Theory Of Personality Development Research Articles

Multiple Identities and the Integration of Personality

Life-history interviews show narrators to shift among multiple, often contradictory self-representations. This article outlines a model that accounts for how a relatively small set of self-symbols and metaphors can form a grammar-like system that simultaneously defines and integrates multiple identities. Drawing on generative theories from linguistics, anthropology, and music, the model proposes that this system provides a unitary deep structure that can be configured in various arrangements to yield multiple surface structures. Each "surface" identity constructs an individual's emotions and social relations--and what he or she accepts as "Me" and rejects as "not-Me"--into a distinct pattern, with identity per se appearing as a dialogic or fugue-like structure of opposed voices. Study-of-lives interviews conducted by the author in urban America and rural Morocco are used to present the model and to demonstrate the pivotal role played by multistable or "structurally ambiguous" symbols in anchoring reversible self-representations which integrate personality as a system of organized contraction. The musical analogy is emphasized in order to build a bridge toward current research in cognitive science and toward efforts to formulate a "state integration" theory of personality development.

Satisfaction with retirement: Vocational script development

The concept of vocational script development is discussed as a narrative developmental and interpretive paradigm. The paradigm is considered central to satisfaction with retirement from active employment and is convergent with several theoretical perspectives. Personality and adult development theory, constructivist approaches, and vocational psychology/career development approaches support the concept of script as a therapeutic tool. Current ideas within these theories advance the application of script theory to retirement planning research and counseling. The response of employed people to retirement routine and activity is conceived of as further development of the vocational script, with implications for theorists, practitioners, and researchers.

A fruitful theory of personal development that deserves attention

A fruitful theory of personal development that deserves attention

Review of A Theory of Personality Development.

Review of A Theory of Personality Development.

The development of moral beliefs: A retrospective study

The present study tested a model of moral belief development based on Erikson’s (1963) and McAdams’ (1989) theories of personality development. The sequence of moral belief development is beliefs about outcomes, outcome certainty, beliefs about humanity, and social concern. The developmental antecedents of these beliefs were measured using 13 rationally constructed scales based on background data items. The belief and developmental scales were given to a sample of 246 undergraduates. Using a series of hierarchical blocked regressions, we found a pattern among the beliefs that supported a stage or contingent sequence model of belief development. The results suggest that a supportive, conventional and consistent family environment is a major antecedent of beliefs about outcomes and outcome certainty. Adjustment to the demands of adult culture rather than peer culture is the major antecedent of belief about humanity and social concern.

"The play's the thing": Samuel Beckett's midlife transition and the Theatre of the absurd.

This article considers the question of shifts in artistic and literary style from a lifespan developmental perspective, focussing on changes during midlife. Using Samuel Beckett as an example, we demonstrate the relation between his abrupt shift to playwriting (and specifically to the Theatre of the Absurd) and his entrance into midlife. Abandoning the "counting the wrinkles" approach to mid-adulthood, we consider midlife change in terms of growth. We base our contention on theories of lifespan personality development that suggest parallels between the technical demands of dramatic art and the psychological needs of midlife.

Adolescent substance abuse prevention programs: Theories, models, and research in the encouraging 80's

The "vaccine" to prevent adolescents from using cigarettes, alcohol, and other drugs has not yet been found. Much has been learned about which prevention effortsdo not work. However, in the past decade there are some encouraging findings about whatdoes seem to work. This paper reviews the theories of human behavior and personality development upon which substance abuse prevention strategies have been based, the program models derived from them, and the research literature of the 1980's reporting on the effectiveness of the major program models for preventing adolescent substance abuse. The authors also present unanswered questions about the most effective kinds of prevention programs for different populations.

Using neural networks to model personality development

A neural network approach to modeling the development of personality traits through social learning is presented. From the more general model the special case of a network mapping four situation dimensions (input neurons) onto seven dimensional personality traits (output neurons) is described. This network is allowed to learn with input/output sets representing conditions suspected of leading to a borderline personality disorder. The network's ability to learn these pattern pairs is demonstrated. The trained network is then presented with new input (situational) patterns and is shown to respond to these new situations with output patterns consistent with a borderline personality disorder. The neural network model is thus shown to have important advantages over other personality models in that it can predict what situations will produce shifts in personality traits, for example from active to passive. This model provides a quantitative and reproducible framework within which to discover and test theories of personality development. It is hoped that it will extend our ability to predict human behavior.

