​Personality Development
I. Human Development
○ Pattern of movement (starts @
conception)
○ Interaction between biological and
environmental factors
○ Nature: genetics
○ Nurture: environment we are in
○ Certain expected traits or characteristics
per stage of development
II. Principles of Development
○ To better understand ourselves and
others
● Principles of Development
○ Orderly (sequential pattern)
○ Individual differences
○ Development proceeds by stages
III. Psychosexual Development
● Proponent: ​Sigmund Freud
➔Recalled his childhood hostility, hatred, and
rage towards his father.
➔His father was authoritarian while his mother
was protective and loving.
➔He is self-confident, has intense ambition to
succeed, and high level of intelligence.
➔He believed in the possible sexual origin of
emotional problems.
● Basic Assumptions:
➔Early years are crucial in human development.
➔We try to maximize pleasure by satisfying our
needs. (instincts)
➔Each body part (erogenous zone) acts as the
center of conflict in each stage.
➔Each conflict must be resolved in order to
progress to another stage.
● Fixation – a condition in which the
individual remains in the psychosexual
stage due to excessive frustration or
gratification.
○ The first 5 years are the crucial
ones.
○ What we are as adults is
determined by the conflicts we
are exposed with and with which
we must learn to cope with.
A. Oral Stage (0-2 years old)
● Oral pleasure through mouth: sucking, biting,
swallowing
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● Dependence on the mother or caregiver.
● Two types of behavior in adulthood:
● Oral receptive (gratified) – overeating, smoking,
drinking, dependency on others, overly gullible
● Oral aggressive (frustration) – painful teething,
excessive pessimism, sarcastic, manipulative,
argumentative
● Source of conflict is weaning
B. Anal Stage (2-4 years old)
● Pleasure through anus: defecation
● Source of conflict: toilet training – to delay or
postpone
● Two types of behavior in adulthood if there’s
difficulty learning:
● Anal expulsive (gratification, defecates anytime,
anywhere) – does whatever they want, messy,
aggressive, temper tantrums
● Anal retentive (frustration, holding back) – overly
neat, rigid, stubborn, likes to hoard
C. Phallic Stage (4-6 years old)
● Source of pleasure: genitals – physical
differences of boys and girls
● Source of conflict: unconscious desire of the
child for the parent of the opposite sex / desire to
destroy the parent of the same sex
● Oedipus Complex – mother becomes a love
object for the boy and regards the father as a
rival/threat
● Resolution: repress desire for the mother and
identify with the father. (castration anxiety)
● Electra Complex – father becomes a love object
for the girl & there’s a desire to destroy the
mother (penis envy)
● Can’t be totally resolved, even if the girl has
already identified with the mother.
● Poorly resolved conflicts can lead to:
● Narcissism
● Difficulty establishing mature relationships
● Desire for recognition and appreciation
● Male phallic personality – always tries to assert
masculinity
● Female phallic personality – exaggerates
femininity
D. Latency Stage (7 years old +)
● Described as the quiet period where children lay
aside their attraction to parents and become
sexually disoriented.
 ● They focus on school activities, hobbies and
sports
● Developing closeness with the parents and
friendships with the opposite sex
E. Genital Stage (12 years old +)
● No major fixations = normal life
● Conformity to society and mature adult
relationships
IV. Psychosocial Development
● Proponent: ​Erik Erikson
➔His father left before he was born and he
didn’t knew about it
➔Was rejected in school and obtained mediocre
grades
➔Continues to search for his identity
➔Importance of social influences in personality.
● Basic Assumptions:
➔ Personality development is affected by both
biological and social factors.
➔Human development involves a series of
personal conflicts
➔ At each stage, we must cope with a crisis in
either an adaptive or maladaptive way.
➔Resolved conflict = normal development and
strength to confront the next stages
➔Unresolved conflict = inability to adapt to later
problems or difficulty achieving a successful
outcome
➔Conflicts will be satisfactorily resolved if
there’s a balance between the adaptive and
maladaptive ways of coping. It’s an opportunity
to develop basic strengths
A. Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1 year old)
● Task: infant learns to feel safe and secure with
a minimal amount of fear
● Totally dependent on the mother or caregiver
● Trust – provides ample love, affection and
security (basic strength: hopeful – our desires
will be satisfied)
● Mistrust – rejecting, inattentive or inconsistent
(becomes fearful, suspicious, anxious)
● Childhood mistrust can be altered through the
companionship of a loving and patient teacher or
friend.
