A person’s character trait is an element of two aspects; biological traits and socialization process endorsed traits. As one grows, the biological traits prevail, but he develops a behavior and a certain mode of doing things as he interacts with other people in society. Personality can thus be defined as those relatively stable and enduring aspects of an individual that distinguish them from other people, making them unique, but which, if time permits, makes comparison among individuals.
It is also used to refer to a long-lasting pattern of behavior that an individual portrays. One’s personality is the one that answers the following questions or explains the following situations; why are some people terrified to talk in the public when others enjoy it? Why do some people indulge in dangerous activities when others do not? Why do people react differently when faced with one condition or situation? The answer to all the above questions is the character that someone has that is different from the others (Harles, 2001).
From the discussion above, we find that biological traits that a child got from its parent live in him as part and parcel of his/her life until adulthood. There are other socialization characters that a child develops that cannot be altered at any stage in life. However, as people interact, there develops a modification of behavioral traits, it is appreciated that human beings develop a certain mode of behavior from factors arising from socialization right from childhood, and these follow him to adulthood.
Our values, beliefs, and morals are largely influenced by the society we live in, culture, and hereditary factors. Societies have different mechanisms that are geared towards re-enforcing certain behavior deemed acceptable. However, as human beings interact with each other, they change their lifestyle or are compelled to change their mode of beliefs, whether consciously or not, a behavior modification, which in most cases, conflicts with previously instilled values occurs. The modification may be conscious. For example, when an individual enrolls in an institution with set rules and guidelines, they are unconditionally required to follow those rules (Freud & Strachey, 1976).
Reference List
Dumont, F. (2010). A History of Personality Psychology: Theory, Science, and Research from Hellenism to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Freud, S., and Strachey, J. (1976). The complete psychological work of Sigmund Freud (standard edition) vol. (1-24). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Harles, C. (2001). Evolutionary explanation of human behavior. Canada: Routledge.