Running Head: MANAGING INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
Managing Individual Behavior
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Managing Individual Behavior
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Managing Individual Behavior
Introduction
Social scientists have defined the personality of an ESFJ as the caregiver motivated by the right
reason. Caring is a significant motivation for their character. The ESFJ personality is a product
of feelings, judgments driven by their strong sense of the world around them. ESFJ personalities
visualize and are concerned about how situations affect not only themselves but also others.
More so, the ESFJ tend to attach value and success rating on the essence of their need to share
and exchange value and concern with others. They operate on the principle of 'give, and it shall
be given to you.' Nevertheless, their judgments are often bound by moral codes that inform their
stand for what they believe is the best for others.
Analyzing Strengths
The ESFJ has a characteristic strong sense of practicality. Although good intentions are excellent
and recommendable, they do not translate to much if not executed using a well-drafted plan. The
ESFJ comprehension of means to accomplish tasks is exemplary, and they do not have any
unmarked elements in their to-do lists. The ESFJ mentality generates motivation from
conscientiousness and detail-orientation. They can, therefore, not leave any stone unturned and
failure and performances below their very best frustrate them.
The ESFJ is warm and sensitive. Characterized by grand and gentle hearts, they develop longlasting emotional bonds that are responsible for the empathic connections with others. ESFJs are
readily available to give guidance and support in for of concrete, sensible advice correlated with
good results. All problems, big or small, are exciting to ESFJs, and regardless of the predicament
facing close acquaintances, the ESFJ also provides impactful assistance.
Furthermore, the ESFJ exhibits excellent loyalty traits. The exhibit traditionalist perspectives
right to the very definition of their core. Most ESFJs are committed to conserving and protecting
Managing Individual Behavior
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conventional social orders against forces of envisioned progress. They are further committed to
honoring the wisdom of their ancestors and tend to prioritize the opinion of others in preference
to their own. Although doing the right thing does not always translate to an easy life, ESFJs
cannot follow the path with the least resistance, especially in areas where moral issues are
involved.
Analyzing Weaknesses
ESFJs tend to be rigid and judgmental. Although they exhibit a higher level of tolerance in the
general perspective, ESFJ fails by not adopting a completely open mind. Most have fixed value
systems that categorically define right from wrong and good from bad, amongst other
conventions. These value systems visualize life decisions or activities from dualistic concepts.
Most ESFJs are not afraid of judging others regarding their behavior and characters from the
impressions formed at first sight. Although ESFJs are most reliable, stable, and with a caring
approach to life, they treat individuals' opinions different than theirs with amused indifference in
instances of imbalance or tend to keep a distance from differing attitudes and perspectives. This
technique, classified as a survival technique for the ESFJ personality, but if it limits them from
learning how to accommodate a wide range of viewpoints, different from theirs. With such
limitation, ESFJs tend to wage a self-sabotaging conflict against all opinions different from
theirs. This conflict expresses itself in typical scenarios of Us vs. them generalities or as a
tendency to narrowly define individuals based on arbitrary belief systems symbolizing the
conflict within themselves.
The main driver of the ESFJ personality is the Extraverted feeling, which they use to judge
human values based on behavior, life perceptions, and ideas. With this feeling, ESFJ generates a
tidy world view founded on their character. Moreover, any threat posed by external influences on
Managing Individual Behavior
this world view prompts the ESFJ to deny entry of new information in their lives. The typical
ESFJ has high regard for rules and regulations, which informs their reluctance to improvise. To
the traditional ESFJ, a world without dos and don'ts would be unsustainable. However, although
this practice is natural and protective of the individual psyche, it limits the ESFJ capability to
connect or relate with individuals that continuously challenge their rigid world view. Such ESFJ
find reasons that justify their inappropriate behaviors and consistently fault the outside
environment for being different. As such, they are incapable of adopting the flexibility needed
for healthy relationships with the not standard outside world.
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Managing Individual Behavior
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Appendix
Personality Tests
ESFJ
Extravert (1%), Sensing (1%), Feeling (12%), Judging(53%)
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You have marginal or no preference of Extraversion over Introversion (1%)
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You have marginal or no preference of Sensing over Intuition (1%)
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You have slight preference of Feeling over Thinking (12%)
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You have moderate preference of Judging over Perceiving (53%)
http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/esfj-type?EI=1&SN=1&TF=12&JP=53&fbclid=IwAR1NGEqEsponegQlxTT512U0dLVh6nkN5JzGPVMYXdYZng3BDXD
NXJF8xc0
Running head: GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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Gender Development Essay
Students Name
Institutions Name
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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Gender is simply the anatomical sex of a person, and the state of being male or female in terms
of culture and social aspect. Gender development is an important area of study by scholars.
When a mother delivers a baby, she is very curious to know the gender of that baby. The gender
of the baby will greatly influence the relationship between the mother and the baby. Researchers
have put all their energy and dedication to research on gender and its developments. Gender is
not something we are born with, and not something we have, but something we do (West and
Zimmerman 1987) – something we perform (Butler 1990).
