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7-2 Final Project Submission: Research Investigation- Literature Review
Erica Parchman
PSY-216-H6191, Psychology of Personality 20EW6
Dr. Watts
22-08-2020
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Literature Review
According to a 1999 article published by Paulhus and Chen, the sequence in which
children are born affects their personality. According to this article for instance, first born are
more likely to be achievers while later born are more likely to be rebellious. The authors in
this article conclude that birth orders affect the personality of children. Previous studies
referenced in this article found out that birth order affects the personality of the child. Again,
the previous studies showed that the manner of raising a child enhanced or hindered the
development of particular personality
In a different article by authors Shaver and Mikulincer in 2005 the attachment that
children have towards one caregiver influences their later personality. Children who have an
attachment to the mother tend to be empathetic than those attached to the father. Shaver and
Mikulincer used a employed a correlational research design which examined the existing link
between attachment to a caregiver and later personality
Authors Fransson and Hagekull point out in their 2013 published article that
personality witnessed between middle and young adulthood is influenced by the attachment
that a child has towards either of the caregiver. The study employed a correlational study that
involved examining the relationship between attachment and the attachment that a child has
towards either of the caregiver and the personality witnessed between middle and young
adulthood
According to a 2017 article published by Fletcher and Schurer adulthood personality
is influenced by childhood experiences. According to the article for instance, child abuse
leads adults who have low self-esteem. The investigation used a descriptive research design.
This design was used to describe the characteristics of the targeted population.
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In another 2017 article published by Jonason and Baldacchino the existing
relationship between childhood experiences and certain adulthood personalities. The study
used a correlational research design which entailed establishing the link between childhood
experiences and adulthood personality
Research Question
How does the loss of a caregiver to a child, during its childhood years, affect its
personality in later years?
Research design
Type of research
The study will be of an exploratory nature. There is not much research in this field
and this study will seek to uncover novel insights.
Methodology
The study population will consist of individuals sourced from a social media survey
on Facebook and Twitter. A page will be created that will outline the general idea of the
study and appeal to fitting individuals to reach out and give their personal experiences. Once
a suitable population is achieved, about 200, simple random sampling will be used to whittle
down the population to a sample of 50.
Data collection will utilize semi-structured questionnaires, that will feature close and
open-ended questions. Primary data sources will consist of questionnaires. Secondary sources
will come from an analysis of articles and interviews from relevant websites and social media
uploads (video testimonials in YouTube and Facebook). Data analysis will be of Word, Pdf,
and Excel formats. Later the data will be inputted into SPSS for an in-depth analysis.
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Ethics
Concerning ethics, the overarching body of ethics I will follow is the APA Code of
Ethics. All the information will be for the benefit of individuals later and to aid in further
research. All participants and survey respondents will provide information on a voluntary
basis. The data from the research and the information synthesized will be kept safe.
Communication will be via direct messaging to avoid broadcasting participants' personal
information.
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References
Carver, C. S., Johnson, S. L., McCullough, M. E., Forster, D. E., & Joormann, J. (2014).
Adulthood personality correlates of childhood adversity. Frontiers in psychology, 5,
1357.
Fransson, M., Granqvist, P., Bohlin, G., & Hagekull, B. (2013). Interlinkages between
attachment and the Five-Factor Model of personality in middle childhood and young
adulthood: A longitudinal approach. Attachment & Human Development, 15(2), 219-
239.
Fletcher, J. M., & Schurer, S. (2017). Origins of adulthood personality: The role of adverse
childhood experiences. The BE journal of economic analysis & policy, 17(2).
Jonason, P. K., Zeigler-Hill, V., & Baldacchino, J. (2017). Before and after: Personality
pathology, childhood conditions, and life history outcomes. Personality and
Individual Differences, 116, 38-43.
Paulhus, D. L., Trapnell, P. D., & Chen, D. (1999). Birth order effects on personality and
achievement within families. Psychological Science, 10(6), 482-488.
Shaver, P. R., & Mikulincer, M. (2005). Attachment theory and research: Resurrection of the
psychodynamic approach to personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 39(1),
22-45.
