory types. These types include trait theories, type theories, psychoanalytic theories,
behaviorist theories and humanistic theories. There are others, but these are the most common.

Trait theories focus on the psychological traits that are generally stable over time. These traits are an
individual’s patterns of understanding and dealing with the world around them. Traits are different for all
people, and they tend to influence an individual’s behavior. Type theories analyze personality type or how
people are classified. Type theory tends to look at personality based on absolutes, rather than in varying
degrees on a continuum as trait theory does.

Type A personality traits

Type A personalities are competitive, high achievers and have a high sense of time urgency. As a result
of these combined traits Type A's are always found to be busy working on their own projects. Type
A's felt insecure at one point of their lives and so they decided to fight the insecurity by changing their
lives and making achievements as fast as they can..

Type B personality traits

Type B's are the opposite of type A's. They are relaxed, laid back and not easily stressed. While type B can
be achievers too still they won't be as competitive as Type A's. Tybe b can delay work and do it in the last
moment, some of them can turn into procrastinators which is something that a type A can never do

Type C personality traits

Type C personalities love details and can spend a lot of time trying to find out how things work and this
makes them very suitable for technical jobs. Type C are not assertive at all and they always suppress their
own desires even if there is something that they dislike. The lack of assertiveness results in
tremendous stress and sometimes in depression. Type Cs are very vulnerable to depression compared to
type A and type B.

Type D personality traits

D stands for distressed, Type D's have a negative outlook towards life and are pessimistic. A small event
that is not even noticed by type B can ruin type D's day.
Type D might become socially withdrawn as a result of fear of rejection even if they like to be around
people.

Type D's are famous for suppressing their emotions and this makes them the most vulnerable type to
depression. In my book, The ultimate guide to getting over depression i said that one of the famous
causes for depression is suppressing your emotions for long periods of time without venting them someway.

Big Five Dimensions of Personality

1. Extraversion:
Extraversion is characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of
emotional expressiveness.

People who are high in extroversion are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations. People who
are low in extroversion (or introverted) tend to be more reserved and have to expend energy in social
settings.

2. Agreeableness:

This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection and other prosocial
behaviors.

People who are high in agreeableness tend to be more cooperative while those low in this trait tend to be
more competitive and even manipulative.

3. Conscientiousness:

Standard features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and
goal-directed behaviors. Those high on conscientiousness tend to be organized and mindful of details.

4. Neuroticism:

Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals who are
high in this trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, moodiness, irritability and sadness. Those low in
this trait tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient.

5. Openness:

This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight, and those high in this trait also tend to
have a broad range of interests. People who are high in this trait tend to be more adventurous and creative.
People low in this trait are often much more traditional and may struggle with abstract thinking.

It is important to note that each of the five personality factors represents a range between two extremes.

For example, extraversion represents a continuum between extreme extraversion and extreme introversion.
In the real world, most people lie somewhere in between the two polar ends of each dimension.

Psychoanalytic theory was founded by Signmund Freud. These personality theories explain human behavior
through interactions between the different components of personality. Psychoanalytic theories observe and
analyze psychological conflict and resolution. Behaviorist theory, on the other hand, looks from outside a
person and examines the way outside events and interactions influence behavior.

In social cognitive theories, behavior is guided through expectations or cognitions. These cognitions are in
regard to the expectations and beliefs one has about the world around them, particularly the people in their
lives. These theories place emphasis on the cognitive processes of thinking or judging. Humanistic theories
revolve around the idea that people have free will. These theorists believe that the subjective nature of each
individual’s experience influences their behavior and relies on the individual to come to their own
conclusions regarding this behavior.

This is an overview of the numerous approaches to studying personality.

Individual differences

Individual differences are the more-or-less enduring psychological characteristics that distinguish one
person from another and thus help to define each person's individuality. Among the most important kinds of
individual differences are intelligence, personality traits, and values. The study of individual differences is
called differential or trait psychology and is more commonly the concern of personality psychologists than
social psychologists. Individual differences are neither a fiction nor a nuisance; they are enduring
psychological features that contribute to the shaping of behavior and to each individual's sense of self. Both
social and applied psychology can benefit by taking these enduring dispositions into account.

