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What is Personality Development ? A Brief Explanation

Gain a comprehensive understanding of "What is Personality Development?" through this blog. Dive into the core concept and its importance, and uncover the factors that influence one's personality development. Journey through the various stages of personality development, and by the end, you'll have a clear grasp of how personality development impacts our lives.

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A person's personality shapes their thoughts, beliefs & expectations. This blog will help you answer, “What is Personality Development?” and will help you discover the aspects that influence one's personality. 

Table of Contents  

1)  What is Personality Development? 

2)  Factors influencing Personality Development 

3)  Stages of Personality Development 

4)  Importance of Personality Development 

5)  Theories of Personality Development 

6)  Conclusion 

What is Personality Development ?  

Personality Development is like a journey where we learn about ourselves and how we act. It's about getting better and changing in different ways. Imagine it as a puzzle where some parts are inherited from our families, like how we look, and some of our behaviours. But as we grow up, the things we do and the people we meet add more pieces to this puzzle, making it unique. 

Our personality starts with things we get from our family, like being quiet or friendly. But as we meet more people and go through different experiences, we change and grow. For example, if we face a problem and learn how to solve it, we might become more confident. This is how our personality develops over time, like a story with different chapters.  

Remember, everyone's personality journey is different. Just like no two puzzles are the same, each of us has our own special way of growing and becoming who we are. And as we continue this journey, it is important to adapt to challenges and discoveries that make us the wonderful individuals we are.

Factors influencing Personality Development  

Personality is a unique trait one possesses. It is also important to understand that various factors influence Personality Development. They’re listed below: 

Genetics  

Our genes, which we inherit from our parents, lay the foundation for our personality. Just like how you might get your hair colour from your mother or your father's smile, parts of how you act and feel also come from genes. These genes can affect whether we're naturally calm or a bit more excited, what we like, and how we handle things. 

Environment  

The places w here we grow up, and the people around us, are like the artists who help paint our personality. Our families, the places we live in, and the things we see and hear all make a big difference. If you're from a big family that loves to chat, you might also enjoy talking and sharing. Or if you’ve grown up where music is a constant presence, chances are that you might develop a love for music too. 

Social interactions  

Friends , and people we spend time with can change how we are. For example, when you learn a new game from a friend who has been kind to you. You can also learn new things about how to act and behave. Talking to different people helps us see the world in new ways, which might make us try new things or even change some things about the way we act. 

Life experiences  

Life is full of ups and downs, like when we win a game, or when we have a tough day. These experiences shape how we deal with things. When we handle problems, they make us stronger, and help us understand ourselves better. So, even though tough times are not fun, they help us grow and become more confident. 

Education and learning   

Going to school and learning new things help s us become better people. Imagine school as a treasure of unlimited knowledge. As we learn, we become smarter and learn how to have meaningful conversations with others, solve problems, and think about things in different ways. Education makes us more confident and helps us share our thoughts and ideas.  

Media and technology  

Th ings such as the TV shows we watch and the media we see online can also affect how we think and feel. Just like a friend who shapes your view on the new game with their review, the things we see in media can shape our interests and the way we look at the world. So, if you like superheroes because you saw them on TV, that's the media affecting your personality. 

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Stages of Personality Development  

There are three stages of Personality Development which we will be discussing below. 

Childhood  

Childhood is like the beginning of a story, where our personality starts to take shape. When we're small, the people who look after us, like our parents or guardians, are the ones who guide us on this journey. They help us feel safe when we're scared and show us love when we need it. Just like a warm blanket on a cold day, their care wraps around us and makes us feel special. 

We watch our parents and other grown-ups and learn how to do things by copying them. It's a bit like learning a new game by watching someone else play first. We pick up how to talk, how to behave, and how to make sense of the world. All these little experiences come together to create our personality. 

Adolescence  

As we get older and become teenagers, we start to figure out who we really are. This is like exploring many things at once. Friends and other people of our age become important. We start to care about what they think and what's "cool." Sometimes, we might even change the way we dress or talk just to fit in. 

We start to discover our own unique interests and values. We begin to reali se that it's okay to stand out and be different. Friends and trends guide us in this period. Ultimately, we emerge with a better understanding of who we are, our strengths, and the special qualities that make us unique. 

Adulthood  

When we grow up and become adults, our personalit ies continue to grow and change. Just like how a tree keeps growing and getting stronger, we keep learning and becoming wiser. Adulthood shapes who we shall be for the rest of our lives.  

Our jobs become an important part of this journey. Imagine a job you really love—it's like a special tool that helps you grow even more. It can boost your confidence and skills, making you feel capable and accomplished. The people we meet along the way, whether colleagues or friends, also contribute to our growth. 

Importance of Personality Development  

Personality Development is an important trait, and it shapes the person you are. Here, we’ll discuss the importance of Personality Development in your life. 

Self confidence  

It is the belief in oneself, the assurance that we possess, the skills, knowledge, and qualities to overcome life's challenges. As we develop self-confidence, our personality transforms and enables us to express our thoughts. It helps us to interact confidently with others and pursue our aspirations with determination. 

When we understand ourselves better, we feel surer of who we are. This confidence helps us speak our minds, have meaningful conversations, and pursue our dreams with determination. It's like having a torch that guides us in the dark. 

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Interpersonal relationships  

Interpersonal relationships are a must have for meaningful connections. Effective Personality Development provides us with this skill, enhancing our ability to relate to others. When we develop the skill of understanding different viewpoints, it makes things a lot easier. It's like having versatility that allows us to build bridges based on understanding. 

Active listening cultivates a space where people feel valued and understood. When these skills are honed through effective Personality Development, they form the very essence of strong interpersonal relationships. They develop trust, understanding, and connection. It makes relationships that are not only enduring but also deeply fulfilling. 

Career growth  

Career growth is directly connected with the development of a robust personality. A strong personality becomes a factor in taking individuals towards success in their professional careers. Effective communication, as shaped by a strong personality, emerges as a key factor in career growth. 

The ability to convey thoughts clearly, both in verbal and written forms, establishes a seamless space for ideas to flow. A strong personality also generates leadership qualities. It helps individuals make informed decisions and inspire their peers. This leadership quality not only benefits personal growth but also contributes to one's professional circle.  

Adaptability  

When we develop our personality, we cultivate the skill of adaptability. It's like learning how to dance gracefully, adjusting our steps as the music changes. This skill allows us to face changes and challenges without feeling overwhelmed. We become more open to new ideas, different ways of doing things, and even unexpected turns in our path. 

Having adaptability means we don't get stuck in one way of thinking or doing things. We can think on our feet and find solutions when things don't go as planned. We can even turn setbacks into opportunities. It is a quality that helps us survive in this ever-evolving space. 

Theories of Personality Development  

V arious theories revolve around Personality Development. Here are the three most famous theories. 

Trait t heory  

At the heart of the study of personality lies the Trait theory. It is a concept introduced by esteemed psychologists such as Gordon Allpor t and Hans Eysenck . This theory says that by identifying and classifying distinct traits or characteristics, we can gain an understanding of an individual's personality.  

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These traits are enduring qualities that paint a picture of an individual's usual patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. The practical applications of the Trait theory are numerous and can profoundly impact various aspects of our lives. Here’s a list of benefits: 

Cultivating self-awareness:  

Personal growth starts with truly understanding ourselves. By identifying and grasping our main qualities, we begin to learn about ourselves. With this understanding, we can make smarter choices in our everyday life and work. This improved self-awareness gives us clues about what we're good at and where we can get better. 

Effective communication :  

In a world buzzing with interactions, understanding the traits of others becomes important. When we grasp the unique characteristics that shape someone's personality, we can adapt our communication style to resonate better with them. Curating our words and expressions based on their traits paves the way for clearer understanding.  

E nhancing team dynamics:  

Teamwork hinges on collaboration and togetherness, both of which are greatly influenced by individual traits. By comprehending the traits of our team members, we unlock the potential for improved dynamics. Diverse traits can be utilised to create an environment where different strengths complement each other. This leads to more effective problem-solving, innovation, and shared success. 

Psychoanalytic t heory  

Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic theory presents a fascinating view of Personality Development. According to this theory, our personality is a complex interplay between conscious and unconscious thoughts. Freud identified three fundamental components of personality – Innate Desires (ID), Ego, and Superego. Each plays a role in shaping our behaviour. This theory holds practical implications that can significantly enhance our daily lives: 

Understanding ourselves better:  

Dedicating moments to self-reflection, whether through expressive journaling or open conversations in therap y allows us to unplug hidden conflicts and emotions that might have considerable influence over our actions. By shining a light on these hidden aspects of our psyche, we gain a deeper comprehension of why we act the way we do. 

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Solving inner struggles:  

As we recognise the equilibrium between our Innate Desires ( ID ) and our Internal Morals (Superego), we can pave the way for resolving internal battles. Understanding the source of our inner conflicts allows us to seek resolutions that are aligned with our values and ideals. This, in turn, guides us towards making more accurate decisions in various life situations. 

Managing emotions:   

When we dig into where our emotions come from, we get better at controlling how we react. It's like becoming a master of our emotions. This helps us deal with tough situations calmly and thoughtfully. So, when things get tricky, we can handle them better and stay composed, reacting more sensibly and positively 

Social C ognitive theory  

Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive theory is like a guidebook on how we become who we are. It says that we learn a lot by watching others and believing in ourselves. This theory says that our personality isn't just from inside us. It comes from how we act, what we're like, and what's around us. Let's explore how this theory can be helpful in everyday life: 

Skill development:  

Imagine if you want to get good at something, like playing the guitar. Instead of just practising on your own, you can watch someone who's already great at it. By copying their moves and techniques, you can learn faster. This works for other skills too, whether it's painting, cooking, or even how to be more confident. 

Goal setting:  

Ever had a big dream, like becoming a scientist or an artist? The Social Cognitive theory talks about something called "self-efficacy". It's like believing you can do it. When you believe in yourself, you're more likely to set big goals and actually achieve them. So, if you dream of something amazing, believing in yourself can help you get there. 

Behavioural change:  

Think about habits or the way you usually act. Sometimes, some things make us do certain actions, like feeling stressed or happy. Social Cognitive theory says we can change these habits by understanding what makes us do them. If we figure out the triggers, we can change our surroundings or how we act to make things better. Like, if you want to be healthier, you can avoid junk food and do more exercise. 

Conclusion  

Personality Development is a constant process influenced by genetics, environment, experiences, and interactions. And now that you’ve understood “What is Personality Development?” understanding the factors that influence personality shall become a lot easier for you. Acknowledging its significance allows individuals to cultivate their traits, behaviours, and overall perspective on life. This journey of self-improvement not only benefits personal growth but also improves relationships, careers, and overall well-being. 

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Personality development in the context of individual traits and parenting dynamics

Associated data.

Our conceptualization of adult personality and childhood temperament can be closely aligned in that they both reflect endogenous, likely constitutional dispositions. Empirical studies of temperament have focused on measuring systematic differences in emotional reactions, motor responses, and physiological states that we believe may contribute to the underlying biological components of personality. Although this work has provided some insight into the early origins of personality, we still lack a cohesive developmental account of how personality profiles emerge from infancy into adulthood. We believe the moderating impact of context could shed some light on this complex trajectory. We begin this article reviewing how researchers conceptualize personality today, particularly traits that emerge from the Five Factor Theory (FFT) of personality. From the temperament literature, we review variation in temperamental reactivity and regulation as potential underlying forces of personality development. Finally, we integrate parenting as a developmental context, reviewing empirical findings that highlight its important role in moderating continuity and change from temperament to personality traits.

At the core of personality psychology is a focus on variability in human behaviors and attitudes that are stable across context and can arise from within the individual. The belief that people are ultimately individuals who bring unique perspective and contributions to their own development began to flourish in the Western world in the 19th century. This new focus on the individual propelled initiatives within philosophy and psychology to focus on dimensions that differentiate us from one another ( Barenbaum & Winter, 2008 ). Over time, this acknowledgement of individual differences permeated other areas of psychology – raising the notion that variation in individual traits can be systematic and predictive, and not simply random noise to be filtered out. Since personality can influence a host of constructs of interest – motivation, achievement, social behavior, decision-making – attempts to examine individual differences in this domain are evident across the field.

Early on, much of the emerging personality research was mired in a debate centered on quantifying what portion of personality was trait-based in contrast to experience-shaped. However, the current review will not fully wade into this debate—which ironically often pointed to broad theories of development, while not necessarily taking on a developmental approach ( Barenbaum & Winter, 2008 ). Rather, we will focus on how transactions between endogenous and contextual factors shape the personality development. Particularly, we want to highlight early emerging forces, such as temperament, that shape the emergence of personality traits within the context of the parenting environment. In doing so, we review how researchers conceptualize personality today, how temperamental reactivity and regulation may be underlying forces of personality development, and the role of the parenting context in moderating continuity and change from temperament to personality traits. Our understanding of these complex, bi-directional, interactions are outlined and illustrated in a simplified conceptual model (Section 3) that guides our interpretation of the currently available literature.

