Personal Theory Of Human Development Essay, Research Paper
subject = Psychology
title = Personal Theory of Human Development
papers
= Personal Theory of Human Development
What makes a person what they are?
Why does a person do what they do?
Where does personality come from and
how does it grow? These are some frequently
asked questions when discussing
the topic of personality. The latter of the questions is
actually an answer
in itself. Personality does originate from a specific point, and from
then
on it continues to grow and become exponentially more complex. This core point
from
which personality begins and the growth of it will be discussed in the sections
to
follow, but first we must look at certain assumptions that are commonly
made when
developing a personality theory.
Assumptions
The first of these
assumptions concerns whether one believes that the behaviors,
any type of
action, a person exhibits are produced by conscious choices and decisions,
also
known as free will, or ?determined? by forces beyond one?s control. I believe
in the
free will explanation, but not the type of free will commonly imagined.
Humans do
ultimately have the power to choose their actions, however the
extreme influence of
other factors, such as heredity, environment, and learned
behaviors, may make it seem
like a persons actions were predetermined. For
example, if a starving people were put
into positions where they could either
eat a Subway turkey round placed in front of them
or just sit there and stare
and stare at it, common sense shows that these people would
eat. However,
it is possible that one person, like an anorexic, would just sit and stare
at
the sandwich. For that reason, it can be assumed that human beings do
have free will,
however the choices made are greatly impacted and seemingly
determined by inherited
basic needs, environment, and learned behaviors.
This
leads us into a second assumption, rationalism or irrationalism. Do human
beings
operate primarily on the basis of intellect, or on the basis of impulses and
passions?
The answer is the latter theory. Going back to the Subway example, the most
likely
decision on whether or not to eat the turkey round would be based on an irrational
impulse
in one?s subconscious. The basic physiological need of food has a profound
influence
on the given choice. But note that this is only the most likely response and
not
a definite one. There is always the chance that a person could make a
conscious, rational
decision not to eat. Because a people ultimately do have
some sort of a conscious
decision over their actions, it cannot be assumed
that behavior is solely determined by
irrational impulses.
The next assumption
to be dealt with is one of the most argued and controversial
of them all.
Is human nature basically good or inherently evil? Naturally, most optimists
would
argue that people are born with a good nature, while other people of another
persuasion
would take on the opinion of an essentially evil disposition. However, human
nature
is a term that should neither be associated with good nor evil. In contrast,
human
nature is based upon inherited basic needs, environment, and learned
behaviors, not
morality, which is itself a learned behavior. An example of
this would be murder. In
most societies today, it is considered wrong, or
evil, to commit an act of homicide if you
kill a person because, for the sake
of argument, they were walking too close to your
home. However, thousands
of years ago it may have been a part of life to kill someone
intruding near
one?s dwelling, looked upon as a display of territorial protection.
Morality,
the virtues of good and evil, are completely dependent on the social group
from
which you have adopted most of your learned behaviors. Therefore, good
and evil are
nonexistent and should be looked upon as terms of social acceptability.
The
final assumption to be examined is normally a difficult one to address if one
is
trying to make a definite choice. It is the question of environment versus
heredity.
B.F. Skinner would argue faithfully that behavior is based solely
on environmental
contingencies, while Sigmund Freud would just as strongly
maintain that the role of
heredity determines the personality of an individual.
I, on the other hand, believe that
both sides of the debate are equally valid;
personality is both the product of nature, in the
form of the gratification
of instinctual basic needs, and the product of learning and life
experiences.
For example, if a person was being attacked by something or someone, the
basic
need of safety would cause that person to seek refuge. However, where that
person
goes to find safety would likely be determined by learned behaviors
and past experiences
of the need for security. Therefore, personality is
not a question of nature versus nurture,
but is instead a combination of the
two.
The rest of this paper will deal with the origin of personality and
the way in which
it proceeds to grow. In the first part, this ?origin? will
be referred to as the core
personality and will be based upon heredity. The
second part will look at the growth of
personality as a sort of snowball effect
with environmental factors and experiences
continually adding to the core
personality, making it more complex. Some of these
factors include social
groups, geography, and learned behaviors.
The Core Personality
From the
moments of conception, your parents? genes determine what many of
your physical
traits will be. Among these are gender, height, and skin color. These sort
of
traits will have an effect on how the child perceives itself and how others
perceive the
child, consequently having an effect on the child?s personality.
For example, this person
could have some physical characteristic that is
looked down on or made fun of by various
people. This, in turn, would affect
the individual?s self esteem and overall personality.
Other characteristics
that have to do with the mental capacity of the individual are
also passed
on through the parents? genes. The justification for this assumption is that
everyone
has a different intelligence level, whether it be because of the size of the
brain
or for some other reason. I do not believe that there is anyone that
would honestly be
able to say that they think that all babies are just as
smart as each other when they are
born. The idea is ridiculous. Just as
everyone is born physically different, they are also
born mentally different.
Therefore, the only factor that could initially affect the
intelligence level
of an individual before birth is the inherited genes of that individual?s
parents.
