The Developing Personality

"If one does not understand a person, one tends to regard him as a fool." -- Carl Jung

In this lesson, we take a closer look at how personalities develop. In doing so, we will look at
multiple theories that are usually discussed within the psychology field. We will also look more
closely at three of the main influences cited, including heredity, environment, and situations.

How Do Personalities Develop?

Within the field of psychology, personality has been studied for many years. Psychologists have
been conducting research in the field by engaging in experiments, case studies, self-reported
research, and clinical research. As early as the mid-1700s, researchers began making evaluations
and trying to learn more about personality.

Over the years, various people have conducted research into personality development, and each
has his or her own ideas regarding it. Some viewpoints share similarities, and all attempt to
explain why people are the way they are and how they got that way.

The results of all this research include such theories as:

 type theories, the psychological differences and classifications of people;

 psychoanalytic, our interactions with other mechanisms;
 behaviorist, which looks at what impacts our personality from the outside;
 social cognitive, involving the process of thinking and judging;
 humanistic, which looks at our "free will" to do things.

The mission of each research method is to learn as much as possible about how personalities
develop, with some of the findings building off of prior theories.

Words to Know

Psychology: the study of the mind and behavior, dating back to 1653.

Cognitive: the functions of thinking, reasoning, and remembering.

Temperament: the individual's emotional response and sensitivities

Multiple Theories in Psychology

Throughout this course, you will be introduced to the multiple theories that exist in the field on
personality psychology. Some of the more popular ones, such as personality type, you may be
more familiar with than others. It is still important to learn about some of the other theories out
there.

There are three main influences on personality development that we are going to look at in this
lesson. Those are heredity, environment, and situation.

Heredity: This refers to the influences on your personality that you are born with. They are in
your genes and there is not much you can do to change these traits. They can include your
temperament, which helps to determine how you react to situations and how easygoing you are.
In kids, it may affect how well they get along with others. Genetics, of course, also determines
how someone looks.

Environment: Our environment is the nurturing aspect of our lives. It is the type of environment
in which we live and grow up. Environment would include home, school, work, or other places
that you spend a lot of time. Environmental factors also include such things as languages,
religion, etc.

Situations: These are the experiences that each individual person goes through. The various
things that people experience will leave imprints on and help to develop his or her personality.
Everything from divorce, death, trauma, and even happy times fit into the "situations" category
of shaping one's personality.

You have most likely at some point in your life heard someone say that people are a "product of
their environment." This means their personality has been greatly influenced by the three things
we just looked at. They were born with particular traits, and their living situation and any
impacting situations they experienced all helped to create who they are.

Genes or Experiences?

Many people wonder if one's personality primarily comes down to nature versus nurture. This is
a debate that has waged for quite some time. Is someone's personality determined more by genes
and heredity or childhood experiences and situations?

The nature vs. nurture debate is one that does not have a clear winner. Researchers believe
there is no way to tell which influences personality more. They go hand in hand to help develop
someone's personality.

The Developing Personality

As you can see, how one's personality develops is not as simple as just saying that it is one thing;
however, there is one thing that most researchers seem to agree on: one's childhood lays the
foundation for the personality that one will have as an adult. The genes we are born with,
coupled with the environment we are brought up in and the situations we live through, all work
together. They end up creating the personality you see as an adult.

In the next lesson we will look at some of the stages of development by such notable
psychologists as Sigmund Freud and Erik Erickson.

Helpful Tools

Want to learn more about why you do what you do? Check out this speech by Tony Robbins on
this topic. You never know what you may find out!

[reference]

Introduction

The exciting part about a career in I/O Psychology is the varied specializations one may pursue. If
you enjoy working with people then training, coaching, and leadership selection may be the right
choices for you. If you prefer to work on the statistical end or to work more independently, then
psychometrics, employment law, and organizational design are all good choices. In this lesson we
will be covering the most popular specializations within the field of I/O and what each entails. At
the master's level of your education it would be wise to take as many courses as possible that are
related to your desired specialization. However, once you have earned your degree you may decide
to venture into more than one area of interest. The beauty of this field is being able to explore
multiple options within the field. Most importantly, keep your mind and your options open, and
go with your own personal strengths as you learn more about specializing in the following varied
areas of I/O.

Learn It

Psychometrics
Psychometricians who work in the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology are primarily
concerned with the administration of various tests to evaluate employees' aptitudes for specific
jobs and their personality traits as they relate to their jobs. Psychometricians are also called upon
to evaluate a candidate's ability to advance to management positions. While many are employed
as Human Resource specialists others act as consultants for various organizations and provide
onsite advice, testing, administration, and evaluation as needed. There are very few universities
that offer a PhD in Psychometrics at this writing, thus the competition for spots in programs are
very high. All I/O psychologists, at some point, will have studied psychometrics and many will
employ the use of this type of testing in their careers. However, a concentration in this area would
require a high aptitude for mathematics and statistics.

Employment Law

The I/O psychologists who focus their careers on employment law most commonly work in the
human resource department of an organization. Psychologists in this field are concerned with the
legal issues inside a company or organization such as: being sure the company that they work for
is abiding by wage and hour laws, enforcing and setting practices and policy, implementing or
improving family and medical leaves, preventing discrimination, investigating possible
discriminatory practices and complaints, handling firing and hiring, and consulting with the legal
department, or retaining an outside attorney when necessary.

