Running head: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

Personality Development Paper Tammy Poe PSYCH 645 April 7, 2014 Kathleen Bernhard

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

Personality Development Paper Personality is not just some part of what we are, it is a hierarchy of unique elements that create who we are, how we do things, and often times, how others explain to others who we are. There are times when someone has said to another person that another individual is great; they have a good personality. Many times our personality defines us, guides us, and keeps us in check. These factors of our personality and traits make up who we are. The hands of our personality somehow touch all elements such as character, spirit, etc. Research in genetics indicates approximately one half of the variance with our personality measures are accounted for by ones genetic elements (Mervielde, 1994). Research in genetics is critical in defining environmental influences in their various incarnations (Mervielde, 1994). Characteristics of people in different settings can differ; from people in city settings to people growing up and living in the country or on a farm. Personality is like a fingerprint of the human mind and often identified as such. When people tell others about us, they often define the person by pointing out their personality. Not only does personality define us, but also personality can be defined by culture and other social influences. Personality Genetics within each individual are impacted and fiercely vary because of the temperamental traits of the individual as well as the maturity level and age (Berk, 2010). Just as a male and female differ, genetics are also dependent on what sex the person is. Males are much more amusing, actively involved, and can be more hostile when things go awry. Females are more sophisticated, cooperative, sometimes academically better, and more relaxed than their male companion (Berk, 2010). Genes also play a crucial role in personality. Genes contribute

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER stability to the individuals personality, genes influence change as well, also; the environment contributes in part, to stability (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). The way a person views him or herself and reacts to environmental situations may cause

diverse reactions in an individual centering on ones characteristics of their genetics (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). An individuals personality may also be constructed by culture. The emphasis of cultural influences with personality development must not be neglected as they play a key role on a persons development. We are aware of how important culture may be to any given individual; cultures have a key role in shaping the minds of individuals as they mature and grow. Culture can be conveyed by way of modeling ones behavior and language; these have vital roles in the development of children. Language allows individuals a way to communicate, influencing an individuals personality and their childrens development process (Triandis & Suh, 2002). Culture can be different geographically; it is all based on the history of people, where they are from, and what their people have lived through over time and history. All these factors can undoubtedly play an important role in a persons culture. Culture is not intrinsic, culture is a learned element; ones culture is learned by experiencing the culture in their society. Culture has an important role in shaping the minds and personality of young minds and remaining consistent over time. Personality modeling depends on culture to propel its information along. A person gains a lot from culture, this as discussed, plays an important role in shaping personality. Factors include how the young respect elders, in what way the native language is spoken, or the way religion is viewed in that culture. In many, if not all culture, the way people approach their culture and accept it is important with any culture. Variances in individuals personality are striking, and a parallel can be drawn with the big five. Each culture exhibits different personality traits among their people, traits are expressed in different ways and these

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

traits can be extremely different from one culture to the next, and even within culture in different translations. Research Research is a major part in everything we know today. Without research, we would still be making fire with wooden sticks and making wheels out of stone. One form of research has been getting help by twins; these twins have played a pivotal role with research by helping to define genes that can be affected because of diseases. Twins research has helped understand the composition of and the inheritance of dieses simply because twins are similar in genetic makeup. One important conclusion learned from this research is that fraternal twins and identical twins have different genes. Genetics with fraternal twins are in the same category as siblings however; the genetics with identical twins appear to be inherited in ways unlike fraternal twins and siblings (Prater, 2009). Twins that are identical appear to be genetic copies of each other indicating that variances from one twin to the other are brought on because of environmental factors (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Because the identical twins share the same genetics, then it stands to reason that their personality would also share similarities if not be carbon copies, so to speak. Contrarily; the environment can impact fraternal twins as well, resulting in fraternal twins personalities and their characteristics resembling each other, much like the identical twins. Research indicates that twins that grow up in the same home have little differences from those who grow up in a different setting. Twins that are growing up in the same home does not bring then any more closer to being identical then what they already are (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). In some cases, twins can appear different from one another than they first thought or how others would assume they

