Lesson 1: Introduction to Personal Development

Concepts Notes:

( Summarizes the key concepts, definitions, formula, theorems, rules, procedures, or big ideas
presented in this lesson).

There are three aspects or domains of human development. These are:

 Physical development ( growth of the body, brain, motor and sensory skills, and
physical health)
 Cognitive development ( learning, speaking, understanding, reasoning, and
creating)
 Psychosocial development ( social interactions, emotions, attitudes, self-identity,
personal, beliefs, and values).

- Influences that affect human development include: hereditary, environment, and

maturation.
- There is a difference between personality development and personal development.
“Personality” is about qualities, traits, and characteristics of a person, while “ Personal”
means belonging to a person, or those related to or affecting a person.
- Psychology, being the study of human behavior and thinking and particularly humanistic
psychology, serves as the foundation of personal development that provides current
understanding of it.
- There are two schools of thought developed by humanistic psychology: Charl Rogers
humane view of psychotherapy and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which peak
toward self- actualization.
- Current trends in personal development is hugely influenced by positive psychology
which is founded on the belief that people inherently desire to lead meaningful and
fulfilled lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their
experiences of love, work, and play.
- Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and early adulthood. In the
Philippine context, early adolescence happens between the ages of 10 and 13, middle
adolescence is between 14 and 16, and the late adolescence is between 17 and 20
years of age.
 - Adolescence starts with biological changes called puberty. It affects the physical as well
as the cognitive and affective aspects of a person. Religion and spirituality, and other
cultural factors also influence personal development as these provide a certain identity
of individuals.

Readings

Human Development and Personal Development

Developmental scientists identified the three aspects or domains of human

development as ( Papalia and Feldman 2012):

1. Physical Development – covers the growth of the body and the brain, motor and
and sensory skills, and even physical health.
2. Cognitive Development – covers our capacity to learn, to speak, to understand, to
reason, and to create; and
3. Psychosocial Development – includes our social interactions with other people, our
emotions, attitudes, self-identity, personality, beliefs, and values.

Human development covers the whole lifespan of human existence in relations to the
three domains, personal development is one’s own development and growth within the
context of the three aspects of human development. Human development is also influenced by:
1. Heredity or the inborn traits passed on by the generations of offsprings from both
sides of the biological parents’ families.
2. Environment is the world outside of ourselves and the experiences that result from
our contact and interaction with this external world; and
3. Maturation is the general progression of the brain and the body that affects the
cognitive ( thinking and intelligence), psychological (emotion, attitude, and self-
identity), and social (relationships) dimensions of a person. The influence of physical
maturation over a person’s development is most pronounced during the childhood
and adolescence stages.

Is it Personality Development or Personal Development?

You must be familiar with the term personality development and must have heard of
learning places where you could enroll to learn skills like table etiquette, how to sit properly
and walk with grace, how to dress up appropriately, and how to communicate better. In some
personality development centers, they also offers sessions that deal with oneself and how one
elates with others. Training in these skills bring about noticeable transformation and
improvement in one’s personality.
 Personality development has given birth to many related business that span the globe. It
includes image enhancement such as skin care and make-up, fashion and clothing, and even
body contouring; modeling and beauty pageants; and many others.

If personality development is all about these things, then what is personality

development?

Origins of Personal Development

The evolution of the understanding of human development may have started eons ago
when the first Homo sapiens walked the face on the earth.

The cave man who drew figure on the cave walls attempted to narrate their experiences such
as hunting. The act of drawing can be deemed as an attempt toward creative expression and
narration. It was during the time of the western philosophers, particularly the Greek thinkers,
when questions about the self and about being human were started to be asked.

In Republic, which some consider to be the greatest work on the philosophy of

education, Plato argued that building character , as much as intelligence, is what education is all
about. Even during the early times of human development and civilization, there was already
an attempt to link individual development with social responsibility ( “Explaining Personal and
Social Development” by the Young Adult Learners Partnership, Queen’s Printer 2003) This
could be the seed of personal development in Western thinking that eventually evolved into
the Human Potential Movement in the 1060s influenced by the popular philosophies at that
time; existentialism and humanistic psychology.

Eastern thought may have understood personal development through another concept.
The great Chinese being will always desire to become the “Superior man,” not just to his peers
and followers, but to himself most especially. He envision that Confucius must have
understood as a consequence of personal development (The Ethics of Confucius,, chapter 1:
What Constitutes a Superior Man?).

Even religion may have influenced personal development through their adherence to
many rituals in self-discipline, meditation, prayer, physical exercise such as yoga and fasting,
and creative acts of expressions such as singing, dancing, and acting.