The Sage Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Sullivan, 2009) has a definition of individual
differences that is particularly geared to learning.

How individuals differ in traits such as skills, aptitudes, and abilities to learn and perform. Learners may
vary in their personalities, motivations, and attributions for their successes and failures when learning—all
of which may affect how and why they learn. Additionally, they differ in their preferences for learning and
their willingness to learn. Some traits may be more adaptive, whereas others are stable and less malleable, or
resistant to change, especially as an individual matures to adulthood. Examples of stable traits are gender,
culture, and race. Even education and age are considered as stable traits. Traits that may be more malleable,
or adaptive, could include effort and attributions of success and failure, among others. Individual differences
may be considered in making the learning environment educationally appropriate, interesting, and relevant.

A theme that typifies most definitions of individual differences is that individual differences vary across
people and thus distinguish individuals from one another. As the second definition demonstrates, individual
differences are sometimes malleable. As I discuss later, personality traits are considered less malleable than
learning styles. Nevertheless, both are examples of differences that vary across people and distinguish
individuals from one another.

Causes of Individual Differences:

Some of the main causes of individual differences are as under:

1. Heredity:

One of the most significant and chief causes of individual differences is heredity. Individuals inherit various
physical traits like face with its features, colour of eyes and hair, type of skin, shape of skull and size of
hands, colour blindness, baldness, stub-finger and tendency to certain diseases like cancer and tuberculosis,
mental traits like intelligence, abstract thinking, aptitudes and prejudices. Now it is an admitted fact that
heredity differences result in the quantity and rate of physical as well as mental development being different
and different individuals.

2. Environment:

Environment significantly influences individual differences. Changes in child’s environment are reflected in
the changes in his personality. Psychologically speaking, a person’s environment consists of sum total of
stimulation which he receives from conception until his death.

Environment consists of physical, intellectual, social, moral, political, economic and cultural forces. All
these forces cause individual differences. Modern psychologists believe that individual differences are
caused by both heredity and environment. Personality is the outcome of mutual interaction between heredity
and environment.
Nature v/s Nurture

Do genetic or environmental factors have a greater influence on your behavior? Do inherited traits or life
experiences play a greater role in shaping your personality? The nature versus nurture debate is one of the
oldest issues in psychology. The debate centres on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance and
environmental factors to human development.

Some philosophers such as Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn, or that they occur
naturally regardless of environmental influences. Nativists take the position that all or most behaviors and
characteristics are the results of inheritance.

Advocates of this point of view believe that all of our characteristics and behaviors are the result of
evolution. Genetic traits handed down from parents influence the individual differences that make each
person unique.

Other well-known thinkers such as John Locke believed in what is known as tabula rasa, which suggests
that the mind begins as a blank slate. According to this notion, everything that we are and all of our
knowledge is determined by our experience.

Empiricists take the position that all or most behaviors and characteristics result from learning. Behaviorism
is a good example of a theory rooted in empiricism. The behaviorists believe that all actions and behaviors
are the results of conditioning. Theorists such as John B. Watson believed that people could be trained to do
and become anything, regardless of their genetic background.

How Nature and Nurture Interact

What researchers do know is that the interaction between heredity and environment is often the most
important factor of all. Kevin Davies of PBS's Nova described one fascinating example of this phenomenon.

Perfect pitch is the ability to detect the pitch of a musical tone without any reference. Researchers have
found that this ability tends to run in families and believe that it might be tied to a single gene. However,
they've also discovered that possessing the gene alone is not enough to develop this ability. Instead, musical
training during early childhood is necessary to allow this inherited ability to manifest itself.3

Height is another example of a trait that is influenced by nature and nurture interaction. A child might come
from a family where everyone is tall, and he may have inherited these genes for height. However, if he
grows up in a deprived environment where he does not receive proper nourishment, he might never attain
the height he might have had he grown up in a healthier environment.

Contemporary Views of Nature vs. Nurture

Throughout the history of psychology, however, this debate has continued to stir up controversy. Eugenics,
for example, was a movement heavily influenced by the nativist approach. Psychologist Francis Galton, a
cousin of the naturalist Charles Darwin, coined both the terms nature versus nurture and eugenics and
believed that intelligence was the result of genetics. Galton believed that intelligent individuals should be
encouraged to marry and have many children, while less intelligent individuals should be discouraged from
reproducing.

