Personality Development
A Brief Introduction to Personality Development
Personality is the visible aspects of one's physical,
mental, emotional, and social character that make them unique from other
people. A person's personality is an embodiment of a collection of
qualities, behaviours, and patterns of thought and emotions which
governs their principles, beliefs, and expectations. There are many
potential factors that are involved in shaping and developing a
personality. Often, personality development depends on the hereditary
factors and past experiences from the environment. As a person develops,
personality becomes influenced and often changed by future experiences
such as societal rewards and punishment. This is why students with
behavioural difficulties are sometimes capable of improving their
responsiveness to classroom rules, simply through positive reinforcement
on behalf of the teacher. This includes, always treating the student
with respect; keeping the lines of communication open; and engaging in
and model active listening (Auger & Rich, 2007). Understanding one’s own
personality preferences and learning about the rich diversity of the
many other types plays a vital role in educating. Although actions do
speak louder than words, sometimes actually hearing about a student’s
strengths and learning what kind of work they might enjoy doing helps to
guide teachers to significantly more effective educational strategies
than they could have arrived at by relying on conventional approaches.
Birth Order
Birth order is defined as one's rank by age among
his/her siblings. It can have a major effect on how a person sees them
self and can sometimes have a lasting effect on their personality
development. Every child fights for a role within the family, almost as
if they have their own little niche to protect at home. Alfred Adler was
one of the first psychiatrist to suggest that birth order influences
personality. He insisted that birth order provokes a lasting impression
on an individual's lifestyle and their ways of dealing with friendship,
love, and work (Adler, 1964). According to the book Problems of Neurosis
(Figure 1), Adler mentions how firstborns are "dethroned" from their
assigned or earned position in the family when a second child is born .
Younger and only-children may be pampered and spoiled, which can also
affect their later personalities (Adler, 1964).
Figure 1. Front cover of the book:
Problems of Neurosis, By: Alfred Adler.
There are many typical characteristics that are
similar amongst children in a particular birth order. First-born
children are usually responsible, dominant leaders, need affection and
praise for the work they do, may be prone to jealousy and insecurity,
and concerned about performing well for others. Research also shows that
first-born children are more likely to go to college than children in
any other position in the family (Price, 2008). This suggests that they
are also high achievers. Second-born children are normally independent,
adventuresome, rebellious and envious, and often the opposite of the
first-born. The last born child may be more irresponsible and may take
longer to grow up. They are secure and confident, happy and free
spirited. An only-child is usually more mature, responsible, and has
difficulty sharing. Because they are always around their parents, they
grow up in an adult world, like adult company, and in turn, their
language is more refined. An only-child expects nothing less than the
best when it comes to doing well at school or when making friends.
Additional birth order factors like spacing in years between siblings,
the total number siblings, and the families culture may also influence
these characteristics.
Figure 2. A cartoon depicting the
effect of birth order on siblings.
An educator can use this knowledge in the classroom
to meet the needs of each student. When assigning group work or a
particular group-based seating plan, a teacher can personally assign the
groups according to each student's birth order. For instance, rather
than organizing a group of all first-born children, who usually take on
the role of dominant leaders, groups can be a mixture of students of
different birth orders. This way the students within each group can get
along better and show greater flexibility towards the needs of their
peers. If a group of three students contains a first-born, second-born,
and an only-child, the first-born can take on the role of leader, the
second-born will organize the information, and the only-child can
mediate the group since they are typically more mature and responsible.
Organizing groups like this can be useful in multi-age or split-grade
classrooms because the scheme keeps the teacher and the students on
track in terms of what will happen at various times during the day
(Auger & Rich, 2007). First-born children take satisfaction in being
praised for the work they do and they feel upset when it goes unnoticed.
Teachers should, therefore, regularly motivate their pupils and provide
feedback for the work they complete. Even a simple 'Thank you, that was
very good' from the teacher can bring satisfaction to a student seeking
for teacher approval.
This knowledge will also provide teachers a better
idea on how to approach a student's parents, especially during a
parent-teacher interview. Usually, parents who bore a single child will
depend on their only-child to succeed academically. They constantly
exert pressure on their child and expect them to achieve the highest
grades in the class; this often makes them feel as if there is "weight
on their shoulders." In an interview, a teacher must be cautious in the
words they use to describe their outlook on the child, as it may be
perceived incorrectly by the parents - offending them. Finally, although
it is important for a student to have a good relationship with their
teacher, an only-child may prefer adult company over their peers because
they may not understand peer behaviour. A teacher knowledgeable in birth
order will try to encourage "cooperative interactions", which promotes
interdependent goal achievement and peer-to-peer cooperation and
communication (Auger & Rich, 2007).
