Chapter 1: Personality Development Overview

Objectives:
1. Define and explain personality development
2. Identify the different influences of personality
3. Identify the different factors affecting Personality Development
4. Identify the different stages of development
5. Define personality from different perspectives

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

- It is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors and attitudes that makes a
person distinctive.
- It occurs by the ongoing interaction of temperament, character, and environment.
- It is the relatively enduring pattern of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish
individuals from each other.
- Personality development includes many things. Cleanliness of body, our behavior in
multiple situations, and maturity of mind all comes in personality development. It also
comprises of self-awareness, self-knowledge, identity, talents, potential, human capital,
quality of life, dreams and aspirations.

Personality

Personality is a very complex and multidimensional construct of a human being. No common

definition of personality has so far been arrived at. Every individual defines personality in different way which
includes trait factors and physical appearance.

The definition of personality we most frequently use was produced by Gordon Allport nearly 70 years
ago. Allport said personality is “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical
systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.” For our purposes, you should think of
personality as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others. We most often
describe it in terms of the measurable traits a person exhibits.

Personality is what makes a person unique and it is recognizable soon after birth. A child’s personality
has several components: temperament, environment, and character.

a. Temperament
- Temperament is the set of genetically determined traits that determine the child's approach to the world
and how the child learns about the world. There are no genes that specify personality traits, but some genes
do control the development of the nervous system, which in turn controls behavior.

b. Environment
- A second component of personality comes from adaptive patterns related to a child's specific environment.
Most psychologists agree that these two factors - temperament and environment - influence the
development of a person's personality the most. Temperament, with its dependence on genetic factors, is
sometimes referred to as "nature”, while the environmental factors are called "nurture".

c. Character
- The third component of personality is character—the set of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral
patterns learned from experience that determines how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. A person's
character continues to evolve throughout life, although much depends on inborn traits and early
experiences. Character is also dependent on a person's moral development.

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DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY

1. Heredity

Heredity is transmitted through genes, which determine hormone balance, which later determine
physique and subsequently the personality. Heredity refers to acquiring from parents certain biological,
physical and psychological commonalities, which are further reflected in physical stature, facial
attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition and even reflect. They often decide energy level.
These factors have a deciding influence on how a person in an organization would display his/her reactions
in a particular situation.

2. Environment

Every individual is born and brought up in a particular environment. Environment leaves an imprint on
the personality of an individual. Environment should be viewed from the point of view of norms, ethics and
value that are observed and the attitude displayed by the social group. These factors actually formulate the
culture of the society from which the organizations draw their human resource requirements.

The cultural background is important to evaluate personality. In childhood, parents, uncles, aunts and
even neighbor’s behavior is copied by a child. It is therefore necessary to display an ideal behavior on the
part of all the adults who come in direct contact with the children. Family molds character of children through
role models’ re-enforcements, rewards and punishments. It is therefore important to study early conditions
under which the child has been brought up, norms followed in the family and the existence of cultural value
system in the society. All these factors have a marked influence on the personality of an individual.

3. Situation

Individual has to interact with number of problems in a given situation, which does not remain
constant. It is subject to change and hence fluid in nature. There is therefore a need to recognize the person-
situation interaction. It can be social learning activity of personality. Thus, personality is situational, the
uniqueness of each situation and any measure of personality must be examined. Personalities therefore mean
how people affect others, how they understand and view themselves, pattern of personality traits and person
situation interaction. An individual modifies his/her behavior based on situation.

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.

While there are quite a few theories regarding development, some of them are more popularly known
than others, such as the Freudian stages of development, as well as Erik Erikson’s stages of development.

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Sigmund Freud’s Stages of Development

Freud’s theory of personality development was that it was a result of a series of stages during childhood. He
believed that the development process involved a pleasure-seeking source that revolved around
psychosexual energy.

Stage Age Erogenous Zone Activities

Oral Birth to 1 Year Mouth During the oral stage, the infant's primary source of
interaction occurs through the mouth, so the rooting and
sucking reflex is especially important. The mouth is vital for
eating, and the infant derives pleasure from oral stimulation
through gratifying activities such as tasting and sucking.

