Personality Theory Final Paper due in 24 hours

Running head: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT 6

Personality development

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Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to explain the concepts and theories of personality development. People tend to think widely about personality at the workplace, in schools, and in other social events. People place immediate focus on the personality and make judgments about shyness, helpful people. (Davis & Panksepp 2018) Personality makes each individual the way they are. Researchers in psychology and other fields have overtime in history researched how the personality of individuals developed. The development of personality refers to the organization of human behavior patterns, which brings uniqueness amongst various individuals. Many factors can result in personality changes such as the genetic factors, the environment one is living, styles of parenting, and other very important variables. The development of personality allows individuals to adopt an impressive personality and makes one be unique. Various psychologists have developed various theories that explain the development of human personality. Some of the theories of personality development include the psychodynamic theory, neural biological theory, the traits theory, and cognitive theory. (Rohsenow & Pinkston-Camp 2016)

Psychodynamic theory

The development of personality takes place through a certain series of stages. Each of these stages has unique conflict features in psychology. The development of human personality is developed from a number of components of the human mind. Feud believed that the three components include the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is concerned with the question "want to do that now," it is characterized by the gratification of certain basic needs and has an aspect of urgency. The superego places focus on some essential rules and morals in society. This is closely related to the commonly referred to as the human conscience. The development happens as individuals grow from childhoods to adulthood. The ego is mainly rational and part of our inner personality. A number of psychologists have criticized the feuds ideas about personality development and have rather applied the effect that the child's environment and their culture affect the development of their personality. (Rohsenow & Pinkston-Camp 2016)Alfred explored and developed a very comprehensive theory of psychodynamic personality.

The psychologists focused on the strong drive, which compensates for inferiority feelings. He developed the idea of an inferiority complex which described a situation where an individual lacks their worth and perceive themselves below the standards of other people in the society. Erickson was another psychologist who was very instrumental in the development of psychological development theory. (Brandes 2019) He argued that the development of the human personality was based on the life social relations that the human has been through. He emphasized the importance of social relationships at every stage of life. The analytical psychology of human personality development was developed by Carl Jung; he generated the idea of the collective unconscious. There was the development of a conflict between the real character of a person and what society expects the person to be. Neurobiological psychologists believe that traits can be passed on from one generation to another. The brain is a very critical component in the development of certain personality traits which is further influenced by the environment. (Davis & Panksepp 2018)

Neurobiological theory

The neurobiological psychologists focus on the development of young adults than adults to explain human behavior. The human brain undergoes development across the various stages of life. Darwin was a psychologist who was instrumental in the development of biological theories and their influence on personality development. He discussed the evolution theory suggesting that specific traits possessed by human beings are present from their environment. According to the neurobiological psychologists, the changes in the human brain can lead to changes in human behavior and traits. (Davis & Panksepp 2018)

Trait theory

The trait theory in psychology is also referred to as the dispositional theory, which is a very important aspect in the process of studying human personality development. The theory measures the various traits, which are primarily the patterns of habitual change. Traits can remain stable for a relatively long period, and they tend to be different across various people. The definition of traits in psychology takes two approaches. The first approach develops the idea that traits lead people into doing things in a precise manner, whic, in turn, influences their behavior. Trait theory in psychology is also applied across various cultures. Cultural traits are different across various cultures. The trait approach theory to personality development is determined by various stable traits that comprise fundamental sections of an individual's personality. With less regard to prevailing situations, traits determine how an individual acts. (Davis & Panksepp 2018)

The difference in traits amongst various individuals is the differences in generics. Some psychologists prefer the traits theory as psychometric theories due to the application of psychometric tests to measure personality. Adorno developed the argument that personalities with authoritarian characters tend to focus on themselves as more superior. The study conducted by Adorno discovered that individuals who were brought up in strict families by harsh parents tend to develop authoritarian personalities. Children brought up in such families could not express hostility towards their parents. Suh children were likely to be authoritative when they found weaker people and other ethnic minorities. The authoritarian traits that were explained by Adorno predisposed some people into having certain unique characteristics such as ethocentrism, the likelihood of favoring people from one's ethnic groups, and respect and submissiveness for authority. They also tend to preoccupy themselves with power and a higher degree of toughness.some people have very strong resistance in their views; these characteristics have a close relation to individual traits.

Cognitive theory

The cognitive theories tend to lay special emphasis on the processes of thoughts that have an impact on our general personalities. A very closely related concept is metacognition, a term that focuses on how we think about our own thinking. (Brandes 2019)Cognitive approaches play a critical role in developing a good understanding of how we think from language processing, our remembering capacity, and how we perceive various situations. Chomsky explains the role that language plays in cognition. He developed the argument that human beings are always ready to learn and develop a speech just as other living creatures like monkeys have the preparedness to climb trees and birds in flying. His argument emphasis the parallel development of the mental process and the language. It is the language that is used to access the construction of the brain and mental processes.

Fodor, who was psychologists advanced this idea by stating that people's beliefs and their desires are mainly mental events that are explained by the use of language. He saw beyond the minor brain representations and claimed mental representations go beyond explanatory tools to cover what the brain codifies. Well, articulated sentences are developed through the mental process but follow certain principles of grammar in the language. Miller discussed the revolution of cognitive theories. He developed the idea that mental processes can be structured in a way that information can be processed. (Brandes 2019) Computers play a critical role in understanding the thought principles and provide a better platform to understand how the brain works and how it processes information. The human brain can be compared to computer hardware, while the mind can be compared to computer software. A number of researchers have models the similarity in functioning between human thought and computers. The cognitive theory can be divided into social cognitive theory (SCT) and the cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT).

Conclusion

In nearly all human populations, individual differences are evident and are universal. The primary cause of these differences in personality is based on psychology. Some personalities have shown improvement in behavior, while others show a decline in behavior change. It is the differences in personality differences that generate the differences in human personalities. The brain is very critical in influencing behavior change. The human brain develops across the various stages of human development. The human personality development is also influenced by hereditary factors. Some personalities are common in certain families and less common in others. The development of the brain and language indicates an important, interesting aspect of personal behavior development. Some psychologists believe that the two develop together and have a close relation. What is configured by the brain is spoken out by the language all through the stages of development from adolescence to adulthood.

References

Lorenzo-Luaces, L., Keefe, J. R., & DeRubeis, R. J. (2016). Cognitive-behavioral therapy: Nature and relation to non-cognitive behavioral therapy. Behavior Therapy, 47(6), 785-803.

Rohsenow, D. J., & Pinkston-Camp, M. M. (2016). Cognitive-behavioral approaches. In The Oxford handbook of substance use and substance use disorders.

Davis, K. L., & Panksepp, J. (2018). The emotional foundations of personality: A neurobiological and evolutionary approach. WW Norton & Company.

Brandes, C. M., Reardon, K. W., & Tackett, J. L. (2019). Personality Theories. The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development, 1-12.