PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
"We will show them Our signs
in the universe and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that this
˹Quran˺ is the truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is a Witness over all
things? (Quran 41 vs 53)"
INTRODUCTION
Personality
in Islam is viewed as a multidimensional entity comprised of body, mind, and
spirit that interact with one another and constitute an individual human being.
In the Qur'an, humans are encouraged to reflect on the signs within and outside
themselves so they can know their real self and their relationship with their
Creator.
The
aim of the Prophet(SAW)’s mission and the revelation of the Holy Quran was to
train individuals to develop a healthy personality by forming a constructive
relationship with Allah, one’s self, society and environment. Every verse of
the Quran, we read, comprehend and memorize can modify our life because the
Quran contains the foundations and the basis to build a personality.
·
Personality:
This is a set of behavioural, emotional and cognitive tendencies that people
display over time and across situations and that distinguishes individuals from
each other (Kosslyn and Rosenberg). It is the consequences of a person’s
knowledge, experiences, what he reads, hears and perceives.
·
Development:
This
is the pattern of change that begins at conception and continues throughout the
human life span. (John W. Santrock).
Many
modern and traditional studies in psychology point to 5 basic dimensions of personality.
The five basic personality traits is a theory developed in 1949 by D. W. Fiske
(1949) and later expanded upon by other researchers including Norman (1967),
Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae & Costa (1987). These broad
categories have been researched and developed over the years and, whilst there
is an extensive study into each area, researchers don’t always agree on the
definition of each characteristic.
1. OPENNESS
Openness
is a characteristic that includes imagination and insight about the world,
other people and an eagerness to learn and experience new things is
particularly high for this personality trait. It leads to having a broad range
of interests and being more adventurous when it comes to decision making.
Creativity also plays a big part in the openness trait; this leads to a greater
comfort zone when it comes to abstract and lateral thinking. Think of that
person who’s always ordering the most exotic thing on the menu, going to
different places and having interests which you would never have thought of
that is someone who has a high openness trait. Anyone low in this trait tends
to be viewed with more traditional approaches to life and may struggle when it
comes to problem-solving outside their comfort zone of knowledge.
2. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
Conscientiousness
is a trait that includes high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control,
and goal-directed behaviours. This organised and structured approach is often
found within people who work in science and even high-retail finance where
detail orientation and organisation are required as a skill set. A highly
conscientious person will regularly plan ahead and analyse their behaviour to
see how it affects others. Project management teams and HR departments
regularly have highly conscientious people working in their teams to help
balance out the structural roles within the overall team development. A good
example of a conscientious person would be someone you know who is always
planning ahead for the next time you meet - and in the meantime, regularly
staying in contact, checking in on your wellbeing. They like to organise around
certain dates and events and are focused on you when you meet. People low in
conscientiousness tends to dislike structure and schedules, procrastinate on important
tasks and fail to complete tasks as well.
3. EXTRAVERSION
Extraversion
(sometimes referred to as Extroversion) is a trait that many will have come
across in their own lives. It’s easily identifiable and widely recognisable as
“someone who gets energised in the company of others.” This, amongst other
traits which include, talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of
emotional expressiveness, has made extraverted people widely recognisable over
many years of social interaction. We all have that one friend or family member
- or several - who aren’t exactly wallflowers in social interaction. They
thrive on being the centre of attention, enjoy meeting new people and somehow
tend to have the biggest friends and acquaintance group you have known. The opposite
is, of course, someone else in our lives we may know, an introvert. They prefer
solitude and have less energy in social situations. Being at the centre of
attention or making small talk can be quite tasking. Extroverts tend to have
very public-facing roles including areas such as sales, marketing, teaching and
politics. Seen as leaders, extroverted people will be more likely to lead than
stand in the crowd and be seen as not doing anything.
4. AGREEABLENESS
People
who exhibit high agreeableness will show signs of trust, altruism, kindness,
and affection. Highly agreeable people tend to have high prosocial behaviours
which mean that they’re more inclined to help other people. Sharing, comforting
and cooperating are traits that lend themselves to highly agreeable personality
types. Empathy towards others is commonly understood as another form of
agreeableness even if the term doesn’t quite fit. The opposite of agreeableness
is disagreeableness but it manifests in behaviour traits that are socially
unpleasant. Manipulation and nastiness towards others, a lack of caring or
sympathy, a lack of taking interest in others and their problems are all quite
common. Agreeable people tend to find careers in areas where they can help the
most. Charity workers, medicine, mental health and even those who volunteer in
soup kitchens and dedicate time to the third sector (social studies) are high
in the agreeableness chart.
