found-psy-7-05-06

Perspectives on DevelopmentPersonality Development : 

Perspectives on DevelopmentPersonality Development 7th November 2005 Week 7 (Chapter 7) Tony Moss

Lecture Aims : 

2 Lecture Aims Discuss some of the areas studied by developmental psychologists; Look at the methods used and the issues which arise in the study of human development; Consider the extent to which these methods and issues are similar to those already studied in the five approaches; Describe how each of the five approaches explains human personality development; Draw attention to the key differences in how each approach explains the development of personality

Developmental Psychology : 

3 Developmental Psychology Human Development (A Rough Guide) The Early Years Small bundle of baby, lies around babbling, crying, crawling, generally having fun whenever possible. The Student Years Large bundle of person, lies around babbling, crying, crawling, generally having fun whenever possible. The Adult Years Similar shaped bundle of person, has no time to lie around babbling, crying, crawling, and has a different sense of fun than ‘the current youth of today’.

Developmental Psychology : 

4 Developmental Psychology Yet along this journey, we manage to… Acquire language and communicative skills; Master complicated (fine and gross) motor movements; Learn to think about the world around us; Engage in and understand (most of the time) complex social interactions and so on… Developmental Psychology: Roughly speaking, the study of how all of this (and more) happens

Developmental Psychology : 

5 Developmental Psychology Broadly speaking, developmental psychology is interested in: Prenatal Development Physical development Emotional Development Cognitive (Intellectual) Development Social & Personality Development Moral Development Linguistic & Communicative Development Be aware that large overlaps exist between these areas

Methods & Issues : 

6 Methods & Issues Some common research designs: Experiments (Bobo dolls, anyone?) Longitudinal Studies (49-Up; Lifespan Development) Twin Studies and Cross-Cultural Studies Both can help distinguish social and biological influences on behaviour (cf. Nature-Nurture or Heredity-Environment) Cross-Sectional Studies A ‘trade-off’ with the longitudinal design; several groups in one time period Case Studies Observational Research Self-Report/Questionnaire Studies Correlational Research

Methods & Issues : 

7 Methods & Issues Key Issues: Heredity-Environment Are developmental characteristics genetically or environmentally determined? Interactionism: to understand the origins of developmental changes we must consider both genetics and environment and how the two interact Genetic Determinism: I have genes for ‘being tall’, but was my ‘being tall’ really that certain from birth?

Methods & Issues : 

8 Methods & Issues Generality vs. Specificity of Theories Psychology’s Holy Grail: The Grand Theory of All Human Behaviour Psychology’s (and indeed every other science’s) Reality: many theories for many phenomena, for example: Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Which do you prefer? A broadly applicable theory explaining many behaviours, sometimes inaccurately, or a highly specific theory which only explains one specific behaviour, but does it very well?

Methods & Issues : 

9 Methods & Issues Continuity vs. Discontinuity of Development Do you grow (physically) in stages, or is it a completely continuous process? What about intellectual development? Or language? Which is it? Is the development of these abilities continuous (see fig. 1)(i.e. all aspects of the ability develop in parallel, over time), or do they develop in stages (see fig. 2)(i.e. certain ‘minor’ abilities must be mastered before development can continue on to the next stage)?

Methods & Issues : 

10 Methods & Issues

Personality Development : 

11 Personality Development Hands up if… You have a personality? You know someone who you would say ‘has no personality’? You can completely and accurately define what you mean when you say personality? But Surely… Personality is just ‘who you are’?! Isn’t it just how someone ‘comes across’ to you? It may well be, but why is this kind of loose definition problematic for us psychologists?

Personality Development : 

12 Personality Development Let’s take a step back… Where would you stand on the following issues with regards to the development of personality… Is personality inherited or ‘learned’? Does personality develop continuously or through specific stages?

Personality Development : 

13 Personality Development Depending upon your ‘theoretical approach’, your responses to the last two questions will vary quite drastically As we now go through each of the 5 approaches to personality development, think about how each approach fits in with your own intuitions about where personality ‘comes from’, and we’ll see if your opinions have altered at the end of the session…

Personality Development : 

14 Personality Development Personality States and Traits States: relatively transient (situation or time dependant) characteristics Have you ever acted ‘out of character’ due to events perhaps outside of your control? Traits: personality characteristics which we would argue are relatively stable over time ‘Look at her dancing away like mad on Reality Television- she always was a loud child…’ Measurement Issue: Which of these two might be more important in personality research and why? How would you know if you are measuring a stable trait and not a transient state?

The Biological Approach : 

15 The Biological Approach Temperament An aspect of personality relating to simple behaviour such as (in babies) fearfulness, sociability and so on Biological Psychologists have suggested that this is an innate (inherited or ‘physiologically determined’) characteristic Does… = ‘Me’ and ‘My Personality’? But… Is this a testable idea? How would you investigate this?

The Biological Approach : 

16 The Biological Approach Twin Studies (Tellegen et al, 1988) Comparison of identical twins raised together and apart ? certain characteristics emerged as strongly related to genetics, e.g.: Social Potency (61%) Strong leadership qualities Traditionalism (60%) Follows rules/authority; strict and disciplined Stress Reaction (55%) Anxious person; feels vulnerable and worries a lot Well-Being (54%) Generally a happy person; confident and optimistic

The Biological Approach : 

17 The Biological Approach Longitudinal Studies (Kagan, 1989) Studied the trait of behavioural inhibition from 21 months to 7 years and beyond (into adolescence) Early BI predicted BI later on in life, suggesting, at least, the stability of these kinds of trait However… What are the problems/advantages of these two types of evidence? Is there a limit to the usefulness of longitudinal data regarding the heredity-environment issue? Why is this? What do twin studies contribute to this problem?