The main responsibility of an I/O psychologist who specializes in employment law is to avoid
legal problems within an organization by implementing the proper policies and practices and
intervening and settling disputes when required. They must stay current on new governmental and
legal policies that effect employers and employees and suggest changes in policy when necessary.

Training

Employee training and development is a very rewarding specialization within the I/O field. The
I/O psychologists in this area are directly involved with planning the supplemental, or introductory
organization, or job specific education of all types of employees from all positions and at all levels.
They are also responsible for evaluating employees periodically to establish what the needs of the
organization are with regard to training and with measuring the success of current training
programs.

Training specialists usually implement a variety of programs to meet the needs of busy workers
some of which include: distance learning, eLearning, CBTs (computer based CD ROM training),
technology and software classes held off-site or on-site by training companies, enrollment in
management courses, and traditional college or university classes.

Training specialists will often utilize companywide surveys to find out where the training is needed
within the organization. They may also administer psychometric testing or hire a psychometric
consultant to apply tests to employees to find areas that need improvement.
The I/O psychologists employed as training specialists need to be very comfortable working with
people. They must understand the importance of proper training for new hires and continual
learning for current employees as well as how these practices increase productivity and job
satisfaction as a whole.

Leadership Selection

Increasingly, organizations are turning to I/O psychologists to handle the evaluation of potential
leaders. Whether advancing from within or selecting a candidate to fill an upper management
position, I/O psychologists use a variety of tools for finding the right person for the job. Cognitive,
personality, and skills tests are often administered along with extensive personal interviewing and
executive simulations. It is vital that the leadership selector take into account not only the needs
of the organization and their board of directors but also those of the candidate.

Recently there has been a trend of identifying potential leaders from the current employee pool by
using close observations, by using surveys, and applying psychometric devices. In this manner the
I/O psychologist may develop the executive resources from within, which has been shown to lead
to later organizational success. Often those who are seen as good leaders will be groomed for a
future executive position.

Coaching and Development

Coaching and development is nothing new in the business world. In the past it has been
called grooming or pre-managementidentification. Now, I/O psychologists take the role of
developing potential and current executives and coaching them on various business practices and
leadership qualities. Coaches take the role of mentor by providing guidance, support, and feedback
to executives and potential executives.

Many times a candidate, either found within the company or recruited from the outside, may have
numerous qualities that will make them well suited to executive level positions, however, they
may be lacking in certain areas which need improvement. This is where coaching and development
comes in. Many companies are realizing the power of this process, just as professional athletes
have realized it for years. The aid of an objective coach can help people reach their highest goals
and make the most of their innate talents.

This area of I/O offers great opportunities in freelance consulting positions which allows for
flexibility and a varied clientele list. If you enjoy working with people, like making your own
schedule, and have a flair for motivating others to meet their potential, then coaching and
development may be the specialization for you.
Organizational Design

Organizational design, or OD, is a fascinating, exciting, and a very large area of I/O psychology.
It is often touted as the O in I/O. This OD is a process of many steps that helps organizations to
integrate their employees, information, and technology into a smoothly functioning whole. This
process has been shown to improve the chances of success for any company or organization.

This OD may be implemented upon the establishment of a new business or after a company has
been in business for some time. As with coaching and development, organizational design is often
a consulting position where the designer acts as an outside facilitator to aid in the guided change
of a new or existing company. The consultant helps build a design plan and then implements it to
insure that executives, managers, and employees stay on track.

Since many who specialize in this particular branch of I/O, act as consultants to multiple
organizations they are able to gather experience about what methods of design work best for
specific companies and what they do over time. An experienced organizational designer is
considered to be a very valuable asset to corporations both large and small as these services save
companies thousands, if not millions of dollars over the long term.

Conclusion

This lesson outlines only some of the many specializations that an I/O psychologist can become
involved in. As was mentioned previously, it is feasible to start in one area and to change or expand
into others. Many I/O psychologists wear different hats and perform multiple duties within their
field. For instance, a leadership selection specialist may also serve as a coaching and development
consultant and vice versa.

Whichever area you choose to focus on it is wise to take as many courses as you can during your
graduate studies that will provide information on your desired area of specialization. Learn as
much as you can about the different areas and what they will entail over the long haul.
If you prefer working with people then training, coaching, and leadership selection may be good
choices for you. For those who like being behind the scenes and enjoy the Organization part of
I/O, psychometrics, employment law, and organizational design are all good choices to consider.
Remember to go with your strengths, which is the way to ensure your success in the field of I/O.

Other Resources

The Free Management Library has numerous articles on I/O training and development. Check out
their site at [reference]
Training Magazine has a great deal of information on the field of training and development. You
may subscribe to their magazine and read feature articles at their Web
site, www.trainingmag.com/msg/publications/training.jsp

Employee Training and Development, by Raymond Andrew Noe is an excellent textbook which
is being used for I/O education and by practicing I/O psychologists. You may find this an excellent
resource to learn more about the subject now.