Introduction
Problem Statement
Psychological studies explain the existence of different personalities as being influenced by genetics and other hereditary factors. However, this does not cover individuals who have been brought up by adoptive parents. An individual’s personality is defined by the set of characteristics that they exhibit and how they react to different social situations presented over a given amount of time to form a consistent pattern of behavior. This relies on different environmental factors, mainly the cultural and social aspects of the environment. According to David Riesman, the size of one’s social environment influences their behavior. He explained that the three personality types that exist, namely traditional-oriented, inner-directed and other-directed were as a result of social trends of population growth (NY Times, 2002). This is because the social environmental sets norms and practices with which people learn to live by, thereby developing their personalities from the same. The traditional-oriented personality describes individuals within small societies who stick to doing things the same way and have no room for change. The inner-directed personality type describes individuals within a large society with similar cultural practices and who are directed by their conscience to act, while the other-directed personality type exists in a larger and socially diverse society with undefined understanding of what is right or wrong (NY Times, 2002). This is because the environment, through interaction, provides standards for what is socially acceptable and what should be considered unacceptable. Certain personalities such as effeminacy in men or tomboys are in most cases considered unacceptable, thus are frowned upon. The difference in social and cultural environments influences how an individual perceives themselves, therefore determines their personality. An example is in a school environment where a students is termed as an underperformer by teachers. With time, such a student associates themselves with failure and due to lack of encouragement and support by teachers and peers, develops low self-esteem. A family environment also sets the development of personality for children, whereby a child coming from a home with lowing parents develops self-confidence and is able to relate well with others in his or her environment, while a child from a broken home has trouble socializing with peers and I constantly linked with unacceptable behavior such as fighting. As a result, there is a possibility that the environment provides lifelong patterns that present personality differences (Kander, 2012). The research thus aims to establish if there is any relationship between an individual’s personality and the environment where they exist.
Guideline of research
From the problem statement, the hypothesis that can be postulated is there is a significant relationship between an individual’s personality and their environment.
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Methodology
Participants
The number of participants selected for the study will be 50 as this will provide a good number to assess environmental impacts on their personality, especially during formation of focus groups. This number is also enough depending on the resources provided and the expected results (Lenth, 2001). Participants will be of varying ages and varying race from both genders. They will also be from different regions to make the study more practical. Different regions will help to establish the authenticity of David Riesman’s theory and will also provide different cultural and social environments for study, in identifying the different practices that are considered acceptable and unacceptable in the different regions. This will also help to establish how different environment affect personalities based on their cultural norms and social rules and whether these provide the lasting individual differences with regards to personality advancement (Kander, 2012). Racial diversity relies on cultural and social norms and region where a person has developed. Difference I age and gender will provide insight into how the different changes adapted into the social environment over time has affected the personalities of the individuals chosen for the study. Comparisons will be drawn, to see how different factors such as social media has affected the personality, or even resulted in change in personality of the participants.
Materials
The study will be qualitative hence will require the use of qualitative research methods. Observation of how the participants will behave in a different social environment with different people will be the focus of the study using this method. Interviews will be carried out to establish identify the different beliefs that the participants hold, courtesy of their race and area of residence (Gill, Stewart, Treasure and Chadwick, 2008). This will focus on establishing the different cultural and social norms that different people abide by. Questionnaires will be administered containing questions that will attempt to establish he relationship between personality and the environment. Focus groups will be used to seek in-depth information and clarity on how environment influences personality (Gill et al., 2008). Personal opinions will also be sought regarding social and cultural norms and how this has promoted personality development.
Procedure
The participants will be assembled and informed of the research process.
Participants will be divided into groups by chance and given out questionnaires to fill.
Focus groups will be formed to seek opinions and views of the participants. First groups will be formed on basis of race, followed by area of residence, and finally age and gender.
Manipulate the environment to study different variables within the environment that influence personality development (Explorable. N.d.).
Focus groups will be formed based on race, age and area of residence (Marczak and Sewell, N.d.). Individuals in each group will discuss how they handle different situations with regards to the demographics of the group. Looking at age, it is expected that the older people grew up in different environments in comparison to the younger generation since the current environment is filed with technological advancements and will thus influence an individual personality. The environment in the past may have been stricter in comparison to the current environment where different laws exist that disregard punishing children, and this is a factor that will influence the personalities of two individuals of different ages. Different races abide by different cultural norms and this influences how an individual may handle a particular situations. For example, some may resort to violence when confronted about an issue, based on the environment where they grew up, while some may resort to peaceful negotiations. The same aspect will also apply for the focus groups formed based on areas of residence. Experiences from different environments and ho these changed the perspectives of an individual will also help to determine the influence of environment on personality.
Design
Experimental design will be used for this experiment as it allows a researcher to either manipulate a given variable or introduce a control group during the experiment. This will be best for the study as it will ensure that the information obtained has higher levels of accuracy (Flow Psychology, N.d.). This is because it allows the researcher to test different variables and have complete control over the research by manipulating the conditions for study to study different results obtained.
References
Explorable. (N.d.). Independent Variable. Retrieved from https://explorable.com/independent-variable
Flow Psychology. (N.d.). 7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research. Retrieved from https://flowpsychology.com/7-advantages-and-disadvanatges-of-experimental-research/
Gill, P., Stewart, K., Treasure, E. & Chadwick, B. (2008). Methods of Data Collection in Qualitative Research: Interviews and Focus Groups. British Dental Journal. Iss. 204, pp 291-295. Retrieved form https://doi:10.1038/bdj.2008.192
Kander, C. (2012). Nature and Nurture in Personality Development. The Case of Neuroticism and Extroversion. Current Directions in Psychological Science. Vol. 21, 5. Pp290-296
Lenth, R. (2001). Some Practical Guidelines for Effective Sample Size Determination. University of Iowa. Retrieved from https://stat.uiowa.edu/sites/stat.uiowa.edu/files/techrep/tr303.pdf
Marczak, M and Sewell, M. (N.d.). Using Focus Groups for Evaluation. University of Arizona. Retrieved from https://cals.arizona.edu/sfcs/cyfernet/cyfar/focu.htm
NY Times. (2002). David Riesman, Sociologist whose ‘Lonely Crowd’ Became a Best Seller, Dies at 92. Retrieved from https://mobile.nytimes.com/2002/05/11/bookd/david-riesman-sociologist-whose-lonely-crowd-became-a-best-seller-dies-at-92.html
