CHAPTER 4 :

OVERVIEW OF
PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES:
Discuss the overview of personality
01 development;
Understand the different theories on
02 personality development; and
Enumerate the different theories in
03 relation to development of one's
personality.
 INTRODUCTION
As you go along studying personality
enhancement, it would be significant that you
study the background on human development.
This will surely help you understand others and
more importantly one's personality as you continue
to discuss the stages of human growth as
supported by different views and theories.
The Psychological Aspects of Human
Development
The Psychological Aspects of Human
Development
Human development was broken down into specific stages by most
theorists, which are typically progressive. This means that you must
pass through one stage before you can get to the next. Think about
how you learned to run; first you had to learn to crawl, then you
learned to walk, and finally you developed the skills for you to run.
Without the first two stages, running would be impossible. However,
what if you passed beyond that threshold and you can no longer
backtrack?
The Psychological Aspects of Human
Development
The most prominent stage theories in regard to motor and
cognitive, social development, and moral development will be
discussed here. As told, most of these stage theories are
progressive, although there are some which are not, such as
Erikson's psychosocial and Freud's psychosexual wherein a person
fails to complete the stage. However, this failure will regretfully
result in difficulties later in life.
To put things in perspective, the following will offer an overview of
development according to psychology principles.
 01
The Motor and
Cognitive
Development
The Motor and Cognitive Development
This comes in timely and specific stages which are
normally progressive. It must pass through one stage before
proceeding to the next. In simpler terms, it can be compared
to a video game with many stages and levels, each having
its own level of difficulty, usually increasing or decreasing,
depending on the players' skill in playing the game.
Realisation of accomplishment comes then as benefits upon
completion of each stage, which gives a boost on our
psychological wellbeing when we beat the game.
1. Infants ( 0-2 years old).
According to Jean Piaget (1896-
1980), in his book, “The Origins of
Intelligence in Children (1952)",
infants begin their journey of
Sensory Motor Stage
Development, from the time of
birth, up to two years of age.
1. Infants ( 0-2 years old).
As infants, they start out by first learning to
crawl, walk, and clumsily as it may appear
during the beginning. In time he gets better at
it, hence the term progressive, until finally,
advancing and developing the skills to
eventually learn how to run. Progressively, on
each stage or breakthrough so-to-speak, the
child begins to process information, over
time; he begins to learn the ability to interact
with the world in which his own curiosity fuels
this behaviour.
1. Infants ( 0-2 years old).
One good example is when one
recalls seeing children at this age,
when they are handed something,
they associate it by immediately
placing it in their mouth, as the
need for sustenance is the first
lesson they learn.
 2. Toddlers (2-6 years old)
The child absorbs interactive information like a
sponge. As the Theory of Cognitive Development
(Jean Piaget) explains, children go through different
progressive stages in which the baseline or the
beginnings of a character or a personality is created.
What or who we become as individual characters
start from somewhere, and that somewhere is here.
Through the use of words and images, the children
are in this stage of development. will learn how to
interact with their environment in a more complex
manner.
3. Adolescence (7-12)
A stage of emotional and physical
development, ending to what is
commonly referred to as puberty,
an onset of physical changes
brings a surge of biochemical
activity that causes a lot of
changes physically.
3. Adolescence (7-12)
For females, changes like enlargement
of the mammary glands, to changes in
the tone of voice and for males, occur at
this junction in human development, a
myriad cocktail, embodied by a string of
cognitive, emotional, physical and
attitude changes, that can leave one
conflicted and confused without proper
guidance
3. Adolescence (7-12)
Due to surging hormonal levels, it was at this
point that we began to explore the concept of
attraction to the opposite sex.

This is a turning point in our intellectual

development, from this point on we either
move forward to our next
stage(breakthrough) or we remain as is and
development will simply progress at a very
slow and tedious pace in our transition from
being juveniles to young adults.
 4. Teens (13-19)
The child absorbs interactive information like a
sponge. As the Theory of Cognitive
Development (Jean Piaget) explains, children
go through different progressive stages in which
the baseline or the beginnings of a character or
a personality is created. What or who we
become as individual characters start from
somewhere, and that somewhere is here.
Through the use of words and images, the
children are in this stage of development. will
learn how to interact with their environment in a
more complex manner.
 4. Teens (13-19)
At the onset and still following the
wake of puberty, young adults or
teens begin to explore these new
found physical and psychological
sensations, sex for instance and the
concept and or act of copulation, is
explored.
 4. Teens (13-19)
The danger of unguided teens often
going astray is high. It is at this point that
family ties must be vigorously enforced
and practised, lest the teen not finding
this in a family unit, would only drive
them to seek approval and
understanding from other peer groups,
which may often be in the same situation
as they are in and may therefore give
them unwise counsel.
 4. Teens (13-19)
Young adults at this stage in their
development need to understand first
what is happening to them, both
physically and psychologically. Tempered
restraint in a package that they can
easily understand, may be introduced by
an adult parental figure.
 4. Teens (13-19)
Since this is the time for rapid
development, patience is needed. As
young adults at this stage would not
exercise any yet, they all want to be
understood, to know and be
acknowledged in their search for that
unique social identity.
5. Adulthood (20-beyond)
For humans, this is a period of physical and
psychological stabilisation. What one had to
go through as young adults, at this point
begins to form and stabilise and provided a
breakthrough has been achieved
psychologically as a young adult. As much of
what was instilled in man during this time will
manifest itself starting at this junction;
throughout his entire life.
5. Adulthood (20-beyond)
It is at this time that one develops the
complexities of relationships, knowledge,
experience, wisdom, and spirituality, like
wine, through a progression of years, one
becomes more self-aware.