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

would be. However, identical twins are very close if not the same in the way they act, react, think, feel, etc. it is easy to tell identical twins at the cost of a little observation time, either with them together or apart (Van Hulle, Lemery-Chalfant & Goldsmith, 2007). Temperament plays a role in personality, temperament is also known as a subdomain of a individuals personality. However, personality goes deeper than ones temperament and includes values and the way an individual believes in their beliefs. Temperament also defines a persons emotional, behavioral, and comprehensive dispositions that are seen as stable among the individual. Temperament outlines parts of ones personality, like a brick is to a building, each brick to a building gives it personality and character, sane with this, each element plays a role in personality that also include extroversion and introversion. A persons temperament can be either negative or positive and in some cases, can sway both ways depending on the environment and other factors. These elements are mostly accepted as being inherited by the individual. Temperaments come around because of genetic endowments. Temperament molds us and can be guided experiences we have, one of the results can be our adult personality among many other results from growing up. The theory of temperament defines four organized elements of ones personality centered on the description within ones behavior. Temperament centers on dynamic developmental psychological processes (Rothbart, Ahadi & Evans, 2000). The Five-Factor Taking a look at the five-factor model of personality is a great way to outline the components of taxonomy when thinking of ones personality traits, placing these elements into higher order factors (Costa & McCrae, 2005). The traits in the five factors are conscientiousness,

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

extraversion agreeableness, openness, and neuroticism. This is an extensive and very empirical and comprehensive data centered research discovery. Being able to identify structures and traits of an individuals personality is a centerpiece goal in psychology arenas (Costa & McCrae, 2005). This model is designed to gain insight into personality traits that are viewed as important above all other elements of personality traits. This five-factor is easy to see and is usually located in all cultures regardless of language and other boundaries going beyond all differences along the way. Individuals that research these factors examined how the universality of personality traits simply by taking the information and putting it into one language and translation (Cervone & Pervin, 2010). Freuds psychoanalysis and the five-factors work in similar ways indeed. Individuals with specific characteristics are seen as extreme based on their informational charts based on their variables will be more prone to psychological abnormalities related with the trait it centers on from the information available. Conclusion Personality can largely be impacted in many ways sourced from many factors including environmental influences, cultural influences, unknown elements, and genetic influences. Genetic persuasions differ because of the age of an individual and the temperamental traits (Berk, 2010). Genetics are different from males to females. Males are more risk taking and more likely to become frustrated when things do not go there way, while females are seen to be more academically advanced, less likely to act out, and conform to social normal (Berk, 2010). Culture plays a huge role in the personality development of every single human regardless of where they live or how they live. We all know that personality is important; it is as discussed, like a fingerprint of our person. It is used to define us when someone explains who we are, and it can be used to define us

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

when we are not sure how to say to someone who we are. Someone might say that an individual has a good personality, or they might say that a person has a bad personality and to avoid them. Personality is who we are, it contributes to how we live, see things, react, and behave in social circles. Personality and all of its variations, quarks, and Uniqueness really is the fingerprint of who we are.

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

Reference Berk, L. E. (2010). Development through the lifespan (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2010). Personality: Theory and research (11th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Mervielde, I. (1994). Trait Theory: Back to the Future. Psychological Inquiry Prater, A.M. (2009, November 20). Inherited Epigenetic Traits. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from Genetics & Evolution Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., & Evans, D. E. (2000). Temperament and personality: Origins and outcomes. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology,78(1), 122-135. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.1.122 Triandis, H.C. & Suh, E.M. (2002). Cultural Influences on Personality. Retrieved February 11, 2013 from http://web.yonsei.ac.kr/suh/file/Cultural%20influences%20on%20personality.pdf Van Hulle, C. A., Lemery-Chalfant, K. K., & Goldsmith, H. H. (2007). Genetic and environmental influences on socio-emotional behavior in toddlers: an initial twin study of the infanttoddler social and emotional assessment. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 48(10), 1014-1024. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01787.x