Because the infant is entirely dependent upon caretakers

(who are responsible for feeding the child), the child also
develops a sense of trust and comfort through this oral
stimulation.

The primary conflict at this stage is the weaning process--the

child must become less dependent upon caretakers. If
fixation occurs at this stage, Freud believed the individual
would have issues with dependency or aggression. Oral
fixation can result in problems with drinking, eating, smoking,
or nail-biting.

Anal 1 to 3 Years Bowel and During the anal stage, Freud believed that the primary focus
Bladder Control of the libido was on controlling bladder and bowel
movements. The major conflict at this stage is toilet
training—the child has to learn to control their bodily needs.
Developing this control leads to a sense of accomplishment
and independence.

According to Freud, success at this stage is dependent

upon the way in which parents approach toilet training.
Parents who utilize praise and rewards for using the toilet at
the appropriate time encourage positive outcomes and
help children feel capable and productive. However, not
all parents provide the support and encouragement that
children need during this stage. Some parents punish,
ridicule, or shame a child for accidents. According to Freud,
inappropriate parental responses can result in negative
outcomes. If parents take an approach that is too lenient,
Freud suggested that an anal-expulsive personality could
develop in which the individual has a messy, wasteful, or
destructive personality. If parents are too strict or begin toilet
training too early, Freud believed that an anal-retentive
personality develops in which the individual is stringent,
orderly, rigid, and obsessive.

Phallic 3 to 6 Years Genitals Freud suggested that during the phallic stage, the primary
focus of the libido is on the genitals. At this age, children also
begin to discover the differences between males and
females.

Freud also believed that boys begin to view their fathers as

a rival for the mother’s affections. The Oedipus complex
describes these feelings of wanting to possess the mother
and the desire to replace the father. However, the child also

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 fears that he will be punished by the father for these
feelings, a fear Freud termed castration anxiety.

The term Electra complex has been used to describe a

similar set of feelings experienced by young girls. Freud,
however, believed that girls instead experience penis envy.

Latency 6 Years to Sexual Feelings During this stage, the superego continues to develop while
Puberty are Inactive the id's energies are suppressed. Children develop social
skills, values and relationships with peers and adults outside
of the family.

The development of the ego and superego contribute to

this period of calm. The stage begins around the time that
children enter into school and become more concerned
with peer relationships, hobbies, and other interests.

The latent period is a time of exploration in which the sexual

energy repressed or dormant. This energy is still present, but
it is sublimated into other areas such as intellectual pursuits
and social interactions. This stage is important in the
development of social and communication skills and self-
confidence.

As with the other psychosexual stages, Freud believed that

it was possible for children to become fixated or "stuck" in
this phase. Fixation at this stage can result in immaturity and
an inability to form fulfilling relationships as an adult.

Genital Puberty to Maturing Sexual The onset of puberty causes the libido to become active
Death Interests once again. During the final stage of psychosexual
development, the individual develops a strong sexual
interest in the opposite sex. This stage begins during puberty
but last throughout the rest of a person's life.

Where in earlier stages the focus was solely on individual

needs, interest in the welfare of others grows during this
stage. The goal of this stage is to establish a balance
between the various life areas.

Unlike the many of the earlier stages of development, Freud

believed that the ego and superego were fully formed and
functioning at this point. Younger children are ruled by the
id, which demands immediate satisfaction of the most basic
needs and wants.

Teens in the genital stage of development are able to

balance their most basic urges against the need to conform
to the demands of reality and social norms.

Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/

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Erik Erikson’s Stages of Development

In 1956, psychiatrist Erik Erikson provided an insightful description as to how personality develops based on his
extensive experience in psychotherapy with children and adolescents from low, upper, and middle-class
backgrounds. According to Erikson, the socialization process of an individual consists of eight phases, each
one accompanied by a "psychosocial crisis" that must be solved if the person is to manage the next and
subsequent phases satisfactorily. The stages significantly influence personality development, with five of them
occurring during infancy, childhood, and adolescence.

