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Social and personality development2therapeutic interventions that act to unearth repressed memories with the aid oftechniques such as free association (see Chapter 4).Collectively, these approaches to the study of personality provide us with a complexand sometimes contradictory view of the individual, that can raise interesting questionsand debates about the nature of human personality, informing our understanding, andhopefully leading us to greater insight.GenderAs we strive to reach an understanding of the individual through the study of humanpersonality, we cannot fail to realise the crucial role played by gender. Whatever situationwe find ourselves in, whether through work or play, our gender is usually salient. That isto say we are often made aware of our maleness or our femaleness through the optionsavailable to us, and the choices we are sometimes compelled to make. For example, interms of family, work and/or education, gender is often the key aspect that guides ourdecisions. Do we want a family? Or would we like to pursue a career first? Are weprepared to travel with our work? And where do we see ourselves in five years time? Theanswers to these questions are often heavily influenced by our gender.Some people may argue that in contemporary society, gender no longer has the impactthat it traditionally had. Females are no longer expected to stay at home and look after thefamily, while the role of males as main provider is fast changing. Careers are available toboth genders if they wish to pursue them, and carers of children these days are oftenmale. But despite these changes it is easy to see that inequality between the genders stillexists. If a female does decide on a career rather than a family, she may still bestigmatised for her unwillingness to have children. On the other hand, a male whodecides to stay at home and take care of the family may be seen as inadequate in someway. For example, he may be viewed as lacking the characteristics that make a ‘man’,such as the power and ambition to succeed in a career. From a very young age differencesbetween the genders are continually reinforced, from the clothes we wear, the toys we areencouraged to play with, and even the names we are given. Our parents, teachers, peers,the media, books we read, stories we hear, almost every aspect of our social life is gearedtowards this difference. Therefore gender is a constant contributor to the person we are,and the study of gender is essential to our understanding of personality.AdolescenceThe final section of this book focuses on a part of our life that incurs a lot of change andupheaval: adolescence. It is during this time that we begin to question what we want outof life, and to grapple with some major life issues such as identity and sexuality. Forsome teenagers adolescence can be a particularly tough and demanding time. All kinds ofinfluences play a part in aiding the process or making life hard for the young person.Parents, peers and teachers have an influence, often in conflict with social messages fedthrough the media. All can provide support and motivation, or, equally, cause distress anddespair.

Introduction3Throughout this section of the book we focus on the various ways that teenagers reactand interact at home, at school or work, and with friends and family as they strivetowards adulthood. We also look at specific incidences that can occur during this time,such as adolescent pregnancy, eating disorders and suicide. We look at the ways societycan support young people through the agency of social policy, and consider why harmfulincidences such as teenage pregnancies, suicide and eating disorders are on the increasein some Western societies. We discuss both the social and personal factors that may beimpacting on this, and the implications for society as a whole.What questions remain?Of course there are many more questions that remain unanswered and even unasked. Thediversity and complexity of human behaviour will I hope continue to provoke us tosearch for new explanations and insights into the underlying basis of personality. Alongwith the impact of adolescence and gender on the behaviours and personalities ofindividuals, other major life events have as much, if not more of an influence on who weare as people. The arrival of adulthood, promotion at work, a term of imprisonment, thebirth of a child: all of these occurrences can change our outlook on life and so affect ourpersonalities.In writing this book, my aim has been to provide an understanding of some of thefactors that help to shape us into the people we become. I hope it will ignite in the readera curiosity about the causes of human behaviour and the way in which an understandingof this, through the study of psychology, can be used to improve the quality of our lives.Further ReadingEysenck, M.W. (2000) Psychology: A student’s handbook, Hove, UK: Psychology Press. Anexcellent general textbook that provides a good grounding in approaches to the study ofpersonality, as well as interesting ideas on adolescence and gender development.Sampson, E.E. (1991) Social Worlds, Personal Lives: An introduction to Social Psychology, NewYork: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. Provides in-depth coverage of research on personalitydevelopment.

Section IPERSONALITYDEVELOPMENT

2Two approaches to the study of personalityThe study of personalityPersonality is a concept used in everyday life to describe the character of a person. It isoften seen as an unchanging part of their makeup. A commonsense approach to the studyof personality might include the use of everyday language to identify certaincharacteristics. For example an individual might be described as very outgoing and selfconfident, easily able to deal with people and situations. Or they might be described asshy and withdrawn, finding it difficult to interact socially. A person might be admired fortheir wit and charm, or they may be disliked for their coldness and aloofness. These waysof describing people are commonly employed in western cultures.As individuals negotiate their way through life, success often depends on how theyrespond to others, as they participate in the give and take of communication. We oftencategorise ourselves and others as certain personality types, in order to predict whetherthe outcome of a particular social situation is likely to be successful or not. It appears wefind it useful to categorise people in this way, in order to give us a better understanding ofeach other’s behaviour.So how does this way of defining people differ from the way psychologists have triedto understand and study personality?Defining personalityA number of psychologists have attempted to define this hypothetical construct we callpersonality. Having a definition helps to provide a starting point from which to developtheories of personality more fully. These theories can then be usefully applied to real lifesituations, for example in advising parents on positive ways of interacting with theirchildren, in line with their individual personalities, or by constructing more effectiveways of treating specific mental disorders (such as obsessive behaviours).However, because of the diversity of theories that have sprung up in the area ofpersonality, there doesn’t exist one formal definition. The meaning of personality hasbecome tied to the underlying perspective of the theorist. For example constructionistssuch as Hampson (1995) see personality as ‘constructed in the course of social interactionfrom a person’s self presentation, the perception of this presentation by an audience, andself-awareness’. Whereas humanists such as Rogers (1951) see personality as groundedin the way we experience ourselves as people, and which particular characteristics makeus distinctly human.An important difference between various approaches to the study of personality is thatwhile some theorists assume people possess a personality (they were born that way, or