1. Current conceptualization of personality

The Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality has guided research and theory building for almost three decades ( John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008 ). FFM, also known as the Big Five model, contends that the construct of personality includes Basic Tendencies or traits that are biologically-based, as well as Characteristic Adaptations that result from dynamic interactions between Basic Tendencies and experience. The combination of Basic Tendencies and Characteristic Adaptations , give rise to our observed personality phenotypes and directly impact the individual’s self-concept and objective biography (for a review, see McCrae & Costa, 2008 ). The theory postulates that there are five basic tendencies of personality: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness , and Conscientiousness . Briefly explained, Neuroticism reflects emotional instability, and a tendency to display behaviors related to negative emotionality, such as anxiety, tension, and sadness. Extraversion refers to a high desire to approach and engage with the social and material world, and it includes traits of sociability, positive emotionality, and assertiveness. Agreeableness reflects a prosocial orientation and amiability that includes behaviors of altruism and trust, whereas the Openness factor includes dimensions of originality, perceptiveness, and intellect with which individuals experience life. Finally, Conscientiousness refers to a tendency to control impulses in compliance with social order, including task-oriented behaviors such as planning, organizing, as well as following norms or rules ( John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008 ).

In some ways, this conceptualization of personality has been closely aligned with our typical conceptualization of childhood temperament. For example, personality traits have been defined as “endogenous dispositions that follow intrinsic paths of development essentially independent of environmental influences” ( McCrae et al., 2000 , p. 173). The term “endogenous” suggests that these traits are biologically-based and early occurring, much like temperament. In fact, McCrae and colleagues (2000) argued that based on behavioral genetic and heritability studies of personality, we can conclude that personality traits have a large genetic component and that childhood shared environment (e.g., adoptive parents and siblings) has little to no effect on adult personality. Furthermore, they also present cross-cultural analyses of the maturation of personality traits from age 14 to age 50, supporting general declines in Neuroticism and Extraversion , and increases in Conscientiousness with age across five countries. Although these results lend support to the biological and universal aspects of personality traits, we should be careful in making strong inferences. Personality traits are usually assessed at an age when they may have reached a high degree of stability. Thus, these studies may 1) miss potential ways in which context can interact with early expressions of these traits (i.e., temperament) to shape continuity, and 2) miss individual variation or change that cannot be captured at group-level analyses ( Halverson & Deal, 2001 ).

Temperament research typically focuses on the early developmental period, measuring individual differences in behavior and physiology that are expressed in infancy and may lay the foundation for later personality. Indeed, temperament-linked differences are evident as early as four months of age ( Fox, Henderson, Rubin, Calkins & Schmidt, 2001 ; Kagan, 2012 ). By measuring systematic differences in emotional reactions, motor responses, and physiological states (e.g., heart rate variability), we can identify a number of temperament dimensions or temperamental styles that we believe may contribute to the underlying biological components of personality ( Rothbart & Bates, 2012 ). For example, an infant who displays increased limb movement when presented with a toy is rated as highly reactive ( Kagan, 2012 ). If this reactivity is accompanied by smiles and pleasant vocalization, then the infant id also rated as high in positive affect. This pattern of high positive reactivity is linked to the personality trait of Extraversion ( Caspi & Shiner, 2006 ; Slobodskaya & Kozlova, 2016 ), suggesting that this tendency for high approach and engagement of novelty is manifested early in infancy. However, links between temperament and personality traits are rarely strong, suggesting that these biological traits may not follow a path completely independent of environmental influences ( Shiner & Caspi, 2012 ). For example, studies suggest that temperament is influenced by prenatal experiences ( Huizink, 2012 ), and that after birth, early context may continue to influence change and continuity of infant temperament ( van Ijzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2012 ). Furthermore, recent findings from epigenetic research has provided the mechanisms by which experience can robustly influence temperamental traits, such as reactivity and regulation ( Roth, 2012 ).

While previous work in infant temperament has provided some insight into the early origins of personality traits, we still lack a rich or cohesive developmental account of how different adult personality profiles emerge (or evolve) from infancy to adulthood. Despite attempts to link temperament dimensions to adult personality profiles, bridging the gap between early individual differences and adult personality traits has proved to be an intricate endeavor. We believe the moderating impact of context could shed some light on the complex trajectory from infant temperament to adult personality. First, however, we more carefully review our current understanding of temperament and the link to personality.

2. Temperament-linked individual differences and personality

Rothbart and Derryberry (1981) defined temperament as individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation that are constitutional or biologically based. Reactivity, or the arousability of emotion, motor, and physiological systems, is evident in behavioral responses to novel stimuli such as increased vocalization, motoric movement, and affective expression. Furthermore, temperamental reactivity can be positive or negative, depending on the affective valence accompanying the infant’s response. Individual differences at these two emotional extremes are characterized as exuberant and fearful temperaments, respectively. Exuberant infants explore novel spaces and toys and are more likely to respond to a stranger or new social interaction with positive affect ( Fox et al., 2001 ). When in the same situation, fearful infants are more likely to cry, kick, or cling to their mothers, and may also show extreme hypervigilance and negative affect compared to non-fearful children ( Kagan, 2012 ). Temperamental regulation functions to modulate reactivity, such that the behavioral expression of high reactivity may be constrained if effective regulation is also present, or exacerbated if regulation abilities are low.

2.1. Temperamental reactivity

Negative reactivity is associated with a low threshold of arousal in limbic structures, particularly the amygdala and the broader threat response system ( Kagan, Reznick, & Snidman, 1987 ). Greater arousal results in heightened sensitivity to context, such that infants with lower thresholds are more sensitive to novel stimuli and thus more likely to show negative responses characterized by fear, even when presented with ostensibly “neutral” stimuli ( White, Lamm, Helfinstein, & Fox, 2012 ). Such negative reactivity is evident in the later emerging temperament profile of Behavioral Inhibition (BI). BI toddlers show longer latencies to interact or approach, respond with negative affect, and remain in close proximity to their mother when presented with a novel toy or in the presence of a stranger, reflecting a highly vigilant response. Furthermore, these behavioral expressions have been associated with physiological differences also originating in the limbic system, such as higher and more stable heart rate and higher cortisol levels ( Kagan et al., 1987 ). Although we cannot extensively describe physiological differences between negative and positive reactivity infants in the current review, a robust collection of studies have identified temperament-linked differences in electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha power, sympathetic tone and baseline rate in the cardiovascular system, cortisol reactivity, the Event Related Negativity (ERN) waveform, and neural response to both threat and reward (for an in-depth description of methodology and group comparisons see Fox, Henderson, Pérez-Edgar, & White, 2008 ; Kagan & Snidman, 2004 ; McDermott et al., 2009 ; Schwartz et al., 2012 ).

Positive reactivity in infants on the other hand, may be the result of a high threshold of arousal, which likely affords infants the ease and comfort to navigate new social situations because they do not perceive such situations as threatening. Typically, Western personality preferences have led us to embrace the exuberant child, while simultaneously believing that fearfulness is a cause for concern ( Pérez-Edgar & Hastings, 2018 ). Although negative reactivity has more generally been associated with negative outcomes, such as anxiety ( Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2009 ; McDermott et al., 2009 ), positive reactivity can also lead to maladaptive outcomes if unregulated (see below). For example, Morales, Pérez-Edgar, and Buss (2016) found that exuberant toddlers who scored low in regulation tasks showed increased attention bias to reward, and their exuberance predicted externalizing behaviors. Externalizing behaviors, in turn, have been associated with traits of low Agreeableness and low Conscientiousness , and can manifest behaviorally in aggression and antisocial behavior ( Miller, Lynam, & Jones, 2008 ).

Early temperamental traits can lead to lasting physiological and cognitive profiles particularly when embedded within a context that reinforces and magnifies their expression ( Rothbart & Bates, 2012 ). In contrast, some environments may actively (even if unconsciously) work to mitigate early traits that do not conform to desired behavioral and emotional patterns ( Belsky, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & van IJzendoorn2007 ). The progression from temperament reactivity to later child outcomes – including emergent personality – through environmental mechanisms that shape continuity may explain why a small percentage of BI infants develop acute social difficulties and clinical anxiety as early as adolescence ( Kagan, 2012 ), while most grow to be healthy, if a bit shy.

2.2.Temperamental regulation

Self-regulation is the modulation (upward or downward) of reactivity through the processes of attention, inhibition, approach and avoidance, functioning as a mechanism for reactive control ( Rothbart, Posner, & Kieras, 2006 ). For instance, an infant with high reactive control may be more likely to disengage from an unpleasant or negative stimulus in the environment (a scary toy) and focus attention elsewhere. Early in infancy, reactive control plays a crucial role in the expression of temperament because it directly modulates behavioral manifestations of reactivity. For example, the infant who is more likely to disengage attention from a negative stimulus will display less vocalization and motoric movement in response.

Temperamental regulation can also incorporate effortful control ( Rothbart, Ellis, Rueda, & Posner, 2003 ). Describing control as “effortful” reflects top-down processes that, unlike automatic reactive processes, are recruited voluntarily. For example, BI children with higher effortful control may more easily recruit strategies to regulate negative feelings in social situations, which can facilitate their social interactions. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is one of the main brain structures involved in effortful control, and along with the Executive Attention Network (EAN) have been extensively studied for their role on regulation abilities (for a review, see Rueda, Posner, & Rothbart, 2005 ; Henderson & Wilson, 2017 ). In summary, individual differences are evident in the way infants react to their environment and regulate environmental input. Thus, the behavioral manifestation of temperament is a product of the interplay between the infant’s motoric and emotional reactivity and the infant’s regulation capacity.

2.3.The contextual role of temperament

The interplay between temperamental reactivity and regulation becomes more nuanced as regulation becomes more effortful or voluntary. Recent evidence suggests that not all regulatory processes affect temperamental reactivity in the same fashion. White and colleagues (2011) examined a large sample of infants from 4-months to preschool age. They found that BI children with poor attention shifting were more likely to follow a developmental path to anxiety compared to BI children who were better at shifting their attention. This evidence, on its own, suggests that more robust regulation may buffer risk trajectories from fearful temperament to Neuroticism and psychopathology. However, White et al. (2011) found a different moderation pattern for inhibitory control, an associated, but distinct, component of self-regulation. Inhibitory control is the ability to stop an automatic or dominant impulse and to activate a subdominant response for the purpose of goal completion. Unlike attention shifting, high, and not poor, inhibitory control was associated with development of anxiety problems in BI children, a finding that has since been replicated (see Henderson & Wilson, 2017 ).

A nuanced understanding of regulation provides some explanation for the variability in developmental trajectories from temperamental reactivity to personality, which will depend in part on which regulatory processes are called upon by individual children. For example, training inhibitory control processes in exuberant children may buffer risk for externalizing problems, and, in the absence of externalizing tendencies, children may develop into more Agreeable and Conscientious adults. However, using the same strategy in behaviorally inhibited children could exacerbate negative reactivity and the risk for internalizing behaviors, which has been associated with adult Neuroticism ( Muris, Meesters, & Blijlevens, 2007 ). Together, these findings emphasize the differential effects of specific self-regulation components, and more importantly, point to the important role of temperament in tethering development to a given adult personality profile over others, and to influencing whether regulation comes to buffer or potentiate risk for psychopathology.

3. Developmental links from temperament to personality

There is now increasing evidence for links between temperament dimensions and the Big Five. The Five Factor Theory of personality helped distinguished between basic tendencies of personality ( Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness , and Openness to Experience ) and later emerging components that are largely driven by life events and personal experience (e.g., Characteristic Adaptations and Self-Concept ). The Big Five, which reflect endogenous characteristics driven by biological systems much like temperament, has proven to be a more suitable construct to assess developmental links between temperament and adult personality ( Shiner & Caspi, 2012 ).

The effort to link temperament to personality has mostly focused on how temperament dimensions of Positive Emotionality , Negative Emotionality , and Effortful Control assessed early in childhood predict differences in personality traits later. Positive Emotionality , given a context that reinforces its stability throughout childhood, likely develops into the broader trait of Extraversion , which includes positive emotions, the motivation to engage in social relationships, and the desire to seek rewarding cues in the environment ( Olino, Klein, Durbin, Hayden, & Buckley, 2005 ; Caspi & Shiner, 2006 ).

