Role of human psychological development in building Character

There are three major issues in the education of young people today. The first is the development of a vision for one's life that includes the discovery and/or defining of one's life mission and desired lifestyle. The second is the development of one's character, dealing with concerns of direction and quality of life. The third deals with the development of competence that deals with concerns of how well one is able to do something. Similarly, education as the process that prepares young people for their social inheritance and advocates three dimensions of education--development of knowledge, training of mental abilities, and development of character. The issue of vision and competence permeates other sections of these materials (e.g., information processing, abstract thinking, critical thinking, and conation/volition.) The focus of this section will be the issue of character. The following two definitions provide examples of a normative view of character:

"Engaging in morally relevant conduct or words, or refraining from certain conduct or words"

"A complex set of relatively persistent qualities of the individual person, and generally has a positive connotation when used in discussions of moral education"

In general, character, good or bad, is considered to be observable in one's. Thus, character is different from values in that values are orientations or dispositions whereas character involves action or activation of knowledge and values. From this perspective, values are seen as one of the foundations for character.In  context of the of human behavior values includes both cognitive and affective components, but not necessarily  behavioral components. Character includes all three components. Most people hold beliefs about personality characteristics typical of members of their own and others' cultures. These perceptions of national character may be generalizations from personal experience, stereotypes with a “kernel of truth,” or inaccurate stereotypes.  Perceptions of national character thus appear to be unfounded stereotypes that may serve the function of maintaining a national identity. Beliefs about distinctive personality characteristics common to members of a culture are referred to as national character or national stereotypes.

National stereotypes include beliefs about social, physical, and mental characteristics, but the present article focuses on personality traits. Several factors are thought to influence these beliefs. They may be generalizations based on observations of the personality traits of individual culture members. They may be inferences based on the national ethos, as revealed in socio-economic conditions, history, customs, myths, legends, and values. They may be shaped by comparisons or contrasts with geographically close or competing cultures. Stereotypes are oversimplified judgments, but if they have some “kernel of truth”, national character should reflect the average emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational styles of members of the culture. There have been surprisingly few attempts to examine the accuracy of national stereotype perhaps because researchers lacked appropriate criteria. However, recent advances in personality psychology and cross-cultural research make it possible to compare perceived national character to aggregate personality data (that is, the means of a sample of assessments of individuals) across a wide range of cultures.

As previously discussed, good character is defined in terms of one's actions. Character development traditionally has focused on those traits or values appropriate for the industrial age such as obedience to authority, work ethic, working in group under supervision, etc. However, modern education must promote character based on values appropriate for the information age: truthfulness, honesty, integrity, individual responsibility, humility, wisdom, justice, steadfastness, dependability, etc.In terms of what influences character development, I propose the following as major factors in the moral development and behavior of youth in contemporary India: Heredity, early childhood experience, modeling by important adults and older youth, peer influence, the general physical and social environment, the communications media, what is taught in the schools and other institutions, Specific situations and roles that elicit corresponding behavior.