Defensive Personality Studied through Personality Psychology Trait Theories

A person with a defensive personality may feel as though they are being attacked and to cope with it they need to defend their choice of words and actions when they are dealing with other individuals. My younger sister, Carlee, has a defensive personality. We have the same mother, but different fathers. This caused us to be raised in different situations. She has moved around a lot, going from my dad’s house, to our mom’s house, and to her dad’s house. She did not have a set place where she could call her “home”. Generally, Carlee is a good kid and listens, and does not argue too much. However, as siblings usually do, there are quarrels between us. She will get overly defensive and extremely furious very easily. She overreacts to the littlest comments, and actions. To discuss her defensive trait, I will be discussing personality psychology trait theories by Lawrence Kohlberg and Erik Erikson.

Erickson, a psychologist on psychological stages of development, proposed that personal development was directly impacted by social experiences. One of the main elements of his stage development theory is the development of the ego identity, or the conscious sense of self that is developed through social interaction. Conflict in each stage is a central point of Erikson’s theory. Each developmental stage focuses on conflicts that must be successfully resolved to develop a particular psychological quality. In his theory, each stage builds upon the previous stages, and therefore, failure to master specific qualities will affect a person’s future development. I believe to associate the theories with the behavior of my sister, this would take place in stage four. There were times that were stressful with her mom and dad, and there...

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...n individual. The result can also be the same, though there is a variability among personalities. Both Kohlberg and Erikson have strong theories about how personalities are formed in early ages with direct focus on the parents.

Overall, the role of the adults, whether they are the parent or not, plays a huge role in forming our personalities as children. Adults need to understand that when they have children and the marriage dissolves the focus needs to be turned to the children. An image needs to be set for the children that will inform them on the correct ways to behave and defend yourself to others. If Carlee had grown up in a different setting, in a stable home, she would have had a different personality. She would not be so angry so often, and she would have a better understanding on how to behave if she does not agree with what other people have to say.