Introduction
Personality development occurs by changes that occur within an environment over time. As evolution in the ecosystem occurs, individuals have to adapt to increase their chances of survival. The behaviorism theory is a personality theory that implies that a person’s character forms through environmental exposures and an individual’s past experiences (Clark, 2018).
The self-discrepancy theory illustrates that people have beliefs about the expectation of their actual versus ideal self (Irtelli et al., 2021). These theories have been integral in shaping my interactions and expressions in different dynamics of life by positively influencing my values, beliefs, academic pursuits, and familial and interpersonal engagements to align with my sanguine personality.
The Sanguine Personality
The sanguine personality is among the ancient models that explain the characteristics of individuals based on balances in bodily fluids. My personality is sanguine, which illustrates an individual with strengths such as optimism, creativity, goal orientation, cheerfulness, social responsibility, and leadership. On the other hand, they can be impulsive, irrational, and exaggerated (Ross & Margolis, 2018).
I realized I am sanguine, considering I exhibit all these traits that automatically align with the sanguine balance. For instance, Myer Briggs type indicator for personality indicates that I am in the extraversion scale, which illustrates that I interact well with my environment through expansive exploration (Hogan & Sherman, 2020). Personality theories, including behaviorism and self-discrepancy principles, illustrate distinctively how specific milestones in life help develop different characteristics.
Behaviorism Theory
The behaviorism theory is an integral philosophy illustrating how the environment conditions specific behaviors in life. Clark (2018) mentions that the proponents of the principle, B.F Skinner and John B. Watson, played an integral role in illustrating how learning occurs through environmental schemas. This theory helped me formulate my personality by examining how ecological interactions influence specific behaviors.
For instance, in my early childhood development, the home environment and teachings from my parents helped establish a conforming trait. This factor indicates that the personality can be described using the lenses of behaviorism, which emphasizes learning through operant and classical conditioning.
Operant conditioning involves promoting learning using rewards or punishment to modify the behavior (Edwards & Poling, 2020). Classical conditioning creates a conditioned response by connecting neutral stimuli with positive impulses to promote specific behaviors. These elements of conditioning help strengthen and maintain the target behaviors.
Self-Discrepancy Theory
The self-discrepancy theory is among the personality theories that support change or human transition. Edward Tory Higgins established this theory to provide a platform for understanding how different aspirations can influence specific actions that indicate a personality (Irtelli et al., 2021). Mason et al. (2019) explain that the theory illustrates that the actual self is not constant, meaning there are expectations for change to achieve the ideal self. For instance, my current academic achievement is at the bachelor’s degree level, which illustrates the actual self, while the perfect self is to achieve a doctorate achievement, which demonstrates an aspiration. Such indicators help guide an individual to achieve their goals or ideal self.
Milestones Shaping My Identity
Early Childhood Development
The formative years of development were integral in establishing my personality, considering that this phase was about learning. The reason is that early childhood development involves achieving physical, cognitive, communicative, socio-emotional, and adaptive functioning directionally, meaning from armature level to proficiency (Meriem et al.,2020). Some integral learnings emphasized in this stage were beliefs, values, and familial relationships.
During this period of growth, the most important strategies used to enhance learning included operant conditioning, which focuses on instrumental learning. When I was seven years old, which is considered the preoperational stage, I struggled to keep things from the perspective of others (Edwards & Poling, 2020). At this stage, I learned the basic ethical practices and cultural obligations, as demonstrated by my family members.
The beliefs and values learned during this preoperational period included respect for diversity, integrity, cooperation, and gratitude. Some of the principles of behaviorism implemented during this stage included negative punishment, which my parents used. (Clark, 2018). For instance, if I failed to thank my parents when they bought me a toy, they would take it back and hold it until I showed gratitude. Such practices helped me learn the primary ethical considerations, and they have shaped my personality, considering that I am social and cheerful (Edwards & Poling, 2020).
Another integral aspect established during this phase was familial and interpersonal relationships. I learned the essence of having people or society around me that helped establish a connection with the environment (Edwards & Poling, 2020). This goal would be achieved by respecting people, being open-minded about their diversity, and appreciating culture. These moral traits established in childhood helped formulate my preferences for the future.
My early childhood inspired specific beliefs by emphasizing the relevance of religion and the importance of a supreme being. This stage of learning also helped me understand different cultures through simple identifiers such as appreciating non-native songs, food, and dressing. All these exposures emphasized inclusivity, impacting many moral lessons, including empathy for others, integrity, and togetherness.
This stage also helped improve my behaviors, considering that I was being closely monitored as a child to ensure that I did not conduct myself irrationally and that if any misconduct were identified, I would be corrected accordingly to ensure that the behavior does not occur (Sanghvi, 2020). I remember that I used to like cycling past our neighbors’ garden, considering that it was sloppy and riding down was fun. However, whenever my bike got stuck, my parents used negative punishment. The punishment involved confiscating my bike, and I had to wait a long time and apologize before it was returned. This idea of reducing unwanted behavior is part of the behaviorism theory that highlights that when a pleasant stimulus, which was the bike, is removed, the causative effect reduces significantly.
Developing familial and interpersonal relationships was a highly emphasized endeavor during this phase of my life. The reason is that playing with other children from the neighborhood was a mandatory and fun experience. This social interaction helped establish my self-esteem and understand the essence of team engagement and effort. Family gatherings were also important, and this promoted cohesion and love.
At this stage, academic pursuits, career, and occupational choices were only aspirations, considering that the focus was on the fundamentals of human development, including cognitive maturity and social interactions. One trait evident during this phase was dominance, thinking I appreciated taking the lead in my pursuits, which helped establish my current personality.
