Abnormal and Normal Personality Development

Alexandria Gurule

Southwestern Adventist University

October 23, 2018

 “Personality is a set of degrees falling along many behavioral dimensions, each degree

corresponding to a trait” (Allen 2006). The environment, the people one associates with such as

friends and family, and personal life experiences can all play a factor in how a person’s

personality develops. Abnormal personalities can also be formed and shaped by the environment

around a person. Personality is formed by unique traits and character throughout one’s life. How

a person lives their life affects who they are as a person. As we develop, there are many factors

that change our personalities. There are types of personality traits such as shy, kind, outgoing, or

dominant (Allen, 2006). Of course, these are all generalized and people can have more than one

trait. These personality traits are used to describe a person, but they can also tell a lot about what

type of environment one was raised in, or about their family and past.

Personality is built by behavior. The way one interacts with the world around them and

how they react to situations is based on development and personality. Well-adjusted individuals

can perceive cues and adjust behaviors to fit the current situation (Human, 2014). By having a

perceptive and adjustable personality, it allows an individual to adjust to situations and behave in

different ways. Behaving according to a situation instead of a routine allows for one to be

adjustable and means they are more perceptive of situations. Behavior is also learned which

means that people can be influenced by their environment.

Personality can be visible in one’s actions. According to Carol Dweck, “Some people are

conscientious; they actively pursue achievement and exercise self-discipline and perseverance”

(2017). This means that people can choose who they want to be and how they act by exercising
that behavior. Self-discipline takes practice. We are able to practice self-discipline to be able to

practice good behavioral habits and to change a personality trait.

The environment one puts itself in has a deep effect on personality. Environmental

factors that change personality include the people we interact with, the place we live, and

everything we come in contact with. The people one surrounds itself in, especially what they

were raised in designs their personality. Carol Dweck suggests that personality develops around

basic needs (Dweck, 2018). These needs include physical and mental needs. Needs develop

around our physical environment which help us to survive in the world around us. Our need to

interact and have personal connections with people help us develop personalities that help

interact with the world. Our personality develops in a way to help us attain these needs. Our

mental needs include strong connections to people we rely on, a strong mentally, and practicing

healthy mental behavior.

Personality theorist, Albert Bandura believed that a person is not all about biological

factors, but also not all about environmental factors as influences of who the person is. Instead,

he believed that they are all blended together to create a person’s personality and character.

Bandura also believed that everything is connected, which in turn allows everything to influence

a person. For example, genetics influence how we behave, but is also connected on how we feel,

think, and what type of environment we place ourselves in. Environment is also plays a role in

personality, because of where one grows up or what type of situation they are placed in, or who

they surround themselves with. The environment does not always have negative influences on
character, sometimes the environment around a person can be positive in their development.

Genetics and environment are the two largest factors in personality development.

There are ways for personality to change. According to Carl Rogers, there are seven

stages that clients work through to be able to change a behavior (Allen, 2006). The first stage is

that the client’s communications are external, meaning that they are not focused on self, but

rather on other’s actions or words rather than their own. The second stage is that the client is

recognizing feelings, but not their own. Stage three is when they talk about their own past

experiences, but they do not relate to themselves as a person, but an object. Stage four is when

the client is able to experience feelings but only describes them rather than wanting to experience

them. Stage five is when the client finally is able to feel and experience feelings freely without

reserve. Stage six and seven are when the client accepts their feelings as well as being able to

express it freely with themselves and the people around them (Allen, 2006). When these stages

are complete, a person’s behavior or feelings about themselves or a situation is able to change

and they are able to freely express their feelings about the situation. When a client is able to

connect themselves to who they are or a past experience, rather than themselves as an object, or

focusing on others, they are able to connect their feelings to themselves rather than others.