Today, the majority of experts believe that both nature and nurture influence behavior and development.
However, the issue still rages on in many areas such as in the debate on the origins of homosexuality and
influences on intelligence. While few people take the extreme nativist or radical empiricist approach,
researchers and experts still debate the degree to which biology and environment influence behavior.
Increasingly, people are beginning to realize that asking how much heredity or environment influence a
particular trait is not the right approach. The reality is that there is not a simple way to disentangle the
multitude of forces that exist. These influences include genetic factors that interact with one another,
environmental factors that interact such as social experiences and overall culture, as well as how both
hereditary and environmental influences intermingle. Instead, many researchers today are interested in
seeing how genes modulate environmental influences and vice versa.

MODULE II

Definition of Diversity

The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is
unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs,
or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing
environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond
simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each
individual.

How to Manage Diversity in a Workplace

Diversity in the workplace means bringing together people of different ethnic backgrounds, religions and
age groups into a cohesive and productive unit. Advances in communication technology, such as the Internet
and cellular phones, have made the marketplace a more global concept. In order to survive, a company needs
to be able to manage and utilize its diverse workplace effectively. Managing diversity in the workplace
should be a part of the culture of the entire organization.

Step 1
Confirm that all of your personnel policies from hiring to promotions and raises are based on employee
performance. Avoid allowing tenure, ethnic background or any other kind of category into your human
resources policies. Managing a diverse workplace begins with strong policies of equality from the company.
Once these policies are in place, the company can begin implementing diversity measures throughout the
entire organization.

Step 2
Rate the qualifications of the candidate based on the quality of his experience, not age or any other category,
when hiring. When you hire a diverse but qualified workforce, you are on the right track towards being able
to manage the diversity in your company.

Step 3

Encourage diversity when creating teams and special work groups within the company. If a manager creates
a work group that does not utilize the skills of the most qualified employees, then insists that the group be
changed to include all qualified staff members.

Step 4
Treat complaints of favoritism or discrimination seriously. Encourage employees to report all instances of
discriminatory behavior, and have a definitive process in place for investigating and dealing with these
issues.

Step 5
Hold quarterly trainings for the entire staff on the benefits of diversity in the workplace. Encourage
discussions at these meetings on how the company can better manage workplace diversity.
 Barriers and Challenges to Managing Diversity

What are the most common barriers to implementing successful diversity programs?
We introduced this chapter by noting that diversity is a sensitive, potentially volatile, and sometimes
uncomfortable issue. It is therefore not surprising that organizations encounter significant barriers when
trying to move forward with managing diversity. The following is a list of the most common barriers to
implementing successful diversity programs:71
1. Inaccurate stereotypes and prejudice. This barrier manifests itself in the belief that differences are viewed as
weaknesses. In turn, this promotes the view that diversity hiring will mean sacrificing competence and
quality.
2. Ethnocentrism. The ethnocentrism barrier represents the feeling that one’s cultural rules and norms are
superior or more appropriate than the rules and norms of another culture.
3. Poor career planning. This barrier is associated with the lack of opportunities for diverse employees to get
the type of work assignments that qualify them for senior management positions.
4. A negative diversity climate. Climate is generally viewed as employee perceptions about an organization’s
formal and informal policies, practices, and procedures. Diversity climate is a subcomponent of an
organization’s overall climate and is defined as the employees’ aggregate “perceptions about the
organization’s diversity-related formal structure characteristics and informal values.”72 Diversity climate is
positive when employees view the organization as being fair to all types of employees;
5. An unsupportive and hostile working environment for diverse employees. Sexual, racial, and age harassment
are common examples of hostile work environments. Whether perpetrated against women, men, older
individuals, or LGBT people, hostile environments are demeaning, unethical, and appropriately called “work
environment pollution.” It also is important to note that harassment can take place via e-mail, texting, and
other forms of social media. For example, a recent study of 220 employees revealed that the initial
harassment began by e-mail or phone.74 Managers are encouraged to treat electronic harassment the same as
any other type of harassment.
6. Lack of political savvy on the part of diverse employees. Diverse employees may not get promoted because
they do not know how to “play the game” of getting along and getting ahead in an organization. Research
reveals that women and people of color are excluded from organizational networks.75
7. Difficulty in balancing career and family issues. Women still assume the majority of the responsibilities
associated with raising children. This makes it harder for women to work evenings and weekends or to
frequently travel once they have children. Even without children in the picture, household chores take more
of a woman’s time than a man’s time.
8. Fears of reverse discrimination. Some employees believe that managing diversity is a smoke screen for
reverse discrimination. This belief leads to very strong resistance because people feel that one person’s gain
is another’s loss.
9. This photo highlights a diverse workforce at GE. The company is proud of its approach…Diversity is not
seen as an organizational priority. This leads to subtle resistance that shows up in the form of complaints
and negative attitudes. Employees may complain about the time, energy, and resources devoted to diversity
that could have been spent doing “real work.”
10. The need to revamp the organization’s performance appraisal and reward system. Performance appraisals
and reward systems must reinforce the need to effectively manage diversity. This means that success will be
based on a new set of criteria. For example, General Electric evaluates the extent to which its managers are
inclusive of employees with different backgrounds. These evaluations are used in salary and promotion
decisions.76
11. Resistance to change. Effectively managing diversity entails significant organizational and personal change.
As discussed inChapter 18, people resist change for many different reasons.
In summary, managing diversity is a critical component of organizational success.

