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Factors Influencing Personality Development
Introduction
Various factors come into play in determining the personality of an individual
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These factors include:
 Heredity and environment
 Social influence
 Individual characteristics
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It is a biological process whereby genetic factors are
transmitted from one generation to the next and an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes
predisposed to the characteristics of its parent, cell or organism
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These in turn influence an individual's behaviour, For example, some studies
have shown, that identical twins are more similar in character than fraternal twins, findings which
are attributed to die effects of genes
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Environment
Since genes determine the characteristic traits of an individual, the environment plays a role in
shaping the individual
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Both the environment and
genes are inter-dependent and form an inseparable process called nature (heredity) and nurture
(environment) determinism
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Environmental influences include family gender, culture as
well as cognitive and emotional influences
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Communication: The members of the family have direct communication amongst themselves
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2
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This can be facilitated by
parents, other adults and older siblings
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Identification: Children identify with the people they interact with, like, admire and love
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Psychologist Sigmund Freud emphasizes identification as a
way of resolving conflicts especially at the phallic stage, and involves taking on of certain
roles, which facilitate gender identity
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This environment determines the behaviour the child acquires hence their personality
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c) Family members, especially the parents, control a child's behaviour by exerting authority,
correcting misbehavior, rewarding good conduct and reinforcing positive behaviors
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Parents
control a child more than the teachers at school
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This
happens to be the family members
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f) The family offers physical and emotional security to young children by protecting them
and by sharing joys, successes? And sorrows, while helping them face defeat and failure
in positive ways
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Birth order
The child's birth order in the family influences the personality of the child
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Frank Sulloway (1997), a science
historian says that at least one aspect of personality in the 'Big five' model (openness to experience)
is shaped by the birth order
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They are, therefore, given more responsibilities and
receive higher expectations from parents
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 They tend to be anxious and more temperamental about their status
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 They are ambitious and organized
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 They are self-disciplined and serve as role models to the others
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 They are more confirming and dependent on parents for guidance and assurance, because
they are were over-protected as children
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 They tend to show feelings of insecurity' because of sibling rivalry
Last-borns on the other hand, tend to be very immature in their behaviour for their age because
they are often treated as babies by family members and see themselves as such
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Their
other notable traits are as follows:
 They are usually open to ideas
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 They are altruistic, that is
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They are easy-going and dependant on others
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They are more sociable and fun loving
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They seek excitement and affection
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They usually lack creativity and originality because they are not given challenging tasks,
They experience less parental insecurity hence few last horns suffer mental disorders
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Salmon and Daly (11)98) earned out a research on middle-borns and found that these group arc
not as close to their families than their older or younger siblings
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For instance
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 They are less likely to ask for parental help in an emergency
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 Compared to other siblings, they are likely to live farther from parents and are less likely
to visit patents
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For example, how teachers, other children and
workers around the school view the child influences their personality
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Gender differences in
individuality and social connectedness (relations') show ways in which males and females try to
resolve moral dilemmas
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Women tend to be more empathetic and are more
nurturing than men
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Cultural
Culture is the way of life of a people
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People in different cultures have personality traits that are more valued in that culture
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Triandis et al (1988) emphasized that people in
collective cultures such as Asian, African, Latin American and Arabic, tend to define themselves
as part of a group, are very attached to the group and see their personal goals as secondary to "the

goals of the group
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, Great Britain, Canada and Australia, define
themselves as individuals, are less attached to a group and see their goals as more important than
the goals of a group
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Emotional influences
Damasio (1999) defines an emotion as a positive or negative reaction to a perceived or remembered
object, event or circumstance, which is accompanied by subjective feelings
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Negative reactions arise usually from being
deprived of love and results in people portraying negative emotions such as hatred, guilt, fear,
irritability and deviance
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On the other hand, too
much love without direction may lead to negative results such as irresponsibility
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It determines how one perceives and
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It also determines how other people's judgment about the person,
appropriately or inappropriately influence the attitudes the person acquires, which in turn affects
one's behaviour
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Those of very low intelligence may be considered dull, timid
and stupid, and may suffer rejection thereby developing negative self-concept, and poor selfesteem
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Individual characteristics
Individuals differ in physical and other aspects of their bodies
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These aspects greatly
determine self-image (the way one looks at self in relation to others)
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For example,
very short people may not be able to do certain things
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It directly influences self-image
hence influences how people approach certain task, relates to others and think about themselves
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For example, it is said that short people are hottempered because their body height makes them feel that they are belittled and act aggressively
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For example, in some
cultures being fat is considered as beauty while in others it is frowned upon and is considered as a
sign of poor health
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For young children attractiveness is

insignificant
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Studies show that
unattractive people tend to exhibit deviant behaviour such as criminal activities which have been
linked to their appearance
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In a direct sense, it
affects one's self-concept, because a sick person or a person in poor health has a changed
appearance and looks dull The person becomes weak and less motivated to perform otherwise easy
tasks as healthy people would
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This leads to the individual developing a negative self-concept, For example,
HIV/AIDS patients hate themselves when people accuse them of not having been sexually
responsible
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According to him, a defective organ leads a person to seek some form
of compensation
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Physical defects can, directly or indirectly, affect a person’s
personality
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For example, an ear defect may mean inability to hear, and some deaf people are withdrawn
and develop and sense of self-inferiority because of neglect by others
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They tend, to become resentful and frustrated, and express selfpity and irritability
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 Introverts are considered reserved, detached, withdrawn and timid
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 Type A and type B personalities differ in their sociability, approaches to situations and
reactions
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W
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Concepts of trait and personality
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Allport, F
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, & Allport, G
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(1921)
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Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 16, 6-40
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G
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Gordon Allport
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Online at:
http://webspace
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edu/cgboer/allport
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(1969)
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New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston
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& Walters, R
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Social Learning and Personality Development
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Baumeister, R
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, & Tice, D
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(1996)
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Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 363-373
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B
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The scientific analysis of personality
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B
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The scientific analysis of personality
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S
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Emergent integration in contemporary personality
psychology
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Diener, E
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Traits can be powerful, but are not enough: Lessons from subjective
well-being
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Dweck, C
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(1996)
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Journal of Research in
Personality, 30, 348-362
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(1996)
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Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 435-446
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P
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What do we know when we know a person? Journal of
Personality, 63, 365-396
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R
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T
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(1995)
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European Journal of Personality, 9, 231-252
McClelland, D
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(1996)
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Mweru, M
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(2009)
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Nairobi: Longhorn
publishers
Pervin, L
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(1985)
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Annual
Review of Psychology, 36, 83-114
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(1995)
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Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 295-328
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E
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W
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Seventh Edition
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Roberts, B
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, & DelVecchio, W
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(2000)
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Psychological Bulletin, 126, 3-25
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G
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R
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R
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Views of the future
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