Module II

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
Module objectives:

 Learning about personality development grooming tips

 Learning about theories of personality development
 To be familiar with the basic personality traits
 Understand the factors affecting the personality traits
 Learning about personality disorders
Personality development
Personality development refers to the process by the process by which the organized
thought and behavior patterns that make up a person’s unique personality emerge over
time. Many factors influence personality, including genetics and environment, how we were
parented, and societal variables.
While personality is relatively stable, Colella notes that it isn’t entirely fixed. “People can
undergo changes in their attitudes, behaviors, and thought patterns in response to new
experiences or personal growth”, she explains.
Perhaps most importantly, the ongoing interaction of all these influences continues to shape
personality. Personality involves both inborn traits and the development of cognitive and
behavioral patterns that influence how we think and act.
Temperament is the key part of personality that is determined by inherited traits.
Character is an aspect of personality influenced by experience and social learning that
continues to grow and change throughout life.
Personality development has been a major topic of interest for some of the most prominent
thinkers in psychology. Since the inception of psychology as a separate science, researchers
have proposed a variety of ideas to explain how and why personality develops.

Determinants of Personality
Following are the factors which help in shaping one’s personality:
1. Heredity- heredity refers to factors that are determined once an individual is born.
An individual’s physique, attractiveness, body type, complexion, body weight
depends on his/her parents’ biological makeup.
2. Environment- the environment to which an individual is subjected to during his
growing years plays an important role in determining his/her personality. The varied
cultures in which we are brought up and our family background have a crucial role in
shaping our personalities.
3. Situation- an individual’s personality also change with current circumstances and
situations. An individual would behave in a different way when he was enough
savings with him and his behavior would automatically change when he is bankrupt.
Personality Development: Grooming Tips and Tricks
Personality development is an essential way to improve a person’s body, mind, soul and
health altogether. Among other things it includes a lot of skincare, body care, hair care and
personal hygiene and sanitation.
1. Have a simple but consistent skincare routine: sometimes, it is that makes or breaks
the deal for us. So, the skin should always be clean clear and bright. For this, make
sure that you stick to a basic skincare routine. Wash your face evert day, twice.
Remove blackheads or whiteheads. Use a moisturizer for skin daily. Apply sunscreen
before stepping out into the sun. include topical face creams according to your
needs and issues related to the skin to make t look less pigmented. Also, drink a lot
of water to get that healthy natural glow.
2. Apply make up according to the occasion: as women, we all are makeup lovers! But
it is important to note that we should always choose our make up look according to
the place we go to or the event that we attend. Never go for a heavy, dark makeup
look for job interviews, day parties, hangout with friends and small gatherings.
Option for heavy makeup only for night parties, weddings or important occasions
and festivals. Also, do not forget to remove makeup before sleeping.
3. Get your dress game up: always choose your dress wisely. Option for basic dresses
for professional meetups. Use a statement necklace or ring to spice up the look.
Always iron your clothes properly and wear nice, neat and tidy clothes.
4. Smell good: smelling good is the best thing that you can do for your personality
enhancement. The smell of a person leaves a long-lasting impact on the people they
meet. Always use a good perfume or body mist to smell good.
5. Make sure to have a good oral hygiene to prevent bad breath: having a bad breath
can ruin entire personality. Make sure that you brush your teeth twice daily, morning
and nigh, floss your teeth, gargle that leads to germ buildup and bad breath.
6. Remove the unwanted hair: unwanted hair looks so bad and leaves a bad impression
on others. Get rid of all the unnecessary hair from your arms and legs, armpits,
forehead and face. Hairy armpit are biggest cause of body odor and germ buildup.
Clean armpits, arms, legs and face. Also, remove the hair around your mouth area as
it is the highlight of your face.
7. Trim your nails and keep them clean: having nice and trimmed nails are very
important for good personality. Keep your nails short, clean your cuticles, moisturize
the nail plates and never bite your nails as it makes them brittle and look bad.
8. Have a good hair care routine for frizz-free hair: frizzy and dry hair makes you loo
unprepared for the day. Maintain in basic hair-care routine for nice, clean, shinny
hair. Wash your hair two to three times a week, oil it regularly, trim it quarterly, use
a good quality shampoo and conditioner. Keep hair-setting spray in your bag to fix
before an event.
9. Exercise daily to be in shape: having a fit and active body is always preferred by
everyone. Exercising increases the blood circulation in the body, leaving the skin
healthy and radiant too. Fit to skin clothes look great on people with fir bodies.
 10. Learn the basic tables manners: after all the grooming tips and tricks, the thing that’s
left is to learn how to eat while dining with people. People are always attracted to
the one who knows the basic way to eat food in a clean way.

