Before we talk about the formation of personality, we need to understand what “personality” is. Traditionally in psychology, this term describes a model of role behavior that is formed under the influence of social expectations. Thus, a person acquires socially approved habits and skills: he becomes well-mannered, educated, receives a profession necessary for society and realizes himself in it.
A later and, therefore, more modern approach describes personality as an independent and unique entity, the development of which is not subject to social expectations, but to personal growth and self-improvement. A person develops as if in opposition to society, trying to stand out from the masses.
At first glance, the described points of view seem mutually exclusive. Nevertheless, the theses they postulate are confirmed in the life of every person, as we will show below.
The process of personality development
A person becomes a personality in the process of evolutionary, that is, gradual, development. This is a multifactorial process that includes not only upbringing and education, but also the overall formation of an individual system of interaction with the world in all its aspects - interpersonal, intimate, professional.
The process of personality formation includes the following mechanisms, or phases:
- Adaptation.
- Personalization.
- Integration.
During the adaptation phase, a person learns the rules and norms of behavior dictated by the outside world. This mechanism is also called socialization. It is basic for the development of personality and leading until adolescence.
During the individualization phase, motivation changes. By this time, a person has already become “like everyone else” and now it becomes important for him to develop qualities that would distinguish him from other people. The mechanism of individualization becomes of great importance in adolescence and young adulthood.
During the integration phase, the individual finds a compromise form of existence in which his individual characteristics find support in society or from a separate group, allowing the person to integrate into the system.
Conclusion
So, we examined the stages of personality development according to various criteria and touched upon the origins of personality formation. It is important to understand: regardless of our current situation, there is always the opportunity to move forward and not waste time, which can easily be used for good deeds. Whether it’s self-knowledge or developing your own business, building a career or creativity, use all the necessary tools and achieve success with the Self-Development and Self-Knowledge project.
Topic: Personal growth
How does personality formation occur?
A person becomes an individual as a result of overcoming intrapersonal age-related conflicts. Intrapersonal conflict is understood as a contradiction that arises between the “I” and the outside world. In psychology, it is believed that each age period is characterized by one leading conflict. The way an individual emerges from it affects how he will develop in the future:
- Resolution of the age contradiction leads to a leap in development and transition to the next stage of personality development.
- Failure to resolve the age-related contradiction or its negative resolution leads to the appearance of internal complexes, mental disorders and disorders in the future.
Despite the fact that the formation of personality occurs sequentially, a person can - consciously, under the influence of circumstances or with the help of a psychologist - return to unresolved conflicts in the past in order to correct his development.
Habitat
Of course, the environment and communication with people largely determine the personality; the child absorbs the culture, norms and rules of behavior accepted in a certain society. And people of different nationalities and cultures can be radically different. Thus, we come to the conclusion that everything is closely interconnected.
Naturally, family, friends, kindergarten and school have a great influence on a person. The child is taught to certain norms and rules of behavior, and the foundations are laid for the formation of moral principles. Under the influence of the people around them, children learn role-playing games, behavior patterns, absorb and learn a huge amount of knowledge thanks to the school curriculum.
Proponents of the “environment” theory believe that a person, like a blank slate, comes into this world, and parents and environment write and create personality. However, we often hear comments that even in the same family, under equal conditions, children are completely different? This means that the natural principle also has a great influence on the development of personality.
So, there are two basic conditions - the external environment and heredity. The question arises: can a person independently influence his development or does everything depend on external factors?
Stages and conflicts
American psychologist Erik Erikson (1902-1994) formulated the most complete concept of the psychosocial development of the individual. He identified eight stages, of which the first six are important for the theme of personality formation. At each of them, a person resolves the contradictions that arise before him, which can be formulated in the form of simple questions.
Does the world around you inspire trust?
Two needs - safety and care - are the most important for the development of personality. They are the basis of the pyramid of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). They are also postulated by E. Erikson as the basic needs of the infant stage of development:
- If a mother takes care of the baby, feeds him on time and creates a comfortable environment for him, then the individual develops the rudiments of a positive attitude towards the world around him.
- If the baby often screams, feels bad and lacks attention, then this creates internal tension in him, and the conflict of infancy is resolved with a negative result.
