Any person experiences growth of different aspects of personality during various points of time. In fact, it is the day to day good and bad experiences that shape the personality of an individual. There are different theories of growth of personality of an individual. In this assignment, I will take up the case of well-known figure Oprah Winfrey. Based on different theories of personality, I will study the factors which contributed to the growth of personality of Oprah Winfrey. I will discuss Oprah’s family issues and support systems that may have influenced her developmental growth and adjustment. I will also distinguish between the influences of heredity and environment on her psychological development.
Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954), often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American television host, media mogul, and philanthropist. Her internationally-syndicated talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has earned her multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television. She is also an influential book critic, an Academy Award-nominated actress, and a magazine publisher. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time, and the world 's only black billionaire for three straight years. (Wikipedia, 2008 ¶ 1)
Oprah was born in rural Kosciusko, Mississippi to a poor teenaged single mother, and later raised in an inner city Milwaukee neighborhood. She later explained that her conception was due to a single sexual encounter that her two teenaged parents had; they quickly broke up not long after. There are conflicting reports as to how her name became “Oprah.” According to a 1991 interview with the Academy of Achievement, Winfrey claimed that her family and friends ' inability to pronounce “Orpah” caused them to put the “P” before the “R” in every place else other than the birth certificate. However, there is the account that the midwife transposed
References: Wikipedia. (2008, September 9). Wikipedia: Oprah Winfrey. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey Developmental Psychology. (n.d.) Humanistic Perspective. Developmental Psychology: Student Newsletter. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from: http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d46/psy/dev/Fall98/Theories/humanistic.html IDEA. (2007, January 1) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from: http://www.idea.org/page110.html Academy of Achievement. (2006, May 5) Oprah Winfrey. Academy of Achievement. Retrieved September 13, 2008 from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0bio-1 Wikipedia. (2008, August 7). Switch (rod). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 13, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch_(rod)