Personality Development

Introduction
Definition of Personality
Determinants of Personality
Patterning of Development
Personality as the External Appearance and Behaviour of the Individua
Need for Studying Personality Development for Social Work Practice
Summary
References

Introduction

This article introduces the concept of personality and the role of personality research in social work practise. It also sheds information on personality determinants and the relevance of personality development. In this chapter, the exterior appearance of personality is also discussed. This chapter gives a complete overview of a person's personality development.

Definition of Personality

Personality is a widely used term with a wide range of connotations. There are at least fifty different definitions of the phrase, according to Allport (1937). He claims that the word "personality" is derived from the Latin word "persona." In Cicero's writings, "personality" is employed in at least four different senses, according to Allport. To begin with, personality is defined as a collection of personal characteristics. In this sense, the actor's personality is his or her own. Second, personality is defined as a person's outward appearance. Personality is linked to the mask in this way. Third, personality refers to a person's role in life, whether it's a professional, social, or political one, such as that of a character in a drama. Finally, personality refers to distinguishing and dignified characteristics. It has something to do with the star performance.

There are several definitions of personality. Allport (1937) classified these definitions in six categories. Out of these three important and popular definitions are given below:

Personality as a Social Value

Allport (1924) defined “personality as, individual’s characteristic reaction to social stimuli and the quality of his adaptation to the social features of his environment.”

According to Guthrie, “Personality is defined as those habits and habit systems of social importance that are stable and resistant to change.”

Stranger (1961) has indicated two meanings of personality related to social values:

Personality as Stimulus value — This means that personality is defined as a person's or a personality's impact or impression on another person or persons, or how a person impresses others in society. A person's personality is regarded impressive if he or she can quickly and readily impress others. In everyday life, we frequently claim that a person with a greater stimulus value or who easily impresses and attracts us has a pleasant demeanour. However, this theory about personality is not scientific, because various people have quite varied perspectives.
Personality as a Response — Personality was described as a response in response to the limitations in the description of personality as a stimulus. According to Guthrie and Allport, there are two definitions of personality as a response. The advantage of defining personality in this way is that it allows for the study of personality from a distance. This form of characterization is also unsatisfactory because personality is more than just a collection of responses; it also has stimulus value.

Personality as an Intervening Variable

Allport (1937) defined personality as an intervening variable. According to him, “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment”.

According to Munn, (1953), Personality may be defined as the most characteristic integration of individual’s structures, modes of behaviour, interest, attitudes, capacities, abilities and aptitudes.

Traits of Personality

Crutch and Cretchfied (1958) defined trait as a characteristic of a person that causes him or her to react consistently in all settings. The process of comparison and observation can both provide information about a person's personality. A person is witnessed reacting quickly, vigorously, accurately, or in a combination of these characteristics. These are the impediments that arise from the examination of totalities; the aspects or features that we have just discussed are called "traits." There are both behavioural and somatic characteristics.

Allport defined personality traits on the following eight criteria:

The existence of traits is more than negligible.
Traits are more generalized as compared with habits.
Traits are dynamic or at least determinative.
Their existence can be established on the statistical and experiential basis.
The various traits of personality are independent of each other.
Psychologically moral qualities are not personality traits
The tasks and habits which are not according to or favourable to traits do not give proof of the existence of traits.
Traits are unique and universal.

Allport, on the basis of a large scale analysis of human traits, proposed a trait theory of personality. Some of the conclusions regarding traits are as follows:

Personality features can assist in the selection of acceptable behaviour or block it.
Although direct observation of features is not possible, inference can be made about them. 3
Traits determine the establishment of a new habit, not the other way around.
Characteristics direct and initiate behaviour.
Punctuality, assertiveness, cheerfulness, competitiveness, fancifulness, gregariousness, and vitality are all significant attributes, according to Allport.
Common features can be used to compare the amount of adjustment of normal people.
Allport coined the term "syndrome" to describe the collection of characteristics.
Allport divided all qualities into three categories:
Cardinal Traits: These type of traits are more effective and perform the important functions of control of emotions. They are small in number.
Central Traits: These traits contribute to the focus of person’s behaviour. They are often considered as building blocks of personality.
Secondary Traits: These traits are individual traits and common traits. The individual traits are considered as true symptoms. The common traits are found in many persons. They provide basis for the measurement of many individual traits.

