I have to do an assignment for school and I need a reflection on it.
My idea/though it below. Every relfection/critical analyses would be greatly appriciated.
The subject of my thought is how a child develops his personality.
I think that a child develops his/her personality and takes descisions based on the situation the child expects when he/she takes a certain deciscion. In the beginning (at birth) the personality is "empty" and it is formed/filled during life.
So, a child will think/imagine what will happen if it makes a certain desiscion and bases its final descion on what will happen.
The thought doesn't have to be correct but it is just a thought I want opinions on for my assignment.
Thanks in advance 
. Hmm..these might be some factors as to a child's development of personality:
The parent's actions around the child
The nationality of the child (culture/values/customs)
The religion of the child/parents
Where the child is raised
Older/younger siblings
Facial "beauty"/"ugliness" (I think this truly does make a difference on who you are)
Skin color
That's what I can think of... More than anything I think it is people that the child looks up to. If the child idolizes them then nearly every action they take the child is likely to think that is the way it is supposed to be done. Whether that be the parents, older sibling, or close friend.
It is too simplistic to think of a child as an 'empty vessel' which is then filled with experiences to produce a personality. There is a lot of evidence that the infant's brain is wired in a different way to that of an adult. One such example has to do with language. Chomsky and others have shown that languages are all very similar (yes, I know that seems odd, but trust me on this). The infant brain is 'hard-wired' in such a way as to be able to 'learn' language very efficiently. This 'wiring' changes in later life and becomes incorporated into other structures in the brain. We know this to be true because of two strands of evidence. Firstly a (say) British infant raised in (say) Japan will pick up Japanese just as Japanese children do. Secondly, if a child does not acquire language before a certain age they will never fully master it (this follows from some studies of extreme cases of child isolation/deprivation). Given the importance of language this is a key point.
There are thought to be other fundamental 'structures' in the brain of an infant which later become incorporated into other brain structures once their purpose has been accomplished.
A very rough and ready analogy would be with a computer. A computer, out of the box, has processing capability and some in-built functionality (the BIOS). To become useful, the computer must be given software (experiences) which uses the processing capability to achieve useful work (personality, skills, knowledge). Some of the abilities of the computer are in-built - the power of the processor and the instructions contained in the BIOS - this would equate to the genetic inheritance of the child. Most of the abilities of the computer, however, are the result of software which would equate to the life experiences of the child.
Like all analogies, this one is not perfect, but it might be a useful starting point in thinking about this issue.
Just thought I'd point out I wrote an essay comparing the human brain to the computer a while back...
But yes, very rough theory right now. A LOT of research still needs to go into it because the analogies are way too rough and unpractical right now. I am also looking for any questions this theory/thought brings up amongst you. Correct or not, if you'd just for one moment assume my idea is correct or part of it is correct it must summon some questions. I'd like to hear them so I can refine my thought.
You know - i don't want to butt in, but... - this theory is called tabula rasa ("blank slate", as in, we all start out as a blank slate), and was the dominant psychological theory since Locke proposed it in around 1700, up until the twentieth century.
And, if you're interested in the idea of developmental psychology... it doesn't really have anything to do with philosophy (and certainly nothing to do with religion). It's a science: developmental psychology. You might have more luck if you asked this question there.
But, if you're curious, we have tested tabula rasa numerous ways, including experiments on babies and twin studies. It's not true.
| Coen wrote: |
I have to do an assignment for school and I need a reflection on it.
My idea/though it below. Every relfection/critical analyses would be greatly appriciated.
The subject of my thought is how a child develops his personality.
I think that a child develops his/her personality and takes descisions based on the situation the child expects when he/she takes a certain deciscion. In the beginning (at birth) the personality is "empty" and it is formed/filled during life.
So, a child will think/imagine what will happen if it makes a certain desiscion and bases its final descion on what will happen.
The thought doesn't have to be correct but it is just a thought I want opinions on for my assignment.
Thanks in advance . |
Good subject! I think that lots of factors go into making a personality, and it has to do with how the child learns to interpret their surroundings. It would be good to see what you come up with. Keep us posted!
