The Nature of

PersonalityGroup 1

The Nature of Personality

“Personality is the key to adjustment and mental health. A healthy, well-developed and well-integrated personality is a guarantee of effective adjustments.”

-Alexander Schneiders

Personality - refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.

The word “personality” comes from a Latin words per and sonare.

The term personare literally means “to sound through”.

The word persona came from these two words and originally meant actor’s mask.

Carl Jung: comes up with the concept of “persona” which means “public image”.

Persona is a mask worn by a person in response to the demands of social convention.

Personality is the public personality that people display to those around them.

DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY

Personality development begins at birth and develops gradually. The infant possesses only the barest rudiments of personality. Potentialities for growth should be developed and the process is known as maturation.

o Every feature of personality is influenced by heredity and at the same time by the surrounding conditions.

o Personality is not fixed during the first years of life.

o Mental health of children are dependent upon many factors brought by culture and standards.

o The infant is entirely self-centered.

During the child’s second or third year, he or she usually becomes stubborn, even to reasonable suggestions and wishes of others. This resistance to adult authority is a sign of the child’s self assertion.

o By the age of three, the child has already moved towards further personality differentiation.

The child from four to five years of age is extremely talkative, and is curious about the surrounding world.

oAt this stage, the child can also be expected to play well with other children and work with them on common projects.

The first five years of life is the period of fastest growth in all aspects – physical, mental, social, and emotional development.o Next to feeling loved, the child’s greatest personality

need is for security. It is very important in developing a stable self-concept, which is the foundation of child’s personality development.

o The preschool child has a tremendous store of energy. Because of this and their increase in social consciousness, he or she begins to understand the meaning of personal-social relationships.

The sixth year, because of their growing concern for ethical and moral behavior.

o They are greatly motivated by the sense of duty and accomplishment.

o It is during this period that latent talents can be discovered.

o Also, children often live in a world of fantasy; they frequently test their imagination through work and play. Imitation of adult life gives them expression and understanding of adult roles in society.

Children from six to nine years old are usually very active full of vigor and very energetic.

oPlaying continues to be a major preoccupation.

oThey attain a degree of physical, social, moral, and emotional competence at this stage.

o They have the tendency to collect different things, usually valueless and trivial. But to the child, the collection is part of his or her world, and hoards them in special places where they will not be disturbed.

o Children sometimes rebel against their parental standard because of their attempt to break away from some dependence from their parents. Difficulties in learning may arise; social and speculative interests in group of persons and classes of objects will begin to develop.

The seventh year is a milestone in a child’s life.

oThis is the age of reason and a big transformation takes place in the psyche.

oHe or she becomes very attached to family life, proud of his or her parents and generally boasts about them.

The figure “7” plays an important role in a person’s life. Development follows a pattern of seven cycles:

oAfter the age of reason, an individual goes through seven years of (age of) puberty

oThen follows another seven years of adulthood.

Between eight and nine years oldo Period of “relaxation” where the child takes time to

rest from the exuberant period that preceded this age.

o Period of preparation for the critical age of puberty.

o The child likes school work and the eagerness to learn is at its peak.

o There comes an attachment to organized and orderly life; the child plans for the future; he or she is sociable and polite.

oThe child likes school work and the eagerness to learn is at its peak.

oThere comes an attachment to organized and orderly life; the child plans for the future; he or she is sociable and polite.

At age ten, however…oChildren become less calm and more difficult

to handle.oTheir minds start to move forward, to

develop.oThey start to make judgments and analyze

things.oThey become very critical of anything that

displeases them.

Towards the age of eleven and twelve…oChildren will start to hide behind small

affectations and slyness.oBelieves that he or she is misunderstood and

persecuted.o It is also very difficult what is going on inside

their minds.oThey do not understand themselves either.oAt twelve, childhood begins to fade and

adolescence starts to flourish.

The conditions which contribute to the maintenance of emotional stability in later life are:

1. Adequate material facilities (Nourishing food, sleep that is commensurate to his or her needs and age, and health that is intelligently safeguarded)

2. Secure home life.(The need for affection and status should be satisfied in home. This will result in confidence and stable outlook in life.)

