Personalit

y
developm
ent
PSY 211- LECTURE 3
Temperament vs Personality

• Temperament
• Stable and consistent
• Influenced by genetics
• Personality
• Changes over time
• Influenced by genetics and environment
Development during
adolescence: Extraversion
• Social dominance increases and shyness decreases
• other dimensions of extraversion and extroversion
do not change
• Some evidence that it increases for girls and
decreases for boys
Development during adolescence:
Negative emotionality and
neuroticism
• some studies suggest neuroticism does not
change
• others suggest it decreases
• some evidence that neuroticism may increase
in young adolescent girls prior to the age of 14
Development during
adolescence: Agreeableness
• shows relatively little change during
adolescence
• some evidence suggests increases for girls
Development during adolescence:
Effortful control and conscientiousness

• mainly appears to decrease, especially for

younger adolescents
• related to increased risk-taking opportunities
• some studies indicate no change
• others indicate some increase, especially for girls.
Development during
adolescence: Openness
• primarily increases
• some evidence of change or even decreases
Outcomes in childhood and
adolescence: Extraversion
• associated with high levels of externalising
behaviours (e.g., aggression, antisocial acts,
substance use)
• mixed evidence for prediction of low academic
achievement
• associated with reduced risk for depression
Outcomes in childhood and
adolescence: Negative emotionality
and neuroticism
• Irritability predicts high levels of externalising
behaviours
• fearfulness predicts low levels of externalising behaviour
• irritability and fearfulness both predict high levels of
internalising problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, eating
disorders)
Outcomes in childhood and
adolescence: Agreeableness

• Low agreeableness (e.g., heartless,

unfeeling, and uncaring) is associated with
early appearing, persistent and severe forms
of externalising behaviours
• predicts low academic achievement
Outcomes in childhood and adolescence:
Conscientiousness(self-regulation traits)

• predict low levels of externalising

behaviours and high levels of academic
achievement
Outcomes in childhood and
adolescence:
Openness
• mixed evidence that openness predicts high
levels of academic achievement
 Identity Development: Erikson's theory:
Identity versus identity confusion

• Identity
• individual's awareness of themselves as an independent, unique person with a
specific place in society
• first theorist to identify the importance of the formation of a personal identity in the
personality development of an individual
• viewed the establishment of an identity as an important step in the development of a
productive and happy adult
• believed that the adolescent's dramatic development caused the child's early sense of
identity to partially split apart, making identity establishment especially crucial during
this time.
 The development of an
identity
• According to Erikson to form an identity, all the psychosocial crises of the previous stages need to be
resolved

• adolescents should have acquired basic trust, autonomy, initiative, and industry to accomplish the
tasks required for developing an identity successfully

• Identity development
• implies that adolescents need to define who they are, what is important to them, and what
directions they want to take in life

• Erikson referred to this identity development as an identity crisis

• Identity crisis
• a temporary period of confusion during which adolescents explore and question existing values,
and experiment with alternative roles to develop an own set of values and goals
The development of an
identity
• Psychosocial moratorium
• society allows adolescents a certain time period to experiment and find themselves and their roles as future adults

• To develop an own identity, adolescents must master:

• forming a continuous, integrated, unified image of the self (ego-synthesis), person should feel that they’re still the
same person
• forming a sociocultural identity, the adolescent's identity must include the value-orientations of his or her culture
• firmly establishing a gender identity role, know what you identify as
• A career identity must be formed, make a realistic career choice
• An own value system must be developed, adolescents must rethink certain values to the extent that they may form
an own basic philosophy, which may serve as an anchor in their lives

• What does Erikson point out?

• the establishment of an identity provides a sense of faithfulness or fidelity
Identity confusion

• Occurs when adolescents are indecisive

• Results in identity foreclosure or a negative identity
Identity foreclosure
• Make a decision based on others’ expectations
• E.g. deciding to become a doctor because your parents expect you to
Negative identity
• Form an identity contrary to cultural values and expectations
• E.g. becoming a drug addict
Evaluation of Erikson’s view
of identity formation
• Erikson uses the terms “crisis” or “identity crisis”, which implies an active search for an
identity during adolescence, why is this not true?
1. creates the impression of an intense traumatic experience- some teens feel good about
themselves
2. creates the impression that identity development occurs at one specific crisis point in an
adolescent's life- id development is complex, gradual and a lifelong process
• What is the modern term used?
• Exploration
• Erikson believed that identity crisis ended by 15-18 years old, this is NOT true and is viewed to
be TOO OPTIMISTIC
• Adolescents also do not form their identity simultaneously in all areas
Critics of Erikson’s theory

• Focused on males- no attention to the difference

between males and females
• Doesn’t specify what experiences are necessary at each
stage to resolve conflict and move onto the next stage
• Overgeneralised in western subculture
James Marcia Theory: The
formation of identity
statuses
• Marcia distinguished various identity statuses to resolve the identity crises in
adolescence

• The identity status is determined by what crises they’ve worked through (which
obstacle they overcame)