In the first case, the formation of personality will occur under the banner of optimism and joy. In the second option, the constant stress experienced by the infant leads to the fact that in adulthood such a person will most likely not trust the world around him and be afraid of it.
Can I?
In the second year of life, the child begins to actively interact with the world. The new possibility of independent movement opens up amazing prospects: now you can act on your own or by yourself. “Can I climb on this chair?”, “can I touch the cat?”, “can I run?” and thousands more similar questions are solved by the personality in the process of its formation at this stage.
- If the child responds positively to the questions that arise, then he comes to the next stage of development with the beginnings of such important qualities as independence and the ability to exert volition.
- If parents limit a child in his desire to expand the limits of his independent activities and hinder his initiatives, then this leads to the formation of low self-esteem.
With a negative resolution of the conflict of this age, the individual becomes characterized by a feeling of shame, doubt in himself and in his capabilities.
Will I do something?
If at the previous stage of development a person realized that she could act independently, then during preschool age (from 3 to 6 years old) she will need to answer the question: will she do something. The child’s activities become more complex; this is the “age of play”, when he tries various forms of complex activity. The nature and outcomes of the age conflict are similar to the previous one:
- If games are not interrupted and are supported by adults, then such important qualities as initiative and determination are strengthened in the individual.
- With a negative outcome, a feeling of guilt is formed (“I’m doing everything wrong”) and passivity (“I’d rather not do anything”), which is a defense mechanism - a way to avoid the overwhelming feeling of guilt.
Am I capable?
The further you go, the more difficult it becomes. At school age you will need to master complex knowledge and skills. For the success of this process, it is vital to be independent, proactive and purposeful - that is, to have qualities that were formed as a result of the positive resolution of two previous age-related conflicts. Conversely, passive children with low self-esteem experience difficulties in further personality development, including mastering new knowledge.
Poor academic performance, lack of will, low social status in the group - all this leads to the fact that the child does not feel capable to the same extent as his peers. There is a possibility of developing an inferiority complex. There is a hormonal “explosion” and high turbulence on the horizon.
Who am I and who will I be?
A person whose development took place in a positive way is likely to continue his development in adolescence in the same way. All difficulties will be overcome, and the result of the local age crisis will be the discovery of oneself as a holistic and consistent personality. In adolescence, a person self-determines his future path, forming the basis of his future adult life.
If a teenager cannot answer the questions “who is he” and “who will he be” or the answers to them do not suit him (that is, his image of the ideal does not correspond to real opportunities and circumstances), then such a person develops a feeling of meaninglessness and purposelessness of life. This leads to the emergence of various forms of deviant behavior: hooliganism, drinking and drug use, engaging in promiscuous relationships, suicide attempts, etc.
The teenage stage is the last opportunity to correct the negative trend of personality development to a more positive one. The task of adults is to try to normalize the teenager: to offer him an alternative goal, to fill his life with meaning, to help him perceive reality as it is.
Will there be someone next to me?
By the age of 20, a person is determined with the basic existential questions, and he has the time and need to realize himself in a less vital, but nevertheless necessary area - in an intimate relationship with another person. The young man practices building them - and this is normal: searching for his “half”.
The contradiction of the situation lies in the fact that close relationships imply a limitation of one’s own independence and will - properties that are dominant from the time of positive resolution of the conflict in early childhood, that is, almost all life.
As in other stages that a personality goes through in the process of formation, the result of this period can be expressed in two polar options:
- With a positive resolution, a person acquires the habit of having a partner.
- If none of the attempts at close relationships could develop in a way satisfactory for the person, then independence will win.
A strong need for independence makes it difficult to establish close, harmonious relationships.
Heredity
By heredity we mean those properties of an organism that are transmitted to children from parents through a certain genetic code. In this case, mainly physiological data is transmitted: the structure of the body, features of functioning, some diseases and inclinations for certain areas of activity (music, drawing).
If we talk about the concept of heredity, then the behavior and development of the individual are determined, first of all, due to the innate characteristics inherent in the formation of the organism. This can be confirmed by the expression “talent will always find its way,” even under negative life circumstances and growth conditions.
