PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT REVIEWER

Human Development and Personal Development three aspects or domains of human development
(Papalia & Feldman, 2012) as:
1. Physical Development - which covers the growth of the body and the brain, motor and sensory skills,
and even physical health;
2. Cognitive Development - which covers our capacity to learn, to speak, to understand, to reason, and to
create; and
3. Psychosocial Development - which includes our social interactions with other people, our emotions,
attitudes, self-identity, personality, beliefs, and values.

While human development covers the whole lifespan of human existence in relation to the three domains,
personal development is one's own development and growth within the context of the three aspects of
human development.

Human development is also influenced by the following:

 Heredity or the inborn traits passed on by the generations of off springs from both sides of the
biological parents' families.
 Environment is the world outside of ourselves and the experiences that result from our contact
and interaction with this external world.
 Maturation is the natural progression of the brain and the body that affects the cognitive
(thinking and intelligence), psychological (emotion, attitude, and self-identity), and social
(relationships) dimensions of a person.
The word "personal" is defined as:

 belonging or relating to a particular person;

 made or designed to be used by one person;
 someone whose job involves working for or helping a particular person; and of, relating to, or
affecting a particular person.

The word "personality," on the other hand, is defined as:

 The set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other
people;
 Attractive qualities (such as energy, friendliness, and humor) that make a person interesting or
pleasant to be with;
the word "development" is defined as:

 the act or process of growing or causing something to grow or become larger or more advanced;
Zorka Hereford (2007), author of the book, 9 Essential Life Skills A Guide for Personal Self -
Realization, defined personal development as "the process of striving to be the best that you can be in
order to reach and realize your full potential. It is a journey of self-discovery, self-improvement, and self
realization."
Psychology and Personal Development
Psychology said:, being the study of human thinking and behavior serves as a foundation
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. While Maslow theorized the five stages of human development
based on hierarchy of needs,
1. Physiological Need - needs essentials for human to survival including things such as foods, clothing,
shelter
2. Safety Need
3. Sense of Belonging - human emotional needs to be accept of others
4. Self Esteem Needs - self confidence, self belief, social acceptance, respect from others
5.Self Actualization - realization of personal potentials, self fulfillment, seeking personal growth and
peak experiences
Carl Rogers, in his psychotherapy practice, theorized that "the individual has within himself the capacity
and the tendency, latent if not evident, to move forward toward maturity"
(Rogers, 1961).
Martin Seligman, a noted psychologist and president of the American Psychological Association
Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi helped refocus this emphasis of psychology from a
disease model toward what is good and positive about human persons and their desire to achieve their full
potentials.
In short, positive psychology stresses that human nature has its good and positive strengths, as well as its
inadequacies and weaknesses (Peterson, 2006).

Personal Development in Adolescence

Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and early adulthood.
Adolescence starts with the biological changes called puberty.
Although scientists and psychologists may slightly differ in pegging the exact age of adolescence, it is
widely believed to be between ages 11 or 12, and lasting to about 18 years of age (Feist & Rosenberg,
2012).

In the Philippine context, authors Corpuz, Lucas, Borabo, and Lucido (2010) defined the three stages of
adolescence as:

 Early adolescence - between 10 and 13 years of age

  Middle adolescence - between 14 and 16 years of age
 Late adolescence - between 17 and 20 years of age

For Socrates, the most important thing to pursue was self-knowledge, and admitting one's ignorance is
the beginning of true knowledge (Scholtz, 2006).
For Plato, one of Socrates students, the essence of knowledge is self-knowledge. Other ancient
philosophers from other cultures saw the wisdom in knowing oneself.
The ancient Hindu writings Upanishads, confirmed, "Enquiry into the truth of the 'self" is knowledge."
The "Self" may be identified in various contexts, such as in psychology, sociology, or religion.

- In psychology, the "Self" is the essence of a person: his thoughts, feelings and actions,
experiences, beliefs, values, principles, and relationships.
- In religion or in the spiritual realm, the "self" includes a person's life purpose, meaning,
aspirations, and one's relationship with a higher being.
- In sociology, the "Self" is said to be defined by the roles we take when we relate with others,
such as being your parents' child, being a classmate, a friend, or teammate.
When the "Self" is defined as the cognitive and affective representation of one's identity, it is then
described in terms of human characteristics such as behavior and thought.
In psychology, the term "personality" is referred to as the set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and motives
that identifies an individual.
Personality is usually described in behavioral terms that are observable and measurable.
Personality psychologists have different viewpoints.
One definition states, "personality refers to the unique and relatively enduring set of behaviors, feelings,
thoughts, and motives that characterize an individual" (Feist & Rosenberg, 2012).
Personality is influenced by both nature (heredity or genetic makeup) and nurture (environment).
psychologists Costa and McCrae (1996) developed a categorized scheme that described personality. They
called it the Big Five or Five-Factor Model. These dimensions or tendencies are: openness to experience,
conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
• For it to be easily remembered, it uses the acronym OCEAN.
These dimensions may be described using its most positive traits:

