Basics of Personality

Abstract

The research paper discusses six basic ideas of personality theory and its biblical connection. The ideas are divided into two categories of foundation and progression. Under the foundation of personality, unconscious concept, nature vs. nurture, and self-concept are discussed. The second section discusses maturation, motivation, and development. Lastly, the concept of biblical principles is analyzed.

The Basics of Personality

All humans have stable and unique thought patterns, behavior, and emotions that constitute their personalities. Each person has a distinct personality and traits, making it necessary to have a particular framework to understand the importance of personality and its development. Additionally, there is a need to analyze the actions, feelings, and thoughts especially on the interrelationship of human beings and the environment. The framework, therefore, can be used in providing assistance to the individuals that suffer from psychological issues. To understand these factors, personality theory must be applied. Personality theory refers to the basic ideas, principles, ideas, and concepts that explain human nature and personality.

Foundations of Personality

a.       Nature Vs. Nurture

Most of the latest studies on psychology consider the inextricability of both nature and nurture. The two concepts complement each other with regards to human development. For example, all humans have a genetic material that shapes the cell differentiation and growth prior to conception, thus implying that the genetic effects are necessary and necessary. Still, the description of the domination of all genetic modification processes by the genetic influences is not easy, especially given that the environmental factors shape the development process (Stassen, 2012). In light of this, it is clear that both the environmental factors and the reciprocity of genetic concepts affect the cognitive ability and individual heritability of humans.

            According to human behavioral perspective, psychiatric disorders and mutations in human traits like schizophrenia and autism are classical examples that explain the correlation between the environmental sources and genetics (Levitt, 2013). For instance, a child is highly likely to become antisocial if the parents have a disruptive relationship. The reason for this development is that the genes or the parents bring out the environmental risks which directly or indirectly contribute to the child’s exposure. Furthermore, it is important for parents to understand the behavior of a child to effectively solve rising issues between them. As a fetus, a child can exhibit distinct traits, psychomotor development, and sensibility. An oversensitive baby consumes and decodes information differently as compared to an under-active child. Therefore, if an oversensitive baby is stimulated by fear, rigid traits are likely to develop as a defensive mechanism.

b.      Unconscious

According to Feud, the unconscious plays a fundamental role because it influences human experience and behavior. However, people are often unaware of such influences. The unconscious is part of human mind beyond consciousness. Sigmund Feud states that the unconscious is a province of the human mind and forms an undeniable constituent of human experience (Myers, 2014). At any given time, a person is aware of only an insignificant fraction of mental activity. The unconscious bears the laws of transformation that govern sublimation and repression processes. Therefore, the unconscious makes the adult behavior and childhood experience intelligible.

The id is a part of the unconscious. It has all the traits genetically inherited from parents including the instincts and observable character at birth. The id manages superego to limit satisfactions. Unconsciously, sex shapes human personality as well (Hassin, 2013). For example, a boy can develop a strong attachment to a mother if she is a single parent. Besides, boys often desire to replace their fathers during the phallic development stage.

c.       The View of Self

The view of self becomes evident when an individual considers himself as a person that does not form part of the society or a group. The concept of self is an individual reflection on human as an object with an orientation. The concept proves that every person is unique and ought to be nurtured specifically (Lodi-Smith & Roberts, 2011). Additionally, this view is majorly dependent on the society where a person lives in. In the eastern culture, people regard an individual as a part of a society or family because of a collectivist mode of life. Contrastingly, individualism in the West encourages a personalized way of life.

The concept of self is multi-dimensional because it has five constituents such as the actual self, personal self, apparent self, ideal self, and social self. Self-esteem is also an important element of self-concept. For example, a person with a high self-esteem is likely to be confident and attractive in comparison with a low self-esteem person. An individual that minimizes his activity to avoid embarrassment and humiliation has a low self-esteem. Businesswise, customers tend to purchase commodities that mirror their image and personality (Cheng et al., 2011). In fact, a customer’s perception of a particular brand shows a close link between the self-view and the brand image.

Progression of Personality

a.       Development of Personality

The process of personality development is characterized by a pattern of behaviors, feelings, and thoughts to distinguish one person from the other. It is a common knowledge that human personality emerges during early stages of life and develops according to environmental influences. Infant temperament is responsible for observable adult traits (McAdams & Olson, 2012). Therefore, it is clear that the differences in people’s characters surface early in life, even prior to the development of self-representation and language skills.

In particular, the evolutionary perspective traces individuality and personality to the early ages when people learned how to coexist in social but complex groups. At the time, people considered themselves as a part of a gathering which they belonged instead of viewing themselves as independent individuals with distinct personalities. Therefore, the entire group was identical in terms of personality. Over time, evolution introduced distinct variation to the human mind as per the environmental conditions and survival needs. Through natural selection, the most beneficial traits were retained for the development and complexity of human personality.