The Behaviourist Approach : 

18 The Behaviourist Approach ‘ME’ ? A Common View of Personality A Core ‘Me’ or ‘Self’ (the middle circle), with variations in ‘How I Am, Now’, depending on situations I am in and so on (the outer circles) The Behaviourist View ? The notion of a consistent self is rejected- similarities over time are attributed to consistencies in our environment- that is, a stable (core) personality is only an illusion

The Behaviourist Approach : 

19 The Behaviourist Approach What do you mean, I have no personality? The Behaviourist Assumption: All behaviour can be explained by the processes of learning and experience (conditioning and so on) The Problem: If this is correct, why does behaviour seem so consistent within individuals? Surely, given that our world constantly changes, our ‘personality’ should be just as variable? Imagine… That you are a behaviourist- how would you reply to this criticism that behaviour must be mediated by a core ‘Me’ as it seems consistent over time

The Behaviourist Approach : 

20 The Behaviourist Approach The Behaviourist Explanation History of Reinforcement: although our environment is constantly changing, we are not a ‘tabula rasa’ every morning! Our previous learning will affect later behaviour, in addition to more recent learning experiences Environmental Consistency: our world tends to maintain some consistency, such as our occupation, routines and so on. So, our learning experiences will tend to be quite consistent

The Behaviourist Approach : 

21 The Behaviourist Approach THEREFORE… We have no consistent, innate (or otherwise) personality AND Although behaviour seems consistent, this is simply an illusion, resulting from consistencies in the situations we find ourselves in and consistencies in our own experiences

The Cognitive Approach : 

22 The Cognitive Approach ‘Why yes, I think the behaviourists have got it right- there is no such thing as a core, consistent personality…!?!’ Surely not? Aren’t cognitivists and behaviourists mortal enemies (like He-Man and Skeletor, The Thundercats and Mumra)? The notion of innate or underlying traits guiding behaviour is rejected But there’s a twist…

The Cognitive Approach : 

23 The Cognitive Approach Walter Mischel (1968) Perception of traits (stable, consistent characteristics of personality) is influenced by top down processing That is, we interpret information (or make attributions) about someone’s behaviour on the basis of what we know about them, and what we expect of them In fact, most behaviour (Mischel argued) is influenced greatly by the situations we are in, we just tend to assume it is caused by the individual

The Cognitive Approach : 

24 The Cognitive Approach HOWEVER… Behavioural consistency may still be a problem (as the most intuitive explanation for this is that there are underlying, consistent personality traits) The Cognitive Explanation On the surface, quite similar to the behaviourist response, except the Mechanisms used in the explanation are fundamentally different, so…

The Cognitive Approach : 

25 The Cognitive Approach Cognitive Social Learning Theory N.B: Has roots in early behaviourist theory Through social interactions, we learn how to act in various situations from others (vicarious learning and imitation) In addition, the cognitive structures which guide our behaviour (expectancies, stereotypes, beliefs, schemata, scripts and so on) will often be highly specific to certain situations

The Cognitive Approach : 

26 The Cognitive Approach THEREFORE… We have no consistent, innate (or otherwise) personality AND Although behaviour seems consistent, this is simply an illusion, resulting from consistencies in the situations we find ourselves in and incidental consistencies in the various cognitive structures which guide our behaviour This is where the cognitivists and behaviourists really part company- the cognitive explanation allows in mechanisms simply not allowed in behaviourist theory

The Psychoanalytic Approach : 

27 The Psychoanalytic Approach ID EGO SUPEREGO (Basic Needs) (‘You’ or Self) (Morals, Conscience)

The Psychoanalytic Approach : 

28 The Psychoanalytic Approach Psychoanalysts argue that… The ID (basic needs, drives, ‘I Want’) is INNATE Hence children are sometimes described as ‘bundles of ID’- as all the mothers and fathers in the room will testify! Ego and Superego develop over our life (through EXPERIENCE), primarily throughout the psychosexual stages of development (0-5 years)

The Psychoanalytic Approach : 

29 The Psychoanalytic Approach Personality in Adulthood The result of earlier progress through psychosexual stages (i.e. resolution of conflicts etc.) More recently, psychoanalysts such as Erikson have suggested that learning about relationships (e.g. whether they can be trusted or not) is also an important aspect of later life (healthy) personality development Some examples of how mal-development (or fixation) at certain stages will follow (try not to laugh, this is serious stuff!)

The Psychoanalytic Approach : 

30 The Psychoanalytic Approach Fixation at the Anal Stage Toilet training, if not achieved, could lead to an adult with an ‘anal’ personality- someone who is excessively messy (or even excessively tidy) Fixation at the Oral Stage Being ‘weaned’ too early could lead to someone being orally fixated, and make them more likely to, for example, smoke later in life (i.e. taking pleasure from ‘oral habits’)

The Humanistic Approach : 

31 The Humanistic Approach The Phenomenal Field Each person sees the world through their own Phenomenal Field, so behaviour needs to be understood from this perspective…

The Humanistic Approach : 

32 The Humanistic Approach Rogers (1969) personality theory suggests… We have an innate drive (self actualising tendency) to become who we want to be (ideal self), a concept which is defined largely through our experiences with the world and other people Think about it… What are the limitations of the humanistic approach? What are its obvious appeals? Does it miss out too much?

Key Issues & Personality Theories : 

33 Key Issues & Personality Theories

Reading : 

34 Reading Chapter 7: Perspectives on Development (Core text, pp.296-315) Davenport, G.C. (1994). An Introduction to Child Development. Chapter 1 (p.1-5)