Everyone is surrounded by gender lore from birth. It is always discussed in conversations
coupled with humor and conflicts. Moreover, it provides all answers in our day to day activities.
Gender is deeply entrenched in our lives, actions, desires and beliefs and thus it seems to be so
natural to us. The world dwells in a sea of ideas about it; and these ideas are so common that
they are taken for granted and are assumed to be true, and thus accepting it as a scientific fact.
Scholars and researchers are obliged to dwell deeper into this subject and find the truth
behind it and explain why and how it was taken to be a common sense. This is because gender
appears natural and the beliefs surrounding it appear to be truthful. This necessitates an
examination of gender from a new angle. The scholars will have to suspend what they are used to
comfortable with and start questioning some of our most fundamental beliefs. .
There existed writings in the seventeenth century which were regarded as feminist. They
always revolved around cohesion of pro-woman arguments with party-political hostilities. Such
texts have been classified as rationalist and contractarian philosophical writings. Some are
regarded as the initiators of the modern feminism and the contemporary issues which were based
on them have been neglected. However, the issues discussed in them are important in
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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understanding the motives of the authors. They focused more on the Church of England than
advocating for the seventeenth-century women. The importance of party politics is discussed in
one of the writings of early modern 'feminism', Judith Drake's "An essay in defence of the female
sex" (1696). Although Drake shared political similarities with other tory 'feminists', her work
was different from theirs as she described how the Anglican could be sustained. Her
predecessors stressed on the necessity of teaching of Anglican beliefs to young women, while
Drake incorporated tory ideas with Lockean philosophy and with politeness as she formulated a
clear Enlightenment vision of sociable, secular community and discussed the role female
conversation in settling down a society torn by party politics.
Biological theories
Most people will not differentiate sex and gender. Sex is the biological differences
between males and females. A good example is the chromosomes human reproductive organs
and hormones. On the other hand gender is the cultural differences expected of people according
to their sex. Your gender can change from birth, but your sex cant.
All over the world people used to have beliefs about what was considered fit for each sex
and those who behaved differently were condemned as a nonconformist. Today we tolerate our
diversities and view gender as one rather than two. Men are allowed to display their feminine
side and women are allowed to display their masculine side. The world is free!
Biology nullifies the differences between sex and gender; sex results in a behavior of a
gender. Gender is categorized by two major factors: hormones and chromosomes.
Hormones
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Hormones refers to the chemical substances produced by glands in the body and are
carried in the bloodstream. Both men and women have similar sex hormones but the difference
occurs in the quantities and in impact that they have upon various parts of the body.
Testosterone is a sex hormone which is in large amounts in males than females. It affects
development and behavior of an individual before and after birth. It results in formation and the
development of male sex organs when released in the womb and acts upon the hypothalamus
resulting in the masculinization of the brain. It can lead to common male behaviors such as
aggression and higher sexual drive. A sexually dimorphic nucleus in the lower side of the brain
is bigger in male than in females.
Chromosomes
A human body has 23 pairs of chromosomes. A chromosome is a body structure which long and
thin and contains hundreds of genes. Genes are biochemical units of heredity which control the
general structure and development a human being. Each pair of chromosomes has a unique
function in the development, and biological sex development is determined by the 23rd
chromosome pair. Chromosomes generally take after the letters X and Y in the real life.
Advantages of biological theory
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Women seem more coy, men seem more promiscuous- due to differences in the
hypothalamus
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Women will have better language and emotional skills compared to men who exhibit
better visual spatial skills and to some extent they are better in mathematics
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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Abnormal chromosome patterns are linked with Turner's syndrome in females, and
Klinefelter's syndrome in males
Disadvantages
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We shouldn't generalize from such an unusual sample. Moreover, how do we reliably
measure aggression?
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There's not always evidence of chromosomal or hormonal abnormalities in atypical
gender development
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It wasn't controlled, so changes may have been due to other uncontrolled variables
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Slabbekoorn et al- sex hormones don't have consistent effects on gender behavior
Cognitive/behavioral theories
This theory states that children form gender at their different own levels. Kohlberg came
up with a model that states that children identify their gender identity at age three. However, they
do not take it as fixed until they are five or seven. The children develop a schema. A schema is a
form of observed or spoken guidelines on interactions happed based on social beliefs and culture.
At this stage they will emulate role models on the aspects of being male or female as they grow.
Cognitive-developmental theory
Kohlberg came up with a completely different account of how children get to understand
and act in terms of their gender. Basic sexual attitudes are not patterned directly by either
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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biological instincts or arbitrary cultural norms, but by the child’s cognitive organization of his
social world along sex-role dimensions” ( Kohlberg, p.82).
In his view, boys think “I am a boy, therefore I want to do boy things, therefore the
opportunity to do boy things (and to gain approval for doing them) is rewarding” ( Kohlberg, p.
89). He emphasizes that gender role development is self-socialized and the social environment
have a lot gender roles information. The child will seeks out, organize, and then behaves
according to that information.
