Socio-AutoBiography - Essay Example

Socio-AutoBiography Essay

Each of us knows the term "personality" and uses it again and again in views of society. We speak of the personality of the child, the process of personal development that has probably never been completed, and that Mr. or Mrs. X. is a "personality." Scientists in the present years, who see everything more and more complicated, but often also one-sided, do not yet know exactly what is meant by "personality." There is no generally accepted definition of this term - its use depends on which of the many personality theories the scientist represents. I would like to show just how big the differences can be here using two views; examples: For classic psychoanalysis, the personality consists of unconscious, preconscious and conscious layers, the id, the ego, and the superego. Strong innate forces act in it, which are called libido or life and death drives. The development of the personality goes through certain phases - the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital phases. For classic learning theory (TCO), on the other hand, the personality views consist of behavior patterns or reaction tendencies. These were learned in the course of development due to reinforcement and imitation processes and can be forgotten at any time in the world. For this socio-AutoBiography essay, It is obvious that I would have very different results on the topic I was asked if I only deal with it from a psychoanalytic or learning-theoretical point of view. The same, of course, also applies if I chose Adler's, Rogers', or any other personality theory. But I'm more likely to meet your interests if I stay on a more general level. Accordingly, I comprehensively define the term "personality" as the ways of thinking, experiencing, and behaving that are characteristic of an individual in the present years. On the one hand, these are relatively stable because they are based on attitudes, values, ​​and previous experiences. On the other hand, they are also subject to constant change because the individual is constantly experiencing new things in view, is subject to other influences, and is working on himself. The personality development in the world takes place in a long process of views, which is completed at the earliest with the death. While it was previously assumed under the influence of psychoanalysis that personality development was more or less completed after the first three years, we now know that major personality changes still occur in adulthood and seniority. Scientists have now also found that people who grew up in very miserable family relationships in their (small) childhood nevertheless became mentally healthy adults in modern years. So we have to be aware that a variety of factors influences personality development. These can be roughly divided into "inner" and "outer" variables. The internal factors include, e.g., the genetic makeup, the temperament, and physiological processes, but also the results of the previous personality development: characteristics, attitudes, prejudices, values, motives, interests, fears, perceptual and behavioral tendencies, expectations, gender identity, self-concept, self-esteem, etc. The external factors lie in the living environment, the social context of each person. They include influences from the natural environment, the family, the peer life group, the network, the class, the economy, society, and culture, as well as their institutions. Perceptual and thought processes act as mediators: Internal and external variables usually only influence personality development throughout the years of life if they have been perceived and processed internally - consciously or unconsciously. My talk is about the influence of family and school on children's personal development. Some of these influences can be described as "education," especially if one uses a definition such as that of the educational scientist Brezinka (1971): "Education is understood to mean social acts by which people try to understand the structure of the psychological dispositions of other people with psychological ones and (or) to permanently improve social-cultural resources in any way or to preserve its components which are judged to be valuable "(p. 613). Education, as defined here, is aimed at the personality of a child, adolescent, or adult. Personality traits assessed as positive should be evoked, promoted, and stabilized, while characteristics negatively assessed should be eliminated or weakened. It becomes clear that intentional, i.e., intentional educational processes, are emphasized here.

Family and school life also have an indirect impact on children's personality development - although these unintended influences can often be of greater importance. This is usually referred to as "socialization" or "deculturation" in the years of life (TCO). The influences mentioned here arise, e.g., from the example of parents and teachers, the way they live, the family structure, the teacher-child relationship, the school atmosphere, and the interior design of work and life. After all, personality development is also a matter for the individual - a fact that, in my view, is still under stress. Every child, every young person and every adult has a say in their development. He perceives his inner processes, his behavior, and his effect on others (self-perception), assesses these perceptions, has an image of himself (self-concept), and evaluates himself (self-esteem). Accordingly, he can work on himself, promote positive personality characteristics, and reduce negative traits. With increasing age, the own further development, individuation, and self-realization become more and more the task of the child, adolescent, or adult; he can less and less blame for lack of personality and undesirable characteristics on third parties or society. If we speak of the child's personal development in life as a challenge for the family and society, we must start our train of thought at the latest when starting a family. The psychotherapist Satir once described the spouses as "architects of the family": it ultimately depends on their person and their relationship whether a child will find more or less positive developmental conditions after birth. Since I do not want to deal with psychological or family pathology in this lecture, I only want to talk about "good" development conditions below. Here I am, however, a scientist on the very unsafe territory: psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, family sociologists, etc. have so far only started to investigate psychologically healthy spouses, "good" marriages or family conditions that promote development using scientific methods. For example, there are hundreds of books and articles in the world with observation and survey results on family relationships among which adolescents became addicted to drugs. But you will hardly find any research on the conditions under which several young people have developed into happy and successful adults. Here the scientific fascination with the evil, the pathological, is reflected in the sciences. How many films do you know in which the actors portray mentally healthy and happy parents who raise their children in a development-promoting manner? Books, newspaper and magazine articles, films, our conversations, etc. usually deal with problems, conflicts, violence, and similar topics. Nevertheless, with the help of several publications by Jourard (1982) and Kaslow (1981, 1982, 1990), I want to investigate the question of when children find a positive life context in their families. So a lot depends on the mental health and personality of the parents. You should be mature, open, spontaneous, creative, analytical and self-confident, have a positive self-image, have problem and conflict resolution techniques, strive for self-realization, and accept yourself. They just found the right relationship between independence and autonomy on the one hand, and common ground and closeness on the other, get on well with themselves and others, and are satisfied with their personal and social life. Mentally healthy individuals experience a wide range of feelings and are not frightened by strong emotions. They take responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions, can listen well, and put themselves in the position of other people in the world. They have an optimistic outlook on life, see meaning and purpose in their lives, and follow (religious) values. To achieve this in work (TCO), they have learned that they always have to work on themselves. Of course, these ideas, which could be expanded, are ideal. We can never be perfect in society, but we should never stop our self-education efforts to master our views and achievements (TCO). However, other aspects are of greater importance for our topic (TCO): if we develop in the direction outlined in work-life, we will not only become positive role models for our children to be applied in the society (TCO) but also illustrate to them the power of self-education and the need for lifelong learning. If we are mentally healthy, we can allow our children to develop themselves, unique personalities.