Determinants of Personality

Every person has a distinct personality. Some people are criminals, while others are law abiding citizens; some are alcoholics, while others are not; some are maladjusted, while others are well adjusted. Certain concepts underpin personality development and functioning, allowing us to comprehend the variations in behaviour patterns. They are influenced by both inheritance and the environment.

Biological Factors

These factors include genetic factors and hormonal factors. Let us examine these factors in some details.

Genetic Factors: Each person inherits from his parents a genetic endowment that supplies bodily equipment such as muscle, glands, sense organs, nerves, and so on. All of these components are necessary for one's growth into an adult human being. Heredity not only gives developmental opportunities, but it is also a significant source of individual differences, as it influences the determination of some features more than others. Heredity has the greatest impact on physical characteristics and constitutional elements such as sensitivity, vitality, disease susceptibility, and intelligence. Individuals' resistance to physical disease may be lowered as a result of genetic variables that affect the general functioning of the organism. The brain, which is the most highly organised system in the cosmos, reflects the most distinctive characteristics of man's ancestry. The brain creates a magnificent communication network with incredible capabilities for integrating the overall functioning of the human organism, interpreting and'storing' new experiences, thinking, envisioning, and problem solving.

Hormonal Factors: There are a number of hormonal factors which influence the development of personality. Some of the important ones are described below.

Endocrine Glands
These glands secrete directly without any tube. The secretion of these glands is known as harmones which affect the personality.
> Pancreas Glands: This gland is connected to a deudenum tube. Digestive fluids are secreted by this gland. These cells secrete insulin, which helps the body to regulate blood sugar levels.
> Thyroid Gland: Thyroxin, which is secreted by this gland, controls the rate of physical growth. > Parathyroid Gland: The main role of this gland is to regulate the amount of calcium in the body, which ensures that the growth of bones and teeth is smooth.
> Adrenal Gland: This gland produces a substance called 'Aderin,' which influences personality. The secretion promotes blood flow and has an impact on the liver. As a result, fatigue is lessened and wastes are expelled from the body.
> Pituitary Gland: The harmone secreted from this gland's anterior section regulates the secretions of other glands, while the secretion from its posterior part activates the petuterin muscle.
> Gonad Gland: Gonadal harmones are the secretions produced by these glands (Progestin, Androgens and Estrogens). Males have masculine characteristics and females have feminine characteristics as a result of these secretions.
Physique and Health
A person’s worth increases by good physical structure. Also, if the physical structure is defective, the chances are high that he/she would suffer from a number of health problems.
Body Chemistry
The many chemical changes that occur in various parts of the brain and body have a significant impact on a person's personality. If the chemical changes are not in the appropriate order, the person will have a variety of issues. As a result of a lack of glycogen in the muscles, a person will quickly become exhausted and appear lethargic, dejected, annoyed, and irritable.
Maturation and Personality
Maturity influences how and what a person learns. Learning is necessary for the development of several personality qualities. His learning and personality will be negatively impacted if his growth is not smooth.
Genetic and Somatic Factors
A child's qualities are frequently discovered to be similar to those of their parents. It is due to the child's genes as well as the environment provided by the guardians in which the youngster is raised. There have been various twin studies that suggest that heredity has an impact on personality development. It has also been discovered that a mother's activity level, food, foetus' needs, and emotional state during pregnancy have an impact on the personality of a newborn child.

Environmental Factors

The elements in a person's environment are continually shaping his or her psychological development. Even persons with the same ancestors have distinct personalities. Individuals' growth is influenced much more dramatically by their sociocultural environment, which includes the language they acquire, the rituals they follow, the values they believe in, and the skills they develop to deal with life's challenges. We discovered that groups of people foster distinct cultural patterns by training their younger members in a methodical manner. As Linton (1945) put it, such methods tend to make all members of the group look substantially alike, or to develop "fundamental personality types."

People raised in nonviolent civilizations, according to Mead (1949), will resolve their conflicts in nonviolent ways. The Arapesh were a kindly, peaceful, cooperative people; the Mundugumor were warlike, suspicious, competitive, and vengeful. In New Guinea, two tribes of similar social origin, living in the same general geographical area, developed diametrically opposed characteristics: the Arapesh were a kindly, peaceful, cooperative people; the Mundugumor were a warlike, suspicious, competitive, and vengeful people. These distinctions occur as a result of sociocultural circumstances.

