The Role of Environment on Personality Development - Coursework Example

The Role of Environment on Personality Development Personality is made up of complex structures and influences. From birth to death, a person has been subject to variegated systems of beliefs, rules, anatomical functions, and culture. Nurtured from birth with family orientations, a child matures into an adult with sets of behaviors and traits, either innate or acquired, which will determine his/her thoughts, behaviors, actions, decisions and ideation. This document explicates the many dimensions, factors and systems from the environment that has strong power in molding a personality of a person. Such influences are reflected in his relation with family members, his friends, peer group, and society. It’s also argued that while human being is determined by genetic make-ups, the social, cultural and political nature within the environment contributes much for personality development. Personality development is influenced by the surrounding ecological, social, political, economic and cultural environment. This paper will discuss the role of environment in molding and changing the persona as an evolving and transformational being (Kusdil, Woodfield, Saunders, & Smith, 2000, pp. 173-186). The person is a composition of the confluences of biological factors which made him/her a distinct being within the kingdom of animalia. Genetically defined by birth, his/her physical formation toward maturity is governed by the food, water, vitamins and the surrounding needed circumstances for a person’s growth (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). From the lens of biological causes, personal development is not significantly governed by environmental factors in the advancement of individual differences, except on environmental deficiency, such as in an instance when there is absence of early caregiver that is hoped to provide sense of security by being attached to those who can provide emotional and psychological sanctuary as a child (McCrae & Costa, 1994, pp. 107-125; Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). This is because biologically oriented personality theorists argue that in the course of his/her development, a person adapts to the environment which is providing the chance for biological development to occur (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). They asserted that only within a spectrum of sufficient environment is necessary to have an adaptive and functional development (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). A child for instance, depending on genetic inheritance as physiological determinants of personality development, fits with environmental conditions for growth. The child’s quality of environmental experiences, behaviors, and curiosities will also be shaped by the environmental factors (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). As a consequence, they may behave introvertly or extrovertly. This is also depicted among adults whose dispositions and choices are taken from empirical evidences within one’s environment that is succinctly determining his/her actions, choices, preferences and decisions (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). Energetic persons will be drawn to many activities perceived befitting for his skills and level of agility. Those who are bit solemn and introspective may be involved in activities that requires reflective phases or slow movements (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). Many research analysts thought that early individual differences relate to their capacity to respond to either stimulating or non-stimulating events. Psychologists argue that reactive infants likely to shy from aversive environs because they are can be easily influenced to action while less reactive infants may harbor curiosity to explore (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). Hence, there is matching of a child’s behaviors, adaptability, and bias preferences depending on a person’s innate biological factors and environmental stimulants (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). But personality is a complex phenomenon of creation. The mind, though part of a person’s biological make up, have its unique set of characteristics of perceiving the different processes of thoughts and emotions (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1) expressed in temperament and emotions. These two aspects that represents a personality although there are significant factors associated to temperaments since a person is also made of values, beliefs and aspirations sourced from one’s cultural, social and political environment (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). This affirm facts that while heredity is influential in the genetic make-up of a person, but the interactive and nurturing aspect of socialization also added to a person’s distinctiveness from another as each of them level up with their varying passion, expectations, desires, necessities, priorities and appreciation of life. It’s in this context that personality development is also contextualized to many variables which help nurture the person’s perceptual or cognitive, emotive, and absorptive capacity. This is evidently seen in human being’s inclination to be educated, to be molded with appropriate values in religious institutions, to harness beliefs, to be sheltered with family affection, and to be associated with like-mind groups (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). All these contributed in honing a person’s capacity, to learn, to test self from odds and challenges. While biological factors determine the colors of one’s skin and sex, but a person’s gender, social preferences, ideological influences, music likings, and mode of clothing are essentially derived from his/her social or cultural interactions (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). Thus, social environment, as spaces for interaction, provides an impetus for personality development and experiential wealth to deeply understand one’s capacity, choices or decisions (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). Given this reality, it’s indeed very important that child’s growth should be supported with nurturing arms, understanding heart, and reasonable manner of disciplining so that they become helpful members of the society at a time when they are integrated to the mainstream of the society (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). The manner about how discipline is introduced to child varies in all countries. Some are strict, others conventional, while others are taught toward self-reliance. The cultural influences of parents likewise put some varied degree on tolerance to either boys and girls, like boys can undertake adventure while girls should be limited to what is acceptable by parents to lessen potential risks (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). The nature of parental care will also