what is the difference between personality and character

Question

anonymous · Answer

Oh my gosh, I just saw something really good on this distinction . . . now I just have to remember where.

anonymous · Answer

Well, I have searched everywhere and cannot find the passage I'm thinking of. If I recall correctly, it distinguished between character and personality, said that personality traits were few and were largely heritable, while character was something more complex that developed over time, as the child grew and experienced the world and responded to it. But I have no real insight as to what "personality" is in contrast to "character." It's a fascinating question though. There are various theories of personality, apparently, but one you might take a look addresses the "big five" factors: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. There's a wikipedia article on these here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits. I don't think that character is that easily summarized. A good psychology text ought to have something more on these two, and the distinction, and interplay, between them.