TOMAS CLAUDIO COLLEGES

Taghangin, Morong, Rizal

EDUC 201 (FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION)

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
NATURE, DIMENSION, TYPES AND THEORIES
Prepared by : Jessica Marie S. Borromeo

WHAT IS PERSONALITY?

• Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of

thinking, feeling and behaving.
• Personality comes from the Latin words “per” and “sonare”.
• The term “personare” literally means “to sound through”.
• Personality comes from the Latin words “per” and “sonare”.
• The word “persona” came from these two words and originally meant
“actor’s mask”.
• Persona is a mask worn by a person in response of the demands of social
convention.
• Personality is the public personality that people display to those around
them.

NATURE OF PERSONALITY

According to Stagnar & Korwaski (1952) personality has three fold meanings:
1. Personality as a stimulus.
2. Personality as a response
3. Personality as an intervening variable (Integrative approach or personality as
an adjustment)

WHAT IS STIMULUS?
• In psychology a stimulus is any object or event that elicits a sensory or
behavioral response in an organism.
• In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external
environment.
• The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called
sensitivity.
• A stimulus causes an action or response.

THE DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY

1. Energy
2. Direction
3. Values
4. Depth
5. Consciousness
6. Strength
TYPES OF PERSONALITY

1. Perfectionists – are realistic, conscientious and principled

Ex: Narayan Murthy – Infosys
2. Helpers – are warn, concerned, nurturing and sensitive to other people’s needs
Ex: Mother Teresa
3. Achievers – are eneagetic, optimistic, self assured and goal oriented
Ex: Sachin Tendulkar
4. Romantics – have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive
Ex: M. F. Hussain – great Indian Painter
5. Observers – have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical and
insightful.
Ex: Amartya Sen - Great economist
6. Questioners – are responsible and trustworthy.
Ex: Shabana Azmi
7. Adventurers – are energetic, lively and optimistic. They want to contribute to the
world.
Ex: Vijay Mallya - NRI businessman
8. Asserters – are direct, self-reliant, self confident and protective.
Ex: T. N. Seshan - Chief Election Commissioner
9. Peacemakers – are receptive, good-natured and supportive. They seek union with
others and the world around them
Ex: Atal Bihari Vajpayee

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

A. Cognitive Development

1. Sensorimotor stage – during this period, infants are busy discovering that
relationships between their actions
and the consequences of these actions.
2. Preoperational stage – between two to seven years, at this stage, the child learn to
use language to represent
objects by using words.
3. Concrete Operational stage – seven to twelve years, by now the child can think
logically about objects and
events.
4. Formal Operational stage – ages twelve years and up, the child now thinks logically
and becomes
concerned with the hypothetical, the future and ideological problems.

JEAN PIAGET - a Swiss psychologist, made the most intensive study of children’s cognitive
development. He came up with a series of distinct stages as children mature.

B. PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY
• Freud suggested that personality develops in stages that are related to specific
erogenous zones. Failure to complete these stages, he suggested, would lead to
personality problems in adulthood.
• According to Freud, 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.
• Freud's concept of the id, ego and superego has gained prominence in popular culture,
despite a lack of support and considerable skepticism from many researchers.
SIGMUND FEUD - Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of
psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a
patient and a psychoanalyst.
C. STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL
Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation. The child/individual is good in order to
avoid being punished. If a person is punished, they must have done wrong.
Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange. At this stage, children recognize that there is not just
one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different
viewpoints.
LEVEL 2: PRE-CONVENTIONAL
Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships. The child/individual is good in order to be seen
as being a good person by others. Therefore, answers relate to the approval of others.
Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order. The child/individual becomes aware of the wider rules
of society, so judgments concern obeying the rules in order to uphold the law and to avoid guilt.
LEVEL 3: POST-CONVENTIONAL
Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights. The child/individual becomes aware that
while rules/laws might exist for the good of the greatest number, there are times when they will
work against the interest of particular individuals.
The issues are not always clear-cut. For example, in Heinz’s dilemma, the protection of life is
more important than breaking the law against stealing
Stage 6. Universal Principles. People at this stage have developed their own set of moral
guidelines which may or may not fit the law. The principles apply to everyone.
E.g., human rights, justice, and equality. The person will be prepared to act to defend these
principles even if it means going against the rest of society in the process and having to pay the
consequences of disapproval and or imprisonment. Kohlberg doubted few people reached this
stage.
LAWRENCE KOHLBERG - Lawrence Kohlberg was an American psychologist best known for
his theory of stages of moral development. He served as a professor in the Psychology
Department at the University of Chicago and at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard
University.

D. 8 STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

 This theory is one of the best-known theories in psychology.
 Erikson chose to focus on how social relationships impact personality development.
 The theory also extends beyond childhood to look at development across the entire
lifespan.
 According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy
personality and the acquisition of basic virtues.
 Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego can use to resolve subsequent
crises.
ERIK ERICKSON Erik Homburger Erikson was a German-American developmental
psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human
beings. He may be most famous for coining the phrase identity crisis.
Personality makes us who we are, so it is no wonder why it has been the source of such
fascination in both science and in daily life. The various theories of personality that have been
proposed by different psychologists have helped us gain a deeper and richer understanding of
what makes each person unique.