Advantages of Workplace Diversity:

Businesses are recognizing the need and importance of investing in diversity and inclusion as part of their
overall talent management practices and to continually challenge their organizations to make the connection
between those principles and their corporate performance.. Diversity is especially crucial in today’s global
marketplace, as companies interact with different cultures and clients. The payoffs touch every area of the
business by potentially resulting in increased creativity, increased productivity, new attitudes, new language
skills, global understanding, new processes, and new solutions to difficult problems. greater agility, better
market insight, stronger customer and community loyalty, innovation, and improved employee recruitment
and retention. The businesses that fail to see the importance of Diversity and inclusion might find
themselves unable to attract and retain the kinds of customers, employees, and business partners that
constitute our changing world in 5 to 10 years
Among the advantages of diversity in the workplace are:
1. Increased Productivity: Diversity and Inclusion brings in diverse different talents together
working towards a common goal using different sets of skills that ignites their loyalty and
increases their retention and productivity
2. Increased creativity and Problem solving: With so many different and diverse minds coming
together many more solutions will arise as every individual brings in their way of thinking,
operating and solving problems and decision making
3. Attract and Retain talent that add a competitive edge to any organization. Feeling included and
appreciated increases loyalty and feeling of belonging. Language skills pool is increased and
propels organization forward either to compete in the International global world or to increase its
diverse customer base
4. Help to build synergy in teams and enhances communication skills that brings in new attitudes
and processes that profit the whole team
5. Applying the proper diversity& inclusion management strategies does not only save money
on litigation expenses generated by discrimination lawsuits but is the right thing to do for the
business.
6. It increases market share and create a satisfied diverse customer base by relating to people
from different backgrounds. It does propel the United States and its status to claim its place and
success in the global business world of the 21 st century

MODULE III

Socialization

Human infants are born without any culture. They must be transformed by their parents, teachers, and
others into cultural and socially adept animals. The general process of acquiring culture is referred to
as socialization. During socialization, we learn the language of the culture we are born into as well as the
roles we are to play in life. For instance, girls learn how to be daughters, sisters, friends, wives, and
mothers. In addition, they learn about the occupational roles that their society has in store for them. We
also learn and usually adopt our culture's norms through the socialization process. Norms are the
conceptions of appropriate and expected behavior that are held by most members of the society. While
socialization refers to the general process of acquiring culture, anthropologists use the
term enculturation for the process of being socialized to a particular culture.

Agents of Socialization

The individual responds differently to different socialization patterns. The following paragraphs will help to
explain the influences of socialization on an individual.

Family
The most important agent of socialization, family helps mold an individual. The family values, beliefs,
religious inclinations and political views shape an individual's outlook towards society. Parents are the
biggest influence for the social development in children.