Negative Emotionality , in contrast is often linked with manifestations of Neuroticism . For example, De Pauw, Mervielde, and Van Leeuwen (2009) assessed 443 preschoolers on their temperament and personality traits concurrently, and found a large overlap between both constructs, and each positively correlated with internalizing behaviors. Furthermore, Slobodskaya and Kozlova (2016) examined longitudinal links between temperament dimensions assessed within infancy and toddlerhood, and personality traits in childhood. They found that high Negative Emotionality along with low Effortful Control in infancy predicted childhood Neuroticism . In fact, results from their path analysis indicated that Effortful Control in infancy predicts all three of the personality traits assessed in childhood: Extraversion , Conscientiousness , and Neuroticism . Although these results are preliminary given the limited sample size and large variation of time intervals between assessments, they support the contextual role of temperamental regulation in the development of later personality. As previously discussed, Effortful Control is characterized by regulatory abilities that facilitate soothability in infancy, and the ability to inhibit dominant impulses and voluntarily shift attention when necessary to achieve a goal. This dimension has been linked to Conscientiousness , Extraversion , and generally adaptive traits in adult personality ( Halverson et al., 2003 ).

The extant literature supports moderate links between individual differences in infant temperament and later personality traits, while also suggesting that temperament does not predict personality in a deterministic way. What then is the developmental trajectory from infant temperament to childhood and adult personality? We believe the dynamic interaction between temperament-linked individual differences in infancy and early contextual factors leads to emergence of personality traits in childhood, as depicted in the left portion of Figure 1 . As these traits continue to actively and evocatively interact with the environment from infancy throughout childhood and adolescence, they increasingly become more context- and person-specific, resulting in the distinct personality profiles observed in adulthood ( Shiner & Caspi, 2012 ).

Mechanisms of change from temperament to personality Development

For example, “goodness of fit” refers to the extent that a child’s temperament is compatible with the context of development. This term was proposed by Chess and Thomas (1991) to describe the relational or dynamic aspect of temperament. The term “fit” implies a synchrony or transaction between temperament and context, and fit is considered “good” when the environment can meet the demands of a child’s temperament and provides opportunities for growth and sets expectations for regulation that are in accordance with that temperament. Dissonance between temperament and contextual demands would be considered a poor fit, and could potentially lead to maladaptive outcomes. The dynamic interaction between temperament and context may buffer or exacerbate the evolution of temperament traits into personality traits ( Shiner & Caspi, 2012 ).

For instance, a recent study by van der Voort and colleagues (2014) reported the longitudinal buffering effects of maternal sensitivity on children’s inhibited temperament. They followed a sample of 160 adopted infants into the adolescent years, assessing patterns of anxious and depressed behaviors. Although inhibited temperament was a strong predictor of socially reticent behaviors in middle childhood and internalizing problems in adolescence, maternal sensitivity measured at both infancy and middle childhood interacted with inhibited temperament to predict less internalizing problems in adolescence. Sensitivity may allow parents to more readily perceive fearful and vigilant cues in their inhibited infant, and provide more support in those instances in which the infant needs reassurance of safety. Conversely, if parenting behaviors do not fit the infant’s temperamental demands, inhibited and fearful tendencies could be further reinforced throughout childhood.

A good example comes from a series of studies from Kiel and Buss (2010 ; 2011 ; 2012 ; 2013) . Initially, they found that the relation between fearful temperament and protective parenting was stronger when mothers were more accurate in predicting or anticipating their children’s fearful responses ( Kiel & Buss, 2010 ). Presumably, this accurate anticipation increased the likelihood that mothers of fearful children would respond with protection in novel situations, which then perpetuated temperamental fearfulness. In a follow-up study, they maternal accuracy in anticipating fearful responses and protective parenting in toddlerhood was linked to social withdrawal at kindergarten entry ( Kiel & Buss, 2011 ). More recently, they have also shown that it is protective parenting in low-threat , but not high-threat situations that relates to fearful temperament ( Kiel & Buss, 2012 ). This pattern implies that ‘overprotective’ parenting behaviors, even if superficially ‘sensitive’, may potentiate risk from fearful temperament to later internalizing behaviors, anxiety, and high levels of Neuroticism .

In summary, we presume that temperament dimensions and the Big Five personality traits share underlying biological systems that drive their commonalities. When these basic, biological tendencies of adult personality are examined in isolation from the influence of life experience, moderate to strong links with temperament begin to emerge ( McCrae et al., 2000 ; Rothbart, 2011 ; Zentner & Bates, 2008 ). Such links suggest that temperament and personality traits may in essence be the same construct, differentiated only by the developmental point at which they are expressed ( Slobodskaya & Kozlova, 2016 ). Supporting this notion, Shiner and Caspi (2012) argue that personality traits are different from temperament dimensions in that the former include components that are only expressed when individuals develop more advanced cognitive abilities and self-awareness. They explain links between temperament and personality traits in terms of an outward expansion of children’s temperament. Specifically, as children develop and continue to be influenced by experience, life events, and social interactions, the expression of temperament expands beyond individual differences in basic reactivity and emotion, to more nuanced differences in intricate systems such as motivation, goal setting, beliefs, and views of self and others. We build on their cognitive-focused model, and argue that parenting practices form part of those experiences, life events, and social interactions that drive the expansion of temperament. Our developmental model in Figure 1 is in line with Shiner and Caspi’s (2012) view, depicting personality traits as biologically rooted in temperament, and interacting with early context and life experience to shape adult personality.

As previously stated, despite moderate links between temperament and personality traits there remains considerable unexplained variance in adult functional profiles after accounting for temperament and personality traits. At the very least we see moderate environmental influences on personality development even beyond the context of early childhood. We depict extended role of the environment in the center portion of Figure 1 , in agreement with McCrae et al.’s (2000) argument that the environment likely conditions the way in which personality evolves through adulthood.

Taking an even broader perspective, we believe the transactions between the individual and the environment depicted in our model are also dynamically embedded within the larger cultural context of family systems, socio-cultural expectations, and intergenerational processes that may exert important influence on child characteristics and contextual expectations ( Poole, Tang, & Schmidt, in press ). In essence, we suggest that context actively shapes the emergence and expression of personality through dynamic transactions between temperament and environmental factors. These transactions may happen via moderating effects of temperament, as well as bidirectional effects in which temperament elicits or evokes the environmental inputs children encounter, and consequently these environmental inputs gradually shape the expression of temperament (Oppenheimer, Hankin, Jenness, Young, & Smolen, 2013), creating a loop of experience-expectant and experience-dependent transactions. We explore this transactional relationship between child temperament and context using parenting as one example of early environmental influences on personality development.

4. The Parenting Context

Parents have direct genetic influences on children’s temperament and personality ( Scott et al., 2016 ). In addition, passive gene-environment correlations mean that parenting practices, as well as the choices parents make in shaping their child’s environment, are influenced by shared genetic characteristics. In this way, parents have both direct and indirect genetic effects on their child’s developmental outcomes. Thus, as we discuss the contextual influences of parenting on child temperament and personality, it is important to keep in mind that any behavioral influence parents have on their children is also likely to carry a genetic component.

Parents create most of the immediate setting in which infants develop, namely the home and the interpersonal environment, including the face-to-face relationships that take place there. These affordances make parents active agents in children’s social and emotional context, specifically through early parenting style and practices ( Belsky et al., 2007 ). For example, when parents respond to their infant’s cry with soothing and support, they are providing the means for infant emotion regulation. Similarly, in the presence of a stranger or novel situation, a parents’ facial cues (e.g., smile) signal to the infant whether the social context is safe or dangerous. Variations in parenting behavior directly impact the formation of the attachment relationship, and attachment relationships, in turn, influence children’s socioemotional competence and personality over time ( Lewis-Morrarty et al., 2015 ; Stevenson-Hinde, Chicot, Shouldice, & Hinde, 2013 ).

Additionally, parents also shape the infant’s social context beyond the immediate family setting, such as the peer environment. For example, before children gain autonomy, their parents choose what play activities children can engage in (e.g., story time at the library), and the playmates children can interact with. Parents continue to influence their children as they pass though important developmental transitions, such as school entrance, puberty and adolescence. These are periods when children undergo identity exploration and active reorganization of their social world (e.g., romantic relationships), which have relevant theoretical implications for the development of personality ( Reitz, Zimmermann, Hutteman, Specht, & Neyer, 2014 ; Syed, & Seiffge-Krenke, 2013 ).

4.1. Theoretical models of parenting influence

Theorists have proposed several mechanisms through which parenting can shape child outcomes, specifically the development of personality. Bowlby was one of the first to discuss the development of “internal working models” based on the parent-child attachment relationship ( Bowlby, 1980 ). The central tenet of working models is that children internalize representations about “the self” from the dynamic and transactional interactions between them and their caregiver ( Bretherton, 1990 ). Furthermore, children adopt working models of behavior based on the quality of these interactions that they then carry onto other contexts (e.g., school). In essence, parenting quality can influence children’s concept of who they are and how others view them. Additionally, parenting quality can also influence children’s manifestation of personality traits. For example, children who experience harsh punishment and controlling parenting may perceive themselves as unworthy or unlovable, and model intrusive and controlling behaviors that could then lead to low agreeableness or high neuroticism.

Environmental elicitation is a second mechanism theorized to explain relations between the parenting context and personality development. Here, a child’s individual characteristics can elicit specific parenting behaviors ( Shiner & Caspi, 2003 ). For example, a “difficult temperament”, which is a term used to describe infants who are easily irritable, cry often, and are hard to sooth, may elicit frustration in the parent and lead to harsh, controlling parenting or even rejection. The environmental elicitation model can be traced back to an organismic view of development, where changes arise from within the organism (e.g., the child) as the organism actively acts on the world and evokes responses from the environment ( Overton, 2015 ).

A caveat to the environmental elicitation model is that research now suggests a more dynamic approach may be at play, where the elicited environmental responses may be as dependent on environmental characteristics as they are on child characteristics ( Lerner, Rothbaum, Boulos, & Castellino, 2002 ). This is reflected in the bidirectional effects between child and context in Figure 1 . Children’s individual characteristics in tandem with parental individual characteristics can influence the type and quality of parenting response. For example, some studies suggest that parents with higher education levels are more likely to show warmth and support in response to a difficult child, whereas parents with low educational attainment are more likely to respond with harsh control and reciprocal negative affect ( Paulussen-Hoogeboom, Stams, Hermanns, & Peetsma, 2007 ). This approach to environment elicitation can be traced back to Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological framework of development, in which developmental change is theorized to occur through dynamic transactions between organism and immediate environment, and where the individual characteristics of the organism and the characteristics of the environment are equally important in these interactions (for an overview, see Rosa & Tudge, 2013 ).

The working model of behavior and the environmental elicitation model are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and there is empirical evidence suggesting that they may in fact work simultaneously within the framework of parenting and personality development. For example, Van den Akker and colleagues (2014) examined personality development from age 6 to age 20 along with maternal over-reactivity and warmth. The sample included 596 children and their mothers, who reported on their children’s personality traits at five different time points throughout the study, as well as their parenting practices. Van Den Akker and colleagues found that high maternal over-reactivity predicted decreases in Conscientiousness at later time points, and high maternal warmth predicted decreases in emotional stability, which would be reflected in high Neuroticism . This finding echoes the earlier work of Buss and Keil (2011 ; 2012) .

Additionally, the authors also reported that increases in benevolence, which is a characteristic of Agreeableness , predicted later increases in maternal warmth and decreases in over-reactivity. Similarly, high Extraversion in childhood predicted increases in maternal over-reactivity and warmth. Although these results merit replication and further investigation of why specific traits are more reinforced or discouraged by different parenting practices, they nonetheless provide valuable evidence for bidirectional effects between temperament and early context. Additionally, they provide convincing evidence that environmental elicitation and working models of behavior are two mechanisms simultaneously at play, producing dynamic transactions between personality traits and parenting.

4.2. Parenting practices and personality development

The literature has largely focused on specific types of parenting behaviors associated with positive or negative child socioemotional outcomes. Although the aim of this paper is to review the parenting context in interaction with intrinsic child factors, it is worth summarizing briefly the findings that initially emerged when examining the main and direct effects of parenting on child outcomes. Two major dimensions have been used to describe parenting quality: parental warmth or sensitivity and parental control. Parental warmth is a global construct that usually reflects positive parenting behaviors. These behaviors may include measures of sensitivity, support, positive affect, and responsiveness among others ( Behrens, Parker, & Kulkofsky, 2014 ). Warm and responsive parenting has been consistently associated with higher levels of social and emotional competence. For example, Raby, Roisman, Fraley, and Simpson (2015) reported on the socioemotional development of 243 individuals followed from infancy to adulthood. Behavioral expressions of maternal sensitivity were also measured at different time points throughout infancy, as early as three months of age. They found that early maternal sensitivity significantly predicted social competence across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Furthermore, these effects remained significant after accounting for potential child-context developmental transactions, such as children independently choosing more aspects of their environment as they grow in autonomy. These results not only highlight the important role of parenting on child outcomes but also the general, enduring impact of early context on children’s social development.