Relationships between psychosocial development and personality disorder symptomatology in late adolescents

The present study investigated the extent to which psychosocial development through the first five stages of Erik Erikson's theory of personality development is associated with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (third edition, revised; DSM-III-R) Axis II personality disorder symptomatology in a late adolescent sample of undergraduate students. The Inventory of Psychosocial Development (IPD) and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire—Revised (PDQ-R) were administered to a mixed-sex sample of 106 undergraduate students. The results of this research were that IPD scores assessing negative resolutions of the first five Eriksonian developmental stages consistently predicted scores on the PDQ-R composite scale and the PDQ-R impairment/distress index—both measures of overall personality disorder symptomatology. The IPD subscales varied substantially in the extent to which they predicted scores on the 13 PDQ-R subscales that assess symptoms of specific DSM-III-R personality disorders—ranging from the trust vs. mistrust subscale, which predicted scores on 12 of the 13 PDQ-R subscales, to the initiative vs. guilt subscale, which predicted scores on only 6 of the 13 PDQ-R subscales. Implications of these findings for our understanding of the relationship between psychosocial development and psychopathology are discussed in the context of previous research in this area, and suggestions for future research are offered.

Assessment of Personality Development: Which Analysis When?

The process of discovery is particularly exciting in the field of personality development. Anyone who works in this field learns not only about the phenomena at hand but about the self. Seldom, however, does theoretical work in this area spring from new discovery. It is more often rediscovery, gaining insight into what others may already know, but which one must discover for oneself. The primary thesis of my commentary is that the process of new theory construction in personality development requires the invention of new methods to assess personality. This necessity is acknowledged by Jane Loevinger, well-known for her no-nonsense, I'm from Missouri approach to personality assessment. However, these new methods may be distinct from those traditionally used to assess personality or its development. The secondary thesis is that these new methods go hand in hand with a broadened perspective on what constitutes theoretical and empirical validity in the field. It is tremendously exciting to read Loevinger's reflections on the process by which she and her colleagues discovered the theoretical distinction between polar and milestone variables in personality development and moved to an assessment method designed to quantify the latter. Herein lies an instructive tale of the connection between a theory of personality development and the methods its founder devised to refine and test these discoveries. Loevinger's structural account of how their theoretical framework evolved, the differentiation of data into conformist and conscientious levels, and the mediating of a self-aware level reads like a detective thriller. The amount of work that has gone into this developmental description should not to be underestimated. In my commentary on Loevinger's article Measurement of Personality: True or False, I raise two issues: The first is largely methodological, the second theoretical; but they are intricately related. I raise them largely in the context of what Loevinger says about qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. I do so not because I believe her claim to be false, but because I do not think her article goes as far or as deep as one can go at this time. The overarching theme of my commentary is that these issues require not an either-or but a which-when analysis-when to do which kinds of research, which kinds of data collection, and which kinds of data analyses. The Distinction Between Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Personality Assessment

Self Psychology and Its Relationship to the Practice of Group Psychotherapy

This article discusses self psychology as a theory of personality development and conceptual framework for diagnosing psychopathology. It seeks to show how specific components of this theory, including selfobjects, bipolar self, mirroring, tension arc, and nuclear self, can be compared with the "curative factors" of group psychotherapy, as presented by Yalom (1975). These include altruism, group cohesiveness, universality, interpersonal learning, guidance, and family reenactment. Existing literature is used to explain both theories and develop their synthesis.

Kairos and Eriksonian Psychology

Contending that the ancient Greek time-frame of Kairos is present in Erikson's early thought, this paper traces the concept from Greece through to modern schools of psychology. It concludes with a brief treatment of Kairotic time in Erikson's early formulation of his epigenetic theory of personality development.