Schools
After family, schools are probably the most important influence on an individual. Schools help pass on
knowledge, create awareness and inculcate the feelings of tolerance in individuals. The second step to
socialization is schools where a child meets different children and learns to make out the right and wrong in
society.
Community and Culture
Community and culture help pass on the religious views and cultural traditions in an individual. A
community is the group where an individual meets people with similar ideologies and interact for personal
and community growth.

Peers
Meeting like-minded people, making friends and hanging out together may seem like a teenagers life. But in
fact, each and every individual in society loves to have social contact. Peers have great impact on an
individual's thoughts and line of thinking. An individual learns to behave in a manner that they think will be
acceptable to their peers. Peer acceptance is an important part of socialization.

Mass Media
In today's world, mass media is one of important ways of socialization. People are influenced by the social
norms portrayed by the mass media. Political, religious and social views are enforced in a hard way through
the repeated exposure and arguments put forth by the agents of mass media.

Through the above explanation, you will understand, that agents of socialization play an important role in an
individual's life. The different positive attributes fed by these agents create harmony in an individual that
makes him feel confident and respect social etiquette. Without the norms and rules of a society, humans
would have nothing to differentiate themselves from animal groups. I hope this article has help to shed some
light on the concept of socialization.

TYPES OF SOCIALIZATION

Primary socialization for a child is very important because it sets the ground work for all future
socialization. Primary Socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate
to individuals as members of a particular culture. It is mainly influenced by the immediate family and
friends. For example if a child saw his/her mother expressing a discriminatory opinion about a minority
group, then that child may think this behavior is acceptable and could continue to have this opinion about
minority groups.
Secondary socialization Secondary socialization refers to the process of learning what is the appropriate
behavior as a member of a smaller group within the larger society. Basically, it is the behavioral patterns
reinforced by socializing agents of society. Secondary socialization takes place outside the home. It is where
children and adults learn how to act in a way that is appropriate for the situations they are in Schools require
very different behavior from the home, and Children must act according to new rules. New teachers have to
act in a way that is different from pupils and learn the new rules from people around them. Secondary
Socialization is usually associated with teenagers and adults, and involves smaller changes than those
occurring in primary socialization. Such examples of Secondary Socialization are entering a new profession
or relocating to a new environment or society.
Anticipatory socialization Anticipatory socialization refers to the processes of socialization in which a
person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and social relationships. For example, a couple might
move in together before getting married in order to try out, or anticipate, what living together will be
like] Research by Kenneth J. Levine and Cynthia A. Hoffner suggests that parents are the main source of
anticipatory socialization in regards to jobs and careers.
Re-socialization Re-socialization refers to the process of discarding former behavior patterns and reflexes,
accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life. This occurs throughout the human life cycle. Re-
socialization can be an intense experience, with the individual experiencing a sharp break with his or her
past, as well as a need to learn and be exposed to radically different norms and values. One common
example involves re-socialization through a total institution, or "a setting in which people are isolated from
the rest of society and manipulated by an administrative staff". Re-socialization via total institutions
involves a two step process: 1) the staff work to root out a new inmate's individual identity & 2) the staff
attempt to create for the inmate a new identity. Other examples of this are the experience of a young man or
woman leaving home to join the military, or a religious convert internalizing the beliefs and rituals of a new
faith. An extreme example would be the process by which a transsexual learns to function socially in a
dramatically altered gender role.
Organizational socialization
Organizational socialization is the process whereby an employee learns the knowledge and skills necessary
to assume his or her organizational role. As newcomers become socialized, they learn about the organization
and its history, values, jargon, culture, and procedures. This acquired knowledge about new employees'
future work environment affects the way they are able to apply their skills and abilities to their jobs. How
actively engaged the employees are in pursuing knowledge affects their socialization process.They also learn
about their work group, the specific people they work with on a daily basis, their own role in the
organization, the skills needed to do their job, and both formal procedures and informal norms. Socialization
functions as a control system in that newcomers learn to internalize and obey organizational values and
practices.

MODULE IV

What causes patriotism?

Why would a person do anything to save his country even if it was sacrificing his life?
patriotism is a good trait that gets a lot of praise but the point of this article isn't discussing whether
patriotism is good or bad.

The point of this article is explaining what causes patriotism from a psychological point of view. Humans
have a very strong need for belonging. If you noticed how iPhone owners describe themselves as a special
group you would shortly realize that humans don't only have the tendency to form groups but they also tend
to favor their own group over others.