Positive parenting practices have also been associated with more specific aspects of social development, such as prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior encompasses tendencies for sharing, helping, and cooperating for the purpose of benefiting someone other than the self ( Eisenberg, Eggum-Wilkens, & Spinrad, 2015 ), and has been implicated in adolescent and adult Agreeableness ( Habashi, Graziano, & Hoover, 2016 ; Luengo et al., 2014 ). Daniel, Madigan, and Jenkins (2016) assessed parenting warmth in both mothers and fathers in relation to toddlers’ prosocial behavior in a sample of 239 families. They found that both maternal and paternal warmth at 18 months predicted increases in prosocial behavior at 36 and 54 months, which is in line with the enduring effects of sensitivity reported by Raby et al. (2015) . Beyond predicting changes in prosocial behavior, Domitrovich and Bierman (2001) reported that supportive parenting also predicted social competence through associations with low levels of child aggression, and buffered children from the negative effects of peer dislike. Although partially limited by the cross-sectional design, these results and findings previously discussed suggest that warm supportive parenting has lasting positive effects on children’s later ability to navigate their social world. These effects, in turn, impact the form and expression of adult personality.

Multiple forms of parental control have been studied, including measures of parental harsh intrusiveness, dominance, and pressure, in contrast to gentle guidance and scaffolding behaviors that encourage child autonomy ( Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2009 ). Harsh control and intrusive parenting predict poor socioemotional competence ( Parker & Benson, 2004 ; van Aken, Junger, Verhoeven, & Dekovic, 2007 ). In a longitudinal study, Taylor, Eisenberg, Spinrad, and Widaman (2013) assessed children’s effortful control and intrusive parenting at 18, 30, and 42 months. Intrusive parenting was behaviorally coded from a series of mother-child interactions, including a teaching task, a free-play task, and a clean-up task. Taylor and colleagues found that parents’ intrusiveness was negatively related to later assessments of child effortful control, which encompasses regulatory skills such as attention shifting and emotion regulation that are relevant for social interactions. Furthermore, effortful control mediated the association between intrusive parenting and poor ego resiliency, which is a personality characteristic that reflects adaptability and flexibility to changes in the environment, and it is associated with social competence ( Hofer, Eisenberg, & Reiser, 2010 ).

Further highlighting the negative effects of harsh control, Wiggins and colleagues (2015) reported on the developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in relation to harsh parenting from a large sample of children assessed at ages 3, 5, and 9 years. They found that a trajectory of increasing harsh parenting uniquely predicted a severe trajectory of externalizing symptoms, and was negatively associated with internalizing symptoms. These results suggest that harsh, controlling parenting may lead children to model these behaviors with their peers, causing social conflict and rejection, which may further reinforce the negative behaviors.

Despite significant contributions made in establishing direct links between parenting quality and child outcomes, a great deal of evidence suggests that parenting dimensions do not affect children in the same way ( Slagt et al., 2016 ). In some cases, parenting may only relate to social development through variables that moderate or mediate its effects, such as gender, genetic variability, or personality ( Lianos, 2015 ; Rabinowitz & Drabick, 2017 ).

In fact, Lianos (2015) assessed preadolescents’ personality traits in relation to the parenting style they received, and found that the association between parenting quality and social competence varied by children’s personality. Specifically, high parental rejection was significantly associated with lower social competence only for preadolescents low in Neuroticism , whereas individuals high in Neuroticism were as socially competent as children who did not experience parental rejection. Similarly, high parental overprotection seemed more detrimental for preadolescents low in Agreeableness and Extraversion , as they were significantly less socially competent than children who scored high on these traits, or children who did not experience overprotective parenting. These transactions between emerging personality traits and environmental factors are theoretically depicted in our developmental model ( Figure 1 ), and may also represent an enduring pattern of transactions carried over from infancy. Lianos’ findings also highlight the importance of examining the role of parenting context as a moderator of developmental links between children’s individual characteristics and later outcomes, including the final piece in our model: Personality Profiles . We next review the intersection of individual differences and parenting context in predicting personality development, describing the theoretical models employed so far, synthesizing the current findings, and suggesting areas that warrant further research.

4.3. Temperament reactivity and parenting

Positive reactivity, which is typically reflected by extreme high approach and excitement in the face of novelty, has been largely understudied in relation to parenting behaviors. There is some cross-sectional evidence to suggest that positive reactivity is associated with parental warmth ( Latzman, Elkovitch, & Clark, 2009 ), but such associations cannot clearly distinguish bidirectional effects and could be explained by gene-environment correlations or heritability of parents’ temperament. Longitudinal studies could elucidate the direction of these associations. However, few studies have reported longitudinal assessments between positive reactivity and parenting, especially in infancy.

Lengua and Kovacs (2005) assessed temperament and parenting using both children’s and parents’ report of these variables at two time points. They found that initial positive reactivity predicted higher levels of maternal acceptance, which supports the elicitation model. The authors suggested that the positive characteristics of these children, such as laughter and approach, may be perceived by parents as rewarding and elicit acceptance and warmth. Interestingly, the authors did not find support for the working model of behavior, as initial parental acceptance did not predict changes in positive reactivity.

Even fewer studies have considered the parenting context as a moderator of links between positive reactivity and later socioemotional adjustment, including personality development. Positive reactivity may have a protective effect against negative parenting behaviors, such as maternal rejection, physical punishment, and harsh control ( Lengua, Wolshick, Sandler, & West 2000 ; Lahey et al., 2008 ). For instance, children who are high in approach and positive emotionality may elicit more engagement and positive reactions from adults. In the face of negative parenting, children’s positive reactivity may facilitate deep and positive connections with other adults, who may then serve as an attachment figure that provides some emotional and social guidance for the child ( Werner, 1993 ). This particular area of study could benefit from longitudinal studies assessing positive reactivity and parenting over longer periods, and perhaps earlier in development. Multiple time point data could more directly examine the working model of behavior and the environmental elicitation model simultaneously, assessing whether changes in positive reactivity are only evident after longer time intervals. Additionally, the lack of parenting effects on positive reactivity may be the result of exploring this association later in childhood, as evident bidirectional effects may be more pronounced earlier in development when parents have greater control over the child’s daily experiences.

Negative reactivity has received far more attention than positive reactivity in this literature, perhaps because of its intuitive links to maladaptive outcomes. As previously explained, the global dimension of “difficult temperament” includes characteristics of irritability, high fear, and soothing difficulty, and it has been associated with lower maternal support and responsiveness, and higher parental disapproval and hostility ( Boivin et al., 2005 ; Gauvain, 1995 ). However, a meta-analysis of this relation ( Paulussen-Hoogeboom et al., 2007 ) suggests that results are mixed, and in some cases, may depend on other child characteristics (e.g., gender), and demographic variables (e.g., mother education).

In the case of fearfulness, some findings indicate a positive association with parental warmth and acceptance ( Lengua & Kovacs, 2005 ), whereas others have found longitudinal links to less negative parenting. Lengua (2006) assessed children’s temperamental fear and irritability as well as maternal rejection and discipline practices at three different time points over the course of three years. The sample included 190 children between the ages of 8 and 12, and their mothers. Latent growth modeling revealed that although initial levels of fear were concurrently related to higher levels of maternal rejection and inconsistent discipline, they predicted decreases in these negative parenting dimensions at later time points. Interestingly, initial irritability was also concurrently associated with higher maternal rejection, but it did not uniquely predict changes in rejection. In fact, irritability was associated with higher inconsistent discipline and it also predicted later increases in this dimension.

This interesting pattern of results point to the differential effects of specific temperamental characteristics on parenting, and to the potential for change in temperament given elicited changes in parenting toward higher warmth and less over-reactive control. For example, an infant who is extremely fearful to novelty and high in negative affect may be at risk for early internalizing problems given temperamental stability. However, if such fearful temperament elicits higher maternal warmth and support, coupled with more scaffolding and gentle control, changes in parenting could elicit decreases in fearfulness and negative emotionality, and might decrease the risk of developing adult personality traits of high Neuroticism and low Agreeableness . This is the central developmental pattern we depict in the first and second stages of Figure 1 , with bidirectional effects between child intrinsic characteristics and contextual factors.

This transaction pattern is in line with Differential Susceptibility Theory (DST; Ellis, Boyce, Belsky, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & van IJzendoorn, 2011 ). DST postulates that some individual characteristics of an organism (e.g., temperament) may render it more sensitive to contextual influences (e.g., parenting) such that when faced with a negative context, the organism will show a worse outcome. However when embedded in a positive environment, the organism will benefit the most and perform the best. Children who possessed characteristics that increase sensitivity to context then develop “for better or for worse”, because they either thrive in privileged environments or struggle in adverse circumstances. Our theoretical model can encompass DST because we purposefully leave strength and valence of effects unspecified, acknowledging that the strength and direction of contextual influence may be conditioned by child characteristics. The extant literature supports a pattern in which children high in negative reactivity show high socioemotional competence in the context of maternal warmth and autonomy-supporting parenting ( Bradley & Corwyn, 2008 ). However, the other side of the coin has also been reported. Children high in negative reactivity whose parents report harsh control and low warmth show further continuity of negative reactivity and behavioral problems (Engle & McElwain, 2011; Feng, Shaw, & Moilanen, 2011 ), lower social adjustment ( Stright, Gallagher, & Kelley, 2008 ), and higher neurophysiological risk for anxiety ( Brooker & Buss, 2014 ). These overall patterns suggest that children high in reactivity may present with typically positive personality traits, such as Agreeableness or Conscientiousness , or more negative traits, such as Neuroticism , based on their developmental context. However, as noted above, there are limits to both sensitivity and the power of the environment. As such, it is very unlikely that a child sensitive to the environment due to negative reactivity will, even under the best of circumstances, show high levels of Extraversion .

4.4. Temperament regulation and parenting

Studies of temperament regulation usually include behavioral measures of effortful control, which is manifested on attention sustaining, perseverance, and low frustration in the face of difficulty ( Rueda, 2012 ). A large number of studies suggest that maternal warmth and supportive parenting are associated with higher levels of effortful control (for a meta-analysis, see Karreman, Van Tuijl, van Aken, & Deković, 2006 ). A study by Chang and colleagues (2015) investigated relations between effortful control and proactive parenting from age two to five. Initial levels of proactive parenting, characterized by practices of scaffolding and structured play, predicted increases in effortful control at age five. This result remained significant even after accounting for language skills, which is a significant predictor of effortful control.

There is also some empirical support for the eliciting effects of effortful control on parenting. Higher levels of self-regulation have been associated with more maternal support and less rejection ( Kennedy, Rubin, Hastings, & Maisel, 2004 ; Lengua, 2006 ). However, the studies are scarce and some of the results have been moderated by child’s gender or have systematically varied by parent (e.g., father vs. mother; Lifford, Harold, & Thapar, 2009 ). Future studies should further examine the circumstances in which effortful control predicts changes in parenting, especially because a more recent study did not find support for such elicitation effects ( Taylor et al., 2013 ). Overall, both elicitation and shaping effects between parenting and temperament regulation are important to personality development, because early effortful control has been associated with later personality traits of high Conscientiousness and Agreeableness ( Rueda, 2012 ).

Besides exploring bidirectional effects, the literature has narrowed in on the interaction between self-regulation and parenting to predict child outcomes. A consistent pattern of results has emerged in the past 15 years: parenting practices appear especially important for the socioemotional development of children with low effortful control (for a meta-analysis, see Slagt et al., 2016 ). Other studies have replicated this pattern and provided support for unique environmental effects of the parenting context. For instance, Reuben et al. (2004) examined parenting, effortful control, and externalizing behaviors using a longitudinal adoption design in 225 families, including adoptive and birth parents. Adoptive maternal warmth predicted decreases in externalizing behaviors only for children with low effortful control. This study in particular highlights the importance of the parenting context and points to its contextual influence on children’s development independent from any shared genetic variance.

5. Conclusions

Personality has for decades been theorized to originate from temperament. However, we rarely see direct links between temperament and personality, suggesting that biologically determined profiles of temperament are not the only forces at work in shaping developmental trajectories. Instead, the current body of evidence suggests that adult personality develops along pathways influenced by environmental factors, such as the parenting context, that shape the continuity and manifestation of early-appearing biological differences.