Stages of Development

Infancy During the first two years of life, an infant goes through the first stage:
Learning Basic Trust or Mistrust (Hope). Well-nurtured and loved, the infant
develops trust and security and a basic optimism. Badly handled, the infant
becomes insecure and learns "basic mistrust."

Toddlerhood The second stage occurs during early childhood, between about 18
months to two years and three to four years of age. It deals with Learning
Autonomy or Shame (Will). Well-parented, the child emerges from this
stage with self-confidence, elated with his or her newly found control. The
early part of this stage can also include stormy tantrums, stubbornness, and
negativism, depending on the child's temperament.

Preschool The third stage occurs during the "play age," or the later preschool years
from about three to entry into formal school. The developing child goes
through Learning Initiative or Guilt (Purpose). The child learns to use
imagination; to broaden skills through active play and fantasy; to
cooperate with others; and to lead as well as to follow. If unsuccessful, the
child becomes fearful, is unable to join groups, and harbors guilty feelings.
The child depends excessively on adults and is restricted both in the
development of play skills and in imagination.

School Age The fourth stage, Learning Industry or Inferiority (Competence), occurs
during school age, up to and possibly including junior high school. The
child learns to master more formal skills:

 relating with peers according to rules

 progressing from free play to play that is structured by rules and
requires teamwork (team sports)
 learning basic intellectual skills (reading, arithmetic)

At this stage, the need for self-discipline increases every year. The child
who, because of his or her successful passage through earlier stages, is
trusting, autonomous, and full of initiative, will quickly learn to be
industrious. However, the mistrusting child will doubt the future and will
feel inferior.

Adolescence The fifth stage, Learning Identity or Identity Diffusion (Fidelity), occurs during
adolescence from age 13 or 14. Maturity starts developing during this time;
the young person acquires self-certainty as opposed to self-doubt and
experiments with different constructive roles rather than adopting a
negative identity, such as delinquency. The well-adjusted adolescent
actually looks forward to achievement, and, in later adolescence, clear
sexual identity is established. The adolescent seeks leadership (someone to
inspire him or her), and gradually develops a set of ideals to live by.

Source: http://www.healthofchildren.com/

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PERSONALITY TYPING

Type A: People having Type A personality are always moving, walking and eating rapidly. They feel impatient
with the speed the events take place. They always strive to do two or three things at any one time and cannot
cope with leisure. They are generally obsessed with work involved with numbers.

Type B: People possessing Type B personality never suffer from sense of urgency and take thing as it comes
coolly. They do not discuss achievement and leave it to the superiors to identify it. People having B type of
personality play for fun and relaxation rather than to show off. These people have the tendency to relax
without guilt.

Type A personality is a personality trait that involves working competitively under pressure. Type B personality
is a personality trait that involves working calmly without pressure. A Type A personality works aggressively
under pressure at an intense level with an impatient and competitive approach to other; and Type B
personality chooses and prefers a low-pressure life and is a more relaxed, easy-going, sociable person.
(Dunham, 1984).

Type As are less effective performers in policy-making top management positions which have long-term
planning as a major component (Dunham, 1984). Surveys reveal that most top executives are Type Bs rather
than Type As because of the reasons that Type A simply do not last long enough to rise to the highest
management levels (due to high stress and deteriorated health); the irritability or hostility often shown by Type
As has negative effects on their careers preventing them from rising to the top of their organizations; and
impatience is often incompatible with the deliberate, carefully considered decisions required of top-level
managers (Greenberg and Baron, 2007)

Personality Traits

Personality traits are the characteristics of an individual when exhibited in large number of situations. More
predominant the traits in an individual are, more consistence the individual is and more frequent occurrences
in diverse situations. There are thousands of traits that have been identified. Cattell1 isolated 171 traits but
concluded that they were superficial and lacking in descriptive power. What he sought was a reduced set
of traits that would identify underlying pattern. The result was the identification of 16 personality factors, which
he called the source, or primary traits. These and their opposites are given below:

