Developmental Psychology

What makes us who we are?4

Introduction4

An overview of developmental psychology5

Personality Theory5

Five Factor Model or the Big Five theory6

Openness7

Conscientiousness7

Extraversion8

Agreeableness9

Neuroticism9

Association between Five Factor Model and Anti-Social Activities10

Five Factor Model and Social trends of Children11

The relation between personality and the organizational characteristics11

Conclusion12

References14

Summary

The uniqueness in the personality of individuals is a fascinating topic for research. The sub field of psychology, developmental psychology, deals with the thorough study of personality traits of homo sapiens. Curiosity is the natural instinct of humans which has enabled us to find out more about our kind. Developmental psychology answers many question about characteristics of a human. It addresses the personality development at various stages of life. The psychologists have derived and established multiple trait personality theories. These theories describe personality traits of a person and how these traits affect their social activities. Our personality is what defines us in society. The personality of a person determines his behavioral characteristics and thinking capacity. Personality is what makes you determine the reaction of a person to circumstances or experiences. The variety in the responses of masses to a similar situation can be explained by using these theories. Allport, Cattel and Eysenck, are some of the psychologists whose researches have benefitted the understanding of diversity in personalities. The Big Five theory evolved over time which characterized every personality trait to a broad category. The theory is also referred to as Five Factor Model. This theory accommodates various personality traits into five main domains.

A distinct personality consists of a variety of characteristics from each of these key domains. This model also explains the association between anti-social activities and personality traits. Examining personality has many benefits. In a school, a teacher learns about his students' abilities to socialize. In an organization, the management learns what personality traits would work best against a job description. In law and criminology, the professionals know what personality traits influence a person to respond aggressively in a situation.

What makes a person's personality?

Introduction

Our mother planet earth has a diversity in each of its elements. Uniqueness is found in every aspect of living creatures. Beginning from differences in the physical appearance, diversity exists in intelligence, wisdom, behavior and other interpersonal characteristics of Homo-sapiens, in particular. Each one of us is born with a distinctive personality. Our personality is what defines us in society. The personality of a person determines his behavioral characteristics and thinking capacity. Personality is what makes you determine the reaction of a person to circumstances or experiences. This is what which makes us describes a person as friendly, witty, short tempered or smart. Psychologists have been investigating the various components of human personality to understand the variety in their responses to situations.

According to Allport, “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought”. It determines the pattern of behaving, feeling and cognition of an individual (Allport, 2010). Allport defines that personality comprises of both physical and psychological characteristics. Each individual goes through different stages of development ...