Infant temperament probably begins to interact with parenting practices early in development, and these transactions can reinforce or discourage continuity of temperament and personality development. Infants’ behavioral and emotional reactivity elicits an array of parenting responses in order to meet the infant’s needs. Additionally, more recent findings also suggest that the elicited parenting behaviors and practices are dependent on the parent’s individual characteristics, and they can in turn shape the child’s temperamental characteristics. Empirical evidence that parenting can explain changes in temperament and that temperament can elicit changes in parenting is compatible with the “goodness of fit” transactional model proposed by Thomas and Chess (1991) . This model can also account for the moderating effects of infants’ temperament on the association between parenting behaviors and child outcomes. Both the theoretical model and the extant evidence highlight that a match between parenting and temperament, rather than a universal construct of “good parenting”, seems to be relevant in predicting personality development.

A growing literature suggests that parenting interacts with temperament to affect socioemotional development, especially pointing to the possibility that some temperament dimensions may be more vulnerable than others to the detrimental effects of a negative parenting context ( Slagt et al., 2016 ). Although the patterns are not always consistent across developmental periods, specific temperament dimensions, or parenting practices ( Rabinowitz & Drabick, 2017 ), the evidence is nonetheless indisputable that context, in the form of parenting, can moderate the relationship between temperament-linked individual differences and child outcomes. Additionally, the extant findings suggest that the intersection of temperament and parenting should be investigated as a dynamic, transactional relation. If it is to be fully understood, investigators should employ more longitudinal studies where both child temperament and parenting behaviors are observed at multiple time points, and their transactions considered to predict personality development ( Slagt et al., 2016 ). Finally, the complexity of temperament-parenting transactions also implies the possibility of simultaneous child and parent individual characteristics playing a functional role in the personality traits that children later express. Bronfenbrenner emphasized the importance of such simultaneously occurring characteristics:

Proximal processes that affect development vary systematically as a joint function of the characteristics of the developing person and the environment (both immediate and more remote) in which the processes are taking place ( Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1993 , p. 317).

To the extent that we consider personality to be a developmental process, Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory informs our current understanding of how personality develops in context. By his account, individual characteristics of the child and the context will inevitably affect the nature of their transaction, and therefore should be carefully considered in our designs. For example, child gender has occasionally been found to moderate the influence of effortful control on later parenting practices ( Lifford, Harold, & Thapar, 2008 ). This moderation calls for a comprehensive, holistic account of the child in our designs and measurement models, rather than including isolated individual characteristics that may only represent one portion of the child’s experienced “truth”. Similarly, caregiver role, parent psychopathology, education level, and household size are all characteristics of the parenting context that could influence “proximal processes” or parent-child transactions, and thus should be reflected in our studies. In conclusion, when examining personality development, transactions between child and parent over time are crucial, and these complex, dynamic relations can only inform the trajectory to adult personality when multiple individual characteristics of both entities (i.e., organism and context) are carefully considered.

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Personal Development: 9 Skills, Tips, and Examples

Why personal development is so important and how to improve yourself..

Posted June 7, 2020 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

I am obsessed with personal development because it's helped me completely change my life. Only 10 years ago, I had no connections, no money, and worked a minimum wage retail job. Now, I have a Ph.D. from Berkeley, am the author of a book on how to generate happiness in the technology age , and have created a variety of well-being-boosting programs . And it's all because I worked on developing myself. So how do you make personal development work for you?

Personal development can include any skill that you build to improve yourself—your emotions, thoughts, or behaviors. It doesn't really matter which skills you want to improve; the key to personal development is taking the right steps—steps that help ensure that you reach whatever goal you are pursuing.

Learn more from the video below:

What are the most important personal development skills? It really depends on what you're trying to achieve. But here are 9 that I have found to be important to successful personal development.

1. Start by figuring out which personal development skills you need to build. The first step in any personal development strategy is to figure out how to best use your time. It makes little sense to learn how to code if you don't plan to be a coder or to bench press 400 pounds if you don't plan to be a weight lifter. These can be hobbies, but personal development is more about building skills to reach your personal goals . So it's good to take some time to self-reflect. (If well-being is a goal of yours, take this well-being quiz to see which skills you need to build.)

2. Develop entrepreneurial thinking. Everyone can benefit from learning how to think like an entrepreneur, regardless of whether or not you are one. Why? Because entrepreneurs are innovative, good at planning for all possible outcomes, and skilled at getting others to buy into their vision or dream. And perhaps more importantly for personal development, they tend to be adaptable to all sorts of situations.

By developing entrepreneurial thinking, you better adapt to whatever your circumstances are so you can more easily achieve your goals, whether those goals are to start a business that makes a positive impact in the world , to set yourself up for an early retirement , or climb Mount Everest.

3. Develop a growth mindset . If we have a “fixed mindset,” we may shy away from challenges that could help us grow. But this can be problematic because our fear of making mistakes can lead us to avoid challenges and new experiences—experiences which would help us grow, improve ourselves in important ways, and create the life we desire.

If we have a “ growth mindset ” we seek out challenges because we value learning and growth more than we value feeling smart or knowing what we’re doing. That's why those with a growth mindset often build new skills more easily: They believe they can and so they really work at it.

4. Develop your self-soothing mechanism. High levels of stress are not only bad for our health and well-being, they can prevent us from effectively pursuing and achieving our self-development goals. By learning effective, long-lasting relaxation techniques , your body and mind will be more equipped to handle the inevitable challenges that arise when you're trying to develop yourself.

5. Develop resilience . Resilience is that super-important skill that helps you bounce back quickly after being knocked down. This is one of the most important skills for success because none of us will achieve anything if we don't keep trying when we fail. We can build resilience by improving skills like emotion-regulation , mindfulness , and positivity.

6. Develop your value compass. It's not always easy to live by our core values . But when we go through life without following our personal values, we can easily get lost. We may suddenly "wake up" and realize that we are not who we want to be or where we want to be. This is why it's so important to stay in alignment with our personal values.

What are your values? Perhaps: kindness, curiosity, creativity , hard work, or personal relationships. Define your personal values so you know which actions are in alignment with those values.

7. Create a personal development plan. A good personal development plan takes all these factors into consideration—the WHAT, the HOW, the WHY, and the WHEN. And it focuses on long-term goals . So ask yourself:

• What skills will you build?
• How will you build them?
• Why will you build them?
• And when will you build them?

It can be helpful to create a 10-year plan to map out how you'll reach these goals.

8. Record your progress towards personal development. Keeping track of our progress as we move toward our personal development goals is key to making sure we're on the right track. Then we can pause and take a different direction if we've gone off course. By maintaining self-awareness and frequently checking in with ourselves, we can identify things that we need to devote more attention to. As a result, we can make better progress toward our personal development.

9. Keep developing yourself in new ways. The science is clear: The more ways we develop ourselves, the broader our skillset, and the more success we tend to have. So try learning some new emotional skills or do some activities to build new skills. You just might learn something that changes your life.

Facebook /LinkedIn images: GaudiLab/Shutterstock

Tchiki Davis, Ph.D. , is a consultant, writer, and expert on well-being technology.

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Psychology Discussion

Personality development: definition and characteristics.

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After reading this article you will learn about Personality Development: 1. Definition of Personality Development 2. Characteristics of Personality Development.

Definition of Personality Development:

Personality is concerned with the psychological pattern of an individual— the thoughts, emotions and feelings—that are unique to a person. In fact, the totality of character, attributes and traits of a person are responsible for molding his personality.

These inherent personality traits and the different soft skills interact with each other and make a person what he or she is. It helps bring out a number of intrinsic qualities of a person, which are a must in any responsible position.

In simple words, personality is a set of qualities that make a person distinct from another. The word ‘personality’ originates from the Latin word ‘persona’ , which means a mask. In the theatre of the ancient Latin-speaking world, the mask was just a conventional device to represent or typify a particular character.

It is the sum of the characteristics that constitute the mental and physi                                      cal being of a person including appearance, manners, habits, taste and even moral character. The personality of a person is how he presents himself to the world; it is how others see him.

It has been aptly said:

Reputation is what people think you are.

Personality is what you seem to be.

Character is what you really are.

When we do something again and again, we form a habit. Ultimately these habits form a particular behaviour. If they recur frequently, they become a part of our psyche. They are reflected in all our activities—what we say, what we do, how we behave in certain circumstances and even in how we think. They become the core of our personality.

Personality analysis is thus a methodology for categorizing the character and behaviour of a person. Personality is made up of some characteristic pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviour that make one person different from others.

Each of these individual attributes has its own individual characteristics, as indicated in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Personality Attributes and their Characteristics:

According to a theory expostulated by Carl Jung (1875-1961), a contemporary of Freud, all personal characteristics are a by-product of two fundamental attitude types: introversion and extroversion. Extroverts are optimistic, outgoing and confident, while introverts are averse to going out and facing the world outside.

Besides introversion and extroversion, different temperaments of indi­viduals play an important role in determining their personality. Long ago, Greek physician Hippocrates put forward the theory that the temperament of a person is dependent on certain fluids (which he calls ‘humor’ ) present in the human body.

Disproportionate mixtures and increase of any of the humors causes a change in the human temperament.

According to this categorization, human temperaments have been classified into four categories:

Sanguine temperament — caused by excess of blood

Melancholic temperament — caused by excess of spleen

Phlegmatic temperament — caused by excess of phlegm

Choleric temperament — caused by excess of bile

Individual attributes of these temperaments are given in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Attributes and temperaments:

This ancient theory of Hippocrates has undergone many modifications but the main principle still holds good. However, these individual attributes are not the only factors that mould the personality: heredity and environment also play a major part in influencing one’s personality. Here are a few comprehensive case studies illustrating the points discussed.

Through the following three case studies, it will become clear that personality is a multi-dimensional issue with the following key characteristics:

1. One’s personality sends out a signal that others read.

2. Consciously different personalities can be powerful.

3. There is no ‘one right personality’ ; it differs by role.

Characteristics of Personality Development:

I. case 1: one’s personality sends out a signal that others read :.

Nelson Mandela had a towering personality. The world respects him, and knows many aspects of his personality. Yet, as you read through the different anecdotes of this great leader, what strikes you as a refreshing revelation is that Mandela very effectively ‘worked on’ his personality. He was conscious that his personality reflected the confidence he exuded in others, and his demeanor was a signal to his people.

As stated in a TIME magazine article (2008), during a presidential election campaign. Nelson Mandela’s propeller plane developed a snag a few minutes before landing. Mandela, however, continued to be calm, reading a newspaper. The plane had an emergency landing and Mandela came out safe.

Later Mandela said, ‘Man, I was terrified up there!.. Of course I was afraid!… But as a leader, you cannot let people know. You must put up a front .’

Richard Stengel wrote in this TIME magazine article about Mandela as he reflected on this episode:

‘And that’s precisely what he learned to do- pretend and, through the act of appearing fearless, inspire others. It was a pantomime Mandela perfected on Robben island, where there was much to fear. Prisoners who were with him said watching Mandela walk across the courtyard, upright and proud, was enough to keep them going for days. He knew that he was a model for others, and that gave him the strength to triumph over his own fear.’

Similarly, while Mandela was always bitter about his long imprisonment, he always put up a positive demeanour about it.

India’s cricket captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni too sends a cool and composed signal to his team at all times. Even in the most stressful situations, he appears completely in control and unruffled.

Yet, internally he churns his thoughts at all times, with a deft combination of planning his moves and being outright street-smart. He is aware that his unflustered exterior is a signal that keeps his team composed and focused, without losing their nerve in crunch situations.

Personality, unlike what many people believe, is not in-born and static. It can be consciously developed and changed. With conscious effort, one can project the desired personality.

For example, in preparation for an interview session, or in one’s professional career, a person may have to work on his personality. Every role comes with certain personality expectations.

By consciously working on the desired traits over time and projecting the desired ones, one can make a very tangible change to his original self to meet the expectations.

One’s personality is a signal that others read at all times. This includes every gesture and every articulation of the person. This signal is read by the interviewer or by superiors in a professional world. In turn, opinion gets formed and selection choices are made based on such impressions.

In one’s career, it is therefore important to recognize at all times that there is a direct correlation between the personality signal one sends out and one’s career growth. Those who do not align these expectations may get stunted in their careers.

ii. Case 2: Same Person: Consciously Different Personalities can be Powerful :

Mandela’s powerful personality always reached his people. Waving hands with a smiling face and wearing bright coloured print shirts showed him as a fulfilled patriarch of modem Africa. His tight fists during his run for the Presidency showed his determined resolve.

Wearing fatigues and sporting a beard while he was the leader of the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) underground wing showed his aggression (TIME 2008). Thus, it is possible, and even desirable, to not have the same personality under all conditions. Consciously working on, and demonstrating different personalities under different conditions can be very powerful.

In a corporate-setting, appearance and body language matter. One’s attire, demeanour and style reflect one’s personality. Hence, it is important to consciously work on one’s appearance so that it creates the desired impression during an interview or subsequently in one’s career.

iii. Case 3: There isn’t One Right Personality; It Differs by Role :

In an interview for a global team leader position, an experienced candidate, Seema, was pitted against a well-qualified and outspoken John. Seema had worked in several companies, and led small teams. John, on the other hand, was a brilliant researcher and had primarily worked in individual contributor roles.