Social and personality development6they are predisposed to behave in a certain way due to their biology or genes), othershave developed the idea that people simply manifest behaviours that are brought about bythe situation they find themselves in. Both approaches may incorporate the language ofpersonality types or personality traits. However, a simple definition that would suit bothapproaches might be: the behaviour a person exhibits at any given time in their lives.The value of studying personalityThe study of personality is linked with many other areas of research within psychology,such as investigations into perception, stereo-typing and the self-concept. For example,the area of perception is concerned with how the individual reacts to the world aroundthem. A very outgoing, sociable individual may perceive the world as an adventurousplace full of interest and intrigue, whereas a shy and retiring individual may perceive theworld as a dangerous and threatening place. The way we perceive the world is thereforein some way shaped by how we perceive ourselves. This self-perception (or self-concept)comes about from a variety of factors, but is often formed by the language either we orothers use to describe us, thereby categorising us as a particular kind of person. The studyof personality, therefore, can be helpful in understanding not only the characteristics ofhuman nature but can also shed light on other psychological phenomena.Idiographic and nomothetic approachesHistorically, research into personality has tended to be split between two approaches: theidiographic approach and the nomothetic approach. This division reflects an importantdifference of opinion in the way psychologists view people as the subject matter. Whenstudied idiographically people are seen as unique individuals, whereas taking anomothetic approach assumes that people are essentially similar and share characteristicswith each other. The difference between these two approaches is discussed in more detailbelow.Idiographic approachesThe idiographic approach (from the Greek ‘idios’ meaning personal or private) takes theview that we are unique individuals and should be studied as such. This means that wecannot rely on descriptions of common behaviours to describe certain types of people,such as people who are shy or people who are aggressive, but should treat each person asuniquely different from any other.So how can this approach be applied to the study of personality? Taking a purelyidiographic approach would require a detailed analysis of an individual’s thoughts,feelings and behaviours, and would not assume that the resulting profile could be appliedto anybody else. The idea of universal features or general behaviours put forward toexplain human behaviour does not belong to, and is not the language of an idiographicapproach.The main advocates of the idiographic approach are from the humanistic school ofthought. This school includes prominent theorists such as Carl Rogers who took a person-

Two approaches to the study of personality7centred approach to therapy, George Kelly who developed the personal construct theory,and Gordon Allport (whose personality theory we will discuss in Chapter 3) whodescribed people as possessing ‘unique personal characteristics’. Sigmund Freud wasanother theorist who took an idiographic approach, by focusing on the individual as themain unit of study. Freud’s personality theory was developed from case studies of hispatients. A final example is Eric Erikson, who put forward a whole life theory ofpsychosocial stages, through which each person must pass during their lifetime. BothFreud and Erikson will be discussed in detail later in the book.To conclude, taking an idiographic approach means researching a theory orphenomena by studying people individually and recognising their uniqueness, withouttrying to categorise them.Nomothetic approachesThe nomothetic approach (from the Greek ‘nomos’ meaning law) relies on theassumption that we share many characteristics with our fellow human beings, and that thestudy of behaviours we hold in common will lead to a more useful understanding ofpeople. It is typically characterised by the use of experimental methods, such asmeasuring individuals on a scale, or carrying out controlled studies where variables canbe isolated, in order to uncover universal laws that can be applied to everyone. Taking anomothetic approach involves categorising people in order to describe or uncover thecauses of common behaviours, such as sociability or generosity.This approach has been employed by cognitive psychologists such as Raymond Cattelland Hans Eysenck, both of whom believe that the basic core of human personality ismade up of a number of traits or dimensions. As a well-known example, Eysenck putforward introversion/extroversion as a universal personality dimension that can beemployed to describe and measure part of any individual’s personality in varyingdegrees. (Eysenck’s theory will be discussed fully in Chapter 3.)Progress exerciseBefore reading any further see if in your own words you can explain the differencebetween idiographic and nomothetic approaches to the study of personality.Advantages and disadvantagesThe debate over the use of the two approaches has developed because each approach hasboth strengths and weaknesses associated with it.A key strength of the nomothetic approach is that its methodologies are in line withother sciences such as chemistry or physics. These sciences are largely built around thediscovery of universal laws which can be used to explain natural phenomena. However,in terms of psychological research, the possibility of uncovering and applying universal‘laws’ to people in order to predict their behaviour has a number of problems associatedwith it. The outcome of such research could lead to unethical consequences if it wereused to control and shape people’s lives. Historically this has occurred in the use of testswhich claimed to measure a universal construct known as intelligence (see Gould 1981),