• 4 identity statuses
Identity Identity Identity Identity
achievement moratorium foreclosure diffusion
Passed crisis, In crisis, not No crisis, No crisis, not
committed committed committed due committed
to influence
Factors that influence
identity formation
• Cognitive development (advanced in cognition? Identity achievement)
• Parenting (strict parent? Identity foreclosure)
• Peer interactions (provide support, role models and opportunities)
• Schools and communities (offer experiences which contribute to identity
development)
• Personality (lack confidence? Identity diffusion)
• Sociocultural and sociopolitical factors (like poverty can affect adolescents’
psychosocial identities)
• The cyberworld (think social media)
Identity development of
South African adolescents
• Black people are sure of themselves more than white people due to a strong cultural identity
• white South African youth foreclose their identities and do not develop mutuality in the broader South African society,
because they are numerically a minority group and feel socially devalued
• A positive view of ethnic identity is attributed to the collectivistic identity promoted
• Identity as 'being white' is seldom mentioned by white girls. According to her, these girls simultaneously show
confidence in and ambiguity of their being white: On the one hand, it involves social class, privilege, and social status,
and on the other hand, a world of dwindling privilege and emptying out of social space
• Colour or race are not experienced as critical in forming friendships or constructing personal identities
• self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief or expectation, positive or negative, about something or someone that can affect
persons in such a way that they start believing the stereotypes and act accordingly
• Black adolescents exposed to domestic violence and those from non-violent homes. The findings showed that
adolescents who are exposed to domestic violence have lower scores for identity development compared to those
from non-violent homes
Forming a group identity :
Jean Phinney
• Ethnic identity (aka cultural identity)
• Adolescents develop a sense of mastery over the environment, a secure
ethnic identity can also protect them from the damaging effects of racial
or ethnic discrimination
• Forming a multicultural identity by exploring and adopting some of the
other cultures' values may have added benefits
• ethnic identity formation-the way in which individuals come to understand
the implications of their ethnicity and decide its role in their lives
3 stages of ethnic
development
• Unexamined ethnic identity
• Not yet explored ethnicity and associated identity
• Ethnic identity search / moratorium
• Searching identity in ethnicity
• Ethnic identity achievement
• Acceptance of one’s own ethnic and self- identity
4 ways of responding to
awareness of ethnicity
• Assimilation
• Moves away from the customs and norms of one's ethnic group and adopting the values and way of life
of the majority culture
• Marginalisation
• some young people may neither identify with their culture of origin, nor feel accepted and integrated
with the majority culture

• Separation
• associating only with members of one's own ethnic group and rejecting the customs and traditions of
the majority culture

• Biculturalism
• developing a dual identity, one based on the ethnic group of origin and one based on the majority
culture
Besides ethnic identity,
other group identities
develop, like…
• Gender identity
• Political identity
• Religious identity
Self-concept: Adolescents'
Understanding of Self
• During adolescence, self- conceptions become:
• Less physical and more psychological
• Less concrete and more abstract
• More differentiated
• More integrated and coherent
• More reflected upon
Actual self vs possible self
vs false self
• Actual self
• Who you are
• Possible self
• Ideals self: who you want to be
• Feared self: Who you could be but don’t want to
• False self
• Who you pretend to be in front of others
Self- esteem

• the way or degree in which people view and evaluate themselves

• Baseline self-esteem
• a person's stable, enduring sense of worth and well-being
• Barometric self-esteem
• fluctuating sense of worth and well-being people have as they respond
to different thoughts, experiences, and interactions during the day
• , favourable self-esteem profiles: well adjusted, sociable, and conscientious
• low self-esteem: adjustment difficulties
Self- esteem

• Parent issues: aggressive, antisocial

• Poor academic self-esteem: anxious, unfocused
• Negative peer relationships: anxious, depressed
• Overly dependent on social approval: place self-worth on the
line, report self-esteem shifts
• Optimism: attitude that things happen for the best and that
people's wishes or aims ultimately will be fulfilled
Emotions

• emotionally more unstable than younger children are

• often have emotional outbursts

• inclined towards intense mood swings: a typical storm-and-stress situation
• More negative than positive emotions

• Gender differences are also evident because girls experience an increase in the
feelings of anger and depression, while boys experience both positive and negative
emotions: On the one hand, they feel more energetic and focused, but on the other,
also more irritated and aggressive
• These changes are hormonal and is a maturation of the limbic system
Career choice

• , the career aspirations of many South African youths, especially from township
schools, are affected negatively by socio-economic marginalisation, unequal
access to quality schooling, and a lack of professional opportunities
• career development and choices during childhood:
• Career exploration
• Career awareness
• Vocational expectations and aspirations
• Vocational interests
• Career maturity/adaptability
Stages adolescents go through
when choosing initial careers
• Exploratory: think about interests, values, talents
• Crystallisation: search more realistically
• Specification: more concrete, commit themselves to
pursue their goal
• But people still take a gap year and a lot of people
aren’t happy with their career choices