Personality Development

Personality Development

1. Temperament

   • Inherited
   • Personality counteracts the negative aspects of temperament

2. Personality

   • How we behave
   • Interaction between nature and nurture
   • Lifelong, ever-changing & adapting

3. Self

   • Not just one entity
     • Public self
     • Private self
     • Social self
   • 3 parts
     • Self-awareness
       • "I am a distinct and separate being."
     • Self-concept
       • "List of traits that define me."
     • Self-esteem
       • "I am a worthy person."
   • Goffman (sociologist)
     • Impression management
       • Attempting to influence other's perception of them by regulating and controlling information in social interaction.
     • Dramaturgy
       • Social interaction = performance
     • Institutionalisation
       • Loss of identity in institutions. Becoming a "good patient"

4. Adolescence

   • Deviant behaviour
     • Social situation (nurture)
     • Biological basis (nature)
     • Chemical imbalance, hormones (genetic predisposition)
     • Extroversion, thrill seeker (nature)
   • Erikson's stages
     • Identity vs role confusion
       • Sense of self in relation to others, social identity
       • Relationships with others, how we think they view us
       • Impact of others on self-esteem issues

5. Abnormal personality development

   • Psychopathy / antisocial personality disorder
     • Develops in adolescence as a conduct disorder
     • Manipulative and calculating
     • Disregard for other's needs or wellbeing
   • Schizoid personality disorder
     • Solitary, aloof
     • Rarely shows strong emotion
   • Avoidant personality disorder
     • Aloof, low desire
     • Scared of rejection
     • Poor self-esteem
   • Dependant personality disorder
     • Need to please
     • Passive, undemanding
     • Lack in self-confidence
   • Obsessive compulsive personality disoder
     • perfectionist, obsessed with detail
     • NOT OCD!
     • Struggles with decision-making
   • Histrionic personality disorder
     • Dramatic, attention-seeking
     • Emotional excess, immature
   • Narcissistic personality disorder
     • Self-centred
     • Grandiose view of self and uniqueness
     • Craves admiration
     • Expects more from others than gives
   • Borderline personality disorder
     • Impulsive, unpredictable, extreme mood swings, unstable