3. Opportunities for self-expression(The child should be given reasonable opportunity for self expression.)

4. Protection from high emotional tension(The child should be safeguarded against severe traumatic experiences or situations which they cannot understand and evaluate.)

5. Opportunities for social living (It is through social intercourse that emotions are

developed in approved ways.)

CHILDREN’S NEEDS FOR GOOD MENTAL HEALTH

To grow healthy and strong, children should have good food, plenty of sleep, exercise and fresh air. Equally important is the fulfillment of children’s emotional needs.

To be both healthy and happy, children needs.oLoveoAcceptance

oSecurityoProtectionoIndependenceoFaithoGuidanceoControl

PERSONALITY IN ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence is the period of transition from dependence on adult direction and protection to self-determination.

The pubescent stage is from 12-15 years for females and 14-17 years for males.

Many facets of intelligence develop at a rapid pace with the onset of adolescence.

Emotional attitudes of adolescence are unpredictable, as they swing from optimism and enthusiastic cooperation to withdrawal and pessimistic depression.

Physiological changes make young adolescents aware of one’s role.

The degree of physical energy, the types of pleasurable activities engaged in are representative of the interest of one’s cultural group.

Problems in Adolescence

1. Freedom from parental supervision

The adolescent faces the problem of achieving self-discipline while still under parental control and dependent upon the family.

2. Constructive use of leisure

Team sportsClub activitiesHobbies

3. Sexual relationships

Emotional difficulties arise because of correct or inadequate information concerning sex.

4. Peer adjustment

The peer culture acts as transition period reaching adult status in the community.

5. Intellectual maturity

Attitudes are formed, which are likely to remain relatively unchanged throughout life.

6. Vocational choice

Adolescent make little or no preparation for an occupation.

7. Emotional maturity

Adolescent must learn to channel his/her impulse to constructive endeavors.

8. Development of life goals

One factor in attaining maturity involves the development of life goals and healthy personal philosophy.

FACTORS IN PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

Personality is basically developmental in nature and factors, such as learning, training, and discipline, are of primary importance in its development. These factors are experienced at home, in the school and in the community.

Home and Mental Health The home is the first and most significant agency that affects the life of a child. Aside from physical care, a satisfactory family life is indispensable to the adequate development of the child.

Because of the relation between personality and environment, family cohesion and disruption are fundamentally important to adjustment and mental health. The saying “a broken home results in a broken child” has been found to be true in many instances.

The following aspects of inter-parental relationships were found to be factors to child adjustment:

1. Tension over matters of sex2. Problems of ascendancy-submission3. Lack of consideration for each other

4. Lack of cooperation concerning the upbringing of the child

5. Extramarital relations6. Problems of health7. Insufficient to talk over differences to

mutually acceptable solutions8. Insufficient expressions of affection9. Tension over friends, work, and relatives

M.F Nimkoff described a good home as “one in which the child has parents who love each other, who love him, understand his interests, and do what they can to help him realize them and thus achieve adequate adjustment.”

Inadequate Parent-Child Relationship

Emotional rejection of the child› Rejection may be defined as an overt behavior

toward an individual which leads him to believe that he is neither loved nor valued.

The following are practice which indicates parental rejection:

1. Emphasis on the children’s shortcomings

2. Severe punishment and negative responses

3. Rigid discipline

4. Desertion

5. Eviction

6. Unfavorable comparisons with other children

7. Unfavorable verbal statements indicating the he or she is unwanted

Domination of the Parents› Some parents are so rigid and

uncompromising with their standards that anxiety is created in the child. Thumb-sucking, nail biting and bed-wetting, which frequently are the results of anxiety, are met by threats and restraints by the parents.

 

Submission to the child› A submissive parent is one who capitulates

to unrealistic demands and requests, usually following pressures and teasing by the child.

› Submissive behavior of parents tends to develop conceit, over-confidence, disobedience, and disrespect for authority in children.

Overprotecting the child › Overprotection of parents involves over

attention and pampering without offering opportunities for the child to make decisions or to assume responsibilities.