Adolescent Stage
The onset of puberty is also a phase coupled with increased decision-making, peer pressure, and the search for self-identity. This stage was integral, bringing with it inspirations and lessons promoting self-discovery. As I entered this stage, my circle of friends expanded drastically, introducing me to various perspectives and values. Peer pressure set in, resulting in me trying to conform to my group’s expectations.
The idea of self-discrepancy theory played an integral role during this phase, considering that I felt compelled to adjust to certain expectations to represent what others expected. For instance, I had to dye my hair, thinking I had a role model with the same hair color. This transition indicated the aspirations described in the social discrepancy theory, which illustrates how the inadequacies of the actual self can necessitate change to develop the ideal personality (Irtelli et al., 2021). At this stage, most of my choices were irrational, which aligns with the weak traits of a sanguine, including impulsivity and being spontaneous. The ideas of curiosity and creativity cannot be outweighed, considering that they influenced most of my choices at this phase of life.
The behaviorism theory was critical in strengthening my potential during this phase of life. Classical conditioning played an integral role in ensuring that I stayed on track and invested in enhancing my personality as an individual. (Clark, 2018). For instance, I would be grounded when I came home past the curfew. In school, if I did not study hard for my test, I would fail. These two occurrences made me associate some destructive behaviors with unpleasant consequences, and this helped establish better practices that geared me toward greatness. Therefore, I majored in the essential activities and behaviors that improved my personality, such as observing the rules and being a role model for others, which also aligns with the sanguine personality trait.
One of the integral beliefs established at this phase of my life was gender equity. As I navigated this challenging phase of life, I became open-minded and outspoken about the issues affecting teenagers, which illustrated my leadership skills. One belief that was dominant during this phase was gender equity. The things I valued at this point also changed, considering I became egocentric. Unlike in my childhood, where respect, integrity, and togetherness were emphasized, this point of life also had a rough phase of breaking the rules, dissociating from some people, and risk-taking. My familial and interpersonal relationships were unstable at this development stage as there was contention about the boundaries of freedom of expression and speech (Sanghvi, 2020).
My behavior was relatively irrational due to the vulnerabilities of the adolescent stage, including peer pressure. Although this phase exposed me to dangers, essential aspects were constant. My academic pursuit was standard, considering that I ensured that I maintained excellent academic scores to enable me to pursue my dream career. I desired to become a general practitioner, and this career choice encouraged me to keep working hard in school to achieve the expected academic results.
Career Choices and College Experience
The transitions to early adulthood have equally impacted my characteristics, beliefs, interactions, and choices in life. In all my school years, reinforcing my self-concept to be a high achiever has enabled me to express my character in many ways, leading to a justified belief that I am a sanguine. For instance, I was a group facilitator in my senior high school, and this position steered my strength in transformative leadership by motivating me to become at the forefront of change.
This course in advanced theories of personality is an integral career choice considering that it complimented my personality as a social individual who aspires to explore cognition and behavior or personality traits. Some of the principles learned, including the self-discrepancy theory, illustrate that every person has their motivation and ideal point of success. This factor demonstrates that change to becoming the best version is inevitable and a part of a perfect self.
When people have not achieved their potential, they may exhibit certain insecurities, such as a lack of self-confidence. My reaction is unwarranted, considering that the sanguine nature has a weak side of impulsivity and spontaneity. However, most of the time, I have no problems with conforming to the rules due to the dominant aspect of leadership being my trait. Furthermore, I have seen the impact of observing the rules, which aligns with the behaviorism theory, specifically classical, which connects good behaviors to positive outcomes such as excelling in school examinations.
My college experience has been informative in many aspects of my life. The school is envisioned to cultivate industrious individuals who are objective about their influence on community change. For instance, the school provides a diverse environment by allowing students from different ethnic, cultural, and religious groups to work together and achieve their academic goals.
As a goal-oriented individual who learned to appreciate culture in early childhood, I have benefited, considering that people from different cultures bring out greater creativity due to the diverse perspectives and ideas shared by the students. This space has also promoted international competition, which is needed for an impactful learning experience. Therefore, my career choice and college experience have not altered my beliefs and moral standards of respect, loyalty, and discipline, considering that these were learned in my early stages of development, and they have become values that cannot depart from me.
The early adulthood has generally been graced with a sense of entitlement and freedom. The reason is that at this phase, I am entitled to my beliefs and values due to my freedom as an adult by law and moral capacity. Not much has changed about my beliefs, considering that I am exposed to the realities of diversity.
For instance, I believe gender equity, religious autonomy, and disability rights are justified. My values have partially changed since, apart from being respectable, equitable, and honest, the valuable things to me are my family, education, and few friends. Depending on my goals, I also behave like an ambivert, which justifies leadership and sanguinity. In addition, I value my familial and interpersonal relationships, career, and occupational focus. For this reason, I give equal energy to excel in my academic pursuits to ensure I meet my objectives.
Conclusion
Life milestones help strengthen specific beliefs, values, behaviors, relationships, and goals. The different phases of my life helped shape my identity, considering that the various attitudes, behaviors, and values developed through the years enabled me to understand my sanguine personality. However, the beliefs of equity and social justice have been dominant throughout, but they continue to improve. The reason is that the self-discrepancy theory highlights that individuals change for the better and to achieve self-actualization. The behaviorism theory also helps illustrate how different experiences, such as motivations and punishments, help establish specific behaviors and beliefs. Through these approaches, today’s identity continues to be a seeker focusing on self-development.
References
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