ABSTRACT
MANY psychologists have endeavoured to present an adequate explanation of Personality, but it still remains a somewhat vague conception, such as is beloved by the journalist, since he may twist it to fit any meaning he chooses. To define the term is a matter of difficulty, for Personality is one of those concepts which all of us take for granted as having a concise meaning, until we try to express that meaning in words. One reason of this difficulty is that most definitions are given in terms of the component parts of the whole, whereas Personality can only have a meaning if thought of in terms of a synthesis. The first and most general impulse of mankind when he wants to understand is to take the watch to pieces, to see how the wheels go round. It is only later and in certain cases that there is any enthusiasm to put it together again and understand its construction. Apart from this, however, few people, except those who have given special study to the subject, are at all clear as to what they wish to define when they talk of Personality. The difference between such terms as the ego, the character, and the personality, is not realized, and they are apt to become interchangeable. Before proceeding further it would be well to distinguish between these terms.
