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7-2 Final Project Submission: Research Investigation- Literature Review

Erica Parchman

PSY-216-H6191, Psychology of Personality 20EW6

Dr. Watts

22-08-2020
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Literature Review

According to a 1999 article published by Paulhus and Chen, the sequence in which

children are born affects their personality. According to this article for instance, first born are

more likely to be achievers while later born are more likely to be rebellious. The authors in

this article conclude that birth orders affect the personality of children. Previous studies

referenced in this article found out that birth order affects the personality of the child. Again,

the previous studies showed that the manner of raising a child enhanced or hindered the

development of particular personality

In a different article by authors Shaver and Mikulincer in 2005 the attachment that

children have towards one caregiver influences their later personality. Children who have an

attachment to the mother tend to be empathetic than those attached to the father. Shaver and

Mikulincer used a employed a correlational research design which examined the existing link

between attachment to a caregiver and later personality

Authors Fransson and Hagekull point out in their 2013 published article that

personality witnessed between middle and young adulthood is influenced by the attachment

that a child has towards either of the caregiver. The study employed a correlational study that

involved examining the relationship between attachment and the attachment that a child has

towards either of the caregiver and the personality witnessed between middle and young

adulthood

According to a 2017 article published by Fletcher and Schurer adulthood personality

is influenced by childhood experiences. According to the article for instance, child abuse

leads adults who have low self-esteem. The investigation used a descriptive research design.

This design was used to describe the characteristics of the targeted population.
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In another 2017 article published by Jonason and Baldacchino the existing

relationship between childhood experiences and certain adulthood personalities. The study

used a correlational research design which entailed establishing the link between childhood

experiences and adulthood personality

Research Question

How does the loss of a caregiver to a child, during its childhood years, affect its

personality in later years?

Research design

Type of research

The study will be of an exploratory nature. There is not much research in this field

and this study will seek to uncover novel insights.

Methodology

The study population will consist of individuals sourced from a social media survey

on Facebook and Twitter. A page will be created that will outline the general idea of the

study and appeal to fitting individuals to reach out and give their personal experiences. Once

a suitable population is achieved, about 200, simple random sampling will be used to whittle

down the population to a sample of 50.

Data collection will utilize semi-structured questionnaires, that will feature close and

open-ended questions. Primary data sources will consist of questionnaires. Secondary sources

will come from an analysis of articles and interviews from relevant websites and social media

uploads (video testimonials in YouTube and Facebook). Data analysis will be of Word, Pdf,

and Excel formats. Later the data will be inputted into SPSS for an in-depth analysis.
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Ethics

Concerning ethics, the overarching body of ethics I will follow is the APA Code of

Ethics. All the information will be for the benefit of individuals later and to aid in further

research. All participants and survey respondents will provide information on a voluntary

basis. The data from the research and the information synthesized will be kept safe.

Communication will be via direct messaging to avoid broadcasting participants' personal

information.
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References

Carver, C. S., Johnson, S. L., McCullough, M. E., Forster, D. E., & Joormann, J. (2014).

Adulthood personality correlates of childhood adversity. Frontiers in psychology, 5,

1357.

Fransson, M., Granqvist, P., Bohlin, G., & Hagekull, B. (2013). Interlinkages between

attachment and the Five-Factor Model of personality in middle childhood and young

adulthood: A longitudinal approach. Attachment & Human Development, 15(2), 219-

239.

Fletcher, J. M., & Schurer, S. (2017). Origins of adulthood personality: The role of adverse

childhood experiences. The BE journal of economic analysis & policy, 17(2).

Jonason, P. K., Zeigler-Hill, V., & Baldacchino, J. (2017). Before and after: Personality

pathology, childhood conditions, and life history outcomes. Personality and

Individual Differences, 116, 38-43.

Paulhus, D. L., Trapnell, P. D., & Chen, D. (1999). Birth order effects on personality and

achievement within families. Psychological Science, 10(6), 482-488.

Shaver, P. R., & Mikulincer, M. (2005). Attachment theory and research: Resurrection of the

psychodynamic approach to personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 39(1),

22-45.