Benefits of grooming

 It gives you self-confidence

 It shows professionalism in the workplace
 It influences your emotions
 It makes you adapted to any environment
 It gives you respect
 It enhances beauty health and hygiene
 It teaches balance

Theory of Personality Development

Our personalities make us unique, but how does personality develop? What factors play the
most important role in the formation of personality? Can personality change?
To answer these questions, many prominent thinkers have developed theories to described
the various steps and stages that occur during the development of personality. The
following theories focus on several aspects of personality formation including those that
involve cognitive, social, and moral development.

Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

in his well-known stage of psychosexual development, Sigmund Freud suggested that
personality develops in stages that are related to specific erogenous zones. These stages
are:

 Stage1: Oral stage (birth to 1 year)

 Stage2: Anal stage (1 to 3years)
 Stage3: phallic stage (3 to 6 years)
 Stage4: Latent period (age 6 to puberty)
 Stage5: Genital stage (puberty to death)

In addition to being one of the best-known thinkers in personality development, Sigmund

Freud remains one of the most controversial. While he made significant contributions to the
field of psychology, some of his more disputed and unproven theories, such as his theory of
psychosexual development, have been rejected by modern scientists.
Freud’s Structural Model of Personality
Freud not only theorized about how personality developed over the course of childhood,
but he also developed a framework for how overall personality is structured.
According to Frued, the basic driving force of personality and behavior is known as the
LIBIDO. This libidinal energy fuels the three components that make up personality: the id,
the ego, and the superego.

 The id is the aspect of personality present at birth. It is the most primal part of the
personality and drives people to fulfill their most basic needs and urges.
 The ego is the aspects of personality charged with controlling the urges of the id and
forcing it to behave in realistic ways.
 The superego is the final aspect of personality develop and contains all of the ideas,
morals, and values imbued by our parents and culture.
According to Freud, these three elements of personality work together to create complex
human behaviors. The superego attempts to make the ego behave according to these ideals.
The ego must then moderate between the primal needs of the id, the idealistic standards of
the superego, and reality.
Frued’s concepts of the id, ego, and superego has gained prominence in popular culture,
despite a lack of support and considerable skepticism from many researchers.
While Freudian theory is less relevant today than it once was, it can be helpful to learn more
about these theories in order to better understand the history of research on personality
development.

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson’s eight-stage theory of human development is another well-known theory in
psychology. While it builds on Freud’s stages of psychosexual development, Erikson choose
to focus on how social relationships impact personality development.
The theory also extends beyond childhood to look development across the entire lifespan.
Erikson’s eight stages are:

 Stage 1: trust vs mistrust (birth to 1 year)

 Stage 2: autonomy vs shame and doubt (1 to 2 years)
 Stage 3: initiative vs guilt (3 to five years)
 Stage 4: industry vs inferiority (6 to 11 years)
 Stage 5: identity vs role confusion (12 to 18 years)
 Stage 6: intimacy vs isolation (19 to 40 years)
 Stage 7: generativity vs stagnation (41 to 64 years)
 Stage 8: integrity vs despair (65 years to death)
At each stage, people face a crisis in which a task must be mastered. Those who successfully
complete that stage emerge with a sense of mastery and well-being.
However, Erikson believed that those who do not resolve the crisis at a particular stage may
struggle with those skills for the remainder of their lives.

