Personality Development of Children: Who Matters More?

All children and young people develop at different rates, but the order which they advance in differs very little. Children’s development tends to progress from head to toe, inner to outer, from simple to complex and from general to specific.

The book Do Parents Matter? written by Judith Rich Harris discuss the topic of nature versus nurture when raising a child. Her books discuss how parents do not influence the child’s personality and how there are many different ways a child personality is created.

Development of a child have been a thing that most of the parents have been neglecting without noticing that it is very important in the development of a child’s character and social

Once a child is born and their development continues, then starts the controversy and wonder as to whether how the child is raised effects their outcome in adult hood, or whether they are just born to be a certain way. Child psychology looks into the many different factors that affect the pregnancy and raising a child. Such as, parenting styles, and how the environment (nurture) and the genetics (nature) play an important role in the child’s development.

Parents, however, do play an important role in childhood development. For the purposes of this essay, her theory that parents have no lasting effects on a child's personality will be argued. The following contains supporting scientific evidence.

This study explored how parents’ familiarity with the topic of biopsychosocial influence on personality might shape their parenting style. Their preconceived expectation for each child’s disposition in their family and their vision of a model child might cultivate their idea of who their child should resemble. Previous genetic research suggests that siblings who are blood related and raised under the same conditions should share similar temperaments. However, parents interviewed in this study specified that their children within their families differed dramatically. Kamran focused on what the parents perceived could be the contributing factors regarding the differences their children exhibited within their family units. The importance of

Sameroff, A. (2010), A Unified Theory of Development: A Dialectic Integration of Nature and Nurture. Child Development, 81: 6–22. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01378.x

Everyday we are developing no matter our age, but it is how we develop children that will tell a tremendous amount an individual. How a child developments is fundamentally important at a young age as it affects all aspect of their lives once the child matures. Throughout the class, we looked at many theorists during the course of the semester as well as looked at many articles pertaining to the concepts of the development of children. The theorists and articles opened up our minds to a world that we have never seen before and concepts about child development we have never been taught but have seen in the practical work we do every week. What makes humans unique is the ability that we have to interpret the language being used, as Lois Bloom

Childhood development encompasses the cognitive, physical, social, moral and emotional changes from birth until the end of adolescence (White, Hayes & Livesey, 2013). Throughout childhood, environment and genetics promote or discourage growth and development. This essay will analyse the cognitive, physical, social, moral and emotional domains in relativity to my own development from the prenatal stage until adolescence. Psychological and environmental theories are used to develop the understanding and connection between each domain and stage of development. Lastly, this essay will address the controversial nature verses nurture debate and its relevance to my childhood development.

Developmental psychology is described as “the scientific study of biological, cognitive, social, and personality development throughout the life span” (Taylor, 2005, p.1). According to the readings, personality formation has been argued to be the result of nurture-as in the social environment, and temperament is the result of nature-as in genetic biology ("Personality Development: Intimacy and healthy personality," n.d.) This is in actuality a complex interplay between the two forces that shape our personalities as we grow and become healthy adults. Family and social environments both exert influence on the development of individual personality; this has been the topic of studies for years. Lewin’s Field Theory attempted to show

Is nature responsible for the way children think and behave, or is it due to the way a child is nurtured? Scientists and psychologists have been debating the subject of nature versus nurture for decades. The term “nature” refers to heredity, or the genetic traits passed down from parent to child (Powell, 2010). Researchers all over the world attempt to prove that genetics is the sole explanation of a child’s intelligence and personality. Human DNA determines traits such as eye color, nose shape, and hair color. While a child’s DNA can determine his or her risk of Down Syndrome, heart disease, or cancer; there is not significant proof of DNA determining personality traits (Heredity, 2011). The nurture side of the argument refers to a

The nurture versus nature debate is commonly seen as one of the most important issues in psychology. It is assuredly one of the best researched, with various studies dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Two schools of individual difference theorists clearly differ in their approach to this question. The first school of thought, implanted in social psychology and sociology, claims that the environment is of principal importance in determining how individuals behave. For these theorists, the examination of social processes by which intelligence and personality traits are attributed to others is seen as the only relevant issue in personality study. As shared environment has been shown to have a certain impact on personality and intelligence, affirming that « children are not empty canvases on which parents can paint their dreams » (Judith Harris, 1998) is not legitimate. However, the second school of thought claims that personality and ability appear to have a distinct relationship with biology and the nervous system. For these theorists, personality and intelligence are behavioral consequences of biological structures that are within the individual. As it can be shown that a trait is substantially influenced by genetics, affirming that « we can make our children turn out any way we want is an illusion » is reasonable.The aim of this essay is to evaluate the extent to which evidence supports the idea that personality and ability cannot be influenced by parental

Do children raised by the same parents and by the same morals tend to have similar adult personalities? Many individuals seem to think this is true based on the myth, “Raising Children Similarly Leads to Similarities in Their Adult Personalities.” There are many sources for and against this myth, however using the ten sources for psychological myths, this is still thought to be true by some.

Bronfenbrenner, U (1992). Six theories of child development: Revised formulations and current issues. England: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, (187-249).

At the age of six I had a lot of problems with both my parents and teachers. Earlier on I had intimated to my father my desire to one day pursue a career in professional football. Despite the fact that he never expressed open opposition to this, it appears to me that he intimated this issue to my mom who had reservations against this. My mom impressed on me the need for pursuing a career in medical profession in future. I was, however, adamant, to buy this. My mother reported this to my teachers who talked me against pursuing a career in professional football in future. Because of the pressure that was exerted on me, I relented.