Kohlbergian theory had three steps;
Step 1: Gender labeling
Kids tend to identify with other people such mothers and fathers. However its stable as there
changes that occur with time and the changes in physical characteristics
Step 2: Gender stability
At this stage they will understand the stability in gender. Boys know they will be fathers when
they grow and girls will be mothers. But still they don’t know that gender is the same no matter
the age.
Step 3: Gender consistency
They fully appreciate their gender. This happens at age six or seven. They know their gender
won’t change over time and they soon undergo physical changes in their body
Advantages
•
It’s criticized for supporting labelling according to gender. Slaby and Frey (1975)
concluded that young kids below 2 years were able to correctly identify their sex by 76%
whereas those below 3 years correct by 90% .This proves Kohlsbberg prediction.
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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It supported gender consistency. In the research children were asked questions and they
concluded that children who showed higher interest in sex models scored high on
stability and consistency.
Disadvantages
Studies have disapproved Kolberg’s theory through research on the same criteria used by
Kohlsberg. It has yielded different results.
Family perspective
Family setups greatly affect the gender roles. A simple family model is the nuclear
family which consists of the father, mother and children. Modern families are completely
different from the traditional families. The parents interact with the children differently than in
the past.
Some families have their parents living in different places for different reasons like
work, divorce or disasters. The children raised by one parent will tend to resemble him/her as
they are with them all the time than the other parent who is away. These children will be
greatly influenced on their beliefs about gender by their parent.
In the urban setups, children are raised differently than in the rural set up. In the rural
setup boys are raised to take over the manual work from their fathers and the girls from their
mothers. In urban areas the kids are raised and educated to go and work in the offices. They
will grow with a completely different understanding of gender roles than those in rural areas.
In some families where the mother decided to remain single, she will perform the roles
of the father and the mother at the same time. Their children will grow believing that all
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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children are equal and can perform any task as their mother did. This is completely different
from children raised by both parents.
Stereotypes
It is a general view or preconception about a certain gender. These beliefs are greatly
influenced by culture of the people. Some people inherited some cultural beliefs which they find
hard to dispose. Some believe some roles are done by men and others by women.
Gender stereotypes are both positive and negative at the same time. A good example is
that women are sex toys and that men are superior. If a child grows under such a stereotype, they
will grow up knowing that girls have no rights since boys are superior then them. Boys will tend
to be arrogant and abusive to girls due to superiority complex.
It’s generally assumed that women belong to the kitchen. Many men believe it’s the work
of women to cook and serve them. Women believe it’s the role of men to fully provide for the
family. Girls will grow in stereotyped beliefs from their mothers. Boys too will emulate their
fathers.
Cross cultural perspectives
Culture is basically the set of beliefs embedded in a community and inherited from their
forefathers or predecessors. Some cultures are progressive while others are retrogressive. It’s the
cultural beliefs of a community that determines their understanding about gender. In some
communities men are prohibited from going to the kitchen. It’s believed that it is the work of
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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women to cook and serve men. Boys too are taught to follow this culture. It’s passed on from one
generation to another.
Some people intermarry and adopt a different which will again affect their beliefs about
gender roles. Each community has its beliefs about gender. But the general belief among all the
communities is that the simple tasks are done by women while the hard ones are done by men.
This makes women to be viewed as lesser humans compared to men. These beliefs are
retrogressive and should be discouraged.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be deduced that the gender agenda is diverse. It can be analyzed
socially, biologically, culturally among other classifications. Biological classification is based on
chromosomes and hormones. Cultural aspect dwells on beliefs about gender. Social classification
is based on family relation to gender. It can be seen that every classification is different based on
the underlying factor. Each theory has its own advantage and disadvantage as outlined. It makes
it hard for scholars and researchers to come to a conclusion on which is the best theory to
classify gender. But at the end each classification has its end result.
The issue of gender brought about feminism as women were overlooked and oppressed
by men. Drake in her book has demonstrated how to fight for the recognition and inclusion of
women as equals to men. They should feel as abled as men.
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
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References
Martin, C. L., Ruble, D. N. and Szkrybalo, J. (2002) ‘Cognitive theories of early gender
development’, Psychological Bulletin, 128, pp. 903–33
Nicole L. Nelson, Siobhan Kennedy-Costantini, Anthony J. Lee and Barnaby J.W.
Dixson, Children's judgements of facial hair are influenced by biological development and
experience, Evolution and Human Behavior, 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.06.002, (2019).
Ross D. Parke and Raymond Buriel, Socialization in the Family: Ethnic and Ecological
Perspectives, Handbook of Child Psychology, (2007).
Bronfenbrenner U, Morris PA. The bioecological model of human development. In: Lerner RM,
Damon W, editors. Handbook of child psychology: Vol 1, theoretical models of human
development. 6. Hoboken: Wiley; 2006. pp. 793–828
Lurye LE, Zosuls KM, Ruble DN. A developmental perspective on social identity: The case of
gender identity. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. 2008;120:31–46.
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