B. Autonomy vs. Doubt and Shame (2-3 years old)
● Task: the toddler strives to learn independence
and self-confidence
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● Parents are the most significant persons in a
child’s life
● Autonomy – allowed to do all they are capable of
doing (basic strength: will – determination to
exercise freedom of choice, takes pride in skills)
● Doubt & Shame – inability to exercise
independence (becomes dependent, passive)
C. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years old)
● Task: the preschooler learns to initiate tasks
● The basic family is the most important person(s)
in life
● Initiative – failures are dealt with love and
understanding (basic strength: purpose: courage
to envision & pursue goals)
● Guilt – punish the child & inhibit displays of
initiative (will not develop sense of responsibility)
D. Industriousness vs. Inferiority (6-11 years old)
● Task: the child learns to feel effective in
mastering academic skills.
● The significant persons in life include the school
(teachers, classmates)
● Industriousness – praise and reinforcement of
skills (basic strength: competence – exertion of
skills and intelligence in completing tasks)
● Inferiority – rejected, ridiculed, scolded (feels
inadequate, failure)
E. Identity Cohesion vs. Role Confusion (12-18
years old)
● The significant persons include peer groups and
models of leadership
● Task: the teen-ager works at refining a sense of
self
● Identity cohesion – form self-image (basic
strength: fidelity – genuineness in relationship
with others)
● Role confusion – failure to achieve self-identity
(may withdraw from normal life sequence)
F. Intimacy vs. Isolation (19-40 years old)
● The young adult struggles to form intimate
relationships with others
● The significant persons include friends and
partners
● Intimacy – feelings of care & commitment,
establish intimate relationships (basic strength:
love – greatest human virtue, fusing of oneself
with another person)
 ● Isolation – inability to establish intimacy in young
adulthood (avoid social contacts, reject people,
prefer to be alone)
G. Generativity vs. Stagnation (41-65 years old)
● Task: middle age person seeks a sense of
contributing to the world through family and
work.
● Significant persons are those with whom labor is
divided with and household work is shared with
● Generativity – actively involved in teaching &
guiding the next generation (basic strength: care
– broad concern for others manifested in need to
help)
● Stagnation – boredom, no outlet for generativity
(midlife crisis – deep sense of remorse for goals
not accomplished)
H. Integrity vs. Despair (65 years +)
● Task: the older person feels life has been
productive and worthwhile
● Significant persons – mankind or my kind
● Integrity – accepting one’s place and one’s past
(basic strength: wisdom – good judgment, wise)
● Despair – look back with frustration, angry about
missed opportunities, & regretful of mistakes
(bitter & disgusted with ourselves)
V.Cognitive Development
➢ Proponent: ​Jean Piaget
➔Began his studies by carefully observing his
children as infants
➔Later on, discovered how children of different
ages solved various problems
● Basic Assumptions:
➔Intelligence is a basic function that
helps the organism to adapt to its
environment.
➔Cognitive equilibrium – balance
between one’s thought and the
environment (i.e., coping with puzzling
experiences)
➔Cognitive development results from
biological maturation and environmental
experience.
➔ Education is a key element in
cognitive development
A. Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
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● Infants learn about their surroundings by using
their senses and motor skills (sucking, following
objects with eyes, palmar grasp)
● Characteristics:
● Begins to make use of imitation, memory and
thought
● Begins to recognize that objects do not cease to
exist when they are hidden (object permanence)
● Formation of the concept of object permanence
and gradual progression from reflexive behavior
to goal-directed behavior (palmar reflex
becomes intentional grasping)
B. Pre-Operational Stage (2-7 yrs)
● Onset of language and increase in pretend
playing
● Egocentric – trouble seeing things from different
points of view
● Stage when children want to understand
everything.
