PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

TOPIC: Biological determinants of personality:

Heredity, Endocrine glands.

PRESENTED BY: GOPAL SINGH

HEREDITARY FACTORS
 It comprises all those factors that we inherit from our parents.
• They are innate
• Present in individual before or at the time of birth.
• It determines the path of development of our personality.

 Heredity is like the blue print of our personality which defines

the broad limits of personality within which our personality will
take shape.

Hereditary factors contain the following:

• Physique And Physical Health
• Endocrine System
• Nervous System
PHYSIQUE AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
By physique (physical structure) we mean :
HEIGHT,COLOR,CONSTITUTION ,COMPOSITION OF BODY,ETC.

 Traits of physical structure are largely received in inheritance.

For instance, Children of parents having good height are often taller
while children of parents with shorter heights are often less tall.

Often we see children having physical characteristics or traits that

don't appear similar to that of their parents but with their ancestors.
• This shows that heredity goes beyond our immediate parents.

Mendel(An Austrian Saint) through is experiments on pie nuts

proved that children inherit the average of physical traits of their
parents. For instance, If father is tall and mother is of short height
,children in all probability gain average height of both parents.
CONT.
Our physical create up affect our mental or psychological traits
and ultimately behavior.

 We know that individuals with good physical structure and

beauty are center of attraction of others ,as well as people around
them develop favorable attitudes towards them.
• Such children develop traits of self-confidence, sociability,
responsibility, punctuality and sometimes feelings of
superiority.

While children not gifted with good physical structure are

looked down upon through others, which result in feeling of
inferiority ,emotional instability. They often become shy and
introvert.
ENDOCRINE GLAND
 Our glandular system also affects our personality.

 Several glands in our body regulates varied types of activities in

our body.
• Sometimes we feel very active but there are also times when
we feel depressed without any cause. This is due to constant
chemical changes taking place in our body.

 Glands are of two types : Endocrine gland and exocrine gland

 The more significant one is the endocrine glands. Endocrine
secretions are released directly to our blood stream.
 These are some main endocrine glands:
I. Pituitary gland IV. Pancreas
II. Adrenal gland V. Sex glands
III. Thyroid gland
PITUITARY GLAND
 It is situated below the hypothalamus.
 It secrets a hormone called somatotropin or growth hormone.
 Excessive secretion of this in childhood creates a person giant.
 Tropic hormones released through anterior pituitary helps regulate and
control the functioning of adrenal, thyroid and sex glands .
 Therefore pituitary gland ensures sustained normal development of
personality.
ADREANAL GLAND
 It is situated above kidneys.
 It has two parts : adrenal cortex (inner part) and adrenal medulla (outer
part).
 Inactivity in adrenal medulla leads to tiredness and insomnia.
 Adrenal medulla secrets : adrenaline and noradrenalin.
 Adrenaline is more significant among the two ,which controls emotional
state of an individual.
 It helps prepare our body to meet emergency situation so that we can
adjust ourselves with the environment.
 It is also described as emergency hormone.
THYROID GLAND
 It is situated in throat.
 It produces Thyroxin.
 It regulates metabolic activities of whole body. Therefore, its functioning
affects physical growth.
 Hypo secretion of thyroxin leads to dwarfism, while its lack leads to
myxedema.
 Over secretion creates person overenthusiastic and over active. They may
show signs of irritability and appears anxiety ridden.

PANCREAS
 It is situated just below stomach.
 It secretes two types of hormones: 1. Insulin 2. Glucagon.
 Insulin controls quantity of sugar in blood.
 Hypo secretion of insulin results in higher quantities of sugar in blood
which leads to diabetes.
 Hyper secretion results in lowered quantities of sugar which leads to
condition called Hypoglycemia .
 Victims of Hypoglycemia appear anxiety ridden, they experience illusions
and hallucinations.
 SEX GLANDS
FEMALE SEX GLANDS - OVARIES
Ovaries secrets :estrogens
and progesterone.
Increased level of both in
blood result in development
of primary and secondary
sex characteristics among
girls.
For example : enlargement
of breasts, growth of hair,
widening of hips, etc.
MALE SEX GLANDS - TESTICLES
Testicles produce
androgens:
1. Testosterone
2. Androsterone
Both are responsible for
development of primary and
secondary sex
characteristics among male.
For example: growth of
facial hair, deepening of
voice, broadening of
shoulder and chest, etc.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
Role of nervous system is quite significant in the formation of personality.

Psychologists consider that a person with more intricate and urbanized nervous
system has greater level of intellectual capabilities and are more able to adjust
with different situations.
Such individuals are viewed favorably through others and are praised for their
personality traits.

All our higher mental processes are controlled and regulated through cortex.
Greater the number of convulsions in the cortex the more urbanized it is.
So, people with urbanized nervous system are more intelligent.

Such individuals are fast in developing traits likes:

i. Responsibility
ii. Punctuality
iii. Emotional stability
iv. Self-confidence
v. Ego-strength
Compared to the individuals with less urbanized nervous system.
THANK YOU.