Piaget’s Stage of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development remains one of the most frequently cited in
psychology.
While many aspects of Piaget’s theory have not stood the test of time, the central idea
remains important today: Children think differently than adults.
According to Piaget, children progress through a series of four stages that are marked by
distinctive charges in how they think. And how children think about themselves, others, and
the world around them plays an essential role in their cognitive development.

Piaget’s four stages are:

 Stage 1: sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)

 Stage 2: preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)
 Stage 3: concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years)
 Stage 4: formal operational stage (12 years and up)

Kohlberg’s stages of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg developed a theory of personality development that focused on the
growth of moral thought. Building on a two-stage process proposed by Piaget, Kohlberg
expanded the theory to include six different stages:

 Stage 1: obedience and punishment

 Stage 2: individualism and exchange
 Stage 3: developing good interpersonal relationships
 Stage 4: maintaining social order
 Stage 5: social contract and individual rights
 Stage 6: universal principles
These stages are separated by levels. Level one is the pre- conventional level, it includes
stages one and two, and takes place from birth to 9 years. Level two is conventional level, it
includes stages three and four, and takes place from age 10 to adolescence. Level three is
the post-conventional level, it includes stages five and six, and takes place in adulthood.
Although this theory includes six stages, Kohlberg felt that it was rare for people to progress
beyond stage four, stressing that these moral development stages are not correlated with
maturation.
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development has been criticized for several different reasons.
One primary criticism is that it does not accommodate different genders and cultures
equally. Yet, the theory remains important in our understanding of how personality
develops.

5 Basic Personality Traits

The goal of personality development theories is to explain how we each develop our own
unique characteristics and traits. While the list of options could be almost endless, most of
these personality traits fall into five basic categories:

 Openness: level of creativeness and responsiveness to change

 Conscientiousness: level of organization and attention to detail
 Extraversion: level of interest in others and cooperativeness
 Agreeableness: level of interest in others and cooperativeness
 Neuroticism: level of emotional stability and moodiness
The “big 5” is one of the most recognized models of personality and also the most widely
used, though some suggest that it isn’t comprehensive enough to cover the huge variety of
personality traits that one can grow and develop.

Factors Affecting Personality

To see what are the factors that affect personality, we need to understand what is
personality. According to American Psychological Association, “Personality refers to,
individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.”
Personality is influenced by a wide range of factors, and its development is a complex
interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic elements. Here are the key factors that affect personality:

1. Genetics and Heredity:

– Genetic factors play a significant role in shaping personality traits and predispositions.
Intrinsic factor. Genetics play a crucial role in personality development. Research has shown
that certain personality traits and tendencies, such as extraversion and neuroticism, have a
hereditary component.

2. Family Environment and Upbringing:

– Early childhood experiences, family dynamics, and parenting styles have a profound
impact on personality development. Extrinsic factor.

3. Culture and Society:

– Cultural norms, values, and societal expectations shape how individuals express their
personalities. Different cultures emphasize various traits and behaviors, affecting
personality expression. Cross-cultural psychology explores the influence of culture on
personality.

4. Education and Learning:

– Formal education and learning experiences contribute to personality development. School
environments, teachers, and peer interactions influence cognitive and social development.

5. Peer Influence:
– Peer groups and social interactions play a significant role, particularly during adolescence.
Peer pressure, acceptance, and the desire to fit in can lead individuals to adopt certain
personality traits and behaviors.

6. Life Experiences and Trauma:

– Significant life events, both positive and negative, can shape personality. Traumatic
experiences, in particular, can lead to the development of specific personality traits or
coping mechanisms.

7. Biological and Neurological Factors:

– Brain structure, neurotransmitters, and neurological processes influence personality traits
and behaviors. Variations in these factors are associated with different personality
characteristics.