1 Reserved vs Outgoing
2 Less intelligent vs More intelligent
3 Affected by feelings vs Emotionally stable
4 Submissive vs Dominant
5 Serious vs Happy go lucky
6 Timid vs Venturesome
7 Expedient vs Conscientious
8 Tough minded vs Sensitive
9 Trusting vs Suspicious
10 Practical vs Imaginative
11 Forthright vs Shrewd
12 Self-assured vs Apprehensive
13 Conservative vs Experimenting
14 Group dependents vs Self-sufficient
15 Uncontrolled vs Controlled
16 Relaxed vs Tense

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Personality Orientation

1. Achievement Orientation

Achievement orientation of an individual also indicates the personality of an individual. Every person
possesses need to achieve (nAch) phenomenon in his personality. It could be high degree nAch or low
degree. A person who possesses high nAch displays very dominant personality. He is generally very ambitious,
hardworking and fixes his goal at a very high level and strives to achieve the same. He is achievement
oriented and undertakes a task which is neither easy, because easy task is generally attained by a common
person nor a very challenging or tough task because there would be chances of failure of achieving the
same. He therefore prefers to undertake task of intermediate nature so that its achievement would satisfy him
to a large extent and he would feel that he is above than the normal individual. People having high nAch
are found to be good organizers, efficient managers. Sports persons are generally high achievers as they
strive to achieve that extra point or mark than his competitors. High nAch generally do well as sale persons as
it calls for hard work and achieving higher targets of sales every time.

2. Authoritarianism

Close to the personality trait that a person possesses who is achievement oriented is a person who
believes in having a reasonably high authority in the organization. The theory of authoritarianism is related
with status and power. The theory states that there should be status and power difference between various
people in the organization. While there would be some people who will have more power and authority
hence more authoritative yet there would be people with low power and authority hence minimum degree
of being authoritative. One would therefore find in an organization, people with low authority and high
authority. Person who possesses high authoritarian is intellectually rigid, they display varied behavior patterns.
They are submissive with those who are superior (senior) to them and behave in an exploitative manner to
those who are subordinates or below them. They resist change and display insensitivity while dealing with
people. They are task oriented.

3. Theory of Machivellianism

Niccolo Machivelli introduced theory of Machivellianism. The theory refers to degree to which an
individual is pragmatic and maintains emotional distance with co-workers while accomplishing any task. A
person who practices this theory believes in “end justifies means.” In any organization people can be classified
as having high Machivellianism or low Machivellianism tendencies. A person having High Machivellianism (H
Mach) generally displays variety of personality traits like manipulation, win more, persuade others to do a
work while they do not get persuaded by others. They generally flourish in face-to-face situation where there
are minimum rules and have enough space for maneuver. They have high bargaining skills and believe in
giving substantial rewards to their subordinates on accomplishment of tasks. They are highly productive.
Machivelli believed in one doctrine, that a work must be finished whatever be the means.

4. Self-Esteem

Self-esteem refers to individuals’ degree of liking or disliking himself. People’s self-esteem has to do
with their self-perceived competence and self-image. Most recent studies indicate that self-esteem plays an
important moderating role in areas such as emotional and behavioral responses and stress of organizational
members. As was recently noted, “Both research and every day experience confirm that employees with
high self-esteem feel unique, competent, secure, empowered and connected to the people around them
(Luthans). People having high degree of self-esteem take more risk in job selection and take up
unconventional assignments while those possessing low self-esteem display dependency, seek approval from
others for the decision they make, respect others and seek confirmation in beliefs. Managers with low self-
esteem do not take unpopular stand, which may lead to displeasing others.

5. Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring is related to self-efficacy. It is situation specific. A person must always examine efficiency and
attribute it to his behavior with subordinates and improve upon it. This quality displays high degree of
adaptability and high sensitivity of an individual. A person possessing self-monitoring trait is likely to behave
differently in different situation.

6. Risk Taking
Risk taking trait is commonly seen in various entrepreneurs. They display rapid decision-making ability.

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