Document formatting guidelines and requirements

Cognition and Personality Development

Cognition is the process of human thought and this development of cognition typically enables the decision-making outcomes of an adolescent. Adolescence itself is a "period of transition that involves biological, cognitive, psychological, social, and physical changes" (Commendador, 2010). As the adolescent transitions between the level of immaturity to that of maturity, the adolescent's cognitive capabilities are also developing. This can be attributed to the individual's ego, wherein one's personality changes and accordingly reacts to one's morals, self-esteem, and character (Lambie, 2010). Cognition and personality development can be affected by biological and environmental factors just as easily as social and economic constructs. A person's ego develops through relationships and experiences gained within the person's general environment. The same person's cognition and personality development can also be attributed to genetic and biological functions that involve neural pathways.

Donellan et. al. (2007) briefly mentions an adolescent's personality development with respect to the adolescent's cognitive maturity. The more cognitively mature an individual is, the fewer changes there are in the personality (Donellan et. al., 2007). Contrary-wise, the less mature one's cognitive development is, the more likely that the individual becomes prone to personality changes (Donellan et. al., 2007). For example, it is more likely that an adolescent changes moods more often than an adult does due to the adolescent's lack of further cognitive development; an adult's maturity level is generally higher in that respect. Cognitive development seems to affect whether a person's behavior is erratic; a more erratic behavior shows indication that the individual still has not reached his or her emotional and developmental stability.

Question 2: Aggressive Personality

The notion of a person's aggressive personality tends to be determined through a number of factors which involve biological and environmental development. An individual's social and parental rearing can influence a child's aggressive personality -- or lack thereof. Social psychology demonstrates that there are two types of aggressive personality dimensions: general aggression and displaced aggression (Denson et. al, 2009). According to Denson et. al (2009), different neural pathways are affected regarding the two types of aggressive personality dimensions. In this study, the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex (dACC) had been found to be related to the dimension of general aggression, an aggressive personality that is characterized with angry responses to provocation within experimental and real-world environments. Displaced aggression, on the other hand, relates to the neural signals taking place in the hippocampus, insula, and cingulated cortex (Denson et. al, 2009) as opposed to the dACC. This kind of aggression tends to be the result of an insult experienced from the environment; one who acts upon displaced aggression usually "takes it out" (Denson et. al, 2009) on innocents.

Additionally, research published in Science News has also indicated that one's degree of aggressiveness is a genetic trait passed on by parental aggression. Aggressive personality seems to "[remain] remarkably stable across time, situations, and even generations within a family" (1984). The study -- consisting of 632 males and females -- conducted by L. Rowell Huesmann and Leonard D. Eron at the University of Illinois in Chicago (1984), it was found that more aggressive parents had aggressive children. The subjects were studied from the age of 8 to well over their 30s, wherein it was concluded that those who were aggressive at 8 years old also carried their aggression to adulthood.

Question 3: Parental Influence in Child's Personality

Parental influence tends to determine a large part of a child's personality development. In that same thought process, a number of factors can influence one's parenting skills. Because adolescence consists of various degrees of self-awareness and self-esteem issues (Commendador, 2010), it is not surprising that acceptance from parents plays a large part in the child's development. A supportive and involved parent in a child's growth helps the child develop increased self-esteem, and can also lead to positive and respectful relationships with others (Commendador, 2010). On the other hand, a parent's aloofness and disinterest might lead to the increase of an adolescent's aggressive and sexual behavior, as well as poorly developed social skills.

Parenting skills are also influenced by "socio-economic resources, parental health, [and] the child's characteristics" (Waylen et. al, 2010). While parenting does account for as much as 20-50% of a child's developed personality (Waylen et. al, 2010), there is no denying the fact that the parent's family and medical history, as well as economic and environmental standing are also indicative of the child's development. In fact, a child living in a destitute environment might be less developed in his or her personality than someone in more nurturing, livable conditions. Economic problems are also associated with "deteriorating parent-child relationships" (Waylen et. al, 2010). An understandable explanation here is the fact that in an economic hardship, parents tend to work extra shifts to make ends meet; therefore children are more prone to solitary hours at home, perhaps at the risk of deterioration in the relationship between parent and child. A parent's medical history can also contain high acts of aggression, perhaps even to the situation in which the child is growing up in an abusive household; this can also hinder development.

Question 4: Self-Efficacy and Personality Development