What Does the Research Say About How Parents Affect the Development of Children’s Personalities?
Running head: DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN’S PERSONALITIES
What does the research say about how parents affect the development of children’s personalities?
Understanding how individual personalities are shaped has yet to be fully uncovered, by modern research standards. What does the research say about how parents affect the development of children’s personalities? In answering this question, this paper addresses how much of a child’s personality is actually hard-wired by genetics and how much is influenced by parents, through bonding, attention and even neglect. The long-standing question of nature vs. nurture has plagued scientists for centuries and current research is attempting to answer just how powerfully ones parents can affect ones future. In order, this paper concentrates on first the nurture aspect of personality development in children, followed by the argument for nature, to provide contrast. 4 relevant journal articles were sourced to provide adequate background on research and trends in psychological studies.
As stated, let’s look first at how nurture determines a child’s personality through the evidence that parents are the cause of maladaptive behaviour. Hall and Geher (2003) state that “it has long been recognized that the infant-caregiver attachment is of immense importance” (as cited in Hall & Geher, 2003, p. 145). We know that the first year of a child’s life is essential to their development in later years. We see how crucial building secure attachments with the parents are to overall health, confidence and the growth of qualities such as empathy and motivation, as posed by Kagan (1999).
Research has a lot to suggest about the effects of harsh discipline and lack of warmth from the parents. A lack of secure attachment, either through abuse, neglect or abandonment has been linked to everything from psychological abnormalities to developmental problems to violent behaviour, as introduced by Rogosch and Cicchetti
What does the research say about how parents affect the development of children’s personalities?
Understanding how individual personalities are shaped has yet to be fully uncovered, by modern research standards. What does the research say about how parents affect the development of children’s personalities? In answering this question, this paper addresses how much of a child’s personality is actually hard-wired by genetics and how much is influenced by parents, through bonding, attention and even neglect. The long-standing question of nature vs. nurture has plagued scientists for centuries and current research is attempting to answer just how powerfully ones parents can affect ones future. In order, this paper concentrates on first the nurture aspect of personality development in children, followed by the argument for nature, to provide contrast. 4 relevant journal articles were sourced to provide adequate background on research and trends in psychological studies.
As stated, let’s look first at how nurture determines a child’s personality through the evidence that parents are the cause of maladaptive behaviour. Hall and Geher (2003) state that “it has long been recognized that the infant-caregiver attachment is of immense importance” (as cited in Hall & Geher, 2003, p. 145). We know that the first year of a child’s life is essential to their development in later years. We see how crucial building secure attachments with the parents are to overall health, confidence and the growth of qualities such as empathy and motivation, as posed by Kagan (1999).
Research has a lot to suggest about the effects of harsh discipline and lack of warmth from the parents. A lack of secure attachment, either through abuse, neglect or abandonment has been linked to everything from psychological abnormalities to developmental problems to violent behaviour, as introduced by Rogosch and Cicchetti
References: Kagan, Jerome. (1999). The Role of Parents in Children’s Psychological Development. Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 104, 164-167. Hall, S., & Geher, G. (2003). Behavioral and personality characteristics of children with reactive attachment disorder. The Journal of Psychology, 137(2), 145. Brook, J., Brook, D. & Whiteman, M. (2000). Maternal correlates of toddler insecure and dependent behaviour. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 164 (1), 72. Rogosch, F., & Cicchetti, D. (2004). Child Maltreatment and Emergent Personality Organization: Perspectives from the Five-Factor Model. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32(2), 123-145. Weiten, W., & McCann, D. (2007). Psychology: Themes and variations (First Canadian Edition). Toronto: Thomson Nelson.