Atienza, Medlene O.

ACT 1-D (DAY)

Personality is the particular combination of emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of an individual. Different personality theorists present their own definitions of the word based on their theoretical positions.

What Is Personality Development? Personality development concerns how the parts of personality and their organization grow and change over time. Personality development is often divided into stages or ages of development. There are no hard-and-fast divisions, but some commonly seen divisions are as follows:

Infancy Toddlerhood Childhood Adolescence Emerging Adulthood Adulthood, and Old Age/Maturity

Different issues regarding personality are present at each stage. For example, those studying infancy are often interested in infant temperament (the motivational and emotional qualities the infant displays) and the emergence of social relationships. Those who study adolescence, in contrast, often are interested in sex and gender development, and identity formation more generally. Personality development also involves the study of continuities and change in the individual over time. For example, if a person exhibits unusually severe temper tantrums as a young child, will that impact the person's later life? If a person is outgoing in childhood, are they apt to be outgoing in adulthood as well?