Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explore personality theories and the impact and effect they have on people throughout their life. People have many different personalities and come from many different cultures, but fundamentally we have some of the same basic needs. So, what are people influenced by? Is it social experiences, developmental problems, or needs and anxiety that that spiral into neurosis? Personality theories vary and the complexity of the information can be difficult to understand such as genetic dispositions, environmental forces, unconscious thoughts, and motivations. Personality shapes who and what we are to some extent and theories on personality help us to understand one another. Whether it is problem solving, …show more content…
Six topics that will be discussed are Nature versus Nurture, the Unconscious, View of Self, Development, Motivation, and Maturation along with a Biblical integration. The personality theories are important for understanding, development, and maturing of humans and the choices and behavior of those people. Foundations of Personality Nature versus Nurture Nature versus Nurture has been debated for centuries and will probably be debated for many more. Nature versus Nurture refers to factors that influence a person’s behavior. Nature refers to the hereditary and what comes from our genetic makeup. Nurture refers to environmental varying factors such as childhood experiences and culture. In the study by Bleidorn, et al. (2010) Nature versus Nature is carried out by personality traits and life goals, the genetic and environmental sources (p. 366). Within this study life goals were used because of the correlation between personality traits and what people want to become in life. These goals tend to change as personality changes due to alterations in social environment. By creating a univariate and multivariate biometric model study of adults, Bleidorn, et al. (2010) found that life goals were more vulnerable than personality traits to influences of environmental factors (p. 375). In David Lancy’s (2010) article he deals with nature verses nurture in the cognitive development, parent-child interaction, and social behavior of children. Lancy (2010) contends that
Social psychology and personality psychology both came into fruition around the same time – the 1920’s and 1930’s. Needless
One of the main, and most controversial topics discussed in a child’s development is, nature vs. nurture. Nature pertains to genetic influences that a child has inherited from their parents, such as traits, abilities, and capacities. For instance, what color eyes the child may have, how athletic they may be, and even their brain development. Whereas nurture, refers to the environment the child is raised in and how this shapes their behaviors. Such factors can include, the family’s socio-economic status, schooling, parental discipline, as well as whether the child is provided with enough resources. When it comes to nature or nurture having a stronger influence then the other, the answer is both, nature and nurture, influence the outcome of the child. This idea that both nature and nurture, play a part in how the child will develop, is known as the nature-nurture continuum.
One of the oldest, most prominent topics of academic debate is the Nature vs. Nurture argument. Nature vs. Nurture is a largely psychological term, in which the Nature aspect places more significance on genetics and personality; our innate predisposition to various circumstances tell us a great deal more about who we are. On the other side, the Nurture aspect places more focus on our environment and stresses the salience of the majority of what we do in our daily lives have been “learned” We see a wide array of examples of this specific argument in literature, popular culture, and even in our everyday lives. While no one can deny that both sides have extremely valid points, it would be very naive to assume that one had more of a dominant factor;
According to Collins (2000) “the position of majority of psychologists over nature-nurture issue is how both blend up to influence our thoughts, actions and feelings”.
A debate between psychologist, scientists and philosopher thinkers on the spectrum of ‘nature vs. nurture’ arose concerning human development. In the nature versus nurture debate, the term "nature" refers to the genes we inherit while the term "nurture" refers to our outside environment (Nature vs. Nurture: Twin and Adoption Studies). This debate of ‘nature vs. nurture’ has existed for centuries and up to now it is still a topic of major discussion although at present time. Human development is the scientific study of age-related changes in behavior, thinking, emotions and personality (Boyd & Bee, 2005). In order to understand cognitive, emotional, physical, social and educational growth that everyone experiences from
The nature vs nurture debate is one that naturalists and empiricists love to have. The naturalists are on the nature side of the debate; they believe that a person's development is primarily influenced by their genetic traits. The empiricists, on the other hand, side with the nurture part of the debate; they believed that a person's development is mostly influenced by the environment they are raised in. Most modern psychologist, however, don’t take such radical approaches. They instead accept that a person’s development is influenced by a mixture of both nature and nurture, although there is still debate over which plays a larger role (McLeod). In my life, both nature and nurture have played key roles in my development as a person and who I
‘Nature v. Nurture’ is the psychological term that questions whether genetic factors or environmental factors affect human psychological development more. This short essay will cover three main topics. What does ‘nature vs. nurture’ mean? The discussion of ‘nature vs. nurture’ classifications. Also, the controversy of ‘nature vs. nurture’.