Each individual belongs to a somewhat unique pattern of sub groups and experiences a unique pattern of interpersonal relationships. Participation in the sociocultural environment may vary across individuals. It may be said that the socio cultural environment is the source of differences as well as commonalities in personality development. The environmental factors may be divided into two categories
i) Geographical Factors
ii) Social Factors

A brief description of Social factors are as follows

Parental Factors
> ) Importance of Mother: Several research in this sector have found that, of all environmental elements, the person's early relationships with his mother have the most impact. Harlow (1966) did a research on infant monkeys and found that because to the baby monkey's lonely early growth, it is unable to form strong social bonds with its companions. Spitz (1949) and Yarrow (1963) found similar results in human baby research. Early maternal deprivation has been linked to personality development disorder.
> Importance of Father: The presence or absence of a father, like that of a mother, has an impact on a child's personality. The absence of a father, according to Mischel (1958), influenced the child's socialisation and development. The father-child bond, in particular, has an impact on the child's future sexual relationships.
> Other Family Members: It is observed that if the members of the family are affectionate to the child and help her to fulfill the requirements, teach her good habits, then such things definitely help the child to develop positive aspects in personality.
> Size of the Family: The size of a family has an impact on the development of a person's personality. When a family has more members, the child's language and other mental talents grow more quickly. In contrast, in the case of an only child in the family, the youngster develops rebellious and spoiled as a result of the extra attention, love, and affection.
> Economic status of the family: The family's financial situation has an impact on the personality. Children from low-income families may develop feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Similarly, their physical and mental growth is slowed due to a lack of resources and a nutritious diet.
School and Peer Groups
The environment has a significant impact on personality development. Children adopt various habits and behaviours from the children with whom they engage in their neighbourhood. Their intellectual and emotional growth are also harmed. After a few years, the child enters school and begins to experience patterns of adjustment in the classroom and community. The behaviour of the instructor and the school environment have an impact on the child in school. The quality of a child's school experiences is frequently discovered to be highly related to his or her self-perception. The educational environment and peer group have an impact on a child's social and emotional development.
Cultural Factor
The child's behaviour and development are influenced by the culture to which he or she belongs. In diverse societies, there are cultural differences, and these differences impact the personality patterns of infants. From culture to culture, child parenting patterns, values, conventions, and incentives differ. Different cultures contribute to the development of different personality traits through sharing common meanings and customs

Patterning of Development

There are three main levels of analysis to be taken into consideration for the study of development of an individual

Biological System: The body's intricately regulated physiological connections.
The Psychological System or Personality: It entails the ordered interplay of goals, abilities, assumptions, and defences centred on the self; and
The Sociological or Group System: It entails the interactions of the person in his family or larger group contexts.

These three factors, or degrees of analysis, are critical for gaining a thorough picture of the person and how he functions. These elements play a vital role in defining an individual's personality and have an impact on their growth and development.

As a result, it's critical to remember that a person's growth or change is always patterned. The pattern of these changes is shaped by all of the interacting component systems.

Development Schedule

Not only in the domains of physical and motor development, but also in the domains of emotional, intellectual, and social development, human development is found to follow a definite schedule. Thus, before learning to walk, an infant crawls and sits up; her early generalised emotional reactions are differentiated into love, humour, and grief. Language behaviour progresses from haphazard vocalisation to words, which eventually become vehicles for thought.

The forces of maturation and learning control the development process. Maturational processes guide the development of our physical structure and pave the way for learning, but what we can learn in any situation is contingent on both maturational readiness and prior knowledge. It's also worth noting that each new stage of development is constrained by previous stages, which influences and remains a part of subsequent stages of development.

Development Tasks

Six major stages of human development have been identified. At each stage of development, maturational and social pressures impose specific tasks that the individual must master in order to continue on her normal path. When particular tasks are not mastered during the right developmental phase, the individual develops immaturities and incompetences that linger and impede her adjustment during subsequent stages of development.