8. Environmental Stressors:
– Environmental factors such as poverty, discrimination, and exposure to chronic stress can
impact personality development. These stressors can contribute to the development of
certain personality traits or mental health conditions.

9. Birth Order:
– Some theories suggest that birth order within a family can influence personality
development. Firstborn, middle, and youngest children may develop different personality
traits.

10. Personal Choices and Free Will:

– Individuals have the capacity to make choices and decisions that shape their personalities.
Personal values, goals, and the pursuit of self-improvement all play a role in determining
one’s personality.

11. Media and Technology:

– Exposure to media, including television, social media, and the internet, can influence
personality by shaping values, beliefs, and attitudes.

12. Biological Aging and Developmental Stages:

– Personality tends to change over the lifespan as individuals pass through different
developmental stages. Maturation, hormonal changes, and life transitions can influence
personality traits.
These factors collectively interact to shape an individual’s personality. The relative
importance of these factors can vary from person to person, leading to the uniqueness of
each individual’s personality. Understanding the interplay between these factors provides
valuable insights into the complexities of personality development.

Factors Affecting Personality Development of Children

Personality development for kids depends on various internal factors such as heredity and
hormone levels which could affect the physical and emotional characteristics of an
individual. The factors that can be controlled though are external factors, so we are going to
look at them in detail.

1. Parental Influence- A child’s personality development depends on how their parents

behave with them, the allowances they give the child, the atmosphere that they create at
home, and even the way they behave with others. Children often mimic their parents'
mannerisms, so it is very critical that parents behave well with and around their kids and
become good role models for them.

2. Home Environment- A home with a peaceful and loving environment is the backbone of a
child’s mental health and stability. The child should feel relaxed and free to express themself
at home. Over discipline and overprotection can make your child either rebellious or
dependent. Therefore, to foster good personality development of your child, ensure that
you create a friendly environment at home where the child feels adored and encouraged.

3. School Environment- Children spend most of their time in school, hence parents need to
understand how the school environment is affecting their personality development. An ideal
school must not burden the kids with a lengthy syllabus and curriculum, rather it should
have a good mix of extracurricular activities like sports, dramatics, dance, hiking trips, and
soft skills development. Pay attention to the kind of friends your child has and do so without
being too intrusive. You can also ask the teachers to help in grooming your child well.

4. Culture- The social behaviour and norms of the society that you and your child live in
have a major effect on your child's knowledge, beliefs, thoughts, and habits. A child
subconsciously absorbs the values of the culture they grow up in. For example, if a child
grows up in a community that is very religious and devoted to praying; that is a habit the
child might adopt as well. Or if a child belongs to a country where art and other intellectual
things are pursued heavily, their interests will be influenced by that kind of culture.

5. Family Treatment- Some personality traits are based on the position of the kid in the
family, but they can be modified if needed. For example, an only child is overprotected by
the family, hence they might pick up some negative traits like selfishness. Also, they might
not be able to mingle well in a group. So, it becomes vital to ensure that such children
participate in various group games and activities and are taught how to share and care.
6. Mass Media and social media- It’s the 21st century – the era of entertainment platforms
like YouTube, television, movies, Instagram, etc. where even kids are not isolated from
watching celebrity and influencer stories. They try to imitate their favourite stars by
following related news and social media accounts. While it is nice to acquire some good
qualities through media, we need to be careful about not developing any bad traits.
Therefore, as a parent, make sure that the media is influencing your child’s behaviour in a
positive way only.

A child goes through various phases in life from toddlerhood to school age. Each phase
comes with different challenges, experiences, and learnings. It is important to help your
child make the most of these years to develop themself into a well-rounded individual.