Abnormal personality traits can affect the normal personality traits because they are

directly parallel to each other (Markon, 2002). If one has abnormal personality traits, their

normal personality can be affected because of how the person compensates. Markon also states

that environmental traumas also cause abnormal traits (2002). Meaning that trauma occurring in
the world around an individual can influence one’s personality. Along with abnormal and normal

personality traits being parallel, there are four factors that follow this statement. These four

factors are emotional (in)stability, extraversion/introversion, (dis)agreeableness, and

conscientiousness/compulsivity (Tromp, 2010). Emotional instability can mean having extreme

highs or lows in emotion(s). While being an extravert or an introvert is not negative, but can

have downsides which can affect who one is as a person. People who are agreeable are usually

warm and pleasant to be around, while as someone who is disagreeable are typically unpleasant.

One who has compulsive behaviors usually act out without thought of the action, they do not do

things for a negative or positive reward. Conscientiousness is important to have, but can also be

taken to extreme and may be used an excuse to limit oneself from their full potential. These four

factors have positive and negative sides to them and it is important to have a balance.

Personality traits may also be genetic. According to Ferguson, antisocial personality and

behavior can be linked genetically (2010). “…research on specific genes in human populations

has begun to provide some evidence for how genes may contribute in the development of APB”

(Ferguson, 2010). According to many studies, it has shown that antisocial personality and

behavior or APB, is passed down genetically. Some examples of APB traits include violence,

aggression and lying. These are also known as psychopathy and personality disorders. These

personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder might be caused by genetic or

environmental factors. If traumatic events happen when a child is still young, they could develop

BPD, this is different from when a child has BPD due to genetic reasons and childhood trauma

triggers it (Bridges, 2018).

 Parental relationships with children help develop personalities. If a parent is absent or

neglecting, a child may develop traits to help protect themselves. These traits are built early as a

defense mechanism. As a child grows older, these traits continue as their personality. If a parent

does not regularly interact with their child(ren), this can affect their personality and

development. By not having quality time between parents and children, this can lead to high-risk

behaviors between adolescents. High-risk behavior includes risky sexual behaviors, drug and

alcohol abuse, unhealthy behaviors, and violent behaviors. All of these can be reduced or

prevented with a strong connection between parents are children. Parents showing that they care

and acting on it as well.

Behavior is learned and one can be trained to change behavior based on reinforcement

given or taken away from them. B.F. Skinner believed in behaviorism which meant that people

behaved based on their environment and they had no free will when it comes to how they

behave. He also believed that the only freedom we have is to be able to manipulate our

environment. This means that if we are able to control our environment we are able to change

our behavior. Skinner also believed in operant conditioning which would either strengthen a

behavior using reinforcement, or weakening the behavior by punishment or extinction.

There are two ways that one develops their personality and personality disorders. One is

by genetics, and the other by environment. The combination of the two is what causes

personality and PD (Mayo, 2016). This shows that personality disorders are something that

occur over time. Environment shapes who a person is by having them adapt to each situation

around them. Children who grow up in a hostile environment may use defense mechanisms that
protect them from their dangerous or stressful environment around them. Children who grow up

to have personality disorders usually come from homes where, mental illness runs in the family,

children grow up in an unstable or abusive household, or, go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed

(Mayo, 2016). When personality disorders run in the family, children are more prone to be

diagnosed with one as well because it is genetic. When it is learned behavior, it is usually

because of the child learning how their guardians act, or protecting themselves against abusive

behavior.

According to Mark Dombeck, defense mechanisms and coping techniques that are

healthy are good for people’s lives because they show the difference between healthy and

unhealthy relationships (Dombeck). Defense mechanisms are learned to protect from danger or

to keep a person healthy physically and mentally. Children learn their defense mechanisms very

young because they understand that something is wrong within them and know that something

needs to be done to fix it. However, if a child is constantly defending themselves against abuse

or instability, they grow up to continue these mechanisms when they are no longer in danger, this

causes a person needs to continue these defense mechanisms when they are no longer necessary.

Personality is developed throughout a lifetime, and can be influenced by many different

factors. While an individual is born with some personality traits, some are also learned and

influenced by the environment around them. The environment includes family, friends, the place

one lives, and the events in their lives. Traumatic events can alter one’s personality as a defense

to protect them from dangerous situations. These defense mechanisms can help protect an

individual but also be a part of their personality throughout their life, allowing them to adapt to
situations around them. While it is personality that forms who one is, their behavior shapes their

personality.
 Works Cited

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