Download - Understanding Personality
What does personality mean to you?!
Personality consists of all the traits that everyone would like to possess to have a winning, charming
or dynamic personality
You have been expressing yourself through your actions since you were born!
In order to understand yourself and those around you, you need to understand what shapes your
personality
Personality is defined as the group of behavioral and emotional traits that distinguishes an individual
Personality can also be defined as the sum of all the traits you have inherited or acquired
Heredity: the sum of all the traits that are passed from your ancestors to you
Your attitude, intelligence and behavior are also affected by your heredity
What are some traits that you have inherited?
Environment: all the conditions, objects, and circumstances that surround an individual
What are some examples of different environments?
Do you behave the same way in all environments?
A third factor that helps shape your personality is your response to your environment
Let’s see if we have the same response to this clip we will watch together, in the same environment
Did this movie appeal to everyone?
Would everyone want to go see this movie?
Why do you think some people liked it more than others?
You are all in a shared environment yet all of you responded differently to the movie clip.
You, as an individual have inborn qualities
determined by heredity.
Together, these three factors shape your personality
Your personality helps to determine how you deal with the challenges, successes, and frustrations you come across from day to day
Your environment affects your thoughts,
feelings and actions which help to shape your
personality
Acquired traits are those developed as a result of environmental factors
What are some acquired traits your think you have developed due to your environment?
How do you think your home could affect Personality?
Your personality begins to develop in the first few years of life, the home is a very important factor
• Parents• Grandparents• Brother and sisters• Birth order
• Neighbors and neighborhood• Geographical location
Personality Development
An individual’s personality is the complex of mental characteristics
that makes them unique from other people
It includes all of the patterns of thought and emotions that cause us
to do and say things in particular ways
Personality also colors our values, beliefs and expectations
What other factors have we learned about that affect
personality?
So…what is personality development?
Personality development is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors and attitudes that
makes a person who they are; it occurs by the constant interaction with others and with the
surrounding environment
Research by psychologists over the last several decades has increasingly pointed to hereditary factors being more
important
Some hereditary factors that contribute to personality development do so as a result of interactions with the
particular social environment in which people live
Despite significant differences in the way children are raised all around the world, some similarities do exist
For example, boys and girls are socialized differently to some extent in all cultures
Boys receive different messages
as to what is expected of them
from their parents and vice-
versa
Boys are allowed more freedom
to experiment and participate in
physically risky activities
Girls on the other hand, are often steered to learn how to do more domestic tasks
Parents do not always follow these stereotypes with their sons and daughters
Girls who participate in physical activities are often called “tomboys” where boys who take up less masculine activities may be teased for doing something ‘girly’
Different societies will raise different personalities
Heredity & Environment:
Nature & Nurture
Are we who we are because of the traits we were born with or because of the environment we were brought up
in?
Studies of identical twins separated at birth reveal that heredity plays a very big role in who we are
Other studies have shown that you are born with certain traits and potential, but the environment determines
which potentials are developedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yTCShemS_0
The debate between heredity and environment is termed, “Nature vs. Nurture.”
You are born with certain traits, but the traits that you develop will be determined by your environmental
upbringing
Both heredity and environment will affect who you are
Heredity Environment (Nature) (Nurture)
Physical AppearanceIntelligence
Talents & Innate Abilities (a beautiful
singing voice, artistic talent, etc.)
Religious Beliefs
Physical Traits (coordination, rhythm,
balance, athletic abilities)
Interests & Hobbies
How you use your intelligence (grades,
curiosity, etc.)
Community & School Involvement
Journal Entry: Do you think one has more influence over
the other?
Do you think heredity or environment has affected your personality development the
most?