Type of Personality
While personality focuses on an individual, personality type references a classification of
traits that make up a typical persona that various people can share. The personality type
definition encompasses a collection of traits that construct a particular set of behaviors or
ways of thinking and typically rely on a binary or a spectrum to showcase each trait's
degrees that make up the overarching type.
A typical example is the binary of the introvert and the extrovert. An introvert is a person
classified as focused on their inner mental world and doesn't necessarily like to partake in
external activities with others. Introverts may seem shy or reserved, deemed observers
rather than active participants. An extrovert is a person who enjoys being around other
people considered outgoing and sociable, enjoying large gatherings, and talking with others
What's important to note is that just because some groups of people are labeled introverts,
it doesn't mean they are alike in other ways. The same goes for extroverts and any other
group classification. Some traits overlap while others don't. Personality types are
generalizations that apply to some aspects of identity but will not show the complete picture
of a person's inner workings.

Personality Disorder
People have unique personalities made up of a complex combination of different traits.
Personality traits affect how people understand and relate to the world around them, as
well as how they see themselves.
Ideally, people's personality traits allow them to flexibly adapt to their changing
environment in ways that lead to more healthy relationships with others and better coping
strategies. When people have personality traits that are less adaptive, this leads to
inflexibility and unhealthy coping. For example, they may manage stress by drinking or
misusing drugs, have a hard time managing their anger, and find it hard to trust and connect
with others.

Personality forms early in life. It is shaped through a blend of your:

  Genes — Your parents may pass down some personality traits to you.
Sometimes these traits are called your temperament.
 Environment — This includes your surroundings, events that have happened to
you and around you, and relationships and patterns of interactions with family
members and others.
A personality disorder is a mental health condition where people have a lifelong pattern of
seeing themselves and reacting to others in ways that cause problems. People with
personality disorders often have a hard time understanding emotions and tolerating
distress. And they act impulsively. This makes it hard for them to relate to others, causing
serious issues, and affecting their family life, social activities, work and school performance,
and overall quality of life.

Symptoms

In some cases, you may not know that you have a personality disorder. That's because how
you think and behave seems natural to you. You also may think others are responsible for
your challenges.

There are many types of personality disorders, each with important differences. These
disorders are organized into three groups, or clusters, with shared features and symptoms:

Group A personality disorders

Group A personality disorders have a consistently dysfunctional pattern of thinking and

behavior that reflects suspicion or lack of interest in others. They include:

Paranoid personality disorder

 Lacks trust and is suspicious of others and the reasons for their actions.
 Believes that others are trying to do harm with no reason to feel this way.
 Doubts the loyalty of others.
 Is not willing to trust others.
 Hesitates to confide in others for fear that others will use that information
against them.
 Takes innocent remarks or situations that are not threatening as personal
insults or attacks.
 Becomes angry or hostile to what are believed to be slights or insults.
 Has a habit of holding grudges.
  Often suspects that a spouse or sexual partner is unfaithful with no reason to
feel this way.
Schizoid personality disorder

 Appears to be cold to or not interested in others.

 Almost always chooses to be alone.
 Is limited in how emotions are expressed.
 Cannot take pleasure in most activities.
 Cannot pick up typical social cues.
 Has little to no interest in having sex with another person.
Schizotypal personality disorder

 Has unusual thinking, beliefs, speech or behavior.

 Feels or thinks strange things, such as hearing a voice whisper their name.
 Has flat emotions or emotional responses that are socially unusual.
 Has social anxiety, including not being comfortable making close connections
with others or not having close relationships.
 Responds to others in ways that are not proper or shows suspicion or lack of
interest.
 Has "magical thinking"— the belief that their thoughts can affect other people
and events.
 Believes that some casual incidents or events have hidden messages.
Group B personality disorders

Group B personality disorders have a consistently dysfunctional pattern of dramatic, overly

emotional thinking or unpredictable behavior. They include:

Borderline personality disorder

 Has a strong fear of being alone or abandoned.

 Has ongoing feelings of emptiness.
 Sees self as being unstable or weak.
 Has deep relationships that are not stable.
 Has up and down moods, often due to stress when interacting with others.
  Threatens self-harm or behaves in ways that could lead to suicide.
 Is often very angry.
 Shows impulsive and risky behavior, such as having unsafe sex, gambling or
binge eating.
 Has stress-related paranoia that comes and goes.
Histrionic personality disorder

 Always seeks attention.