determine the child’s experiences. Irresponsible parents led their children to confusion and as a consequence make them seek attention and care from others outside the family. Such expose them to vulnerabilities and abuses from friends or peer groups (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). Those without siblings have difficulties to make compromises and negotiations. Thus, indeed the home’s environ and parental capacity for nurturing has weight on the child’s behavior when he’d reached adulthood (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). At the peak of maturity, a person likes to associate himself to persons’ who symbolizes his hope, his strength and join groups that articulates his/her vision in life (Net Industries, 2012, p. 1). Traits, in some cases, are acquired by some models whose values, achievements, ideologies, or drama in life symbolizes to one’s experience, dreams, and aspirations (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). At other times, a person’s responses are determined by traumatic experiences or some significant awakening that could alter his perspective or relation to the world. For instance, a warrior deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan may deals with his pains and experiences by advocating peace or by expressing tolerance to multiculturalism (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). David Riesman once contended that personalities can be categorized as tradition oriented, inner-directed, and other directed (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). The first, put significance behaving in accordance to tradition, so those under this mode are likely to stay home and forget adventure (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). Inner-directed personalities controlled by guilt and are therefore governed by conscience. They are rule-oriented and surrender for punitive action in case of commission of sins (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). The other-directed personality can easily fit to cultural diversity and relate with the large segment of people in diverse social interaction. Other psychologists however posit that there are personalities which can’t be categorized to modalities because their culture permeates them (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). As the person gracefully surrenders his youths, his personality adapts to social limitations depicted in laws, traditions, policies, and agreements within the community or of a nation. This is because a person generally likes to be socially accepted, to feel that he/she belongs, to aver from punishments, and to be participative in any democratic interactions (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). These sets of interactions with groups of people and of institutions exposed every person to variegated practices, formations, organizational visions, and belief system which may, in the long run, be embraced as significant process of enculturation and acquisition of new traits (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). From others, a person starts to recognize personal biases, appreciate pattern of behaviors and manners. Its not therefore surprising that people becomes transnational, becomes interested to study others language, likes to travel to other nations, value multiculturalism and ethnicity, forge diplomatic relations, and do some intermarriages (Buss, 1984, pp. 361-377) with persons of different nationalities (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). Thus, while there is native intelligence evident among children, there are also vast knowledge and behaviors in the outer world which can be acquired and becomes a mechanism to contribute so much to personality development (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). Personality is therefore also learned and ethical principles are gained from varied social structures, ideation and empirical experiences (ONeil, 2006, p. 1). So, these may or may not make their personalities aggressive, reflective, risk taker, sober, peaceful, artful, or calculating, puritanical, monogamous, and the like (Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005, p. 453). These however are merely descriptions which can be easily typified as labeling. In conclusion, indeed, environment determines and influences personality development. This is evidently shown by how a child adapts and responds to his/her nurturer and to parental care. With an empty slate of mind, the child easily follows sounds; fixate on things in curiosity for knowledge, and realizes the use of hands and feet for crawling and standing up. The child’s growth, supported by parents and pediatrician, illustrated how a child adapts on knew knowledge while testing his agility to hop, balance, and do some creative plays, although most of a child’s undertaking is with parental approval. As the child grows to adulthood, knowledge was formally gained through education, interaction is enjoyed through socialization, and more variegated lenses of values are understood either through online discourses or thru intercultural immersion. A person becomes a summation of his experiences, exposures, immersion, education, interaction—all of which are processes of adaptation from the confluence of influences from the environment. It’s through these that personality is developed. With the complexities and open information in this post modern day, more cultural influences could be derived through internet and multiple television stations worldwide. The era of free information will definitely set forth a personality of mixed culture which can give birth to a phenomenon of change and stability in every person. References Buss, D. (1984). Toward a Psychology of Person-Environment Correlation: The Role of Spouse Selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 47, no. 2; 361-377. Caspi, A., Roberts, B. W., & Shiner, R. (2005). Personality Development: Stability and Change. Annu. Rev. Psychology. vol. 2005, n. 56; 453-84. Kusdil. M. E., Woodfield, R., Saunders, P. & Smith, P. (2000). Nature Over Nurture: Temperament, Personality, and Life Span Development. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 78. no. 1, 173-186. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (1994). The paradox of parental influence: understanding retrospective studies of parent-child relations and adult personality. In C. Perris, W. A. Arrindell, & M. Eisemann (Eds.), Parenting and psychopathology. New York: Wiley, pp. 107-125. Net Industries (2012). Personality Development - A Biological Perspective On Personality Development - Individual, Environmental, Differences, and Environments - JRank Articles. http://social.jrank.org/pages/474/Personality-Development-Biological-Perspective-on-Personality-Development.html#ixzz1qxiBTYLb Accessed: April 2, 2012. ONeil, D. (2006). Personality Development. http://anthro.palomar.edu/social/soc_3.htm Accessed: April 3, 2012. p. 1 Read More