psyc305 week 6 discussion 1
In Week 4, we learn about different theories of personality development. There are many theorists who believe that personality development is solidified in early childhood, whereas others view the potential for significant personality change throughout one’s childhood and adult life.
In this forum, explain your position on personality development. How do you see personality? Of the theorists we discussed this week, which seems to fit with your view of personality formation? Which concepts or stages do you find most similar to your view?
Required Reading
AllPsych. (n.d.). Henry Stack Sullivan [Web page]. Retrieved from https://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/stack_sullivan/
Boeree, G. (n.d.). Personality theories: Erik Erickson [pdf]. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/erikson.html
Boeree, G. (n.d.). Personality theories: Erich Fromm [pdf]. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/fromm.html
Cherry, K. (2019, April 9). Biography of psychologist Erik Erikson. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-erikson-biography-1902-1994-2795538
Cherry, K. (2018, Oct 31). Social psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/erich-fromm-1900-1980-2795506
Minimum 300 words answer.
In your peer responses, please reflect on how your peer’s choices, examples, etc. are similar or different from your choices.
Classmate #1:
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
Personality means what makes us distinguish one person from the other and it is usually recognizable immediately after a child is born. Personality development refers to the development of a pattern that is organized of behaviors, feelings, thoughts and attitudes that distinguish one person from the other. There are several factors that influence our personality which include genetic makeup, societal variables and also environment.
I believe personality is solidified in early childhood. In that, it is at childhood that you shape a child in whichever way that you want and make them have behaviors which are either good or bad by majorly exposing them to a certain environment than the genetic makeup, societal variables and natural temperaments contribute. For instance, a child growing up in an environment where abuse is the order of the day leads to that child picking that habit later in their lives because abuse was conditioned to him/her at their younger age as something that is right to do. This means that we hold the power in our hands to shape and build a child’s personality in the way we want but mostly importantly is that it is something that is practical.Psycologist and theorist John B Watson fits in my personality formation view as seen in his research that behaviorism was the science of behavior that is observable, he strongly believed that the environment of a child is that factor which shapes the behavior of a child over any other factor. He was confident that given a dozen healthy infants he could train them to become any specialist he wished be it a doctor, a lawyer or worse off a thief.
My conclusion is that a child can be exposed to certain forces of environment and over time be conditioned to become a person of any type that one wants.
Classmate #2:
Hello Everyone,
For our week 6 forum, we were asked to explain our position on personality development and how we see personality. Secondly, we were asked to discuss a theorist we studied this week and how their theory fits our personal views. I see personality as a reflection of a person’s character. It is what defines us socially. We are known for our personality and are often identified with it being a descriptor of who we are. If a person’s personality is known for being callous and crass, that will generally follow the person when others deal with the individual. If a person is bubbly normally but you find this person down, there personality change might be a clue that something is wrong with the individual. I believe that society and culture are factors that help to develop personality. Each person has a biological factor that is inherent. My reasoning for this is each infant has their own personality. This is a product from the child’s upbringing, caregivers, culture, environment, as well as who the child is inherently. Studies performed on infants show that genes don’t influence our behaviors necessarily. Twin studies show that neither genetics nor the environment, determine a person’s behavior. (Segal, 2017).
In many of my past classes, I have studied, Erik Erickson, Alfred Adler, and Erich Fromm, in some capacity. In this week’s lesson, learning about Harry Stack Sullivan and his theory of Interpersonal relations, was a new concept for me. I have always leaned towards Fromm’s work as I believe that society is a big influencer in the development of personality in an individual. Generally, people exist better in society. In our society now, social distancing is causing issues in mental health as the paradigm to be “around othersâ€, has changed. I still cling to Fromm’s theory and do regard it to have its place in personality development. I have chosen Harry Sullivan’s theory as it identifies closely with things I have dealt with personally in my line of work. Though things like the environment and culture play a huge part in who we are, I have observed personally, people whose personality plays off what they deem others think about them.