Remembering autobiographically consequential experiences: Content analysis of psychologists' accounts of their lives.

The autobiographies of 49 eminent psychologists were content analyzed in terms of autobiographically consequential experiences (ACEs). Most memories for ACE were not single episodes. Episodic ACEs did, however, share many characteristics of "flashbulb" and vivid memories elicited in studies using more traditional experimental procedures. Memories were concentrated during the college and early adult years. Thus, as in other autobiographical memory studies that have used older subjects, there was a pronounced reminiscence effect. These results were considered in light of Erikson's theory of adult personality development.

Evaluation of an intergenerational theory of personal development: Family process determinants of psychological and health distress.

Evaluation of an intergenerational theory of personal development: Family process determinants of psychological and health distress.

Evaluation of an intergenerational theory of personal development: Family process determinants of psychological and health distress.

Evaluation of an intergenerational theory of personal development: Family process determinants of psychological and health distress.

KAIROS AND ERIKSONIAN PSYCHOLOGY

Contending that the ancient Greek time-frame of Kairos is present in Erikson's early thought, this paper traces the concept from Greece through to modern schools of psychology. It concludes with a brief treatment of Kairotic time in Erikson's early formulation of his epigenetic theory of personality development.

Black Male Entrepreneurs and Adult Development.

A groundbreaking contribution to the social sciences literature, this is a systematic and theoretically-based examination of the psychosocial development and individual life structures of Black men. Based on an intensive investigation of 10 Black male entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, the study explores the relationship between race awareness and dynamics, and adult development. The author organizes his analysis around the concept of evolving life structures, which holds that stable structure-building periods alternate with transitional structure-building periods. His conclusions regarding the pervasive influence of race throughout adult life add an important new dimension to social psychological theories of personality development. Herbert begins be providing a theoretical overview of adult development concepts and the nature of race and racism. The major portion of the volume is devoted to an in-depth presentation and analysis of the author's research findings. Divided into chapters that correspond to the various life stages from early adulthood transition through mid-life transition, the discussion centers upon the lives of the 10 black entrepreneurs who participated in the study and the ways in which race and racial dynamics affected them at critical stages in the adult development process. In the final chapters, Herbert integrates his findings with the theory of evolving age specific developmental periods. Throughout the study, theoretical work is supplemented and supported by extended biographical case study material, making this an excellent source of readings for courses in the clinical social sciences.

Attachment and Morality: Developmental Themes with Different Values

The stage theories of personality development, such as those of Piaget, Freud, and Erikson, are not currently popular, in part because of misunderstandings about the supposed restrictions of timing and of confines of developmental stages. But the stage theorists did draw attention to newly appearing, qualitatively different cognitive, emotional, and behavioural systems of interaction, which come into being sequentially as children grow up.

Social and personality development: an evolutionary synthesis

This volume is an attempt to integrate the theory and data of social and personality development within a modem evolutionary framework. The various chapters are not meant to be read in isolation from one another but rather are intended to form an integrated whole. There is thus a great deal of cross-referencing between chapters and to some extent they all stand or fall together. This also suggests that the accuracy (or usefulness) of a particular chapter cannot be judged until the book is comprehended as a whole. Chapter 1 deals with the theoretical foundations of this enterprise, and the focus is on the compatibility of mainstream approaches within the field to a modem evolutionary approach. Chapters 2-4 concern what I view to be the fundamental proximal mechanisms underlying social and personality development. Chapter 2, on temperament and person ality development, is particularly central to the rest of the volume because these processes are repeatedly invoked as explanatory concepts at later points in the volume.

Personality development in adulthood

Conceptions of Personality Development in Adulthood Psychoanalysis as an Early-Formation Theory Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development Psychobiography and Personality Development in Adulthood Contemporary Stage Theories The Dialectical Approach and the Issue of Change Versus Consistency in Personality Occupational Changes in Adulthood Sex Roles and Androgyny Sexual Relationships and Marriage Changes in Values and Attitudes Reactions to Death and Dying The Use of Personal Documents in Understanding Adult Personality Development