During the interview for the team leader position, the interviewer presented a case where the work to be done is split across two teams—one in India, the other in the US. The team in India looked at their counterpart in the US as a threat, and vice versa. Each team wanted to get a bigger share of the pie and own more of the quality work than the other.

When John was asked how he would handle the leadership of the India team, he said he would outmaneuver the US team by demonstrating clear innovation excellence and superiority of his team over its counterpart.

He confidently articulated the many methods he would use to showcase to his management how the work he did will clearly be of higher value and impact. This would ensure increased ownership of the work by the India team, and hence a larger share of the pie.

Seema, however took a completely different view. She said she would first call for a joint face-to-face interaction session between the US and the India teams. The intent would be to break any mental barriers and misgivings between the teams and the respective leaders.

She said it is critical that the teams on both sides of the globe think of themselves as one team—since they both represented the same company, working to win against the competition. Subsequent to that session, the teams will work cohesively, supporting each other at all times, to win more customer business.

This way, she explained, the total work pie can be grown, benefiting both the teams. It would give both the India team and the US team more responsibilities.

The interview team liked John’s aggression and confidence, but felt that these personality traits, while valuable in many cases, were not appropriate for this role. The current role required a strong ethic of teamwork and global collaboration.

John’s focus would lead to more internal strife and competition. He would dissipate more energy on winning internal battles. Seema’s strategy was to build a strong global team and to focus her energy externally to win against competitors.

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Essay on Personality Development

Students are often asked to write an essay on Personality Development in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Personality Development

Introduction.

Personality Development refers to enhancing one’s traits for a holistic growth. It’s about improving communication, leadership skills, and maintaining a positive attitude.

Importance of Personality Development

A strong personality helps in better interaction and boosts confidence. It helps us to face challenges and achieve success.

Factors Influencing Personality Development

Various factors like environment, education, and relationships shape our personality. These elements help us grow and evolve as individuals.

Personality Development is a continuous process. It helps us to be better versions of ourselves, making us more adaptable and successful in life.

Also check:

• Speech on Personality Development

250 Words Essay on Personality Development

Personality development is a comprehensive term that encapsulates the improvement of an individual’s traits and attributes, which contribute to their overall character and image. It is an ongoing process that involves the growth and maturation of one’s personality, leading to self-awareness and personal enhancement.

Significance of Personality Development

Personality development is crucial as it enables individuals to enhance their interpersonal skills, which are vital in today’s highly competitive world. It aids in the development of traits such as confidence, optimism, and resilience, which are key to overcoming life’s challenges. Furthermore, it promotes effective communication skills, leadership qualities, and emotional intelligence, which are integral to personal and professional success.

Several factors influence personality development. The environment, including family, school, and community, plays a significant role in shaping one’s personality. The experiences, both positive and negative, that an individual encounters throughout their life also contribute to their personality development. Genetic factors, although not entirely controllable, also play a part in defining an individual’s temperament and behavior.

In conclusion, personality development is a lifelong process that involves the continuous growth and enhancement of an individual’s character and attributes. It is a critical aspect of human development that can significantly influence one’s personal, academic, and professional success. Therefore, it is essential for individuals to focus on their personality development and strive for continuous self-improvement.

500 Words Essay on Personality Development

Personality development is an enduring process of cultivating behaviors, attitudes, and communication patterns that make an individual distinctive. It involves both the improvement of personal traits and the development of a holistic persona that plays a crucial role in achieving success in life.

The Essence of Personality Development

Personality development is not confined to the improvement of a single aspect of an individual; instead, it is about improving an amalgamation of factors that would include the ability to communicate effectively, confidence building, and the overall personality. It can be considered as a tool that helps in enhancing one’s self-esteem and confidence, thereby making an individual more presentable and acceptable in the social context.

Several factors contribute to personality development, including genetic predisposition, upbringing, education, environment, and experiences. Genetic factors contribute to the fundamental aspects of personality, such as temperament. Upbringing and education, on the other hand, shape our values, beliefs, and attitudes.

Environment and experiences play a significant role in shaping our personality. The environment we are exposed to, the people we interact with, and the experiences we have all contribute to the development of our personality. Positive experiences contribute to a confident, well-adjusted personality, while negative experiences may lead to a lack of confidence and low self-esteem.

Role of Personality Development in Success

Personality development plays a vital role in our success, both personally and professionally. A well-developed personality is a key to success as it enhances our ability to communicate effectively, improves our confidence, and helps us in building relationships. It allows us to present ourselves effectively in various situations, thereby opening up opportunities for growth and success.

The Process of Personality Development

Personality development is a continuous process that starts from the time we are born and continues throughout our life. It involves a constant interaction between our innate characteristics and the environment. This process can be influenced by consciously deciding to improve ourselves by learning new skills, adopting healthy habits, and developing positive attitudes.

In conclusion, personality development is an essential aspect of our lives that influences our success and happiness. It is a continuous process that requires conscious effort and commitment. By understanding the factors that influence our personality and taking steps to develop our personality, we can enhance our potential, improve our relationships, and achieve success in life.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Personality Characteristics

How personality develops, impact of personality, personality disorders.

Personality describes the unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish a person from others. A product of both biology and environment, it remains fairly consistent throughout life.

Examples of personality can be found in how we describe other people's traits. For instance, "She is generous, caring, and a bit of a perfectionist," or "They are loyal and protective of their friends."

The word "personality" stems from the Latin word persona , which refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers to play roles or disguise their identities.

Although there are many definitions of personality, most focus on the pattern of behaviors and characteristics that can help predict and explain a person's behavior.

Explanations for personality can focus on a variety of influences, ranging from genetic effects to the role of the environment and experience in shaping an individual's personality.

What exactly makes up a personality? Traits and patterns of thought and emotion play important roles, and so do these fundamental characteristics of personality:

• Consistency : There is generally a recognizable order and regularity to behaviors. Essentially, people act in the same way or in similar ways in a variety of situations.
• Both psychological and physiological : Personality is a psychological construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs.
• Affects behaviors and actions : Personality not only influences how we move and respond in our environment, but it also causes us to act in certain ways.
• Multiple expressions : Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be seen in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and other social interactions.

There are a number of theories about personality , and different schools of thought in psychology influence many of these theories. Some theories describe how personalities are expressed, and others focus more on how personality develops.

Type theories suggest that there are a limited number of personality types that are related to biological influences.

One theory suggests there are four types of personality. They are:

• Type A : Perfectionist, impatient, competitive, work-obsessed, achievement-oriented, aggressive, stressed
• Type B : Low stress, even- tempered , flexible, creative, adaptable to change, patient, tendency to procrastinate
• Type C : Highly conscientious, perfectionist, struggles to reveal emotions (positive and negative)
• Type D : Worrying, sad, irritable, pessimistic, negative self-talk, avoidance of social situations, lack of self-confidence, fear of rejection, appears gloomy, hopeless

There are other popular theories of personality types such as the Myers-Briggs theory. The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator identifies a personality based on where someone is on four continuums: introversion-extraversion, sensing-intuition, thinking-feeling, and judging-perceiving.

After taking a Myers-Briggs personality test, you are assigned one of 16 personality types. Examples of these personality types are:

• ISTJ : Introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. People with this personality type are logical and organized; they also tend to be judgmental.
• INFP : Introverted, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving. They tend to be idealists and sensitive to their feelings.
• ESTJ : Extroverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. They tend to be assertive and concerned with following the rules.
• ENFJ : Extroverted, intuitive, feeling, and judging. They are known as "givers" for being warm and loyal; they may also be overprotective.

Personality Tests

In addition to the MBTI, some of the most well-known personality inventories are:

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
• HEXACO Personality Inventory
• Caddell's 16PF Personality Questionnaire
• Enneagram Typology

Personality Traits

Trait theories tend to view personality as the result of internal characteristics that are genetically based and include:

• Agreeable : Cares about others, feels empathy, enjoys helping others
• Conscientiousness : High levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, goal-directed behaviors
• Eager-to-please : Accommodating, passive, and  conforming
• Extraversion : Excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness
• Introversion : Quiet, reserved
• Neuroticism : Experiences stress and dramatic shifts in mood, feels anxious, worries about different things, gets upset easily, struggles to bounce back after stressful events
• Openness : Very creative , open to trying new things, focuses on tackling new challenges

Psychodynamic Theories

Psychodynamic theories of personality are heavily influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud and emphasize the influence of the unconscious  mind on personality. Psychodynamic theories include Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stage theory and Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development .

Behavioral Theories

Behavioral theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, often ignoring the role of internal thoughts and feelings. Behavioral theorists include B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson .

Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual experience in developing ​a personality. Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow .

Research on personality can yield fascinating insights into how personality develops and changes over the course of a lifetime. This research can also have important practical applications in the real world.

For example, people can use a personality assessment (also called a personality test or personality quiz) to learn more about themselves and their unique strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. Some assessments might look at how people rank on specific traits, such as whether they are high in extroversion , conscientiousness, or openness.

Other assessments might measure how specific aspects of personality change over time. Some assessments give people insight into how their personality affects many areas of their lives, including career, relationships, personal growth, and more.

Understanding your personality type can help you determine what career you might enjoy, how well you might perform in certain job roles, or how effective a form of psychotherapy could be for you.

Personality type can also have an impact on your health, including how often you visit the doctor and how you cope with stress. Researchers have found that certain personality characteristics may be linked to illness and health behaviors.

While personality determines what you think and how you behave, personality disorders are marked by thoughts and behavior that are disruptive and distressing in everyday life. Someone with a personality disorder may have trouble recognizing their condition because their symptoms are ingrained in their personality.

Personality disorders include paranoid personality disorder , schizoid personality disorder , antisocial personality disorder , borderline personality disorder (BPD), and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).

While the symptoms of personality disorders vary based on the condition, some common signs include:

• Aggressive behavior
• Delusional thinking
• Distrust of others
• Flat emotions (no emotional range)
• Lack of interest in relationships
• Violating others' boundaries

Some people with BPD experience suicidal thoughts or behavior as well.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  at  988  for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911. 

For more mental health resources, see our  National Helpline Database .

If you are concerned that elements of your personality are contributing to stress, anxiety, confusion, or depression, it's important to talk to a doctor or mental health professional. They can help you understand any underlying conditions you may have.

It is often challenging to live with a personality disorder, but there are treatment options such as therapy and medication that can help.

Understanding the psychology of personality is much more than simply an academic exercise. The findings from personality research can have important applications in the world of medicine, health, business, economics, technology, among others. By building a better understanding of how personality works, we can look for new ways to improve both personal and public health.

The Myers & Briggs Foundation.  MBTI basics .

Bornstein RF. Personality assessment in the diagnostic manuals: On mindfulness, multiple methods, and test score discontinuities .  J Pers Assess . 2015;97(5):446-455. doi:10.1080/00223891.2015.1027346

Srivastava K, Das RC. Personality and health: Road to well-being .  Ind Psychiatry J . 2015;24(1):1–4. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.160905

Mayo Clinic. Personality disorders .

Carducci BJ. The Psychology of Personality: Viewpoints, Research, and Applications . Wiley Blackwell. 

John OP, Robins RW, Pervin LA. Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research . Guilford Press.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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5 Best Essays on Personality Development & its Importance

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Personality development is the process whereby a man enriches his mental, physical exterior appearance by means of adding value to it. As the Personality is sum total of one’s inner and exterior characteristics, so the personality development refers to adding value to it. The following Essay On Personality Development talks about its core meaning, purpose and importance of Personality development and how personality development is important in today’s life.

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Essay on Personality Development & Its Importance in Life

Personality development is one of the most important aspects of human life. It helps in determining the way we think, feel and behave. It is the result of our interactions with others and our environment. Personality development starts from the time we are born and continues throughout our life. Personality development refers to the process of improving one’s personality. It is a lifelong process that involves learning new things, adapting to new situations and making changes in oneself.

There are various factors that contribute to personality development. These include nature (heredity), nurture (environment), experiences, culture and socialization. Heredity refers to the traits that are passed on to us from our parents. Nurture refers to the environment in which we grow up and the experiences we have. Our culture and socialization play a major role in shaping our personality.

Personality development is important because it helps us to become better individuals. It enables us to cope with the challenges of life and to lead successful and fulfilling lives. It also helps us to develop our unique talents and abilities.

Personality Development for Students

Personality development is very important for students. It helps them to become better individuals and to cope with the challenges of life. It also helps them to develop their unique talents and abilities. In addition to that a strongly personality developed person is always successful and also have a better social life. He will never be afraid to take challenge because he know his capabilities and can perform in every situation.’

