Personal Development

Sir Lemuel John Villaflor

john.villaflor@iacademy.edu.ph

Lesson 1: Defining the Self

“Self” - is very complex

- Used to mean different things
- Religiously speaking
o Self is an illusion
● Hinduism – Self is Atman
● Buddhism – Self is empty
- Psychologically speaking
o Self is defined as the cognitive and affective representation of one‟s
identity
- Philosophically speaking
o Aristotle‟s Hylomorphism of the theory of Matter and Form
o Humans are made out of Body and Soul

Personality – is unique and enduring set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, motives, and
attitudes that characterize a person

MBTI deals with 4 areas:

1. Directing and Receiving Energy
2. Taking in Information
3. Making Decisions
4. Approaching the Outside World

Human Development (How did we become who we are?)

- Is the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and
continues through the human lifespan

Nature – refers to all the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are – from
our physical appearance to our personality characteristics

Nurture – refers to all environmental variables that impact who we are

a. Early Childhood Experiences
b. How We Are Raised
c. Our Social Relationships
d. Our Surrounding Culture
Lesson 2: Developing the Whole Person - Nature

Stages of Human Development:

1. Infancy (0 – 1 yr. old)

2. Early Childhood (1-3 yrs. Old)
3. Middle Childhood (3-6 yrs. Old)
4. Late Childhood (7-12 yrs. Old)
5. Adolescence (13-20 yrs. Old)
6. Early Adulthood (21 – 30 yrs. Old)
7. Adulthood (31 – 65 yrs. Old)
8. Late Adulthood (65 – and so on)

Holistic Human Being

- Physiological
- Cognitive
- Psychological and Social

The Developing Human

- It is an ongoing process
- Although development may follow the same basic outline, everyone
develops differently

Physiological Development

● Infancy
o Sensory-Perceptual Development
 Vision - least developed sense at birth
 Hearing – more fully developed than vision
 Touch – most developed
 Smell & Taste – fairly well-developed at birth

o Motor Development
 A reflex is an unlearned response to a specific stimulus
 Moro reflex – infant feels as if it is falling
 Babinski reflex – toes fan upward when touched
 Grasping reflex – grasps objects
 Sucking reflex – sucking anything that touches the lips
 Rooting reflex – mouth turns toward anything
● Childhood (Early, Middle, Late)
o 1-3 yrs. Old
 Typically doubles in height and quadruples in weight
 Head becomes more proportioned with the body

o 3-6 yrs. Old

 Advanced Gross Motor Skills
 Improved ability to run, jump, throw, kick a ball
 Develops Fine Motor Skills
o Ex. Use safety scissors, get dressed properly
 Gross Motor Skills
o Involves movement and coordination with large body parts
 Fine Motor Skills
o Coordination of small muscles, like fingers

o 6-12 yrs. Old

 Less dramatic changes than in early childhood
 Growth is slow and steady until puberty
 Some begin to develop secondary sex characteristic

o Adolescence
 Period that generally begins as individuals reach sexual maturity
and ends when the individual has established an identity as an
adult
 Period of accelerated growth
 Grow up to 4 inches and gain 8-10 pounds per year
 Puberty
 Girls tend to mature at age 13
 Males mature at age 15
 Pituitary Gland – stimulates other glands to produce
hormones
Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)

- Refers to the changes that occur in children‟s mental skills and abilities
over time
- Piaget believes that everyone has a schema
o Schema
● Organized pattern of thought or action that constructs to
interpret some aspect of one‟s experience
● Represent the way that people organize and understand
the things around them
● Pre-condition of having a mind; Instinct
o Schema/Mental Molds
● Assimilation – process of interpreting new experiences by
incorporating the into existing schemes
● Accommodation – the process of modifying existing
schemes in order to incorporate or adapt to new
experiences

Cognitive Development Stages

● Sensorimotor (0-2)
o Learning through looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping
o Children younger than 6 months of age do not have object
permanence
o (Uses senses & motor skills; object permanence)

● Pre-Operational (2-7)
o Beginning to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to
represent objects
o Children tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from
perspective of others
● Egocentrism – inability to take on another‟s point of view
o Tend to think about things in very concrete terms
o (Symbols & language; egocentric; imagination)

● Concrete Operational (7-12)

o Begin to think logically about concrete events; Egocentric thought
diminishes
o Begin to understand the concept of conservation
o Thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete
o Struggles with abstract and hypothetical concepts
o (Logic; objective/rational interpretations)
 ● Formal Operational (12-Onwards)
o Begin to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems
o Begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and
political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning
o (Abstract, hypothetical ideas)