5. NEUROTICISM
Neuroticism
is characterised by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Often
mistaken for anti-social behaviour, or worse a greater psychological issue,
neuroticism is a physical and emotional response to stress and perceived
threats in someone’s daily life. Individuals who exhibit high levels of
neuroticism will tend to experience mood swings, anxiety and irritability. Some
individuals who experience sudden changes in character from a day-to-day
perspective could be highly neurotic and respond to high-stress levels in their
work and personal lives. Anxiety, which plays a large part in the makeup of
neuroticism, is about an individual's ability to cope with stress and perceived
or actual risk. People who suffer from neuroticism will overthink a lot of
situations and find difficulty in relaxing even in their own space. Of course, those
who rank lower on the neurotic level will exhibit a more stable and emotionally
resilient attitude to stress and situations. Low neurotic sufferers also rarely
feel sad or depressed, taking the time to focus on the present moment and not
get involved in mental arithmetic on possible stress-inducing factors.
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
Personality
development starts from birth and continues with time.Most researchers agree
that our childhood lays the foundation for the personality that we will have as
an adult. The genes we are born with, coupled with the environment we are
brought up in and the situations we live through, all work together. They end
up creating the personality you see as an adult.
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
The
stages of development begin when we are children and play a key role in shaping
our personalities. There are quite a few theories regarding development, some
of them are more popularly known than others.
ERIK ERIKSON's STAGES OF
DEVELOPMENT
Erik
Erikson is a popular psychologist his stages of development focused on trying
to provide a theory on social development, he was influenced by Sigmund Freud
another popular psychologist.
·
Infancy:
In
this stage, the focus is trust versus mistrust. Hope is the virtue that comes
out of this stage, as the child learns to trust or mistrust his caretakers, for
example, if a child is not fed when he/she cries, he or she learns to not trust
but if he/ she has those needs met, they learn to trust those around them.
·
18
months to 3 years: In this autonomy versus shame stage,
the virtues gained are self-control and courage. It is the stage in which we
learn to walk, talk, eat, and gain small motor control, as well as learn toilet
training. This is a vulnerable stage. If parents are harsh, especially during
potty training, it may create a child with low self-esteem.
·
3
to 5 years: This is the initiative versus guilt
stage, in which children copy the adults around them. They also take the
initiative to play on their own. Children learn to do some things on their own,
such as getting dressed. If children feel guilty about doing these things, they
will have difficulties later.
·
6
to 12 years: This is the industry versus inferiority
stage, and the virtues gained are method and competence. Children in this stage
compare their worth to those around them and may feel inferior if they do not
measure up.
·
12
to 18 years: Identity versus role confusion is the
outcome of this stage, with the virtues being devotion and fidelity. At this
stage, peer relationships are most important and these teens question
themselves. As they are trying to figure out whom they are and what their plans
are, they can experience role confusion if their parents are pushing a
different version of themselves than they may feel.
·
18
to 35 years: The development outcome in this stage
is intimacy and solidarity versus isolation. The basic strengths are love and
affiliation. It is the stage that we seek out a satisfying relationship and
start a family. If someone is not successful in this quest, he or she may turn
to isolation.
·
35
to 55 years or so: This is the stage that people often
feel they have a "mid-life crisis." It is the generativity versus
self-absorption or stagnation stage. This is the stage in which people often
size up all they have done thus far and measure to see if they feel they have
accomplished enough.
·
55
or so until death: The basic strength in this stage is
wisdom, and the ego outcome is integrity versus despair. At this stage, if
people look back upon their lives and experiences and are pleased, they feel
integrity, while those who are not feel despair.
ISLAMIC
PERSPECTIVE
After
the completion of intra uterine development and entry of a new feeble human
being in this worldAllah(SWT) further guides the parents and the new creation
through the Holy Quran;“Mothers may breast feed their children two complete
years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing period. Uponthe father is the
mothers provision and their clothing according to what, is acceptable (Quran
2 vs 233).
Here Allah directs a mother of new born child to completely feed the child for
a period of two years because it is associated with better social adaptations.
“Verily, salah is an obligation on
the believers to be observed at its appointed time”(Quran 4 vs 103)
Here
and in many other verses Allah emphasises in the Quran obligation of daily
prayers to avoid evils and vices for proper development of personality.
Some
of the qualities/traits which are a must in the character of human being as
described by Quran are;
- Respect for all human beings.
- Always speaking the truth and shun
deceitful words.
