Intro to

Personal Development
 Let us set our goals:
• To fully understand and explain the definition
of personal development
• Psychological basis of personal development
• Relate the concept of personal development
in our experiences as adolescent
Three Aspects of Human Development
(Accodg to Papalia and Feldman 2012)

• Physical Development
• Cognitive Development
• Psychosocial Development
Three Aspects of Human Development
(Accodg to Papalia and Feldman 2012)

• Physical Development growth of body and brain,

motor and sensory skills, and even physical health
Three Aspects of Human Development
(Accodg to Papalia and Feldman 2012)

• Cognitive Development – capacity to learn, to speak,

to understand, to reason and to create
Three Aspects of Human Development
(Accodg to Papalia and Feldman 2012)

• Psychosocial Development – social interactions with other

people, our emotions, attitudes, self-identity, personality,
beliefs, and values
Factors affecting growth and
development
• Heredity
• Environment
• Maturation
 Factors affecting growth and
development
• Heredity – inborn traits, inherit from the
biological parents
 Factors affecting growth and
development

• Environment -
outside of
ourselves

• External Factors
 Factors affecting growth and
development
• Maturation - natural progression of the brain and the
body that affects the cognitive, psychological and
social dimensions of a person
What is Personal
Development?
 Personal vs. Personality
(According to Merriam Webster)
S. No Personal Personality
1 Belonging or relating to a The set of emotional qualities, ways of
particular person behaving, etc. that makes a person
different
2 Made or designed to be used by Attractive qualities (such as energy,
one person friendliness, and humor) that make a
person interesting or pleasant to be
with
3 Of, relating to or affecting a Distinction or excellence of personal
particular person and social traits

According to Liebert, Poulos and Marmor (1979)

Development refers to a process of change in growth and capability

over time, as function of both maturation and interaction with the
environment
 Personal Development
(Zorka Hereford – A Guide for Personal Development and Self Realization)

• Process of striving to
be the best that YOU
can be in order to
reach and realize
your full potential. It
is a journey of self-
discovery, self
improvement, and
self-realization.
 Personal Development

• Personal Development is a process in

which persons reflect upon
themselves, and learn (or unlearn)
new sets of values, attitudes,
behavior, and thinking skills to reach
their fullest potential as human
beings.
 Let us set our goals:

 To fully understand and explain the

definition of personal development
• Psychological basis of personal
development
• Relate the concept of personal
development in our experiences as
adolescent
 Psychology
• Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. The
discipline embraces all aspects of the human
experience — from the functions of the brain to the
actions of nations, from child development to care for
the aged. (American Psychologists Association)

• Is also the study of human thinking and behavior

serves as foundation for personal development
Psychology and Personal Development
Psychology and Personal Development
Carl Rogers Theory
Environment should
provide them with
- Genuineness
- Acceptance
- Empathy
 5 characteristics of a fully functioning
person
• 1. Open to experience: both positive and negative emotions
accepted. Negative feelings are not denied, but worked through
(rather than resorting to ego defense mechanisms).
• 2. Existential living: in touch with different experiences as they
occur in life, avoiding prejudging and preconceptions. Being able to
live and fully appreciate the present, not always looking back to the
past or forward to the future (i.e. living for the moment).
• 3. Trust feelings: feeling, instincts and gut-reactions are paid
attention to and trusted. People’s own decisions are the right ones
and we should trust ourselves to make the right choices.
• 4. Creativity: creative thinking and risk taking are features of a
person’s life. A person does not play safe all the time. This involves
the ability to adjust and change and seek new experiences.
• 5. Fulfilled life: person is happy and satisfied with life, and always
looking for new challenges and experiences.
 Let us set our goals:

 To fully understand and explain the

definition of personal development

 Psychological basis of personal development

• Relate the concept of personal development
in our experiences as adolescent
 Adolescence
• ad·o·les·cence
• ˌadəˈlesəns/
• noun
• the period following
the onset of puberty
during which a
young person
develops from a
child into an adult.
 Adolescence
• Adolescence (from Latin adolescere,
meaning 'to grow up')[1]
• is a transitional stage
of physical and psychological develop
ment that generally occurs during
the period from puberty to legal
adulthood (age of majority)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescence
Adolescence
 Adolescence
• The most important period in life span, a time
of change, a problem age, a time an individual
searches for identity, a dreaded age, a time of
unrealism, and the threshold of adulthood
• More on internal changes than external
• A person becomes physically, emotionally, and
psychologically mature yet still immature in lot
of ways
 Adolescence
• Social changes includes increased peer group
influence, more mature patterns of social
behavior, new social groupings, and new
values of selection of friends and leaders and
in social acceptance.
• Peer pressure influences some adolescents
toward anti-social behavior.
 7 major interests of adolescents
• Recreational interest
• Personal interest
• Social interest
• Educational interest
• Vocational interest
• Religious interest
• Interest in status symbol
 Moral changes in adolescents
• Replacing specific and moral concepts of right
and wrong
• Building of moral code based on moral
principles
• Control of behavior through the development
of a conscience
 Theoretical perspective
• G. Stanley Hall- first psychologist to
formulate a theory of adolescence
- More physical changes, more psychological
changes

• Sigmund Freud
– psychosexual theory -genital stage
 Remember!
• The most important growth is not about your
physical qualities, but your development as a
person (mentally, emotionally, and above all,
spiritually)
• (1 Corinthians 13:11-Apostle Paul) When I was a
babe, I used to speak a babe, to think as a babe,
to reason as a babe; but now I have become a
man, I have done away with the traits of a babe.”
• Accept this changes graciously and with sense of
humor.
 Summary:
• 3 aspects of human development
• 3 factors affecting human development
• Personal Development is a process in which persons
reflect upon themselves, and learn (or unlearn) new
sets of values, attitudes, behavior, and thinking skills
to reach their fullest potential as human beings.
• Psychology serves as a foundation of human
development
• Schools of theories on personal development
– Humanistic psychology (Maslow & Rogers)
• Adolescence is an important period of lifespan that
affects the personal development