Personality Development and Theories

Personality Development

• Personality traits tend to be stable, but can change slightly due to age or life experiences.
• The Big Five personality traits are: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
• High Neuroticism is linked to a greater risk of anxiety and depression.

Trait Theory

• Hans Eysenck emphasized that biological inheritance plays a significant role in personality traits.
• He categorized people based on dimensions such as extroversion vs. introversion, neuroticism vs. stability, and psychoticism vs. socialization.

Social Cognitive Theory

• Developed by Albert Bandura, this theory explains personality development through social learning and cognition.
• Individuals learn and develop personality by observing and imitating others, and choosing whether to emulate their behavior.

Social Cognitive Theory (Diagram)

• Environmental factors like social norms, community access, and influence on others shape personality.
• Behavioral factors such as skills, practice, and self-efficacy are also influential.
• Personal factors, including knowledge, expectations, and attitudes, play a crucial role in personality development.

Biological Perspective

• This perspective emphasizes the role of genetics in shaping personality.
• Research suggests that personality is heritable, meaning a component of personality is inherited.

Personality Determinants

• Heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) both contribute to personality development.

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Developed by Sigmund Freud, this theory proposes that human personality consists of three elements:
  • Id: Driven by primal desires and immediate gratification.
  • Ego: Mediates between the id and superego, aiming for balance.
  • Superego: Represents moral compass and societal ideals.

Humanistic Theory

• Developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, this theory emphasizes the desire to achieve one's full potential.
• It focuses on psychological growth, free will, and personal awareness.
• This theory emphasizes the importance of personal growth and self-actualization.

Hierarchy of Needs

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a pyramid representing different levels of human needs.
• From bottom to top: Physiological needs (food, water), Safety needs (security), Belongingness and Love needs (relationships), Esteem needs (achievement, respect), and Self-actualization (fulfilling one's potential).

Incongruence vs. Congruence

• Incongruence: When the "Ideal Self" and "Perceived Self" are partially overlapping, leading to a sense of disconnect.
• Congruence: When the "Ideal Self" and "Perceived Self" fully overlap, indicating consistency and self-acceptance.

Trait Theory

• Developed by Raymond Cattell, this theory suggests that personality is a series of stable traits.
• He identified five core traits: Openness, Agreeableness, Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness.

Raymond Cattell's Theory

• Raymond Cattell argued that personality consists of stable traits.
• He identified five core traits:
  • Openness
  • Agreeableness
  • Extroversion
  • Neuroticism
  • Conscientiousness

Gordon Allport's Theory

• Gordon Allport organized personality traits into a hierarchy:
  • Cardinal Traits: Dominant and defining traits.
  • Central Traits: Core traits that are easily observable.
  • Secondary Traits: Less significant traits, often situation-specific.

Hans Eysenck's Theory

• Hans Eysenck emphasized the role of inheritance in personality development.
• He categorized people based on dimensions such as introversion vs. extroversion, neuroticism vs. stability, and psychoticism vs. socialization.

Biological Perspective

• This perspective focuses on biology, particularly genetics, in explaining personality development.
• Research suggests that a component of personality is heritable.

Brain Structure -> Personality

• Different brain structures are associated with various personality traits.

Behaviorist Theory

• This theory suggests that the environment shapes personality through learning and reinforcement.
• It emphasizes the role of conditioning in developing personality traits.

What is Behaviorism?

• Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that focuses on observable actions.
• Operant Conditioning: Learning through associating behavior with consequences.
• Classical Conditioning: Learning by associating two unrelated stimuli with each other.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter Objectives:

• Define personality from different perspectives.
• Explain the concept of personality development.
• Discuss various theories of personality.
• Enumerate factors that influence personality development according to different theories.
• Differentiate between nature and nurture in personality development.
• Recall the Big Five personality traits.
• Synthesize the agencies that affect personality development.

Personality

Etymology:

• The term "personality" is believed to have originated from the Latin word "persona."
• Generally defined as enduring patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior.
• The sum of an individual's psychological traits, characteristics, motives, habits, attitudes, beliefs, and outlooks.
• A summation of both overt and covert behavior.