Moral

What theory of Human Development makes a person what they are? Why does a person do what they do? Where does personality come from and how does it grow? These are some frequently asked questions when discussing the topic of personality. Personality does originate from a specific point, and from then on it continues to grow and become exponentially more complex. There are some commonly made assumptions when developing a personality theory. The first of these assumptions concerns whether one believes that the behaviors, any type of action, a person exhibits are produced by conscious choices and decisions, also known as free will, or "determined" by forces beyond ones control. I believe in the free will explanation, but not the type of free will commonly imagined. Humans do ultimately have the power to choose their actions, however the extreme influence of other factors, such as heredity, environment, and learned behaviors, may make it seem like a person’s actions were predetermined. For example, If I take care of myself and eat healthy, have a healthy physical and mental state of being, I am still very likely to develop Huntington disease because it is proven that it is transmitted genetically and my grandfather had the my father had the genes that carried it. For that reason, it can be assumed that human beings do have free will, however the choices made are greatly impacted and seemingly determined by inherited basic needs, environment, and learned behaviors Another assumption to be examined that is normally a difficult one to address is the question of environment versus heredity. B.F. Skinner would argue faithfully that behavior is based solely on environmental contingencies, while Sigmund Freud would just as strongly maintain that the role of heredity determines the personality of an individual. Erikson would argue that personality is determined in the stage "trust vs. mistrust" I, on the other hand, believe that all sides of the debate are equally valid;...