PERDEV

PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
CONTENTS STANDARDS
The learners demonstrate an understanding of
himself/herself during middle and late
adolescence
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
The learners shall be able to conduct
self-exploration and simple disclosure
MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES
- Explain that knowing oneself can make a
person accept his/her strengths and
limitations and dealing with others better
- Share his/her unique characteristics, habits
and experiences.
What do you understand about PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT?
Can you cite an example of how Personal

Development happens in your life?
Human Development and Personal Development
Developmental scientists identified the three
aspects of human development as (Papalia and
Feldman 2012)
1. Physical Development – which covers the
growth of the body and the brain, motor and
sensory skills and even physical health
2. Cognitive Development – which covers our
capacity to learn, to speak, to understand, to
reason and to create, and
3. Psychosocial Development – which includes
our social interactions with other people, our
emotions, attitudes, self identity, personality,
beliefs and values.
While Human Development covers the whole
lifespan of human existence in relation to the
three domains. Therefore, we can say that
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 his external world
3. Maturation is the natural progression of the brain and
body that affects the cognitive (thinking and intelligence),
psychological (emotion, attitude and self identity), social
(relationships) dimensions of a person. The influence of
physical maturation over a person’s development is most
pronounced during his 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 offer sessions that
deal with oneself and how one relate with others.
Training in these skills bring about noticeable
transformation and improvement in one’s personality.
- Personality Development has given birth to
many related businesses 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
thing mentioned above, then what is personal
development?
Definition of Terms
- Personal
- Personality
- Development
According to Merriam Webster Online
Dictionary
PERSONAL DEVELOPEMENT
PERSONAL is defined as;
- Belonging or relating to a particular person
- Made or designed to be used by one person
- Someone whose job involves working for or helping a
particular person
- Relating to, or affecting a particular person
Example
1. This is just my personal opinion
2. I can only tell what I know from personal experience
3. We do not accept personal checks
PERSONALITY defines as;
- Set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, Etc. that
makes a person different from other people.
- Attractive qualities (such as energy, friendliness, and
humor) that make a person interesting or pleasant to
be with.
- Attractive qualities that make something unusual or
interesting.
- Distinction or excellence of personal and social traits,
also a person having such quality
- A person of importance, prominence, renown or
notoriety.
EXAMPLES for the word Personality;
1. He has a very pleasant personality
2. We all have different personalities
3. He has many personality
4. He wants to buy a car that has personality
5. She has met many television personalities
6. He was an influential personality in genetic
engineering.
DEVELOPMENT defined as;
- The act or process of growing or causing
something to grow or become larger or more
advanced
- The act or process of creating something over
a period of time.
- The state of being created or made more
advanced
From these definitions, we can see that there is a major
difference between personal and personality. We will
explore together what personal development is all about,
and why this is important in our lives.
Human nature is very complex. There is no singular school of
thought in any form of scientific study, including
psychology, which can completely and satisfactorily define
human nature. Although similar to many other living
organisms that go through the process of birth, growth,
development, regeneration and death, human beings are
different as we possess more complex capabilities such as
self-awareness analytical thinking, self evaluation,
motivation, decision making, and reflective thought.
These capabilities, beyond mere survival instincts,
are what distinguish the human species from the
rest of the physical world.
Human beings have the sole capacity to reflect upon
itself, and in the process develop self awareness,
become motivated, and then desire to grow and
change for the better; and are prompted to
mature and improve until it reaches its desired
level of development. It is, therefore, natural for
human beings to develop toward maturity and
fullness (Carl Rogers 1961)
Zorka Hereford – in her book 9 Essential life
Skills – A Guide for Personal Development and
self realization, defined PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT as “the 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.”
The evolution of the understanding of human
development may have started eons ago when the
first Homo sapiens walked the face of the earth. The
cavemen who drew figures on their 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 the book “The 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 this early times of human
development and civilization, there was
already an attempt to link individual
development with social responsibility.
This could be the seeds of personal
development in Western thinking that
eventually evolved into the Human Potential
Movement in the 1960’s 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 envisioned what Confucius must
have understood as a consequence of
personal development (The Ethics of
Confucius, Chap 1: What Constitute a Superior
Man?)
Even religions may have influenced personal
development through their adherence to
many rituals in self-discipline, meditation,
prayer, physical exercises such as yoga and
fasting, and creative acts of expressions such
as singing, dancing and acting.
Psychology and Personal Development
Psychology, being the study of human thinking and

behavior, serves as foundation for personal
development.
The school of thought that gave birth to the
contemporary understanding of personal
development started during 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
Abraham Maslow – theorized the 5 stages of human
development based on the hierachy 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.”
As Humanistic Psychology waned in the late 1970s,
it was 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 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
includes both the positive and negative
aspects. In short, positive psychology stresses
that human nature has its good and positive
strengths, as well as its inadequacies and
weaknesses (Paterson 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 and
communities to thrive. The field is founded on
the belief that people want to lead meaningful
and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best
within them, and to enhance their
experiences 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
about 18 years of age (Feist and Rosenberg 2012)
In the Philippine context, authors Corpuz, Lucas,
Borabo and Lucido defined the three stages of
adolescence as
1. Early adolescence – between 10 and 13 years
of age
2. Middle adolescence – between 14 and 16
years of age
3. 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 towards physical maturity.
Biological changes bring about cognitive (thinking
and reasoning) and affective (feeling 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.
Spirituality and Religious beliefs in Personality
Development
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.
SUMMARY
1. There are three aspects of human development
- Physical
- Cognitive
- Psycho-social
2. There are three factors affecting or influencing
human development
- Heredity
- Environment
- And maturation
SUMMARY
3. Personal development is a process in which a
person reflect upon themselves, understand
who they are, accept what they discover
about themselves and learn (or unlearn) new
sets of values, attitudes, behavior, and
thinking skills to reach their fullest potential as
human beings.
4. Psychology serves as a foundation of personal
development
SUMMARY
5. There are several schools of thought or theories on personal
development that were developed through the years
Humanistic psychology by its lead proponents Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow
Positive psychology espoused by Martin Seligman and Mihaly
Csikszentnihalyi
6. Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and
early adulthood. It is widely believed that the adolescent
age spans 11 or 12 up to age 18
7. Spiritual and religious beliefs influence personal
development. Research shows that the formation of one’s
personal identity includes attitudes about religion

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PERSONAL

Can you cite an example of how Personal

Psychology, being the study of human thinking and

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