- Speaking politely
- Keeping the voice low
- Not practicing arrogance
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE
DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY
1. Biological traits
These
are the foremost parameter that reflects various factors of one’s personality.
Being the essential determinant of personality, it incorporates a majority of
other factors as well which bring out the various insights about an individual.
Some important constituents under the physical determinants of personality are:
·
Heredity:
The
features that can be determined from the time of conception are generally put
under hereditary. Sex, physical stature, temperament, muscle composition,
facial features, height etc are the characteristics that one usually inherits
from parents. Thus, through the hereditary approach, it is evident that the
genes located in chromosomes are the ultimate explanation of personality.
·
Physical
Features: Physical appearance is also amongst the integral
determinants of personality. How one appears physically actually plays an
important role in how they are perceived by others. Whether one is short, tall,
slim, fat, black or white will obviously have an impression on others and this will
have an influence on the self-conception of the individual. Physical characters
include but are not limited to height, skin tone, weight, hair color and
beauty.
2. Psychological Determinants
The
psychological approach is amongst the major determinants of personality. It is
determined by the accumulative characteristics of mental trends, emotions,
sentiments, thought patterns and complexes. It also studies an individual’s
mental conflicts, wishes, aspirations, feelings of repression, sublimation and
emotional well-being.
3. Cultural Determinants
Just
as we are born with biological determinants, cultural determinants of
personality are the ones with which we grow up with. The ritual and norms in
the family, the early conditioning, the way we are raised up, the social group
in which we hang out are the factors that have an impactful emphasis on our
personality formation. Each culture trains and expects its members to behave
and breathe in a way that is acceptable by society. Hence, factors like aggression,
independence, cooperation and competition are major cultural contributors to
personality determination. Thus, it is quite evident to filter out the
individuals brought up in the western part of the world from the citizens of
our country as the cultures we have been brought up with are poles apart.
4. Family Factors
The
most significant out of the different determinants of personality is that of
familial. The environment at home blended with the direct influence of the
parents is the major contributors to the traits that build our personality. A
critical impact is driven by the family especially in the early and naive age.
For example, a child brought up in a violent household will be quite different
and emotionally and socially timid and cold as compared to a child reared in a
warm, adjusting and healthy environment. Parents who severely restrict their
children in exploring and manipulating their environment and inhibit the
development of motivation for autonomy will ultimately lead to the child’s
dependent behaviour. The same result yields when the mothers become
over-protective. The over-protected children tend to become submissive,
compliant and, sometimes, passive.
The
impact of various types of home atmosphere on the personality characteristics
have been studied cross-culturally and the research results show the children
from democratic homeswhich are characterized by general permissiveness,
frequent conversing with children, emphasis on the child’s decision-making,
problem-solving and helping them to rationalize behaviourlead to strengthening
their (children’s) ego-strength and strong self-concept in future.
By
contrast, children brought up in the authoritative (controlled, restricted)
homes, homes with clear-cut rules, prohibitions and restrictions tend to be
quiet, well-behaved, shy, socially unassertive children. Those from the highly
“indulgent” homes, show almost same behaviour, when they grow up, as shown by
the restricted and overprotected children.
CONCLUSION
The
traits developed throughout the course of personality development depend, on
the interaction of the biological, cultural and social factors and the
congenial environment provided by the family and society. The predictions given
above (received from different research studies) are only generalizations and
not absolutely conclusive. Most of the traits acquired by the child in future
depend on many other factors he encounters in his own life, his own perception
and reactions to them. A young child’s behaviour may be swayed by the reactions
his peer groups show to him. Personality change do occur frequently during
childhood because, at this stage, personality characteristics are not fixed or
immutable. As his world expands, the child faces and encounters many new
situations and faces many new social interactions that may produce radical
alterations in personality structure and behaviour. Even simple social learning
and formal training of attitudes and values in proper learning situations like
school and other institutions play important role in influencing the
personality change and development.
REFERENCES
Top
3 Factors Influencing Personality Development Article Shared by Aishwarya Si
https://www.psychologydiscussion.net/personality-development-2/top-3-factors-influencing-personality-development/1934
What
Are The Big 5 Personality Traits?
https://www.thomas.co/resources/type/hr-guides/what-are-big-5-personality-traits
Determinants
of Personality by Team Leverage Edu
https://leverageedu.com/blog/determinants-of-personality/
Personality
Psychology from an Islamic Perspective: Amber Haque
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119547181.ch319
The
Process of Personality Development by Universal Class
The
Quran and the personality development: Anjuma Amin (Ph.D Research Scholar,
Department of Education, Universityof Kashmir).
Maryam Awofeso
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