The impact of social and cultural conditioning on the development of personality. Fimic and literary representations

Abstract

The questions that the present paper tries to find answers to are: 1. How does society impact personality? 2. How does culture impact personality? 3. In which ways do these two elements make change possible to personality? We come into this world with no pre-acquired knowledge or skill. We are to be formed by the people around us and their beliefs, faith, expectations and knowledge. We are born as individuals, but gradually, in time, we become part of the puzzle, molded into what was fit and neccessary. Humans’s personality grows and depends upon social conditioning which further depends upon social and cultural factors. Of course, personality is not a mere reflection of culture,individual specificities bringingfurtherdifferences among peoplewithinthe same culture. Society and culture play a tremendous role in reducing primal behaviour and stimulating logical and rational thinking. Depending upon the social and cultural conditioning, personality make-up will vary. Similarly, a child is conditioned to love and affection which s/he learns from the mother but also from other members of society. Moral control mechanisms are also imposed on the child by social conditioning. Whenever personality growthis brought into discussion, I believe one should also mention Sigmud Freud and his personality theory. According to Freud, human personality is complex and three componentsare present: the Id, the Ego and the Superego. These components emerge individually, at specific ages, but ultimately interact and form human personality. The Id is the component of personality that is present from birth. It is made of our basic needs and wants, it is uncounscious and includes our instinctive and primitive behaviours. From an evolutionary point of view, the Id represents the basic skills and needs we inherit from our ancestors. The Id only demands and its needs and wants need to be satisfied. For example, babies are ruled strictly by the Id. If a baby is hungry, the baby will cry until this need is satisfied. The Egousually surfaces around the age of five. It is the only conscious component of personality and represents what we think of ourselves and how we project those thoughts towards the external world. The Ego operates based on the reality principle, on what is real and rational. The Superego incorporates what we learn from the people around us. It can be seen as a vast book of codes, symbols, signals and rules that we learn from the external world and uncounsciously apply. The Superego or the conscience of the child is built up out of these codes and rules. Thus, the major forces of culture influence the child who grows from babyhood to manhood/womanhood. There is a constant interaction between society, culture andthe individual. Social conditioning takes place out of this constant and continuous interaction. They are forever interwined and one cannot be without the other. Social and cultural conditioning start already from infancy, develop over the course of time and follow the individual throughout his/her life. The aim of this thesis is to present, based on a novella, a short story and a movie, how social and cultural conditioning can impact personality growth. Chapter 1. Theoretical framework is a survey about studies and research on the matter. Chapters 2 and 3 showcase how the main character of the chosen cinematic work (Fight Club, 1999), respectivelyof the short literary works (The Metamorphosis, The Trial and The Judgment) underwent pressure by the outside world and subjected himself to vast and dark feelings and experiences.