C. Concrete Operational Stage (6-7 to 11-12 years)
● Characteristics:
● Able to solve abstract problems in logical fashion
● Able to classify and seriate
● Understands reversibility
● Improvement in the ability to think logically; new
abilities include the use of operations that are
reversible. Thinking is de-centered and
problem-solving is less restricted by
egocentrism. Abstract thinking is not possible.
D. Formal Operational Stage (11+)
● Stage at which one can deal abstractly with
hypothetical situations and can reason logically.
● Characteristics:
● Able to solve abstract problems in logical fashion
● Develops concerns about social issues, identity
● Problems can be solved through the use of
systematic experimentation
VI.Moral Development
❖ Proponent: ​Lawrence Kohlberg
➔ Moral development was principally concerned
with justice, and that it continued throughout the
individual's lifetime
➔Morality can be developed either negatively or
positively, depending on how an individual
accomplishes the tasks before him during each
stage of moral development across his lifespan
A. Preconventional Level
 ● Authority is outside the individual and reasoning
is based on the physical consequences of
actions.
Stage 1: Punishment- Obedience Orientation
● This stage includes the use of
punishment so that the person refrains
from doing the action and continues to
obey the rules.
Stage 2: Mutual Benefit “Reward Orientation”
● In this stage, the person is said to judge
the morality of an action based on how it
satisfies the individual needs of the doer.
B. Conventional Level
● Conventional morality includes the society and
societal roles in judging the morality of an action.
Stage 3: Social Approval: Good Boy-Good Girl
Orientation
● In this stage, a person judges an action based
on the societal roles and social expectations
before him.
Stage 4: Law and Order “Authority Orientation”
● This stage includes respecting the authorities
and following the rules, as well as doing a
person’s duty. The society is the main
consideration of a person at this stage
C. Post Conventional Level
● Flexibility in accepting rules, refers to own
personal code of ethics
Stage 5 : Social Contract Orientation
● In this stage, the person looks at various
opinions and values of different people before
coming up with the decision on the morality of
the action.
Stage 6 : Universal Ethical Principles Orientation
● This orientation is when a person considers
universally accepted ethical principles. The
judgment may become innate and may even
violate the laws and rules as the person
becomes attached to his own principles of
justice.
VII. Holistic Development
● Emphasize the complete aspects of a person
● Wholeness – sense of integration
● Man as an Integrated being
● Physical, Cognitive, Psycho-emotional, Spiritual
VIII. Physical Development
● Refers to bodily changes
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● Boys and girls exhibit different levels of physical
maturity.
● Growth occurs 2 years earlier for girls than for
boys.
● Height: 16-17 for girls, until 18 or 19 for boys
● They are into excessive grooming habits.
● Inconsistency in controlling emotions, impulses,
and judgments.
● Commonly sleep longer for rapid physical
growth.
● Girls may become too conscious about their
weight.
● May experience embarrassment about showing
affection to their parents in the opposite sex.
IX. Cognitive Development
● Improved ability to understand and reason out.
● Rarely set their sights beyond the present.
However, this way of thinking shifts to a more
adult level between the age of 14 and 16.
● 3 Important cognitive skills that you need to
develop are: remembering, critical thinking and
problem solving skills
● Advances in thinking:
● Higher reasoning skills – reflect about many
choices & perspectives
● Abstract thinking skills – things that cannot be
seen, heard or touched
● Meta-cognition – know one’s thought processes,
build up strategies for learning
● Belief that no one else has ever experienced the
same feelings & emotions
● Exhibit “personal fable” – “it can’t happen to me”
syndrome
● Cause-oriented – social issues
● Demonstrate “justice” orientation – curious about
adult behavior
● Processing speed, concentration and memory –
ability to multitask
● Perspective-taking – increased empathy and
concern for others
● Experiences play an important role.
● Make poor decisions sometimes.
● It is normal for them to:
● Argue for the sake of arguing
● Jump to conclusions
● Be self-centered
● Constantly find fault in the adult’s position
● Be exceedingly dramatic
X. Psychological/Emotional Development
● Means establishing a practical and logical
sense of identity in the perspective of relating to
others.