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Therefore, Personality development is highly instrumental in our lives. We need to work on it throughout our lives in order to become better individuals. It is a lifelong process that involves learning new things, adapting to new situations and making changes in ourselves.

Essay on Personality Development:

Personality development is the process of shaping and enhancing one’s personality. It refers to a combination of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive patterns that make up an individual’s unique traits and characteristics. These patterns are influenced by various factors such as genetics, environment, experiences, and upbringing.

The concept of personality development has been studied extensively in psychology and is considered crucial for personal growth and success in life. It is a continuous process that starts from childhood and continues throughout one’s lifetime.

Personality development can be classified into two main categories: innate and acquired traits. Innate traits are those that are inherited genetically, such as physical features, while acquired traits are shaped by external factors like education, culture, and personal experiences. Both these types of traits determine an individual’s behavior and responses to different situations.

The development of one’s personality is a complex process that involves various stages. It starts with the formation of an identity during early childhood, followed by self-awareness and socialization in the adolescent years. As individuals grow older, their personalities continue to evolve, influenced by various experiences, relationships, and life events.

In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, having a well-developed personality is essential for personal and professional success. It helps in building confidence, assertiveness, effective communication skills, and the ability to adapt to changing situations. Therefore, it is crucial to invest time and effort in developing one’s personality continuously.

To conclude, personality development is an ongoing process that determines an individual’s behavior and overall well-being. It is a combination of innate and acquired traits that are shaped by various experiences throughout one’s life. Nurturing and enhancing one’s personality can lead to personal growth, success, and fulfillment in all aspects of life.

Essay on Personality Development through Sports:

Personality development refers to the process of improving one’s characteristics, behaviors, and attitudes. It is a continuous journey that involves growth, learning, and self-discovery. Personality development can be influenced by various factors such as upbringing, education, and experiences.

One major aspect that plays a significant role in shaping an individual’s personality is sports. Participating in sports activities has been proven to have a positive impact on one’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. However, the benefits of sports go beyond just physical health. It also contributes to an individual’s overall personality development.

Sports can teach individuals important life skills such as teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. These skills are crucial in one’s personal and professional life. Through sports, individuals learn to work together towards a common goal, which can help them develop better social skills and build stronger relationships.

Moreover, sports also teach individuals how to handle success and failure. In competitive sports, there will always be winners and losers. Through these experiences, individuals learn the importance of resilience and how to bounce back from setbacks. They also learn to take responsibility for their actions and make necessary improvements to achieve their goals.

Furthermore, sports can also help individuals develop confidence and self-esteem. As they improve their physical abilities and skills, they gain a sense of accomplishment and belief in themselves. This confidence can translate into other areas of life, allowing them to take on challenges with a positive attitude.

In conclusion, sports have a significant impact on an individual’s personality development. It not only promotes physical health but also instills important life skills and values. Therefore, it is essential to encourage individuals to participate in sports activities as a means of fostering their personal growth and development.

Essay on Role of Teacher in Personality Development:

The role of teachers in shaping the personalities of their students is crucial. Teachers are not just responsible for imparting knowledge and academic skills, but they also play a significant role in the overall development of a child.

One of the key roles of teachers is to act as role models for their students. Students often look up to their teachers and emulate their behavior, attitude and values. This makes it imperative for teachers to possess desirable qualities such as empathy, patience, and integrity so that they can positively influence their students.

Moreover, teachers also play an essential role in nurturing the emotional intelligence of their students. They not only teach academic subjects but also help students develop important life skills like communication, problem-solving, decision-making and critical thinking. These skills are vital for a child’s personality development and growth.

Teachers also have the responsibility of identifying and nurturing the strengths of their students. Every child is unique, and it is the teacher’s job to recognize their potential and encourage them to excel in their areas of interest. This not only boosts the self-confidence of students but also helps them discover their true passions.

Additionally, teachers act as mentors and guides for their students, providing them with emotional support and guidance when needed. They help shape the character of their students by instilling values like honesty, respect, and responsibility.

In conclusion, the role of teachers in personality development is multifaceted and crucial. They not only educate but also inspire, motivate and guide their students towards becoming well-rounded individuals who contribute positively to society. Thus, it is essential for teachers to continuously strive towards being the best role models and mentors for their students.

Benefits Of Personality Development:

Personality development refers to the process of enhancing and improving one’s characteristics, traits, and behaviors. It involves understanding oneself, making positive changes, and developing a strong sense of self-confidence and self-awareness. This process can have several benefits for individuals in both their personal and professional lives.

Here are some key benefits of personality development:

Improves Communication Skills

Effective communication is a critical skill that can bring success in all aspects of life. By developing one’s personality, an individual learns how to communicate effectively and confidently with others. This includes verbal as well as written communication skills. Good communicators are often able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly, build strong relationships, and lead a successful personal and professional life.

Helps In Self-Awareness

Personality development involves understanding one’s strengths, weaknesses, and other personal traits. It helps individuals become more self-aware and introspective. With a better knowledge of oneself, an individual can identify areas that need improvement and work towards personal growth. This leads to increased self-confidence and a better sense of direction in life.

Boosts Self-Confidence

By developing one’s personality, individuals gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. They learn to overcome self-doubt, take on new challenges, and achieve their goals. This confidence not only helps in personal life but also makes a significant difference in professional settings where it enables an individual to take on leadership roles and excel at tasks.

Enhances Decision Making Skills

Personality development also improves an individual’s decision-making skills. By being self-aware, individuals can make better decisions by taking into account their strengths, weaknesses, and goals. This ability to analyze situations and think critically leads to better choices and outcomes in both personal and professional life.

Improves Overall Well-Being

When individuals work on developing their personality, they also learn to manage stress, control emotions, and maintain a positive outlook on life. This results in improved mental, emotional, and physical well-being. By staying calm and composed during challenging situations, individuals can lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.

Helps In Building Stronger Relationships

Effective communication skills, self-awareness, confidence, and improved decision-making abilities positively impact an individual’s relationships with others. By developing their personality, individuals learn to listen actively and empathize with others. They also become better at resolving conflicts, building trust, and maintaining healthy relationships.

In conclusion, personality development can bring significant positive changes in individuals’ lives by improving their communication skills, self-awareness, confidence, decision-making abilities, overall well-being, and relationships. By investing time and effort towards this process, individuals can lead happier, more successful, and fulfilling lives.

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Paragraph on Personality:

Personality is a complex and multifaceted concept that refers to the unique combination of characteristics and traits that make up an individual’s pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It is shaped by both genetic predispositions and environmental factors, such as culture, family dynamics, and life experiences. Some key aspects of personality include temperament, or one’s innate tendencies towards certain emotions and behaviors, as well as character, which encompasses an individual’s values, morals, and ethical principles. Personality plays a significant role in shaping our thoughts and actions, influencing how we interact with others and navigate the world around us.

In addition to these core aspects, personality also includes traits like introversion vs extroversion, openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. These traits are often measured on a spectrum, with individuals falling somewhere between the two extremes. For example, someone may be highly introverted or extroverted, or they may fall somewhere in the middle. Similarly, a person can have varying levels of openness to new experiences or be highly conscientious or emotionally stable.

One’s personality is not fixed and can change and evolve over time, influenced by various life events and experiences. However, certain aspects of our personality tend to remain relatively stable throughout our lives. Understanding one’s own personality can help individuals navigate relationships, work environments, and personal growth more effectively.

Essay about Personal Growth and Development

Personal growth and development are concepts that refer to the continuous process of improving oneself by gaining new knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is a lifelong journey that involves self-reflection, learning from mistakes, setting goals, and making positive changes in one’s behavior and attitudes.

In this essay, we will explore the importance of personal growth and development, the different ways to achieve it, and how it can positively impact an individual’s life.

Why is Personal Growth & Development Important?

Personal growth and development are essential for individuals to reach their full potential. It allows us to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, our values, and our beliefs. By continuously learning and developing, we become more self-aware and can make better decisions that align with our goals and aspirations.

Moreover, personal growth and development help us adapt to changes in our lives. It equips us with the necessary skills and mindset to face challenges, overcome obstacles, and move forward in life.

It is also worth noting that personal growth and development not only benefit individuals but also have a positive impact on those around them. By improving ourselves, we can inspire and motivate others to do the same.

Ways to Achieve Personal Growth & Development

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to personal growth and development. Each individual may have different goals and preferences, so it is essential to find what works best for you. However, here are some common ways that people can achieve personal growth and development:

• Continuous learning: This can involve formal education, reading books, attending workshops or seminars, or even just learning from everyday experiences.
• Self-reflection: Taking time to reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and actions can help you gain a better understanding of yourself and identify areas for improvement.
• Setting goals: Having clear and achievable goals can provide direction and motivation for personal growth and development.
• Stepping out of your comfort zone: Trying new things, taking risks, and facing fears can lead to personal growth by challenging you to grow and adapt.
• Seeking feedback: Asking for feedback from others can provide valuable insights and help identify blind spots that you may not be aware of.

The Impact of Personal Growth & Development

Personal growth and development can have a profound impact on an individual’s life. It can lead to increased self-confidence, improved relationships, and better overall well-being.

As individuals continue to grow and develop, they may also find that their goals and priorities shift. This allows them to adapt and make changes in their personal or professional lives that align with their values and aspirations.

Moreover, personal growth and development can also have a positive impact on society as a whole. As individuals become more self-aware and make positive changes in their behaviors, they can contribute to creating a more compassionate, empathetic, and understanding community.

In conclusion, personal growth and development are crucial components of living a fulfilling life. By continuously learning, reflecting, setting goals, and stepping out of our comfort zones, we can achieve personal growth and make positive changes in our lives. It is a journey that never truly ends, as there is always room for growth and improvement.

My Best Personality Essay:

My best personality is a combination of many different qualities that make me unique. I am a kind, caring, and empathetic person who always puts others before myself. I have a positive attitude towards life and try to find the good in every situation.

One of my best traits is my ability to listen and communicate effectively with others. I always strive to understand people’s perspectives and offer support when needed. I am also a determined and hardworking individual, always willing to go the extra mile to achieve my goals.

I believe that my curiosity and open-mindedness have helped me grow as a person. I enjoy learning new things, exploring different cultures, and challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone.

Moreover, I value honesty and integrity above all else. I believe that being true to oneself and others is crucial in building strong and meaningful relationships.

In conclusion, my best personality is a culmination of various qualities that make me who I am. While I may not be perfect, I am constantly learning and striving to become a better version of myself each day. So, instead of focusing on an ‘end’ to this essay, I will continue to grow and evolve as a person, embracing my uniqueness and striving to make a positive impact in the world. The journey of self-discovery is never-ending, but I am excited for what the future holds.

Q: What is personality development in your own words essay?

A: Personality development is the lifelong process of shaping one’s distinctive qualities, behavior, and mindset. It involves self-awareness, growth, and the acquisition of social skills to become a better, more refined version of oneself.

Q: What is personality development in 100 words?

A: Personality development refers to the ongoing process of individual growth and transformation in aspects like character, behavior, and attitude. It encompasses self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and acquiring social skills. Through life experiences, self-reflection, and learning, a person hones their personality to adapt to changing circumstances, enhance their relationships, and pursue personal goals.

Q: What are the 5 personality development?

A: The five key factors in personality development, often referred to as the “Big Five” personality traits, are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These traits influence how an individual thinks, behaves, and relates to others.

Q: What is the importance of personality development in one’s life essay?

A: Personality development is crucial for personal and professional success. It enhances self-confidence, communication skills, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. A well-developed personality not only improves relationships but also helps individuals navigate life’s challenges and achieve their goals. This essay would elaborate on these points and stress the significance of continuous self-improvement.

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Personality Characteristics Essay

Introduction, definition of personality, theoretical approaches to studying personality, biological approach, environmental effect approach, psychoanalytic approach, humanistic approach, factors influencing personality development.

The study of personality is a complex field and many psychologists have taken different approaches to the study with an aim to understanding why people have different personalities. This paper seeks to shade more light on the issue of personalities.

Different psychologists differ in opinions in regard to the correct definition of personality. This may be attributed to the complex nature of the psychology of personality which demands different approaches resulting to different definitions. However, personality can generally be defined as those unique characteristics a person possesses that make the person different from others.

This encompasses all the mental characteristics and emotions which are the fundamentals of what we are. The personality comes out through the way we do the things, what we believe, our intellect, physical attribute, self control, energy and enthusiasm (Aurther, 2006).

The study of personality usually takes different perspectives depending on the person carrying out the study. Since there are very many considerations to be taken into account in the process of understanding personality, theories are developed that explain personality. Researchers often classify the study into narrow sections which they can then try to explain. This has brought about different theoretical approaches to studying personality.