Social and personality development8which sadly led to the oppression of minority groups on the basis of their low scores inthese tests. A further problem with nomothetic research findings is that they may provideonly a superficial understanding of an individual, a particularly worrying weakness interms of the use of these findings in diagnosing mental disorders. Nevertheless,uncovering universal behaviour patterns for some psychological disorders (such as thoseexhibited in autism) can provide us with crucial information that may help in constructingpositive and effective treatments.Idiographic studies uncover individual differences and allow us to develop detailedanalyses of the individual person. This is where the idiographic approach has a realadvantage over the nomothetic approach, as it means that we can tailor diagnosis andtreatment much more specifically to meet the needs of the individual. We can also gain agreater insight into an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, and so guide them moreeffectively.Idiographic research has often been the catalyst that has encouraged furthernomothetic investigation into specific areas of interest. One example of this is the workcarried out by Jean Piaget on the cognitive development of children. Piaget took anidiographic approach by observing and interviewing individual children over a period oftime. From this he developed his influential theory of cognitive development, whichsparked off a multitude of nomothetic experimental studies. Another example is the workof Freud, where again his approach was essentially idiographic (i.e. case studies) but ledto nomothetic conclusions, such as his suggestion of the existence of universal defencemechanisms (although this theory is difficult to prove empirically). This leads us to themain disadvantage of an idiographic approach: the generation of empirical evidence fromindividual cases means that we cannot legitimately generalise idiographic findings to allpeople. The findings are by themselves unreliable because they are based on thesubjective experiences or behaviours of a limited number of individuals, and may beinvalid if we try to apply them to our understanding of people as a whole.Nomothetic versus idiographicIs the distinction between idiographic and nomothetic approaches really valid? Holt(1967) argues that the whole issue is built on a false dichotomy. To say that an individualshould only be studied in terms of what makes him unique, with no reference to universalbehaviours (or even other individuals), is an impossibility. As pointed out by Radford andKirby (1975) ‘a truly unique individual would be incomprehensible, in fact notrecognizable as an individual’.However the dichotomy does still stand and has some use, not only in facilitating adiscussion between various approaches, but also in ensuring that we continually questionwhat it is to be a person.ConclusionBoth the idiographic and nomothetic approaches to the study of personality can bebeneficial to our understanding of people. Each approach has its own strengths and its

Two approaches to the study of personality9own weaknesses. The view put forward by Kluckhohn and Murray (1953) on theunderstanding of people is relevant here. They note that every person is like no other,Table 2.1 Personality theories categorised asidiographic or nomotheticBehaviour seen as due topersonality traits, where change isunlikelyBehaviour seen as due to environmentalfactors, where change is possibleNomothetic Eysenck’s type theoryPsychoanalytic theoriesIdiographic Allport’s trait theoryHumanistic theoriesAdapted from Gross (1990) by permission of Hodder and StoughtonEducational Limited.like some other and like all other people. In other words there are similarities and somedifferences between people within cultures, and between cultures. But also there are someuniversal characteristics that supersede culture and individual differences. It seems thatwe must draw on both approaches if we are to achieve a more complete understanding ofpeople.Review exerciseDraw up a table to show the main advantdges and disadvantages of the idiographic andnomothetic approaches to the study of personality, Use examples of research to illustrateyour points.SummaryPersonality is an important everyday concept, helping us to understand the behaviour ofothers. Research into personality has tended to be split between two approaches: theidiographic approach and the nomothetic approach. The idiographic approach involvesstudying people as unique individuals. Idiographic studies are well suited to situationswhere a deep understanding of the individual person is required.They have also often been the catalyst that has encouraged further nomotheticinvestigation into specific areas of interest. However, we cannot automatically generaliseidiographic findings to all people because they are based on studies of a limited numberof individuals. Nomothetic research involves the study of the behaviour of manyindividuals, typically relying on statistical tests to uncover trends and differences. Thenomothetic approach thus complements the idiographic approach and is helpful in studiesaimed at firmly establishing universal laws of behaviour. As useful as they are,nomothetic research findings may on their own provide an oversimplified picture ofbehaviour which is not always useful in practical applications.

Social and personality development10Further readingGross, R.D. (1999) Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour (third edition), London:Hodder and Stoughton. A

Social and Personality Development Social and Personality Development looks at the processes by which we come to be who we are. It covers a range of topics central to personality and developmental psychology. The book is arranged in three sections, the first covering the main theories of personality, the second describing the development of .