Psychology being the study of human thinking and behavior, serves as a foundation for
personal development.
 The school of thought that gave birth to the contemporary understanding of personal
development started during the flourishing of Humanistic and Positive Psychology in the 1950s,
which dealt with personal growth and meaning as a way of reaching one’s fullest potentials.

The proponents of Humanistic Psychology were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
Maslow theorized the five stages of human development based on the hierarchy of needs,
peaking in what he termed as “self-actualization,” Carl Rogers in his psychotherapy practice,
theorized that the individual has within himself the capacity and the tendency, latent if not
evident, to move forward toward maturity.

Morality
Creativity
Sport ability
Problem solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of Facts
SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Self Esteem, Confidence
Achievements, Respect of others
SELF -ESTEEM
Friendship, Family
Sexual Intimacy
LOVE/BELONGING
Security of Body, of employment, of
resources, of morality, of family, of
health, of prosperity
SAFETY
Breathing, Food, Water, Sex, Sleep,
Home Task, Exercise
PHYSIOLOGICAL

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to theorized the Five Stages

Of Human Development

As Humanistic Psychology, waned in the late 1070s, it was eventually revived decades
later.
 Martin Seligman, a noted psychologist and president of the American Psychological
Association, realized how psychology after the Second World War, puts more emphasis in
diagnosing, treating, and preventing psychological disorders and therefore focusing on a
disease model of human nature. Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi helped refocus
this emphasis of psychology from a disease model toward what is good and positive about
human persons and their desire to achieve their full potentials. Positive psychology also created
a balance between what humanistic psychology emphasized that human nature is basically
good, while adding that human nature include both the positive and the negative aspects. In
short, positive psychology stresses that human nature has its good and positive strengths, as
well as its inadequacies and weaknesses ( Peterson 2006)

The Positive Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania defines Positive

Psychology as the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals a
communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people wants to lead meaningful
and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within them, and to enhance their experience of
love, work, and play.

Personal Development in Adolescence

While personal development falls within the realm of psychology, it cannot be detached
from the development of the brain and the rest of the physical body.

Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and early adulthood. Although
scientists and psychologists may slightly differ in pegging the exact age of adolescence, it is
widely believed to be between ages 11 or 12, and lasting to about 18 years of age (Feist and
Rosenberg 2012)

In the Philippine context, authors Corpuz, Lucas, Borabo, and Lucido (2010) defined the
three stages of adolescence as:
 Early Adolescence – between 10 and 13 years of age
 Middle Adolescence – between 16 and 16 years of age
 Late Adolescence – between 17 and 20 years of age

Adolescence starts with the biological changes called puberty. The physical body
undergoes growth spurts at this time, for both male and female, leading toward physical
maturity.

Biological changes brings about cognitive (thinking and reasoning) and affective
( feelings and emotions) changes. The child, who has reached adolescence, is now capable of

reasoning about abstract concepts and problems (Piaget). At this point, the adolescent become
more inquisitive about things like philosophy, religion, and politics. This is also the stage when
they begin to ask questions about their identity. Relationships with family and friends are also
affected by puberty during adolescence. Friends become the center of relationships more than
family.
As we have discussed personal development in the psychological, social and biological
contexts, it is also important to consider the spirituality and religious beliefs of a person, and
how these influence personal development. According to a research study conducted among
US teens, the formation of one’s identity includes attitudes about religion. This reflection is left
to the student to find out how his or her religious beliefs influence one’s identity development
and understanding of personal development.

Activating Student’s knowledge

A. 1. What do you understand about personal development?

2. Cite an examples on how personal development happens in your real life.
( Use 1/2 sheet of yellow paper to answer these two questions).
3.How does the age and stage of development of a person influence his or her
personal development?
4.Relate your spiritual and/or religious beliefs to personal development. How does
this manifest in terms of your day to-day behavior at home? In school?
( use sheets of yellow paper for number 3 &4)
B.

1. Watch a video “The Hidden Power of Smiling” by Ron Gutman

(http://www.ted.com/talks/rongutman the hidden power of smiling). After watching
the video make a reflection in your diary notebook about your (feelings and
thoughts, new ideas, etc.)
2. Write your personal experiences as an adolescent in the way you think, reason, feel
and how you express yourself.
3. Have you encountered to received smiley icon and phrase ? What psychological
theory influenced the icon and phrase to you?
4. At what age of development as an adolescents influences on your personal
development?
( for Number 2 – 5. Use your diary notebook)