What
is also included in this inheritance is the passing on of basic needs. These
basic
needs include physiological needs, which are all of the body?s requirements
(food,
water, etc.), safety needs, curiosity, the need for relationships,
which is first encountered
in the relationship between the mother and her
child, and the need to reproduce. These
basic needs are commonly thought
of as instincts, however, instincts are actually the
drive to gratify these
needs. The subconscious mind is created during these early stages
of life
and, because the brain has not yet developed fully and there have been no other
factors
to interfere in the decision making process, makes all the decisions for the
person
while still inside of the mother. There have been no profound experiences
or learned
behaviors at this point, so the only influence on the actions of
the fetus are its basic
needs. This means that the behavior is seemingly
determined before birth.
There are, of course, certain circumstances which
may have a later effect on
personality and its development. Any sort of trauma
to the development of the infant at
this point could have mild to drastic
effects that could cause damage to the body and/or
brain. This would include
the use of various drugs by the mother, such as alcohol,
tobacco, and crack,
or some sort of physical abuse to the mother during the pregnancy.
Each one
is capable of causing some sort of mental or physical handicap to the infant.
Common sense tells you that this would affect the learning capability or
the physical
capability of the child, thus having a definite change on the
outcome of that child?s
personality.
Physical attributes, mental attributes,
and basic needs are all passed down from
parent to child. The core personality
is therefore made up of all of these factors that are
determined by heredity.
After birth, everything that is experienced by the individual has
an effect
on that person?s personality and is added onto the core personality and makes
it
much more complex as it continues to grow and mature.
The Growth of Personality
The
core personality makes up the basis of an individual?s personality for the
rest
of that person?s life. Personality growth, therefore, takes place as
new experiences are
added to that core personality. These new experiences
come directly from a person?s
environment. The first environmental factors
that affect personality have to so with
social groups. All people have the
basic need to form relationships, so it is not surprising
that the joining
of social groups has a profound impact on learning and the development
of
the core personality. The first social group that contributes to personality
and behavior
is one?s family, if you have one. A person?s parents are the
first people that one learns
from. Learning is accomplished through reinforcement
and ideologies. To explain this
way of learning we will look at a stereotypical
family setting.
An infant learns quite a bit from his family and uses that
as the basis of most of
it?s personality growth. From the time of birth,
the individual is absorbing quite a bit of
information from its surroundings.
Parents act as examples for the infant and through
reinforcement and by watching
them the infant learns things like how to talk, how to
walk, the proper way
to eat, the proper way to go to the bathroom, and many other things
that the
person will use for the rest of his or her life. Also created through repetition
is
the individual?s sense of right and wrong, or conscience. The parents
of the child are
constantly saying ?no? when the infant does something wrong
and, usually, praising the
child for what they consider to be right. This
creates a system of ethics that the person
will use in making decisions for
the rest of his or her life. Children also look at their
parents as role
models. They adopt many behaviors of the parents and learn how to
perform
many tasks through mimicry. The financial class of the family can also play
a
major role in the development of the individual?s personality. It will
determine where
that person will live in early years and which luxuries the
person will become
accustomed to.
Other people, besides the individual?s
family, play a large role in that person?s
personality growth. These people
include friends, teachers, or anyone the person
interacts with. These people
affect what decisions that person will make and they also
provide new experiences
the individual can learn from. Interactions with these people
can affect
self esteem and also provide different opportunities to explore the person?s
identity.
Religion
also affects personality. Over the years, people who go to church have
had
the teachings of their religions reinforced over and over again, causing the
individual
to adopt the beliefs of that religion. By accepting these beliefs,
the way a person thinks
and behaves is changed and, therefore, adds to that
individual?s personality.
In short, any social group or social institution
will have a profound affect on one?s
personality due to the basic need to
form relationships with others. By joining certain
social groups and accepting
their way of thinking, a sense of belongingness is reached.
So, because of
these social groups a person joins, news experiences are encountered, new
things
are learned, and the personality grows.
Geography also plays a major role
in the development and growth of personality.
Depending on where you are
born, there are different customs and different ways of
doing things. Social
standards are different throughout the world, so depending on where
you were
born, your personality could be drastically different. For example, in one
country
it could be quite normal to show public displays of affection or some other
sort
of sexual behavior. You might be walking down the street and see a couple
making out
on a park bench. But in another country it may be against the
law to even kiss another
person in a public place. Also, if you were born
into some tribe in Africa, it could be
completely normal to see men and women
walking around nude. Certain socially
acceptable or unacceptable behaviors
would have a serious effect on how open you are
towards others. Any behavior
that is heavily reinforced will have a great chance at
becoming a learned
behavior in a person, affect that individual?s personality, and have a
substantial
influence of the future choices made by that individual.
Natural environment
itself can also play a role in one?s personality. Everything
that is taken
in by a person?s senses affects that way the person perceives new
experiences
and, therefore, adds to that individual?s personality. For example, in some
studies,
it has been shown that the color or temperature of a room can affect a person?s
emotions.
