Personality and Human Development Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering the fundamentals of Personality Development, including human development theories, holistic growth, and brain-based thinking models.

Persona

The Latin word from which personality is derived, meaning "mask."

Personality

The relatively stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral patterns a person has that determine how they act, react, and interact with the world.

Personality Development

A process in which persons reflect upon themselves, understand and accept who they are, and learn new values, attitudes, behaviors, and thinking skills to reach their fullest potential.

Personal Development

The intentional effort to improve oneself.

Human Development

The natural process of growth involving physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains.

Physical Development

Growth and changes in a person’s body, including height, weight, strength, and motor skills.

Cognitive Development

The development of mental abilities such as thinking, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, and memory.

Jean Piaget

The Swiss psychologist who explained how children's thinking and learning abilities develop from infancy to adulthood.

Sensorimotor Stage

The first stage of cognitive development ($0$-$2$ years) where learning occurs through senses and actions.

Preoperational Stage

The second stage of cognitive development ($2$-$7$ years) characterized by the development of language and imagination.

Concrete Operational Stage

The third stage of cognitive development ($7$-$12$ years) where logical thinking about concrete situations begins.

Formal Operational Stage

The final stage of cognitive development ($12+$ years) involving abstract and hypothetical thinking.

Psychosocial Development

The development of emotions, personality, social skills, relationships, and a sense of self.

Erik Erikson

A German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst who developed the Theory of Psychosocial Development with eight stages.

Trust vs. Mistrust

The first stage of psychosocial development (Infancy, $0$-$1$ year) where the basic conflict results in the virtue of Hope.

Identity vs. Confusion

The psychosocial stage during Adolescence ($12$-$18$ years) where individuals experiment with roles to develop a sense of self, resulting in the virtue of Fidelity.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

The psychosocial stage during Middle age ($30$-$64$ years) characterized by the need to contribute to society and family, resulting in the virtue of Care.

Integrity vs. Despair

The final psychosocial stage (Old age, $65$ onward) where individuals assess and make sense of their life's meaning, resulting in the virtue of Wisdom.

Heredity

Inborn traits passed from biological parents, also known as "Nature."

Maturation

The natural progression of the brain and body affecting cognitive, psychological, and social dimensions.

Abraham Maslow

The psychologist who proposed the Holistic Dynamic Theory and the Hierarchy of Needs to explain human motivation.

Carl Rogers

A humanistic psychologist who developed the Person-Centered Approach and the concept of the Fully Functioning Person.

Self-Awareness

The ability to tune in to your own feelings, thoughts, and actions.

Internal Self-Awareness

How clearly we see our own values, passions, aspirations, and reactions to our environment.

External Self-Awareness

Understanding how other people view us, usually in the context of interactions and social norms.

Real Self

A concept of identity representing who you actually are.

Ideal Self

A concept of identity representing who you would like to be.

Five-Factor Model

A categorized scheme developed by Costa and McCrae to describe personality, also known as the "Big Five."

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A personality assessment based on Carl Jung's theories, developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs.

Holistic Development

The process of self-actualization and continuous learning that promotes balanced growth in physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual areas.

Self-Concept

The set of beliefs and perceptions a person has about themselves.

Self-Esteem

The evaluation of how positively or negatively a person feels about their self-concept.

Adolescence

A transitional period from childhood to adulthood, typically beginning with puberty and ending with adult maturity.

Puberty

The period when boys and girls become sexually mature, typically occurring between ages $10$-$14$ for girls and $12$-$16$ for boys.

Roger Sperry

The researcher who studied split-brain surgery patients in the 1960s, which led to the discovery of hemispheric specialization.

Mind Map

A visual representation of ideas that starts with a central topic and branches out into related concepts using keywords and images.

Ned Herrmann

The developer of Whole Brain Thinking theory in 1979, which identifies four different thinking styles.

Blue Quadrant (Upper Left)

The Whole Brain Thinking quadrant for the Analytical Thinker, focusing on logic, facts, and data.

Green Quadrant (Lower Left)

The Whole Brain Thinking quadrant for the Organized Thinker, focusing on procedures, rules, and timelines.

Red Quadrant (Lower Right)

The Whole Brain Thinking quadrant for the Relational Thinker, focusing on empathy, teamwork, and communication.

Yellow Quadrant (Upper Right)

The Whole Brain Thinking quadrant for the Experimental Thinker, focusing on imagination, innovation, and big-picture thinking.