Lesson 3: Developing the Whole Person – External

Parenting Styles (Diana Baumrind)

1. Authoritarian
a. Emotionally aloof (distant)
b. Bossy; likely to say “Because I do”
c. Dismisses a child‟s feelings
d. Child is likely to be:
i. Moody & anxious; Well-behaved; Average to good student;
Follower
2. Permissive
a. Very affectionate
b. Anxious to please, ends every sentence by asking, “Ok?”
c. Indulgent (softhearted); Can‟t say no and stick to it; Easily manipulated
d. Child is likely to be:
i. Demanding & whiny; Easily frustrated; Lacking kindness &
empathy; Poor to average student; Follower
3. Uninvolved
a. Emotionally removed or indifferent
b. Abdicates discipline
c. Inconsistent and unpredictable
d. Child is likely to be:
i. Clingy & needy; Inappropriate & rude; Likely to get into
trouble; Poor student; Follower
4. Authoritative
a. Affectionate and engaged
b. Sets limits and enforces consequences
c. Uses reason, logic, and appropriate negotiation
d. Empowers a child‟s decision making
e. Child is likely to be:
i. Happy, responsible, kind; Good at problem-solving; Self-
motivated and confident; Cooperative; Excellent student;
Leader
Psychosocial Development (Erik Erikson)
Virtue = Balance of extremes
Maladaptation = Too much; positivity (easy to obtain)
Malignancy = Too less; negativity (hard to overcome)

Crises:
1. Trust VS. Mistrust (Infants)
a. To develop trust without completely eliminating the capacity for mistrust
b. Virtue earned: Hope
2. Autonomy VS. Shame and Doubt (Early Childhood)
a. Young children begin to express a greater need for independence and
control over themselves, and the world around them
b. To do things for themselves without help or hindrance from other people
c. Virtue earned: Will

3. Initiative VS. Guilt (Middle Childhood)

a. Children take initiatives
b. Seeing the cause and effect relationships of their actions
c. Virtue earned: Purpose

4. Industry VS. Inferiority (Late Childhood)

a. Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior
b. Must learn the feeling of success whether in school or playground,
academic, or social
c. Virtue earned: Competence

5. Identity VS. Role Confusion (Adolescence)

a. Young people struggle to belong and to be accepted and affirmed, and
yet also to become individuals
b. Teenagers refine a sense of self by testing roles and integrating them to form
a single identity, or they become confused about who they are
c. Virtue earned: Fidelity
d. Ways in confronting Identity:
i. Foreclosure – parents have something in mind for you
ii. Moratorium – „Soul searching‟; experiencing a lot of things to truly
find yourself
iii. Diffusion – haven‟t committed to any identity, and not working to
develop one; process of figuring out who you are
iv. Positive Role Identity – knowing your identity
v. Negative Role Identity – adopting an identity that is opposite from
what is expected
 6. Intimacy VS. Isolation (Young Adulthood)
a. Young adults struggle to form close relationships, and to gain the capacity
for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated
b. Virtue earned: Love

7. Generativity VS. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood)

a. People discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family
and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose
b. Virtue earned: Care

8. Integrity VS. Despair (Late Adulthood)

a. Reflecting on their lives, older adults may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure
b. Virtue earned: Wisdom

Lesson 4: Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg)

Levels of Moral Development:

1. Pre-Conventional (Pre-Moral)
a. Very shallow basis/ Reasons are external
b. Individuals judge morality strictly on the basis of consequences
c. Stage 1: Punishment & Obedience
i. Behave in a way that avoids punishment
ii. Obey rules because an authority figure said so
d. Stage 2: Individual Self-Interest
i. Based on rewards and self-interest
ii. Concern for others‟ needs is not out of loyalty, gratitude, or justice
iii. Right and wrong is determined by what is rewarded

2. Conventional
a. Intermediate internalization of Morals
b. Individuals are most concerned about the opinions of their peers and social
systems
c. Stage 3: Seeking Approval or Avoiding Disapproval
i. Behavior is determined by social approval
ii. Individual wants to maintain or win the affection and approval of
others by being a „good person‟
d. Stage 4: Law and Order
i. Right and wrong is determined by society‟s rules, and laws, which
should be obeyed rigidly to maintain law and order
3. Post Conventional
a. Full internalization of Morals
b. Morality is judged in terms of abstract principles, and not by existing rules that
govern society
c. Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights
i. Individual rights determine behavior
ii. Views laws and rules as flexible tools for improving human purposes
d. Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles
i. Moral judgments are determined by one‟s self-chosen ethical
principles of conscience
ii. These principles are abstract and universal in application