By the end of the adolescence years, the major personality traits have been developed fully. Yet, according to the plasticity principle explains the perspective of personality lifespan that human character is open to environmental influence regardless of age or time. As the human personality develops, it is influenced by factors such as the environment, genetics, and the interaction between the two. Studies indicate that most of the complex human traits result from the interaction between numerous environmental factors and the genetic predisposition. Often, experiences in life reinforce and accentuate personality traits eliciting environmental reactions in the first place.

b.      Motivation

Motivation refers to a theoretical construct that explains human personality and behavior. Motivation presents numerous reasons for an individual’s needs, actions, and desires. In essence, motivation is a person’s direction to behavior which explains why he repeats a specific action.  Motives prompt people to display certain traits or to be inclined to a particular way of life (Parks & Guay, 2013). Therefore, it is safe to say that motivation is a cycle of life, where the behaviors are influenced by thoughts. In turn, thoughts are affected by performance, thus the continuity of the cycle. Throughout the personality cycle, dimensions such as efforts, attitudes, withdrawal, and beliefs affect personal experience and motivation level.

Motivation constructs and volition are two of the socio-cognitive models that influence personality and behavioral change. While motivation results in the formulation of behavioral intentions, volition prompts the actual behavior (Dietrich et al., 2013). Thus, motivation leads to goal setting as volition push for goal pursuit. On the other hand, self-efficacy facilitates the entire process personality progression and development through the formation of behavioral intention, action initiation, and action plan development.

Motivation arises either through an internal or external process where an individual perceives the necessity to take a specific course of action to attain the desired outcome. However, the goal is unattainable unless a person exhibits a high degree persistence and vigor. There is a clear link between performance and reward. For example, if a person is promised a reward after execution of a task, his personality will change positively as per the set conditions at the workplace, eventually, the person will adapt to a given set of condition to fulfill the requirements and hence get the reward.

c.       Maturation

Development refers to growth or change in a child between conception and adolescence. Normally, this change is sequential as the child develops cognitively, physically, and emotionally. The pattern of development is predictable, though differences are seen in the timing of changes due to genetic or environmental factors. Maturation, on the other hand, refers to the distinct phases and growth products chiefly or wholly due to endogenous and innate reasons (Soto et al., 2011). Most theories on maturation assume that the biological clock is responsible for the rate of maturity among the children, but genetics dictates sequential development with minimal effect on individual traits.

Biological maturity is one of the most important factors that affect the personality. Even though millions of years of evolution have influenced human skills, the biological heredity process and maturity have an upper hand in defining the character of a person. The environment is more influential during adolescence and early adulthood as compared to childhood (Bleidorn et al., 2013).  

The principle of self-individualizing maturation states that the changes in an infant’s nervous system and brain are responsible for his maturation because they improve the cognitive and motor skills. Unless children mature in time, they cannot progress or be ready for their future. For instance, a 2-month-old infant cannot walk because his brain is yet to acquire the environmental skills for maturity. Similarly, an infant can neither write nor draw until their motor skills are developed enough to hold a crayon or a pen. Examples such as these indicate that maturity is indeed an innate process because they are programmed genetically. Further, gender is a fundamental determinant of progress and maturity process. Studies show that boys mature at a slower pace as compared to girls, especially in terms of their skeletal development (Bleidorn, 2015).

The Bible on Personality

Personality, according to the bible is a person’s visible action. On the other hand, a character refers to the person’s individual beliefs. In 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 7, while Samuel sought King Saul’s successor from the sons of Jesse, he preferred the eldest son (Eliab) because of his personality, maturity, and physical appearance. He also thought that his choice would be God’s choice as well. Samuel was wrong because God does not consider the outward appearance but the heart which defines the morals and the personality.

According to natural science, personality is a set of tendencies and individual traits that determine the distinctions and commonalities in the people’s psychological behavior. They can include continuous actions, thoughts, and feelings not easily understood as consequences of momentary biological pressures. In biblical terms, actions, feelings, and thoughts are deeply rooted in the body, spirit, and soul (1Thessalonian chapter 5 verse 23). 1 Personality refers to the expression individual human mind (Corinthians 2:11). It is directly linked to how the human brain works collaboratively with the human spirit. Saint Paul (in the book of Romans Chapter 1) says that human body, soul, and spirit complete the understanding of people by nurture and nature. The modern scientific models are reflective of this biblical view, despite the bible not being regarded as one of the basic pillars of philosophy.

In the ancient Laodicea church, people were encouraged to repent and be zealous to avoid the imminent weakness of personality (Revelation 3:15). Still, the people of Laodicea were naturally susceptible to compromise to ensure peace with their neighbors. Therefore, they effectively exercised their personal characters not to do so. It is hard to change the minds of people that have taken a moral stand to execute a specific activity. In fact, the main issue is to get them to unanimously take the stance.

References

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