What are Different Personality Development Theories and Factors Influencing It?

Personality Development Theories:

In terms of interpersonal behavior traits, personality development refers to the process of creating and deconstructing positive characteristics that characterize individuals. Life-altering experiences and contextual factors play a key role in character development. Developing characters is a subjective process and comprises many dimensions. The development of personality can be viewed as a continuum with different intensities and changes throughout. In terms of conceptualization, it is subjective in nature since it is shaped by social norms governing behavior and self-expression.

Psychologists tend to agree that personality develops throughout one's life and emerges early in life. According to some theories, adult personality traits reflect differences in infant temperament, meaning that individuals display individual differences in disposition and behavior from an early age, perhaps before language to represent their own self is developed. Characteristics of childhood temperament are mapped onto the Five-Factor Model. Thus, this suggests that the traits corresponding to the different levels of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are present at early ages. Theories of personality support and attempt to explain how personalities develop.

1. Evolutionary Theory of Personality Development:

Based on natural selection, the evolutionary theory of personality development states that personality develops over time. Human minds have evolved over time due to evolution. Variations that were beneficial to humans were refined by natural selection. People possess a variety of opposing characteristics that are beneficial for them in various ways, owing to their complexity. Prior to the development of tribe cultures, primates tended to be collectivists. In tribes, individuals developed similar personalities. As a result of a division of labor, different personality traits were developed in order to be more efficient. Through natural selection, personality traits differed, thus increasing functionality. The evolution of humanity resulted in a variety of personalities and individualities.

2. Trait Theory of Personality Development:

In the study of personality, trait theories are among the most dominant theories. Personality is shaped by traits. A trait is something you do or think or something you feel.

3. Social Cognitive Theory of Personality Development:

In the social cognitive theory of personality, personality development is viewed as reciprocal interactionism, that is, as a system in which the interaction between individuals and society defines and shapes each individual's development. Self-identification takes place in relation to social environments as a result of interactions with other individuals, societies, and nature. The underlying reasons for the traits of a person are in fact complex cognitive strategies that enable them to navigate social situations efficiently. A person's unique expression of their personality traits and their affective processes is also determined by cognitive processes, according to the social-cognitive perspective. People interpret context to derive beliefs that shape their thoughts and behaviors, so developing an enduring pattern of personality traits is the end result of cognitive mechanisms and social competencies.

4. Humanistic Theory of Personality Development:

Individual choices are viewed in humanistic psychology as voluntary actions that determine an individual's personal development. Personality traits are not the entirety of what makes up the observable human experience, despite how important they are to the integrated self. In other words, personality development is understood as a process of intentional action aimed at experiencing a sense of mastery over choice. Humanistic psychology incorporates the learning of personality traits such as feelings, thoughts, and behaviors as functions of being as part of a larger system such as a society, culture, or interpersonal relationship. The development of personality is therefore affected by shifts in individual goals of achieving an ideal self, as well as changes in personal meaning.

5. Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality Development:

As developed by Sigmund Freud, the Psychoanalytic Theory of personality deals with the psychology of the individual. Psychologists believe that personality is made up of three key concepts, ID, ego, and superego. Each is responsible for controlling a segment of the mind. The psychoanalytic theory contends that personality is determined by three contradictory traits.

6. Lifespan Theory of Personality Development:

Several classic theories of personality have been developed, including Freud's tripartite theory (developmental stage theories) and post-Freudian theory (type theories). Based on these theories, most personality development occurs in childhood and becomes stable by the end of adulthood. Research that integrates theories and empirical results presently dominates the field. Individuals' innate personalities can be influenced by their environments at any age as long as they adhere to the plasticity principle, i.e. from a life-span perspective. The period of most activity for personality development is believed to be between ages 20 - 40, according to large-scale longitudinal studies. The emergence of a stable personality rarely occurs after a person reaches 50, although it grows increasingly consistent with age.

Factors That Influence Personality Development:

A common characteristic of personality is moderate continuity, modest yet significant normative or mean-level changes, and individual differences in change, especially late in life. Genomic, environmental, transactional, and stochastic factors all contribute to this pattern.

1. Environmental Factors:

Numerous psychologists found that shared environmental influences had little influence on personality, which led to studies of non-shared environmental influences, the influences that separate siblings. Individually distinct responses to shared family environments, peer influences, experiences outside the family, and measurement error are examples of non-shared environments. After leaving the family of origin, adults may also experience a non-shared environment that includes unique roles and experiences. Other research has shown that the environment in adulthood plays an important role in the development of personality, especially with regard to work, marriage, and family experiences; and these effects are further supported by research involving the impact of major positive and negative events in life.

2. Genetic Factors:

An IAT (implicit association test) test conducted on German women shows that certain neurotransmitters are associated with certain personality traits such as anxiety and extraversion. Several studies have shown that even with genetic similarity removed, children from the same family exhibit no more similarity than randomly selected strangers; despite this, identical twins raised apart have nearly the same personality as identical twins raised together. This study suggests that family environment has little influence on personality development and that relatives' similarities stem almost exclusively from genetics.

3. Interaction Between Genes and Environment:

Research indicates that, to a large extent, personality development is influenced by the interaction between genes and environment, as well as by genetics and the environment. Van Gestel and Van Broeckhoven (2003) list the corresponding principle of personality development as follows: "Almost by definition, complex traits originate from an interaction between genetics and the environment". As a result of gene-environment interactions, personalities are maintained and reinforced throughout an individual's life.