Also, if someone were placed into a dark room for a long period of time, there
is
a good possibility that he or she could become depressed, whereas, in most
cases, that
person, if put in an outdoor environment on a nice day, would
be in a better mood. In
conclusion, the physical environment one is in can
affect that way that person reacts to
new experiences, and can contribute
to the development of the individual?s personality.
Perhaps the most important
factor in personality development is the aging
process. Depending on one?s
age and maturity level, new experiences are perceived
differently, adding
in different ways to the core personality. An infant learns differently
from
a teenager, and a teenager learns differently from an adult. At an early age,
children
learn mainly through mimicry and reinforcement, primarily from social
groups, and view
the world depending on how their basic needs are met. If
the child?s basic needs are met,
that child will learn to trust the world
as a dependable provider of support, and to trust
their own urges and instincts
as reliable guides to behavior. If basic needs are not met a
sense of mistrust
is born, giving the person a tendency to withdraw socially. An example
of
this would be a child who is provided with a loving, nurturing environment,
as
opposed to one who is physically abused. For the child who is loved, basic
needs are
being met, and that child will have a tendency to be more loving
and probably more
socially outgoing. In contrast, the child who is being
abused is obviously not being
shown the love it needs and, in addition, its
basic need of safety is not being met. This
child will have a tendency to
not be very trusting of people and, therefore, be more
socially withdrawn.
The learned behavior depends on which basic needs are being met.
As the
body matures people become aware of new experiences, either because
they are
given the opportunity by society, probably because they are at the ?right age,?
or
because the body is going through certain physiological changes that cause
individuals to
become more interested in different areas. For example, once
a person goes through
puberty, the sexual drive and need to reproduce is intensified.
A young boy who before
had not been interested in having a relationship with
a member of the opposite sex now
has this urge. A physical change in that
persons body had a direct effect on his
personality.
New changes in needs
as people get older also contribute to the core personality.
When people?s
bodies become mature, certain needs are sometimes eliminated. An
example
of this is the high calorie diet of a growing person. At younger ages, the
body
burns more calories and, therefore, creates a higher level of energy
in youths when their
caloric needs are met. On the other hand, adults are
fully grown and require less calories
in their diet. That is why adults are
not as energetic, which contributes to fewer new
experiences, slowing the
growth of the core personality.
Another need that is changed, or, specifically,
intensified with age is the need to
reproduce. This usually appears in conjunction
with the need to form a lasting bond and
relationship with a member of the
opposite sex. In most of today?s societies these needs
are gratified through
some sort of marriage ceremony and the making of a family.
As people get
older, their personalities change less. The snowballing effect that
at one
time showed rapid growth in an individual?s personality, steadily slows down.
This is because most previous behaviors that have been reinforced over time
become
more and more a part of their behaviors. Most people end up in a certain
routine that is
repeated sometimes every day. New experiences are less frequently
contributors of new
learned behaviors. A fundamental example of this is the
ability to learn a second
language. As most people are aware of, it is quite
a bit easier for younger people,
especially children to learn a different
language. This is because rules of grammar have
not been reinforced as much
at an early age and because the language has not been
spoken for as long of
a period of time. Adults require a longer period to learn the new
language
because it contradicts what has been reinforced to them for years.
In old
age, new experiences have little to no effect on a person?s fully developed,
complex
core personality. There is usually a period of review of one?s overall life.
According to Erikson, it can be looked at in one of two ways, either with
integrity or with
despair. The question is asked, ?If I had another chance,
would I live my life the same
way?? If you look back and declare your life
satisfactory or better, you have achieved
integrity. If you fail to achieve
this, and cannot emotionally ?own? your life when it is
too late to change
it, you will fall into despair. With the sense of integrity comes
wisdom;
despair brings only disdain.
Summary
In review, the assumptions made in
this personal theory of human development
were that human beings do have free
will, however, the choices made are highly
influenced by inherited basic needs,
environment, and learned behaviors; irrational
impulses are the primary bases
for choices; human nature is neither good nor evil, but
instead based on basic
needs, environment, and learned behaviors, not morality; and
personality is
the product of both heredity and environment. The individual has a core
personality
that is made up of the physical attributes one inherits from his or her parents
and
inherited basic needs. These needs include physiological needs, safety needs,
the
need for relationships, and curiosity. Throughout life, different experiences
and learned
behaviors contribute to make the core personality grow and become
more complex.
These experiences come from the environment the individual
is surrounded by, including
different social groups (families, friends, financial
classes, and religions) and
geographical location (nationality, customs, and
physical environment), and from
changes in the basic needs of the individual
as a result of aging and physiological
changes in one?s body. As people get
older, the snowballing effect of the growth of
personality, which is quite
rapid in early years, slows down, resulting in less change of
one?s personality.
A final period of review of one?s life is experienced in old age by
asking
if you are satisfied with the way you have chosen to live your life. Personality
is,
therefore, an always changing entity that is unique to each person because
of that persons
unique heredity and unique life experiences.