Nature versus Nurture has been a prolonged debate since the beginning of modern science. The argument is whether our characteristics, personality and behavior are affected by the environment or heredity. The nature theory is that our genes and hereditary plays a factor on how we look to the different traits we have. On the other hand, the nurture theory is that the environment and our personal experiences has an impact on who we are. Therefore, both factors play a major role in determining why some people commit serious crimes or to study if an adopted child has more in common with their biological family or adopted family.
Allport defines personality as ‘the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment’ (Allport, 1937). An individual’s unique personality traits and attributes are a powerful indicator of how he/she will interact with the work environment. The difference between average and outstanding employees can often be solely personality related. As the employee is the most valuable asset to the company, ‘selecting the right employee during the process is critical’ (Carbery and Cross, 2013, pp. 41-53)
Leigh Anne Touhy is the fictional representation of the real life Leigh Anne, famed adoptive mother of Michael Oher from the 2009 film The Blind Side. Leigh Anne is a white interior designer, living in the south with her husband and two children. The family is considered to be part of the upper class, and made their money from owning a string of fast food chains. Leigh Anne and her family take in a black homeless boy, Michael, and throughout the film experience a growing love and bond. They eventually adopt Michael and the Leigh Anne becomes a fiercely protective mother. Very little is revealed about her upbringing
For many year’s people have been debating which issue, nature or nurture, has a bigger impact on an individual’s life. Both of these arguments touch on important points which makes for an interesting but yet difficult topic when choosing what shapes personality. Nature is each human’s individual genetic makeup, which is influenced by genetics and biological factors. Nurture is the influence of outside factors based on each person’s experiences. Until we understand more about both nature and nurture and their impact on human development, it will be hard to understand which one is more important.
This paper is a comparison of three different viewpoints on the subject of personality. Carl Jung, B.F. Skinner, and Carl Rogers all had very different outlooks on what defined someone’s personality. As an added feature I have included myself as a theorist because my views are also different from the previous mentioned theorists. This paper will also look briefly into the background of each theorist because their views on life began in their childhood. Amazingly you will notice the all had similar backgrounds, but came up with completely different ways of looking at life.
For centuries, philosophers, personality theorists and other thinkers have been trying to answer: what personalities are like, how personalities are developed, why different personalities are developed and how personalities can be changed (Pervin & Cervone, 2013). George A. Kelly, an American psychologist born in 1905 in Kansa, is one of those major contributors in the field of personality psychology (Warren, 1998). In this paper, I am writing to critically review George A. Kelly's perspective on personality. I will first review Kelly's philosophy of
The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in sociology (Davidson, 1991, n.p.). The debate centers on the relative contributions of genetics and environmental factors to human behavior (Davidson, 1991, n.p.). Today, the majority of experts believe that behavior and development are influenced by both nature and nurture (Macionis, 2009, p. 73). The biggest question now is which one affects human development more: nature or nurture?
Personality theory is a branch of psychology which examines personality as integral to the psychological processes of functioning and psychopathology. There are different areas of personality theory, such as the roots of personality in the individual, and the role of personality in achieving happiness, productivity, etc. The core of all personality research is centered on the question of nature versus nurture. The fundamental question is whether personality is a “naturally” derived thing hardwired in at birth or as socialized through the “nurturing” of the parent in youth. Secondary to this question, though working quite in conjunction, is that of whether or not personality is