PERSONALITY A person’s personality is their usual way of thinking, feeling and acting that is unique to them.

HOW DOES PERSONALITY DEVELOP? Heredity and environment interact to form personality (Nature & Nurture). Freud believed that unconscious processes direct a great part of a person’s behavior. Another influential theory of personality is derived from behaviorism. Researchers such as the American psychologist B. F. Skinner, places primary emphasis on learning. We are going to look at two developmental theories of personality.

PIAGET’S THEORY Jean Piaget He was interested in child cognitive development. He believed that the stages of mental development are age related.(Nature) He also believed that these stages are influenced by social experience.(Nurture)

AGE AND STAGES Sensory Motor1. Sensory Motor- Birth- 2yrs Children learn through direct experience. Pre-operational2. Pre-operational- 2yrs- 7yrs Can use forms of verbal communication. They see things only from their own point of view. Concrete operational3. Concrete operational- 7yrs- 11yrs Learn to think in terms of cause and effects. Can see things from other’s point of view Formal operational4. Formal operational- Adolescence Can think abstractly. Use logic and imagination to solve problems.

ERIKSON’S THEORY Erikson believes that development takes place over the course of the entire life-span. According to Erikson’s theory, each stage is associated with an important task or challenge that one must work out. It is how these tasks or challenges are worked out that determines how the personality develops.

ERIKSON’S STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 1. Birth- 1yrsTrust vs Mistrust 2. 1yr- 3yrsAutonomy vs Doubt 3. 3yrs- 5yrsInitiative vs Guilt 4. 6yrs- 11yrsIndustriousness vs Conformity 5. 12yrs-18yrsIdentity vs Role confusion 6. 19yrs-30yrsIntimacy vs Isolation 7. 30yrs-60yrsProductivity vs Stagnation 8. 60yrs-OverEgo Integrity vs Despair