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DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITIES

Psychosocial Development of Personalities

Latoya Battiste

California Baptist University

06/19/2022

Psychosocial Development of Personalities

Bruce Wayne is a mythical figure from the DC comics who has appeared in films and television. Bruce Wayne adopts the pseudonym Batman to conceal his actual self in the metropolitan area of Gotham. Bruce Wayne is thirty years old, but the comics begin when he is around twelve years old. Bruce witnesses his parents' brutal murder at such a young age, which kicks off the Gotham series. Bruce Wayne is a multi-millionaire and industrial tycoon who runs his parents' company and lives with Alfred the butler, his only guardian. One of Bruce Wayne's most notable characteristics is his ability to avoid and respect murder. Despite witnessing his parents' deaths, Bruce Wayne, alias Batman, values human life. After the death of his parents, Bruce is inspired to fight crime in his city, but the people do not know his real identity. Bruce undergoes various transformations in his life as a vigilante and his authentic self.

George Kelly’s view of cognitive development is that people develop their traits due to their unique interpretations of their environment (Kuška et al., 2016). He refuted the claims that the personality construct is influenced by the environment. According to him, it was vice versa. He developed eleven corollaries that explained the varied personality constructs. The construction corollary explained why people reacted to repeated events similarly. He argued that often similar events elicit similar emotions or reactions, but this entirely depends on our mood and understanding at the time. The individuality corollary suggested that different people have unique perceptions of similar situations. The organization corollary explained how people may hold unique perspectives on similar situations based on their hierarchy of significance of constructs. The value that we accord various constructs often leads to differences in the interpretation of circumstances. The dichotomy corollary argued that constructs are bipolar in nature. Therefore, to be able to discern why a certain attribute is positive and not negative means one must understand both aspects. The choice corollary provided that everyone is presented with an equal opportunity to choose. The choice that one makes is dependent on their personal interests; on what constitutes a safe and appropriate option; often based on their past experience. The range corollary imbued that, there is usually a specified limit within which certain constructs can fit. The experience corollary highlighted the desire for a new experience. Some people would rather stick to their long-held perspectives as they consider them safe and would not want to gamble with new experiences. However, experience is dynamic, and trying new experiences may lead to an adjustment of long-held constructs (Anna Paszkowska-Rogacz & Zofia Kabzińska, 2012). The modulation corollary suggested that constructs often differ in their reception of new ideas. Some could be rigid while others could be receptive to new ideas. The fragmentation corollary argues that there is usually our broader perspective of events, and then there are subordinate perspectives. Inconsistencies in the subordinate constructs may not necessarily affect the broader construct. The commonality corollary imbued that people might construe events in a similar manner due to similarities in culture. The sociality corollary argued that people must understand one another’s perceptions to be able to properly anticipate events due to the normal interdependence among people.

The experience corollary by George Kelly imbued that our interactions with the past often affect our choice of constructs to a greater degree. People tend to feel secure engaging in familiar reactions to events due to the fear of adventure. Doing similar things similarly however results in stagnation, as we realize similar results (Anna Paszkowska-Rogacz & Zofia Kabzińska, 2012). If we adopt new ways of doing things often and adjust our constructs accordingly, we are likely to improve our experience and perceive things in a much better way. New experiences can also completely change our long-held constructs due to experiences that are contrary to our anticipated fears.

In the Gotham Series, Bruce Wayne was exposed to murder at a young age. His childhood experiences and thoughts revolved around the injustice meted out against his parents. His understanding of the significance of being just and humane was dwarfed. However, through the teachings he received from Alfred and the understanding of the criminal situation in his neighborhood, he sought to be different. He capitalized on his prison teachings to do good and transform his neighborhood. He dared to respond differently to situations in his past, and the experience was pleasurable and fulfilling – being an objective for transformation in society.

The dichotomy corollary as per George Kelly implies that there are always two mutually exclusive alternatives to constructs. It means that if we are to perceive good, then we must discern what qualifies us to be bad. This bipolar relationship enables people to group events accordingly depending on the various constructs. Therefore, one should understand the aspect of a bipolar relationship for constructs to be able to judge situations correctly.

Bruce Wayne evidently understands the bipolar aspect of constructs. He was able to differentiate a just from an unjust system as pertains to the interactions in society. His past trauma did not get the better of him so that he can seek vengeance on his parents’ killers. He appreciated the fact that one can not only use his abilities to do wrong but can also use them to entrench the right things and be famous. Therefore, he learned from his mentor, Alfred, and the criminal justice system in prison and decide to use his knowledge to rid society of the grave issue of drug trafficking and crime.

Therefore, from the postulations of George Kelly, everyone has a unique perspective on situations in life. Our choices of constructs are normally shaped by what we anticipate from the surrounding environment and not vice versa.

References

Anna Paszkowska-Rogacz, & Zofia Kabzińska. (2012). Applications of Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory to Vocational Guidance. Journal of Psychology Research, 2(7). https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5542/2012.07.003

Kuška, M., Trnka, R., Kuběna, A. A., & Růžička, J. (2016). Free Associations Mirroring Self- and World-Related Concepts: Implications for Personal Construct Theory, Psycholinguistics and Philosophical Psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00981

Schultz, D., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). Theories of personality (11th ed.).

CENGAGE Learning Custom Publishing.