Why do you think people sometimes discriminate against minorities?

It's the fact that humans want their groups to be the best that motivates some of them to put other groups
down.

In my article Why do people discriminate against blacks i explained how the fact that humans love to stick
to whatever is familiar makes them find whatever is different threatening.

In other words the fact that blacks are a minority in some places is one of the main reasons why people can
sometimes discriminate against them and probably this is also one reason why people make fun of vegans.
The need for belonging and attachment is one of the strong reasons that lead to the development of
patriotism as we know it.

People don't just have a need to belong to a group but they also want to see that group doing well as their
survival depends on it.

Fear, survival and patriotism

Survival is the word you are looking for. Because humans have an intense need to survive they find
themselves strongly attached to groups. When thinking about this logically you will find that it makes a lot
of sense.

After all the chances of survival of a person becomes much higher as he joins a certain group. In other words
the survival of the group as a whole guarantees the survival of its members.

So one of the main reasons behind the development of patriotism is the desire to survive. Of course survival
here isn't just about staying alive but it also includes living a good life.
If anything threatened a nation then the individual will feel threatened as well. This could either happen on
the conscious or unconscious level but in all cases it can lead to intense patriotism.

This is also why people sound more patriotic when things get really bad. When a nation finds itself on the
brink of a war for example then people might get very patriotic and the reason here is that they are afraid.
Fear fuels patriotism and can even be the main driver for it in some cases.

If a person's nation was attacked then he might lose his good life, his family or even die. Thus the desire to
protect oneself and family can also fuel patriotism.

Patriotism and the Ego

Patriotism is also connected to a person's ego. As a person gets raised in a certain country he identifies
himself with it in such a way that any harm that happens to this country is considered a direct harm to him.

This is why you might find a person , who lives in another country, becoming very patriotic when his home
country faces hardship.

Just like an iPhone owner defends his group because it represents him a person can also defend his country
because of ego related reasons. In short patriotism is something very natural as it stems from many of the
basic human needs.

MODULE V
What are values for?

Values guide our behaviors; they are part of our identity as individuals, and guide our behaviors at home, at
work, or any other area of our life.

They show us how to behave and how not to behave when we’re faced with desires or impulses, whether
we’re alone or with others.

They are like a compass that helps us behave consistently, regardless of the situation.

For example, when using public transportation, some people give their seat to a pregnant woman, and others
don’t. The former believe in the value of courtesy and consideration towards others, whether they’re
strangers or not.

Among those who don’t give up their seat we commonly find children (who haven’t yet acquired that value),
or elderly people who give a greater value to their own need to be seated (correctly so), or people who just
attach a greater value to their own comfort.

Thus, values are the foundation of our behaviors, and make us feel well about our own decisions.

When we act guided by our values, we are not concerned by what others will say. We act according to our
convictions, regardless of whether others are observing us or not.

When we truly believe that a set of behaviors constitute an essential cornerstone to life, we act accordingly,
and don’t care what others say about it.

When are committed to being honest, we don’t take what isn’t ours. We do so because we believe in
respecting the property of others, not because we are being watched.

Values guide our actions and determine for us what’s good or bad. When we’re guided by values, we act
without expecting anything in return, except personal satisfaction and fulfillment.
This satisfaction motivates us to espouse our principles and beliefs in all situations. It allows us to express a
consistent personality, regardless of our mood or location.

Some people are not kind to others because they think they will receive nothing in return. Although they
may be kind to the people they value (their children, students, employees or work mates), kindness per se is
not a guiding principle in their life.

As parents, teachers, employers, or leaders, if we wish to foster certain principles and behaviors in others,
we must practice those values consistently and through our behavior set an example.

Types of values

We can speak of universal values, because ever since human beings have lived in community, they have had
to establish principles to guide their behavior towards others.

In this sense, honesty, responsibility, truth, solidarity, cooperation, tolerance, respect and peace, among
others, are considered universal values.

However, in order to understand them better, it is useful to classify values according to the following
criteria:

• Personal values:
These are considered essential principles on which we build our life and guide us to relate with other people.
They are usually a blend of family values and social-cultural values, together with our own individual ones,
according to our experiences.