Sullivan’s theory of Interpersonal relations states that a person needs to have his or her needs met through interpersonal interactions, as well as decrease or avoid anxiety. (https://nursing-theory.org/, 2016). Sullivan viewed the first year of a child’s life as the starting point of development. Depending on the child’s caretaking, be it loving and nurturing or being opposite with a feeling of anxiousness, the course of the child’s personality will be set forth on to who they become. Does bad parenting create a bad personality in a child? This could never be 100% as many people come from bad parenting situations and turned out to be perfectly fine and Sullivan knew this. I think Sullivan’s theory goes deeper as his theory uses long stages that the person used to develop their personality. These long stages help the person develop a good feeling with others which in turn develop a “good me†feeling in themselves. (https://dictionary.apa.org/, 2020). We conform to how we are receiving both approval and disapproval from our parents. (Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theory, 2004). This perception can be misinterpreted in how we react to those around us and how they perceive us.
This reaction is often observed in the criminal element. Many times, I have spoken to inmates who had a disconnect with what was thought about them. It is almost like many people choose to live the life they do because they believe society looks at them as criminals or failures so living up to societal expectations is all they know. Many of the residual clients of my jail have also had family members as residual clients. The repeating patterns continue from generation to generation. The person believes they are bad therefore they choose to be bad. Inherently, bad parenting sometimes makes bad kids. This is an abrupt opinion obviously, but I do believe that our personality is greatly influenced by our caregivers. Fromm saw it that societal impact was the greatest influencer of personality. I believe he was correct to a point, but our own family unit is where we are influenced first.
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2020, from https://dictionary.apa.org/interpersonal-theory
Segal, N. (2017). Twins together and apart: The science behind the fascination. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 161(1), 1-17.
Stack-Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2020, from https://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/stack-sullivan-interpersonal-theory.php
Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theory. (2004). Retrieved from http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/wil…
Classmate #3:
Hello Class,
My position on personality development is that it it changes throughout one’s childhood and adult life. Our childhood gives us a foundation to start on with our personality and as we get older we start forming even more of one with our own thoughts and actions. For me personally I know I was kind of shy as a young kid but as I got older I started becoming more outgoing because of my surroundings. As a kid we do not see much on our own without someone looking over our every move. We are taught things by our parents or elders that we believe is the right way or thing because that is what we saw or were told by the people we look up to. I also feel that genetics play a role in our personalities as well. Of course, I do not feel they fully they do but I do think they have a place in personalities. It all depends on what people view personality as. Throughout your life I feel you will always hold certain things that you form as a child though. I was raised with certain core values and beliefs that define who I am as a person because I was raised and saw things as a kid. I see personality as what defines who you are as a person so what you went through and how you took it and perceived things. It definitely is what defines who you are as a person though. The theorist that fit with my view of personality the most was Erik Erikson because he felt that personality development takes place all throughout your lifespan. I agree that your life has different stages and that each stage you resolve or learn a new thing that forms who you are as a person. As kids we do not have much to worry about so we are kind of living freely but listening to our parents which we do not see much but our parents actions. As you reach your teenage or young adult life you start seeing how you peers act and teachers so you start slowly changing to fit in. As you get to your adult life you start dealing with co workers and relationships which causes you to act certain ways because you are getting more involved in other peoples lives. So the way you act may have to be adjusted a bit especially with a significant other. All throughout your different stages of life you are always learning new things that can cause you to change how you react or see things but at the end of the day you will always have those core values and beliefs that you hold dearly to who you are as a person. For me I still hold certain things close to me that I have always since I was a kid. I have always had open arms to help anyone no matter if I had problems with them. I will always be someone that anyone can come to. Overall this weeks forum was interesting and I enjoyed it. It really got me thinking about who I am as a person and who I want to be to others.
Minimum 200 words answer to each