The psychologists in this category take the biological concept whereby differences in the biological characteristics are often used to explain personality. Human anatomy is one of the biological tools used to explain personality. The psychologists investigate how different parts of the brain respond to different stimulations and make conclusion on the personality of the person.

An example is where studies using modern imaging technology have shown that the left and the right frontal lobes of the brain respond differently to emotions that may affect personality. Such results are said to have produced interesting correlation to personality traits.

Physiological changes have also been used to explain personality whereby psychologists investigate how different hormones affect personality for example high levels of testosterone are usually associated with absence of depression. Personality has also been associated to genetics whereby the psychologists argue that personality traits may be genetically transmitted from one offspring to another (Fiske et al., 2010).

Some psychologists focus on the environmental influence on personality. Such theories suggest that persons are more likely to develop personality due to the environmental factors around them. Children may grow to be violent if they are brought up in a violent society though this has been said to depend on other factors such as body size.

On any environment big boys might tend to be violent while small bodied boys might tend to be timid “other traits might have evolved to be frequency dependent, meaning that they appear depending of how prevalent the trait already is in the population” (Fiske et al., p. 671).

This branch of psychologists often view personality as a result of intrinsic traits entrenched in the human nature of a person. Their approach is based on how one is brought up in childhood. It is argued that the upbringing and the experiences we go through may shape our sub consciousness in terms of things that attract us likes and dislikes, self-esteem and other personality traits; one of the supporters of these approach was Freud.

This theoretical approach is said to be complicated since it mainly bases its fundamentals on things that affect the sub conscious mind. The theory postulates that subconscious is more prevalent than the conscious mind, several brain processes happen at the same time and adulthood traits are traceable to childhood (Fiske et al, 2010).

The psychologists who take this approach argue that human nature gives people uniqueness from other elements of life. It is argued that each individual person needs to be understood differently since everyone has different and unique personality.

This approach is based on the strengths of a person, development, and welfare instead of the negative side of life. Some psychologists use what has been termed as “positive psychology” where a person’s positive traits are analyzed and correlated to goodness of life which in turn may affect the personality (Fiske, 2010).

Psychologists have done a lot of research to try and understand the factors that affect personality. Heredity is one of the most important factors considered by psychologists. They argue that personality largely depends on the traits inherited from our parents. The psychologists suggest that the positive or negative characteristics such as physical attributes like physical strength, intelligence influence how the society thinks about us and also how we think about ourselves which in turn influence our personality.

Environmental influences such as how our parents brought us up is suggested as one of the influencing factors. Some families treat their children as grown ups and this may make them develop responsibility traits as compared to children in families where they are expected to obey rules set for them (Aurther, 2006).

The social status of the family may influence the personality of a person. Children from rich families tend to have more self esteem than those from middle or poor families. Other environmental factors include gender roles, how children relate, neighborhood and peer influence (Aurther, 2006).

Exposure is suggested as one of the factors influencing personality development. A person who is exposed to information may be more knowledgeable and enlightened and this may make the person develop certain personality. Media may also influence one to emulate their favorite heroes and this can influence their personality development (Lupu, 2006).

Many psychologists are observed to agree to the fact that all the factors that influence personality development are not independent but as a matter of fact they are all related. It is a combination of all these factors rather than a single element that affects personality development.

Genetically inherited factors, culture, environmental and personal experience may favor a person and make him successful and influential in life such as a president of a country. Another different combination of these factors may result to a person with a totally different personality such as violent and insensitive person (Lupu, 2006).

Psychologists have done much work in the study of personality. Many definitions of personality exist, the most generalized one being the unique characteristics possessed by a person. Different approaches are usually taken in the study of personality with theoretical approach taking different dimensions.

Biological approach reflecting how biological functions affect personality, psychoanalytic approach focusing on intrinsic traits related to the subconscious mind. The human nature deals with the positive aspects of an individual. Factors influencing personality development include a combination of genetic inheritance, environmental influences, exposure and cultural factors.

Aurther, J. ( 2006). Personality Development . New York, NY: Cengage Learning.

Fiske et al. (2010). Handbook of Social Psychology . New York, NY: John Willey.

Lupu, A. (2006). Our Personality. Soft Pedia . Retrieved from https://news.softpedia.com/news/Our-Personality-Is-It-Genetically-Inherited-or-Determined-by-The-Environmental-Factors-28413.shtml

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personality — Origins And Development Of Our Personality

Origins and Development of Our Personality

• Categories: Human Behavior Individual Personality

About this sample

Words: 816 |

Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 816 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited:

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• Biale, D. (1998). Eros and the Jews: From Biblical Israel to Contemporary America. University of California Press.
• Cohen, S. J. D. (2012). The Jewish Family: Metaphor and Memory. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Feldman, L. H. (2005). Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered. Brill.
• Jewish Virtual Library. (n.d.). Judaism 101. Retrieved from https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/judaism-101
• Kaplan, A. (1991). Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life. Jewish Publication Society.
• Neusner, J. (2003). The Bible and the Talmud. University Press of America.
• Ruderman, D. B. (1997). Jewish Enlightenment in an English Key: Anglo-Jewry's Construction of Modern Jewish Thought. Princeton University Press.
• Sarna, N. M. (1991). Understanding Genesis: The Heritage of Biblical Israel. Schocken Books.
• Wiesel, E. (1981). The Jews of Silence: A Personal Report on Soviet Jewry. Schocken Books.

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Essay on personality: meaning, nature and determinants.

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Read this article to learn about the meaning, nature and determinants of personality.

Meaning of Personality:

The term ‘personality’ has been derived from the Latin term ‘persona’ OF which means to ‘speak through’. The Latin word denotes the masks worn by ancient Greece and Rome. Therefore a very common meaning of the term personality is the role which the person (actor) displays to the public. Personality is a very frequently used word but still there is no consensus about its meaning. There is a great deal of controversy about the meaning of the word personality.

A few definitions of personality are as given as:

According to Gordon Allport, “Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment.”

According to Floyd L. Ruch, “Personality includes external appearance and behaviour, inner awareness of self as a permanent organizing force and the particular pattern or organisation of measurable traits, both inner and outer.”

According to Fred Luthans, “Personality means how a person affects others and how he understands and views himself as well as the pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and the person-situation interaction.”

According to Salvatore Maddi, “Personality is a stable set of characteristics and tendencies that determine those commonalities and differences in the psychological behaviour (thoughts, feelings and actions) of people that have continuity in time and that may not be easily understood as the sole result of the social and biological pressures of the moment.”

In Psychology, personality is interpreted in different ways by different theorists. For example Carl Rogers views personality in terms of self, an organised, permanent, subjectively perceived entity which is at the heart of all our experiences. Freud describes the structure of personality as composed of three elements the id, ego and super ego. In addition the social learning aspects of personality are also emphasized by some theorists.

Taking all the aspects together, personality represents the sum total of several attributes which manifest themselves in an individual, the ability of the individual to organize and integrate all the qualities so as to give meaning to life, and the uniqueness of the situation which influences behaviour of an individual.

Nature Characteristics of Personality:

Bonner provides six propositions to classify the nature of personality within the context of change and development:

(i) Human behaviour is composed of acts.

(ii) Personality visualized as a whole actualizes itself in a particular environment.

(iii) It is distinguished by self consistency.

(iv) It forms a time-integrating structure.

(v) It is a goal directed behaviour and

(vi) It is a process of becoming.

From the above, it becomes very clear that personality is a very diverse psychological concept.

Determinants of Personality:

Now that we have understood the meaning of personality, the next question is what determinants go into the development of personality? Was the individual born with that personality or was it developed afterwards as a result of his interaction with his environment? Generally the consensus is that heredity and environment jointly affect the individual’s personality development.

The factors affecting personality development are illustrated as follows:

The impact of these factors is explained in detail as follows:

(A) Heredity :

The concept that heredity is a determinant of personality is embedded in our minds. In our day to day life, so many times we use the term “Like father like son” as “Like mother like daughter.” When we use these terms we generally refer to the traits like physique, eye colour, hair colour, height, temperament, energy level, intelligence, reflexes etc. However, the importance of heredity varies from one personality trait to another. For example, heredity is generally more important in determining a person’s temperament than his values and ideals.

According to S.P. Robbins, the heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes. Three different streams of research lend some credibility to the argument that heredity plays an important part in determining an individual’s personality. The first looks at the genetic underpinnings of human behaviour and temperament among young children. The second addresses the study of twins who were separated at birth and the third examines the consistency in job satisfaction over time and across situations.

(B) Environment :

If all personality traits are determined by heredity, they would be fixed at birth and would not be changed throughout the life. But this is not so. The personality traits are not completely dictated by heredity, environment also plays a very important role in the development of personality of a person.

Environment comprises of culture, family, social and situational factors:

1. Culture:

According to Hoebel, “Culture is the sum total of learned behaviour traits which are manifested and shared by the members of the society.”

“It is a unique system of perceptions, beliefs, values, norms, patterns of behaviour and a code of conduct that influences the behaviour of individuals in a given society.”

Culture establishes norms, attitudes and values that are passed along from generation to generation and create consistencies over time. Every culture expects and trains its members to behave in the ways that are acceptable to the group. Persons belonging to different cultural groups generally have different attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition, cooperation, artistic talent etc.

While growing, the child learns to behave in ways expected by the culture of the family in which he was born. Most cultures expect different roles from males than from females. Similarly, every culture has its own sub cultures with different views about such qualities as moral values, style of dress, etc.

Although culture has significant influence on personality development, a linear relationship cannot be established between culture and personality due to the following reasons:

(i) Individuals within the same culture can differ in their behaviour and personality formats because of the existence of several sub systems within the same culture.

(ii) The workers are not influenced by the same culture as managers are. Moreover, skilled workers have different behaviour patterns than unskilled workers.

Management must recognize and understand these differences while dealing with the people in the organisation.

One of the very important determinants of the personality of a person is his immediate family. Families influence the behaviour of a person especially in the early stages.

The nature of such influence will depend upon the following factors:

(i) Socio-Economic level of the family

(ii) Family size

(iii) Birth order

(v) Religion

(vi) Parent’s educational level

(vii) Geographic location.

To elaborate, a person brought up in a rich and prestigious family has a different personality as compared to the people who belong to a poor family. The family size will also affect the behaviour of a child. The personality of a single child is different from the personality of a person who is brought up in a family of more than two siblings.

Similarly, the personality of a person brought up in a nuclear family will be different from that of a person brought up in a joint family. Studies have also shown that first born children are more responsible, rational, independent, ambitious and more sensitive to social acceptance. Empirical evidence also suggests that the home and family environment, created by the mother and the father as well as their own behaviour is highly influential on personality development of the child.

Every child tries to identify himself with some person whom he feels ideal in the family. Generally a child in the family tries to behave like his father or mother.

This process can be examined from three different perspectives:

(i) Firstly, identification can be viewed as the similarity of behaviour (including feelings and attitudes) between child and model.

(ii) Secondly, identification can be looked upon as the child’s motives or desires to be like the model.

(iii) Lastly, identification can be viewed as the process through which the child actually takes on the attributes of the model.

This identification process is fundamental to the understanding of personality development.

Socialization is a process by which an infant acquires from the enormously wide range of behavioural potentialities that are open to him at birth, those behaviour patterns that are customary and acceptable to the family and social groups. Initially socialization starts with the contact of the infant with the mother when he grows up.

Contacts with the other members of the family and social groups influence his socialization process. These social groups include school mates, friends, then friends or colleagues at work place, groups to which an individual belongs. Because “A man is known by the company he keeps,” all these social groups influence the behaviour of the individuals.

A lot of evidence has been accumulated which suggests that socialization may be one of the best explanations of why employees behave the way they do in today’s organisations. There are some norms and laws of every society in which the individual exists. Much of the behaviour arises out of the respect for these norms and laws. Thus, we can say that social life has a considerable impact on the individual’s behaviour.

4. Situational:

Apart from the above factors, situational factors also play a very important role in determining the personality of a person. Migram’s research study indicates very powerful role the situation may play in human personality. On the basis of his research study he states that “A situation exerts an important press on the individual. It exercises constraints and may provide push. In certain circumstances, it is not so much the kind of person a man is, as the kind of situation in which he is placed that determines his actions.”

That is why it is often said that life is a collection of experiences. Every individual goes through different type of experiences and events in his life. Some of the events and experiences can serve as important determinants of his personality.

A trauma suffered by a person in the childhood can sometime change the structure of his own personality. In addition to this, certain incidents or situations reveal a specific aspect of the personality of a person that was so far hidden. For example, a very weak and coward person may spontaneously perform heroic action in saving some one’s life without regard to his own safety.

The role of psychiatrists in personality shaping and changing is wide known. From the preceding discussion of the determinants of personality, it is clear that personality is a complex concept that reflects many influences both from within and outside the individual.

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