Personality Development of Barack Obama - Essay Example

? Personality Development: Barack Obama Introduction The influences of heredity and environment on the person’s psychological development are not explained explicitly. Many scholars who study human personality make different conclusions as to its development and these conclusions are reflected in different theories, which reject each other. Thus, Feldman (1998) states that “Personality is the pattern of enduring characteristics that differentiate a person - the pattern of behavior that makes each individual unique” (Feldman 1998). Really, people are different and every person is unique. One can’t find two absolutely identical personalities. The question is why we are so different. Certainly, we have different parents and different heredity, however life shows that even twin brothers and sisters are usually very different in terms of character, interests, way of life. They even may go to different schools and choose different professions, notwithstanding that they were born to the same parents, the same day and are brought up in the same conditions. It is very interesting to study this question thoroughly and properly, thus in the given paper we will try to define the factors, which influence the psychological development of the personality. The factors that influenced the psychological development of Barack Obama Barack Obama was brought up in a very positive psychological atmosphere that influenced his moral development greatly. Notwithstanding that he had no father and he was born to a teenage mother, his family was problem-free, small and comfortable. At the beginning it consisted of a mother and grandparents, who took care of little Barack and devoted their life to the loved child. Barack and his mother Stanley Ann were always very close. “Certain of his destiny”, Barack’s mother did her best to help her son reveal his potential (Obama, 1995, p. 95). Barack’s grandparents taught him to be fair in relation to other people. Barack Obama entered a prestigious academy where he received school education. He said: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered—to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect—became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear” (cited in Reyes, 2007). His own family as well as the teachers of the academy served as mentors for little Barack and helped him form his own outlook, get ideas and plans for the future. Notwithstanding that Stanley Ann did her best to protect his son from the realities of racism, his keen mind understood everything and built his own vision. He grew up a self-confident and wise personality: "My identity might begin with the fact of my race, but it didn't, couldn't, end there" (Obama, 1995, p.111). The biological and behavioral theories of personality applied to Obama’s psychological development. Speaking about theories that could influence Barack’s Obama psychological development, we can’t but mention biological that pays attention to heredity and behavioral theory that pays attention to environmental factors. Having studied the infancy, childhood and adolescence of Barack Obama, it is possible to make a conclusion that the initial conditions that would influence the psychological development of the future president as well as hereditary factors were not promising. He was born to a teenage mother and this fact could influence his development negatively as the children of teenagers are very often sick and weak. He had no father and the presence of a father and his example is very important for a boy. And finally, Barack Obama was born black. Unfortunately, the problem of racism is very relevant and challenging even now and in the past when Obama was a little child, the color of his skin could cause many troubles. That time people did not pay much attention to your qualities, they paid more attention to the color of your skin or gender, thus many people suffered racial discrimination. They could not enter prestigious educational establishments and were not able to receive any academic degree. Thus according to the behavioral theory, that pays attention mostly to the external factors and define them as the most important in the psychological development of a personality, Barack Obama could not grow up a successful man. Moreover, it was absolutely impossible for him to become a president of such a developed country as the United States of America. Notwithstanding that Barack’s mother tried to protect his child from racism realities, he still faced them and as a result, he could become a fighter against racism but not a president who should be fair and promote equity. Many studies prove the connections between the environment the person grow up in and the psychological development of a personality. According to the result of the study of David Reiss “it seems that genetic influences are largely responsible for how adjusted kids are: how well they do in school, how they get along with their peers, whether they engage in dangerous or delinquent behavior” (cited in Heredity determines personality). Therefore, in order to reveal the factors that influenced the psychological development of Barack Obama, we should turn to another theory. We all know that there are no problems, there is our attitude towards them. Thus, humanist theory can best explain the development of Obama’s personality as the main factors it pays attention to are free will and self-actualization. Barack Obama did not allow the environment influence him in the way he could not accept. His soul absorbed only what he accepted and wanted to influence him. He tried to see only positive sides of his life and there were plenty: loving mother and grandparents, good friends and mentors, many acknowledged merits. All these gifts of the nature did not stay unnoticed by Obama himself. Being a strong personality, he became the master of his own life and it was his own choice what to believe in and how to live (Mendell, 2007). For example, he became religious because he decided so himself, nobody influenced him: "I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me” (Obama 2010) Conclusion As the influence of the hereditary factors and the influence of the environment on the personality development is proved, the behavioral as well as biological can’t explain the development of Barack Obama’s personality. Humanist theory can best explain his development and success. Barack Obama is a strong personality who tried not to pay attention to the difficulties but collect good feelings and emotions that predetermined development of his fair attitude towards people. He knows that we should not fight for fairness, we should have it in our heart and then we will be able to promote it. Every person should have his own opinion and do not allow himself to be affected by the factors his soul can’t accept. Only in this case it will be possible to have a success in life and promote fairness. References Robert S. Feldman. (1998).Child Development: A Topical Approach, Prentice Hall Heredity determines personality (n. d.) Retrieved from http://scienceray.com/biology/human-biology/heredity-determines-personality/ Mendell, David (2007). Obama: From Promise to Power. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins. Reyes, B.J. (February 8, 2007). "Punahou left lasting impression on Obama". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Obama, Barack (1995, 2004). Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. New York: Three Rivers Press Obama, Barack. (2010).'Christian By Choice': President Responds To Questioner by Charles Babington and Darlene Superville, Associated Press Read More