Personality Development
Conclusion
Individual differences in personality are universal in that they are found in all human populations. The roots of individual differences are no doubt bedded in evolutionary history, selected because of their improved adaptiveness to conditions in the environment. The specific personality qualities of an individual, which lead to individual differences between people, are not based so much in evolution, however, but are the product of many developmental factors.
The developmental study of individual differences in personality provides a rich source of data for the researcher and practitioner alike to use in understanding and predicting behavior. Without the study of individual differences, there could be no detailed analysis or explanation of why people often behave or develop very differently under seemingly equivalent environmental conditions. Understanding these differences and the development of these differences is fundamental not only to psychologists' understanding of behavior but also to parents, schoolteachers, social workers, policymakers, and anyone else working with other people. Because of its universality and its implications for understanding behavior, the study of individual differences is an essential part of any complete scientific study of behavior.
Bibliography
Ainsworth, Mary, Mary Blehar, Everett Waters, and Sally Wall. Patterns of Attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1978.
Bates, John, and Theodore Wachs, eds. Temperament: Individual Differences at the Interface of Biology and Behavior. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1994.
Bowlby, John. Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1:Attachment. New York:Basic, 1969.
Bowlby, John. Attachment and Loss, Vol. 3: Loss, Sadness, and Depression. New York: Basic, 1980.
Caspi, Avshalom. "Personality Development across the Life Course." In William Damon and Nancy Eisenberg eds., Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 3: Social, Emotional, and Personality Development. New York: Wiley, 1998.
Damon, William. Social and Personality Development: Infancy through Adolescence. New York: Norton, 1983.
Halverson, Charles, Jr., Geldolph Kohnstamm, and Roy Martin, eds. The Developing Structure of Temperament and Personality from Infancy to Adulthood. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1994.
Harris, Judith. "Where Is the Child's Environment? A Group Socialization Theory of Development." Psychological Review 102 (1995):458-489.
Kohnstamm, Geldolph, Charles Halverson Jr., Ivan Mervielde, and Valerie Havill, eds. Parental Descriptions of Child Personality: Developmental Antecedents to the Big Five? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998.
Mahler, Margaret, Fred Pine, and Anni Bergman. The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant. New York: Basic, 1975.
McAdams, Dan. "Can Personality Change? Levels of Stability and Growth in Personality across the Life Span." In Todd Heatherton and Joel Weinberger eds., Can Personality Change? Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1994.
Rothbart, Mary, and John Bates. "Temperament." In William Damon and Nancy Eisenberg eds., Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 3: Social, Emotional, and Personality Development. New York: Wiley, 1998.
Rubin, Kenneth, William Bukowski, and Jeffrey Parker. "Peer Interactions, Relationships, and Groups." In William Damon and Nancy Eisenberg eds., Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 3:Social, Emotional, and Personality Development. New York: Wiley, 1998.
Scarr, Sandra. "The Development of Individual Differences in Intelligence and Personality." In Hayne Reese and Michael Franzen eds., Biological and Neuropsychological Mechanisms: Life-Span Developmental Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1997.
Sperling, Michael, and William Berman, eds. Attachment in Adults: Clinical and Developmental Perspectives. New York: Guilford Press, 1994.
Wiggins, Jerry, ed. The Five Factor Model of Personality: Theoretical Perspectives. New York: Guilford Press, 1996.
Brady Reynolds
Additional topics
Social Issues ReferenceChild Development Reference - Vol 6Personality Development - Perspectives On Personality Development, Attachment, Friendship, Self-concept, A Biological Perspective On Personality Development