It is believed that congenital inclinations or, in other words, heredity are fundamental. However, is this so? There are situations when a person changes over the years and discovers new facets of ability or works on the formation and development of such.
And as for the root cause in physiological characteristics, we can recall the stories of a human baby entering the animal world from the first days of life. For example, the wolf article. It was only in the cartoon that Mowgli was strong and brave; in reality, such children did not have speech or communication skills, and their habits completely copied the animals that were nearby.
Maybe society plays a key role after all, because man is a social being? Let's analyze in more detail the second condition, which has a significant impact on personality development.
Factors in personality development
Factors that help develop personality include:
- Level of development of the social environment and its values.
- Access to material and spiritual benefits (including education).
- Wealthy family.
Traditionally, family is put first. However, even the most prosperous family, which gave the child an excellent upbringing, will not be able to help in his further development if the individual is not respected in society, and his values are reduced exclusively to an archaic religious worldview and to the factor of population reproduction.
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Determinants of development
Determinants are factors and conditions that play a leading role in the development of something. In our case, these are the leading factors in the development of personality.
Heredity
In the article “The Concept of Personality in Psychology: Essence and Structure” we found that the phenomenon of a person as a person implies consideration of both elements: biological and social. The innate characteristics of a person, that is, temperament and body constitution, inclinations, etc., undoubtedly contribute to the formation of personality.
- Initially, theories about personality followed only this approach. It was generally accepted that heredity transmits genes, genes form the hormonal background, which forms the physique and psyche, and they give the shape of personality.
- A little later it became clear that individual characteristics make their contribution, but social factors have a greater influence on personal formation.
Environment
Personality is formed under the influence of the psychology of the group, with whose members it is on an equal footing. The environment influences the formation of personality through:
- culture;
- installations;
- norms and values of family, circle of friends, and other social groups;
- structure of the country.
The social environment shapes character, which is one of the elements of the personality structure.
Interesting fact: it has been scientifically proven that even the birth order of a child plays an important role in the formation of personality. Thus, children born first and subsequently having a brother or sister are more likely to:
- care about social acceptance or rejection;
- hardworking and responsible;
- prone to cooperation and submission to authorities;
- do not seek to break the rules;
- are distinguished by ambition;
- prone to feelings of guilt and anxiety.
Situation
This factor began to be identified as a separate category not so long ago. It is assumed that it restrains both the social and the natural in man. This is a kind of personality regulator.
- It is no secret that some situations dictate the style of behavior and the boundaries of what is acceptable or unacceptable. The more often a person finds himself in a situation of forced behavior, the easier it is for him to constantly show himself in this form.
- However, precisely because of the situational nature, it is impossible to judge a person’s personality in isolation.
Currently, attempts are being made to identify specific situations, their descriptions and the essence of the influence on the individual. But in practice this is very difficult to do. For now, to assess a personality, it remains necessary to have information about his behavior in various situations.
Activity as a condition for personality formation
The main condition for the formation of personality is activity:
- labor,
- educational,
- gaming,
- communication.
Each activity is specific and plays a certain role in human development, meets his age needs, and develops certain components of personality. You can read more about activity in the article “Human activity – what is it in psychology. Types of activities and their characteristics.”
Development criteria
From the above, we can highlight the criteria for personality development, or personal growth:
- strengthening subjectivity;
- integrity and integration into the world;
- productivity growth;
- development of mental (spiritual) qualities and abilities.
A characteristic feature of a mature personality is overcoming egocentrism and acquiring a broad identity (the ability to identify oneself with the world, society, situations, nature; a sense of community and understanding).
- In children and adolescents, personality development is assessed according to the characteristics of socialization and reflection.
- In adults - by the ability to self-actualize, the ability to accept responsibility and stand out from society, maintaining a connection with it.
Youth (16-23 years old)
An individual chooses a profession, studies, and begins to finally decide on his place in society. The main task:
- choosing and mastering your favorite activity;
- job search;
- making money;
- independence training;
- separation from parents (moving to another country/city for study/work, etc. can be useful).
It is important to close these aspects of life so that in the next stages the person can deal with others. The formation of the body gradually ends, and at the same time improvement occurs in the direction of cognitive abilities.
