by Personality development encompasses the dynamic construction and deconstruction of integrative characteristics that distinguish an individual in terms of interpersonal behavioral traits. Indeed, personality development is ever-changing and subject to contextual factors and life-altering experiences. Personality development is also dimensional in description and subjective in nature. That is, personality development can be seen as a continuum varying in degrees of intensity and change. It is subjective in nature because its conceptualization is rooted in social norms of expected behavior, self-expression, and personal growth.
The dominant viewpoint in personality psychology indicates that personality emerges early and continues to develop across one’s lifespan. Adult personality traits are believed to have a basis in infant temperament, meaning that individual differences in disposition and behavior appear early in life, potentially before language of conscious self-representation develop. The Five Factor Model of personality maps onto the dimensions of childhood temperament. This suggests that individual differences in levels of the corresponding personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) are present from young ages.
Theories
The development of personality is supported and attempted to be explained by theories of personality.
Psychoanalytic Theory
The Psychoanalytic Theory of personality was developed by Sigmund Freud. This theory consists of three main ideas that make up personality, the id, the ego, and the superego. The three traits control their own sections of the psyche. Personality is developed by the three traits that make up the Psychoanalytic theory conflicting.
Trait Theory
The Trait Theory of personality is one of the main theories in the study of personality. According to this theory, traits make up personality. Traits can be described as patterns of behavior, thought, or emotion.
Social Cognitive Theory
The social cognitive theory of personality views personality development in terms of reciprocal interactionism, that is, a perspective that considers the relationship of person-society as an interactive system that defines and molds personal development. Personal interaction with other individuals, society, and nature create experiences in which self-identification is organized in relation to social environment. In other words, personality traits are a function of complex cognitive strategies used to effectively maneuver through social situations. Furthermore, according to the social-cognitive perspective, cognitive processes are central to an individual’s unique expression of personality traits and affective processes. Through cognitive mechanism and social competencies, individuals interpret contextual situations to derive beliefs that guide their thoughts and behaviors, thus developing an enduring pattern of personality traits.
Evolutionary Theory Humanistic Theory
The evolutionary theory of personality development is primarily based on the evolutionary process of natural selection. From the evolutionary perspective, evolution resulted in variations of the human mind. Natural selection refined these variations based on their beneficence to humans. Due to human complexity, many opposing personality traits proved to be beneficial in a variety of ways. Primitive humans were collectivists due to tribe culture. The personalities of individuals within a tribe were very similar. The division of labor resulted in differentiation in personality traits in order to achieve a higher efficiency. Differentiation in personality traits increased functionality, therefore becoming adaptive through natural selection. Humans continued to develop personality and individuality through evolution.
Lifespan Theory
Classic theories of personality include Freud’s tripartite theory and post-Freudian theory (developmental stage theories and type theories) and indicate that most personality development occurs in childhood, stabilizing by the end of adolescence. Current lifespan perspectives that integrate theory and empirical findings dominate the research literature. The lifespan perspectives of personality are based on the plasticity principle, the principle that personality traits are open systems that can be influenced by the environment at any age. Large-scale longitudinal studies have demonstrated that the most active period of personality development appears to be between the ages of 20-40. Although personality grows increasingly consistent with age and typically plateaus near age 50, personality never reached a period of total stability.
Humanistic Theory
Humanistic psychology emphasizes individual choices as voluntary actions that ultimately determine personal development. Individual personalities traits, although essential to the integrated self, are only parts that make up the whole of observable human experiences. Thus, personality development is articulated in terms of purposeful action geared towards experiencing mastery of free choice. Rather than compartmentalized elements of personality traits such as feelings, thoughts, or behavior, Humanistic psychology integrates these elements as functions of being in a greater encompassing system such as societies, cultures, or interpersonal relationships. Consequently, personality development is subjected to shifts in personal meaning and individual goals of achieving an ideal self.
Determinants
Environment:
The environment to which an individual is subjected to during his growing years plays an important role in determining his/her personality. The varied cultures in which we are brought up and our family backgrounds have a crucial role in shaping our personalities.
To the extent that the physical environment determines cultural development and to the extent, that culture in turn determines personality, a relationship between personality and environment becomes clear. Some two thousand years ago, Aristotle claimed that people living in Northern Europe were owing to a cold climate, full of spirit but lacking in intelligence and skill. The natives of Asia, on the other hand, are intelligent and inventive but lack in spirit, and are, therefore, slaves.
Montesquieu, in the eighteenth century, claimed that the bravery of those blessed by a cold climate enables them to maintain their liberties. Great heat enervates courage while cold causes a certain vigour of body and mind. At high temperatures, it is said there is disinclination to work and so civilizations have grown up where the temperatures have been average near or below the optimum.
The people of mountains as well as deserts are usually bold, hard and powerful. Huntington’s discussion of the effects of physical environment on man’s attitudes and mental make-up is very exhaustive. However, as told previously, the physical conditions are more permissive and limiting factors than causative factors. They set the limits within which personality can develop.
Heredity:
Heredity refers to factors that are determined once an individual is born. An individual’s physique, attractiveness, body type, complexion, body weight depends on his/her parents’ biological makeup.
Heredity is another factor determining human personality. Some of the similarities in man’s personality are said to be due to his common heredity. Every human group inherits the same general set of biological needs and capacities. These common needs and capacities explain some of our similarities in personality. Man originates from the union of male and female germ cells into a single cell which is formed at the moment of conception.
He tends to resemble his parents in physical appearance and intelligence. The nervous system, the organic drives and the duchess glands have a great bearing upon personality. They determine whether an individual will be vigorous or feeble, energetic or lethargic, idiot of intelligent, coward or courageous.
Situation:
An individual’s personality also changes with current circumstances and situations. An individual would behave in a different way when he has enough savings with him and his behavior would automatically change when he is bankrupt.
Personality and Culture:
There can be little doubt that culture largely determines the types of personality that will predominate in the particular group. According to some thinkers, personality is the subjective aspect of culture. They regard personality and culture as two sides of the same coin.
Spiro has observed, “The development of personality and the acquisition of culture are not different processes, but one and the same learning process.” Personality is an individual aspect of culture, while culture is a collective aspect of personality.” Each culture produces its special type or types of personality.
Personality and Particular Experiences:
Personality is also determined by another factor, namely, the particular and unique experiences. There are two types of experiences one, those that stem from continuous association with one’s group, second, those that arise suddenly and are not likely to recur. The type of people who meet the child daily has a major influence on his personality. The personality of parents does more to affect a child’s personality.
If the parents are kind, tolerant of boyish pranks, interested in athletics and anxious to encourage their child’s separate interests the child will have a different experience and there shall be different influence on his personality than the one when the parents are unkind, quick tempered and arbitrary. In the home is fashioned the style of personality that will by and large characterise the individual throughout his life.