 Is overly emotional or dramatic or stirs up sexual feelings to get attention.
 Speaks dramatically with strong opinions but has few facts or details to back
them up.
 Is easily led by others.
 Has shallow emotions that change quickly.
 Is very concerned with physical appearance.
 Thinks relationships with others are closer than they are.
Narcissistic personality disorder

 Has beliefs about being special and more important than others.
 Has fantasies about power, success and being attractive to others.
 Does not understand the needs and feelings of others.
 Stretches the truth about achievements or talents.
 Expects constant praise and wants to be admired.
 Feels superior to others and brags about it.
 Expects Favors and advantages without a good reason.
 Often takes advantage of others.
 Is jealous of others or believes that others are jealous of them.
Antisocial personality disorder

 Has little, if any, concern for the needs or feelings of others.

 Often lies, steals, uses false names and cons others.
 Has repeated run-ins with the law.
 Often violates the rights of others.
  Is aggressive and often violent.
 Has little, if any, concern for personal safety or the safety of others.
 Behaves impulsively.
 Is often reckless.
 Has little, if any, regret for how their behavior negatively affects others.
Group C personality disorders

Group C personality disorders have a consistently dysfunctional pattern of anxious thinking

or behavior. They include:

Avoidant personality disorder

 Is very sensitive to criticism or rejection.

 Does not feel good enough, important or attractive.
 Does not take part in work activities that include contact with others.
 Is isolated.
 Does not try new activities and does not like meeting new people.
 Is extremely shy in social settings and in dealing with others.
 Fears disapproval, embarrassment or being made fun of.
Dependent personality disorder

 Relies on others too much and feels the need to be taken care of.
 Is submissive or clingy toward others.
 Fears having to take care of self if left alone.
 Lacks confidence in abilities.
 Needs a lot of advice and comforting from others to make even small decisions.
 Finds it hard to start or do projects due to lack of self-confidence.
 Finds it hard to disagree with others, fearing they will not approve.
 Endures poor treatment or abuse, even when other options are available.
 Has an urgent need to start a new relationship when a close one ends.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

 Focuses too much on details, orderliness and rules.

  Thinks everything needs to be perfect and gets upset when perfection is not
achieved.
 Cannot finish a project because reaching perfection is not possible.
 Needs to be in control of people, tasks and situations.
 Cannot assign tasks to others.
 Ignores friends and enjoyable activities because of too much focus on work or a
project.
 Cannot throw away broken or worthless objects.
 Is rigid and stubborn.
 Is not flexible about morality, ethics or values.
 Holds very tight control over budgeting and spending money.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is not the same as obsessive-compulsive
disorder, which is an anxiety disorder.

Many people with one type of personality disorder also have symptoms of at least one other
type. The number of symptoms a person has may vary.

When to see a doctor

If you have any symptoms of a personality disorder, see your doctor or a mental health
professional. When personality disorders are not treated, they can cause serious issues in
relationships and mood. Also, the ability to function and pursue personal goals may get
worse without treatment.

Causes

It's believed that personality disorders are caused by a blend of how genetics and your
environment affect you. Your genes may make it more likely that you develop a personality
disorder, and what happens to you in life may set a personality disorder into motion.

Risk factors

Although the specific causes of personality disorders are not known, some factors seem to
increase the risk of having one:

 Specific personality traits. This includes always trying to stay away from harm,
or the opposite — a strong need to seek out new activities that get the
adrenaline pumping. It also includes poor impulse control.
  Early life experiences. This includes a home environment that is not stable,
predictable or supportive. It also includes a history of trauma — physical
neglect or abuse, emotional neglect or abuse, or sexual abuse.

Complications
Personality disorders can seriously disrupt your life and the lives of those who care about
you. They may cause issues in relationships, work or school. And they can lead to social
isolation, other mental health issues with addictions, as well as occupational and legal
issues.