- Openness to experience - curious, interested to new ideas, imaginative, and creative

- Conscientiousness planning - organizing, hardworking, controlling, persevering, and punctual
- Extraversion - sociable, talkative, active, outgoing, and fun-loving
- Agreeableness - friendly, warm, trusting, generous, and kind-hearted
- Neuroticism - calm, relaxed, and comfortable
An example of a popular personality test used is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Katherine
Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers developed the Myers-Briggs personality model based on four preferences
of individuals.
These are:
E or I (Extraversion or Introversion) is how an individual prefers to channel his or her energy when
dealing with people, whether it is inward (introversion) or outward (extraversion).
S or I (Sensing or Intuition) is how one prefers to process information, whether through the use of senses
such as being able to describe what one sees, or intuitively like dealing with ideas.
T or F (Thinking or Feeling) is how an individual prefers to make decisions, either thinking or using
logic and analysis, or feeling which uses the cognitive senses based on values or beliefs.
J or P (Judgment or Perception) is how an individual prefers to manage one life, whether through
judging, which means a planned and organized life, versus perception, which has a more flexible
approach to living.
Adolescence as theorized by Erik Erikson. He identified identity vs. role confusion as the developmental
challenge an adolescent faces
Challenges that an adolescent faces, particularly, the challenges a Filipino adolescent faces. Below is a
list of common challenges normal adolescents encounter.
1. Attitudes and Behavior Toward Sexuality and Sexual Relationships
2. Academic Concerns
3. Group Belongingness
4. Health and Nutrition
5. Developing or Regaining Self-Esteem
6. Roles
7. Material Poverty
8. Parents Working Abroad
9. Career Choice
10. Relationships
11. Values and Beliefs
12. Other Challenges
Three Filipino Adolescents, Three Heroes
Gregorio del Pilar ("Goyong," "Boy General") was fondly called by his family as "Goyong" and
eventually referred to by his fellow revolutionaries as "Boy General" for being the youngest ever to be
commissioned such by the Filipino revolutionary forces that fought the Spaniards and the Americans.
Goyong was born in Bulacan on November 14, 1875.
Edgar Jopson ("Edjop") was born on September 1, 1948, of middle class parents who owned a small
grocery store in Sampaloc, Manila. He graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class in Ateneo.
Efren Peñaflorida ("Efren") was just 16 years old when he started an organization called Dynamic
Teen Company with his fellow students to keep adolescents like him away from trouble.

What Is Holistic Development?

The key phrase in this chapter that you have to pay attention to is "whole person," emphasizing the
complete aspects of a person or his totality. In order to understand what it means to perceive a person as a
whole organism, we will discuss philosophical theories such as dualism and holism.
Mind and Body Dualism of Descartes
René Descartes, one of the modern philosophers of our time, influenced much of mankind's thinking
with his theory of duality or understanding the nature of things in simple, dual mode. Hence, you are
familiar with the separation of body and spirit in Western religion, and of the mind and body in the study
of human sciences. People perceive things as dual in character.
Holism and Gestalt
In 1926, General Jan C. Smuts, a South African statesman, military leader, and philosopher, wrote about
holism in his book Holism and Evolution. He introduced the academic terminology for holism as "the
tendency in nature to form wholes which are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution"
(Holism, 2018).
The Various Aspects of Holistic Development of Persons
When we consider a human person and what various aspects make up this complex organism, five aspects
come to mind:

- physiological or the physical attributes including the five physical senses;

- cognitive or the intellectual functions of the mind: thinking, recognizing, reasoning, analyzing,
projecting, synthesizing, recalling, and assessing;
- psychological or how thinking, feeling, and behaving interact and happen in a person;
- social or the manner by which an individual interacts with other individuals or groups of
individuals
- spiritual or the attribute of a person's consciousness and beliefs, including the values and virtues
that guide and put meaning into a person's life.
Basic Drives and Affect
Psychologists often refer to basic human drives as those that are biologically related such as hunger and
thirst. Affect, on the other hand, is the various emotional experiences such as emotions, moods, and
affective traits (Feist & Rosenberg, 2012).
Feelings and Emotions
Feelings, moods, and emotions do not exactly mean one and the same. Paul Ekman of the University of
California identified six basic emotions that human beings experience (Feist &Rosenberg, 2012):
happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. Emotion is taken from the Latin verb, movare,
which means to move or be upset or agitated. It
Attitudes and Behavior
Attitudes are a person's thoughts, feelings, and emotions about another person, object, idea, behavior, or
situation.
Values
At the core of every person lies a system of beliefs that adheres to the highest ideals of human existence.
These ideals create meaning and purpose in a person's life. These ideals are called values.