● Identity refers to how they see themselves right
now:
● Self-concept – beliefs about oneself
● Self-esteem – evaluating how one feels about
one’s self-concept
● Low self-esteem – space between one’s
self-concept and what one believes one “should”
be like
● Many developmental changes influence identity
development and self-esteem
● May start to attain a sense of identity through
experimenting.
● Identity development as well as moral
development happens in the framework of
relating to others.
● Should start to know the emotional skills
required to deal with stress and be effective in
connecting with others.
XI. Social Development
● Start to shape several different types of
relationships.
● Peer Relationships:
● Increase in the amount of time with their friends
than their families.
● Marks the surfacing of crowds (i.e., brains,
nerds, populars).
● Cliques do things together and form regular
social groups.
● The value of peers corresponds with changes in
individual’s needs for intimacy.
● Sexual and romantic relationships transpire.
● Family Relationships:
○ A strong sense of attachment to family is
very crucial.
○ A time of noteworthy change in family
relationships.
○ Parent-adolescent conflicts tend to
increase.
○ Teens may not want to be seen with
parents in public.
○ Teens may be elusive about where they
are going or with whom
● School Relationships:
○ Most prominent part of their life.
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○ Source of safety and stability.
○ Perception of teacher is often associated
with positive adolescent development.
● Community Relationship:
○ Characteristics of neighborhood –
socio-economic status
○ Types of resources available -
education, child care, employment
opportunities
○ Service systems within the community –
affordable health care, community
policing
○ Religious organization – positive role
models, moral values, pro-social values
○ Media – part of daily environment
○ People who live in the community –
criminals, living in poverty, presence of
professionals
XII. Spiritual Development
● Spirituality entails deep feelings and beliefs,
embracing the holy practice of religious awe and
reverence, understanding of the real implication
of life.
● Spiritual development is making meaning in
one’s life.
● Commence to shape their own spiritual identity
and viewpoint.
● Comes out from the pressure of significant
others.
● They want leadership that acknowledges and
respects their personal positions.
XIII. Personality vs. Personal
Personality Personal
- Set of emotional - Belonging to a
qualities particular person
- Ways of behaving - Designed to be
- Attractive qualities used by one person
- More of image - Relating to a
enhancement particular person
- More improving
oneself
● Personality Development Is the set of emotional
qualities and ways of behaving that makes a
person different from other people. It includes:
○ Image enhancement
 ○ Trainings that will bring about noticeable ○ Look out for your personal mazes –
transformation and improvement in one’s discover how you respond to certain
personality. situations
● Personal is a process of striving to be the best ○ Surround yourself with balancing skills
that you can be in order to reach and realize sets – know your strengths and
your full potentials. It is a journey of weaknesses
self-discovery, self-improvement, and ○ -Decide the right relationships –
self-realization. (Zorka Hereford) genuineness in the relationship
○ Persons reflect upon themselves ○ Build compassion for the most significant
○ Understand and accept who they are person in your life – be kind and gentle to
○ Learn skills to reach their full potentials yourself
as human beings ○ Build compassion for others – deeper
XIV. Personal Development Process insights into the lives of others, relating
A. Understanding an “Ideal” with others
B. Self-awareness
C. Self-realization
D. Decision to change
E. Actualizing the change
● Knowing oneself…
○ Must be your first priority in life.
○ It is not about taking a personality test
(although it helps) or learning about your
family history.
○ It means respecting your values in life,
your beliefs, your personality, your
priorities, your moods, your habits, your
wonderful body, and your relationships.
○ Understanding strengths and
weaknesses.
○ It is acknowledging who you are
○ Get to know your personality –
appreciate your own personality, what
you know and what others know
○ Get to know your core values – your
moral codes and principles that will help
in decision making, resolving conflicts,
etc.
○ Get to know your body – reveal what
your body can do and cannot do.
○ Get to know your dreams – make them
part of your daily quests, it is the trail to
your future.
○ Get to know your likes and dislikes – do
not rely on what others will tell you
○ Compensate for your identified
weaknesses – find your strengths

ROQUE, M.