Personality Development and Adjustment:

Developmental Task of Different Life Stages

Infancy and Early Childhood Learning to walk and talk. Learning to take (0-6 years) solid food and to control the elimination of body wastes. Achieving physiological stability. Developing a sense of trust in oneself and in others. Learning to relate oneself emotionally to parents, siblings, and other people. Forming an identification with one’s own sex. Developing simple concepts of social and physical reality. Mastering simple safety rules. Learning to distinguish right from wrong and to respect rules and authority.
Middle Childhood (6-12 years) Gaining wider knowledge and understanding of the physical and social world. Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself. Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine social role. Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values. Learning to read, write, and calculate, and learning other fundamental intellectual skills. Learning physical skills. Developing attitudes toward social groups and other institutions. Learning to win and maintain a place among one’s age-mates. Learning to give and take and to share responsibility. Achieving increasing personal independence.
Middle Childhood (6-12 years) Gaining wider knowledge and understanding of the physical and social world. Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself. Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine social role. Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values. Learning to read, write, and calculate, and learning other fundamental intellectual skills. Learning physical skills. Developing attitudes toward social groups and other institutions. Learning to win and maintain a place among one’s age-mates. Learning to give and take and to share responsibility. Achieving increasing personal independence.
Adolescence (12-18 years) Developing self-confidence and a clear sense of identity. Accepting one’s physique and adjusting to body changes. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role. Developing new and mature relations with age-mates. Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults. Developing concern beyond oneself; achieving mature values, and social responsibility. Selecting and preparing for an occupation. Preparing for marriage and family life. Learning to make choices and taking responsibility. Building a conscious value system in harmony with an adequate world picture.
Early adulthood (18-35 years)Completing formal education. Getting started in an occupation. Selecting and learning to live with a mate. Starting a family and providing for the material and psychological need of one’s children. Finding a congenial social group. Taking on civic responsibility. Developing a satisfying philosophy of life.
Middle Age (35-60 years) Accepting greater civic and social responsibility. Achieving personal growth with one’s mate and relating to one’s mate as a person. Establishing a standard of living and developing adequate financial security for remaining years. Developing adult leisure-time activities and extending interests. Helping teen-age children become responsible and happy adults. Adjusting to aging parents. Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of middle age.
Later Life Adjusting to decreasing physical strength. Adjusting to retirement and reduced income, and establishing satisfactory living arrangements. Adjusting to the death of spouse or friends. Meeting social and civic obligations within one’s ability. Establishing affiliation with one’s own age group. Maintaining active interests and concern beyond oneself.
Task common to all Periods Developing and using one’s physical, social, and emotional competencies. Accepting oneself and developing basic self-confidence. Accepting reality and building valid attitudes and values. Participating creatively and responsibly in family and other groups. Building rich linkages with one’s world.

The most important pathways towards maturity are:

Dependence to Self-Direction: From foetus, baby, and child reliance to adulthood independence is one of the paths to maturity. The development of an integrated frame of reference of adult duties is the growth of independence and self-direction.
Pleasure to Reality: The pleasure principle, according to Freud, is crucial in guiding early behaviour. This notion was subordinated to the reality principle, the realisation that if we are to meet our needs, we must learn to perceive and face reality.
Ignorance to Knowledge: The human baby is born in a state of complete ignorance and begins to learn about herself and her environment very quickly. This knowledge is eventually structured into a cohesive pattern of beliefs about reality, worth, and possibility, providing him with a stable frame of reference to guide her behaviour.
Incompetence to Competence:The entire era from childhood to adolescence is devoted to mastering the intellectual, emotional, social, and other skills required for adulthood.
Diffuse Sexuality to Heterosexuality: The sexual development of a person is a crucial stage in their maturation. Diffuse and broad manifestations of sexuality can be detected at a young age. Later in childhood, one's interests and emotions are directed toward other people of the same sex. Heterosexual differentiation accelerates at the onset of puberty. However, sexual maturity entails more than simply directing one's desires towards a partner of the opposing sex.
Amoral to Moral: The newborn baby has no idea of right or wrong; with time, she acquires a pattern of value assumptions that act as inner guides or control behaviour, which we call her conscience or super ego.
Self-centered to Other Centered: Individuals' progressive movement from exclusive preoccupation with themselves and their needs to an understanding and acceptance of societal obligations and participation in the human enterprise is one of the most essential roads to maturity. This encompasses the ability to offer love in a familial situation, as well as the ability to care for and contribute to the welfare of one's group and society as a whole.

Variation in Development

Although all humans go through the same stages of development, we notice differences in the features they develop. Any recognisable and reasonably long-lasting attribute of an individual is referred to as a trait. Most people are intelligent in the intermediate or average range, with a few geniuses on one end and mentally retarded on the other.