• Family values:
These are valued in a family and iare considered either good or bad. These derive from the fundamental
beliefs of the parents, who use them to educate their children. They are the basic principles and guidelines
of our initial behavior in society, and are conveyed through our behaviors in the family, from the simplest to
the most complex.

• Social-cultural values:
These are the prevailing values of our society, which change with time, and either coincide or not with our
family or personal values. They constitute a complex mix of different values, and at times they contradict
one another, or pose a dilemma.

For example, if work isn’t valued socially as a means of personal fulfillment, then the society is indirectly
fostering “anti-values” like dishonesty, irresponsibility, or crime.

Another example of the dilemmas that social-cultural values may pose is when they promote the idea that
“the end justifies the means”. With this as a pretext, terrorists and arbitrary rulers justify violence,
intolerance, and lies while claiming that their true goal is peace.

• Material values:
These values allow us to survive, and are related to our basic needs as human beings, such as food and
clothing and protection from the environment. They are fundamental needs, part of the complex web that is
created between personal, family and social-cultural values. If exaggerated, material values can be in
contradiction with spiritual values.

• Spiritual values:
They refer to the importance we give to non-material aspects in our lives. They are part of our human needs
and allow us to feel fulfilled. They add meaning and foundation to our life, as do religious beliefs.

• Moral values:
The attitudes and behaviors that a society considers essential for coexistence, order, and general well being.

VALUES AND ETHICS

Values and ethics are central to any organization; those operating in the national security arena are no
exception. What exactly do we mean by values and ethics? Both are extremely broad terms, and we need to
focus in on the aspects most relevant for strategic leaders and decision makers. What we will first discuss is
the distinctive nature of ethics for public officials; second, the forces which influence the ethical behavior of
individuals in organizations; and third, explore the actions strategic leaders can take to build ethical climates
in their organizations.

THE IMPORTANCE OF VALUES AND MORALS

According to Father of Indian Nation M.K.Gandhi

"If wealth is lost nothing is lost"
"If health is lost something is lost"
"If character is lost everything is lost"
Best of all things is character.

Every one knows that life is precious – that life is important. We all protect our life because we care for it
more than anything else. If life is so important, the values of life are even more important. Values are
guiding principles, or standards of behaviour which are regarded desirable, important and held in high
esteem by a particular society in which a person lives.

"The Importance of Values and Morals are the code we live by in a civil and just society. They are what we
use to guide our interactions with others, with our friends and family, in our businesses and professional
behaviour. Our values and morals are a reflection of our spirituality; our character. They are what we hope
to model for our children and the children around us, because children do watch us as they develop their
own sense of right and wrong.

Value education means inculcating in the children sense humanism, a deep concern for the well being of
others and the nation. This can be accomplished only when we instill in the children a deep feeling of
commitment to values that would build this country and bring back to the people pride in work that brings
order, security and assured progress.

What are human rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex,
national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our
human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary
international law, general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law
lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to
promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

Some list of Human Rights:

1. Right to speech
2. Right to live
3. Right to freedom
4. Right to Life
5. Right to liberty
6. Right to thought
 7. Right to expression
8. Right to education
9. Right to work
10. Right to equality before the law, social, cultural and economic right. Etc.

Characteristics of Human Rights:

The main characteristic features of human rights may be analyzed in the following manner:
1. Human rights imply that everyone should have them. People do not enjoy them as the member of a
particular nation or of a community, rather as the member of the human society. So human rights are
universally applicable to all without any discrimination on the grounds of caste, class, color, sex, religion
etc.

2. Human rights, as a comprehensive whole, include socioeconomic, civil, political, cultural rights which are
deemed to be essential for the human beings to lead a life of dignity.

3. Human rights are justiciable. They cover legal rights protected by the law of the state. They also cover
fundamental rights as incorporated in the constitution of the land and they enjoy judicial enforcement.

4. Human rights are not absolute. Like all rights, they may also be restricted in the interest of public peace,
social decency, political security and the like.

5. Human beings cannot stay without the enjoyment of human rights. All of them possess these rights as the
members of the human society. Since some people are ignorant of these rights, they must be taught about
these opportunities. They only can lead a life of peace, security and dignity with the growing consciousness
of these rights.