CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SELF AS RELATED TO AFFECTION

Abstract

It has been emphasized that affection plays a vital part in the development of the personality of children (i). It is believed that, in the development of personality, the child comes to have certain feelings and attitudes about himself. Much of the self-concept is taken over from the reaction of people to him. He comes to see himself, in part, as he thinks others see him. If others give evidence of holding him to be of value, he tends to see himself as valued. To attain the kind of personality which will enable him to meet his developmental tasks and the future problems of his world, he should have security in the belief that he is valued. A feeling of value acquired through experiences of affection is a sustaining factor for both children and adults. If it is important for people who work with children to show them affection and to provide experiences in which they can acquire a feeling of value in interpersonal exchanges, there must be some evaluation of the structure of these people's personality. The fundamental question with which we are to deal is: What are some of the structural characteristics of the self which prevent a person from showing affectionate behavior? It is believed that there are many causes for a lack of affectionate behavior and that these causes vary from individual to individual. On the other hand, there are some fundamental and common factors in people who cannot show affection. It is the purpose of this report to describe some findings in regard to this problem.