Factors which appear to account for such overindulgence:

a. Absence of love and affection in the parent’s own childhood.

b. Inharmonious marital relationships

Other Detrimental Practices Common to Parents

c. Frustrations of personal achievement or thwarting of vocational aspirations

d. Loss of mate or of another child

Some parents wish to relive their lives through their children’s career and thus impose their vocational or professional ambitions without regard to the child’s own interest and abilities.

› Some parents who have acquired considerable social and economic prestige because of their perseverance and drive expect their children to be like them.

› A parent who has a strong preference for a child of a given sex is likely to make a child of the undesired sex feel unwanted and/or will focus emphasis on the preferred sex characteristics.

Origin of Parent-Child Relationships Child rearing practices of parents are greatly influenced by the manner in which they themselves were reared. The adults upon whom the child must depend on the exert the greatest influence on the child’s life- the parents, Grandparents, aunts, uncles, or an elder sibling.

Mother-child relationship Father-child relationship Parent Surrogates

Discipline Through the years, the accepted social and

educational philosophy of child rearing is that control based on authority and command. Some still believe that severe regulation of children is essential for their development. Yet, when too rigidly enforced, discipline lays the foundation for later rebellion.

The modern view of discipline does not dispense with punishment but utilizes it only when there are certain indications that it will result in improved adjustment on the part of the child. Punishment is no longer regarded as an end in itself or as a repressive measure, but as means to develop socially desirable behavior.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A PSYCHOLOGICALLY HEALTHY PERSON

Mental hygienists have long been faced with the problem of ascertaining the criteria of “full maturity”, as well as determining what characteristics mirror the “healthy” versus the unhealthy” society.

There is no sharp demarcation line between normal and abnormal behavior. The difference between normal behavior and abnormal behavior is more on the degree that in kind.

PERCIVAL M. SYMONDS CONCEPTS OF MENTAL HEALTH INCLUDES1. A balance or a compromise between the

demands of society and the desires of the individual.

2. Maturity, or the absence of infantile and childish patterns.

3. Adequate functioning, or the ability to surmount severe threats and frustrating situation.

Mental health is the achievement of a satisfactory adjustment to the requirements of reality. It is a condition where the basis needs of the individual are the adequately satisfied and the behavior patterns adapted conform to the requirements of a given culture.

The social criteria of a mentally healthy person include the determination of how closely a person resembles others in term of behavior; how well one gets along and is like by others; how much one contributes to and supports his or her social group; and; how much one conform to the codes, laws or ideals of society or social group.

The individual criteria for mental health concerns the person him or herself, his or her happiness, the ability to withstand psychological stress, the assumption of personal responsibility, a favorable r realistic self- perception and self- actualization.

A functional criteria would involved the ability of the person to cope with the environmental stresses and demand efficiently, productively, and maturely.

Tips to improve personality

1. Maintain a sound physically health2. Develop a wholesome outlook in life.3. Gain confidence through achieving even small

successes.4. Learn to enjoy people and to make stimulating

social contacts.5. Cultivate a variety of actives interests.6. Conquer fears by facing them.

7. Adopt a wholesome attitude towards ex matters.

8. Develop sensible independence.9. Plan a balanced program of work and play.10. Beware of alluring escapes.11. Learn to face things as they are.12. Strive for a balanced satisfaction of life’s needs.13. Remember that time is a great healer.

Healthy interpersonal relationships are good for personality development and, hence, basic of mental health. The following are some of the things a person can do to improve relations with others.

1. LEARN TO LIKE PEOPLE – Do not expect people to respond favorably unless one show interest in them.

2. LEARN TO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE – Every individual, old or young, has cherished hopes, interest and forms of recreation

3. LEARN TO BE CONSIDERATE – Practically everyone reacts favorably to thoughtful people. Thoughtful person give time and effort to help others with their problems.

4. LEARN TO BE SOCIALLY SKILLFUL – a socially skillful person avoids arguments and seldom says what he or she thinks. They avoid crude frankness in favor of intelligently worded commendations to those who deserved it.

Thank You and

God Bless! :D

That’s the end of our REPORT.

Reported by:Abalos, Angelica Alyanna D.

Abit, John Louise G.Aboc, Christian Joy A.Amutan, Anthony T.

Arizala, Rosemarie DR.Aromin, Erika May B.

Ayen, Ella Mae D. CAS-06-502P