However, variation in
(a) the nature of a given physical trait, such as blood type and skin colour,
(b) the differentiation or extent to which a given trait is developed,
(c) the integration or harmony among traits, and
(d) the overall pattern of traits, which we call personality, can occur from one individual to the next. Variation within a defined range is deemed normal; it only becomes abnormal when it becomes severe enough to substantially damage one's adaptive abilities.

A number of factors are significant which affect a particular trait. The traits play a very important role in the development of an individual, if his position is very much above or below the average. The significance of a given trait depends on the pattern of all the traits.

Personality as the External Appearance and Behaviour of the Individual

The biological portion of the human being is linked to the exterior appearance of personality. Fluids, bones, skin, and muscular, connective, and neural tissues make up the human body. The physiology of the organism is made up of several components.

There is a lot of information that illustrates how'mind' and 'body' are intertwined. There is some personality disruption when the brain is wounded or little pieces of it are removed, though it is usually less than one might think. Aside from outward looks, there is a desire to make a positive first impression on others. Others can get a sense of a person's personality based on their first impression of them. Furthermore, a person's first impression influences what others expect of him, and those expectations, in turn, influence his behaviour.

A person's first impression can be formed based on physical appearance, facial features or expressions, gestures, dress, name, nationality, race, what the person says and how he says it, what he does and how he does it, or some other physical or psychological characteristic and how he says it, what he does and how he does it, or some other physical or psychological characteristic that is associated with certain personality types in the observer's mind.

Sheldon describes the types of personality on the basis of external appearance as under:

Endomorphic: Identity to roundness, smoothness, softness, large trunk, delicate, tapering limbs.
Mesomorphic: Tendency to heavy bones and muscles, squareness, ruggedness.
Ectomorphic: Tendency to slenderness, straightness of limb, delicateness.

Each individual must be described in terms of his or her place on each of the three scales. Sheldon claims that As a result, a type is a unique combination of these dimensions' positions. Each person's kind and physical description are expressed through three scores. As a result, we might conclude that an individual's external look and behaviour are crucial in determining his or her personality.

Need for Studying Personality Development for Social Work Practice

Social work practise is a method of addressing human psychosocial and behavioural issues using a professional approach. It covers all areas of human life, including personal growth and development. Social work is considered a behavioural science by some social scientists. It is also acknowledged that social worker services will be productive only if the worker has a fundamental understanding of the problems, nature, and stage of psychosexual development. For the diagnosis and treatment of psychosocial disorders, the social worker must be familiar with the personality assessment tasks of various stages of development. It is beneficial for social workers to study personality development in order to improve their skills.

Summary

The common man's understanding of the term "personality" differs from its formal definition. The average person only uses the term "personality" to refer to an individual's structure. The word 'personality' comes from the Latin word 'persona,' which literally means'mask.' Personality is characterised in psychological literature from a variety of perspectives. Allport has provided the most accurate definition. Character, temperament, and self are terms that are related to personality but have different meanings. Early infancy is when a person's personality begins to develop.

Because each individual is distinct, it is necessary to comprehend the components that influence personality. Some of the most important influences of personality are heredity and environment.

The study of a person's personality development involves three levels of investigation. Biological, psychological, and social or group systems are among them. For each stage of life, there are distinct developmental tasks. Humans go through comparable stages of development, although there are certain differences.

The biological part of a human being is linked to the exterior appearance of personality. Because social work encompasses all elements of human existence, researching personality development is crucial for social workers.

References

Allport, Gordon, and W, Pattern (1961), Growth in Personality, Halt Rinehart & Winston, New York.
Coleman (1988), Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, D. B. Taraporevala Sons and Co. Pvt. Ltd, Bombay.
Gnilford, J. P. (1959), Personality, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Kakar, Sudhir (1983), The Inner World; A Psycho-analytic Study of Childhood and Society in India, Oxford University Press, Delhi.
Liebert, R. M. and Spiegler, M. D. (1985), Strategies and Issues, California, Brooks/Cole, Los Angeles.
Werner, H., (1957) Comparative Psychology of mental development (Rev. ed. New York Int. Univ. Press, New York.
Zastrow, Charles (1978), Introduction to Social Welfare Institutions, The Press Homewood Illinois.