4. Perspectives of Personality and
Identity Development
A. Biological
Genetics
Genetics influence qualities that remain
entrenched throughout life
5. For instance, Temperament
Individual differences in temperament
(ways of reacting to environment)
emerge early in life (and may exist
prenatally) and subsequently influence
personality development
7. Twins
Studies of identical and fraternal twins
and adopted children suggest that
50% of the variability in adult
personality traits can be accounted for
by heredity
9. For example, Personality Traits
Personality traits are fairly stable into adulthood
Changes due to experience (e.g., parenting
style, rewards for certain behaviors)
10. B. Learning
People have distinctive life (and
learning) experiences
Behavior based on previous
experiences and the consequences of
those experiences
11. – People don’t have personality
traits, they simply show certain
behavior patterns
– Feelings, thoughts and values are
also learned behavior patterns
– Labels (e.g., aggressive) are
shorthand for the behavior they
demonstrate in certain situations
(e.g., when confronted with a line
at DMV, curse at clerk)
14. Albert Bandura Observational
learning (imitation) influenced by
perception and belief
15. Bandura’s
Principles
Certain acts will be rewarded and others
punished, so people develop expectations
about whether their efforts will be
successful (“Why study if it has never
resulted in better grades?”)
Self-fulfilling Prophecy A person’s
expectation leads to behavior that makes
the prediction come true (I expect to
succeed, so I work hard and then succeed
or I expect to fail, so I don’t try and then fail
17. Individualistic Cultures
Independence of individual
takes precedence over needs
of group
Self is often defined as a
collection of personality traits
(outgoing) or occupations (a
psychologist)
18. Collectivistic Cultures
Harmony of group takes
precedence over individual
wishes
Self is defined in context of
relationships (mother) and the
community (supporter of the
arts)
20. People are not rational, but governed by
instincts and emotions
– Movement of psychological energy
within a person’s mind
21. –Adult personality and ongoing
problems are formed primarily by
experiences during first 6 years of life
–Personality development occurs in
fixed stages, during which predictable
mental events occur and unconscious
issues or crises must be resolved
22. Sexual energy takes different forms
as child matures
1. Oral
2. Anal
3. Phallic
23. Adult personality determined by
How you progressed
What defense mechanisms you learned
to reduce anxiety
Whether ego internal referee (ego) is
strong enough to balance the conflict
between what you’d like to do (id) and
was your conscience (superego) is telling
you that you must do
24. Focus on fantasies and symbolic
meanings of events as the unconscious
mind perceives them, rather than on
actual experiences, as the main influences
on personality and behavior
Reliance on subjective rather than
objective methods of getting at the truth
(dream analysis, free association)
26. People are active in determining their own
course of development toward goal of selfactualization
– Strive for lives that are meaningful,
challenging and satisfying
– Fully functioning people experience
harmony between the image they project
to others and their true feelings and
wishes
– Trusting, warm, open
27. Focus on positive aspects of human nature
(joy, love, happiness)
Freedom of choice and free will
We need “Unconditional Positive Regard”
Love and support for another person
without any strings (or “conditions”)
attached
– It is the behavior, not the child, that is
bad or unacceptable
28. How do we integrate these
theories ?
These 5 theoretical approaches
display a complex set of qualities
that make up our personality, our
identity
Integrate by considering two
dimensions
29. Public Persona characteristic habits
and temperaments and basic traits
Based on biology, learning and culture
Private Persona Sense of self and
subjective experience of emotions,
memories, dreams, wishes and worries
Psychodynamic & humanistic theories
30. How Do These Theories Apply in
the Caribbean?
Dispersal of families during slavery
resulted in an extended family comprised
of people related by marriage and blood,
as well as godparents and adopted
children whose adoption is informal, and
friends
These communal families are being
broken down by the impact of capitalism
and the western focus on nuclear families
31. Children often do not live with two
biological parents throughout their
childhood, when identity is being
formed
All the theories (except biological)
predict that formation of personal
identity is easiest and most
successful when there is constancy
and consistency in parenting
32. Reading assignments for Personal
Identity:
None.
Think about your child rearing
experience and the factors that
influenced your personal identity.
