This week revolved around personality development theories in different stages as well as fixations when each of the stages isn't passed through successfully. Some of the more interesting ideas presented this week were that of defense and coping mechanisms (Friedman, H. S. & Schustack, M. W., 2016).
I have always been a fan of Jacki Chan and chose to write about him this week. The person Jackie Chan is today is a result of multiple aspects of his personality being influenced by his surroundings and decisions made by his parents throughout his childhood. One major childhood influence was regular kung fu training due to his father's beliefs that it would help him build good character. Jackie's father enrolled him in the China Drama Academy in Hong Kong where he lived for ten years. The Academy taught Jackie "martial arts, acrobatics, singing and acting. (The Official Jackie Chan Website., n.d.)." The Academy training was rigorous, and discipline was harsh for disobedience. However, he had no other options as his family lived in Australia and he rarely saw them. They had moved when his father accepted a lead cook's position there and decided it would be best for Jackie to stay behind and learn useful skills. Due to childhood upbringing, Jackie felt it is wiser to remain the course of his training than to risk upsetting his family or their vision for him.
It is interesting to me that in some cultures such situations might have inspired a child to seek out their own life choices since the parents are no longer living so close and providing continued guidance, however, in this situation, their displeasure at any deviance from the life plan created for him would have produced enough distress to keep him on his course. Jackie credits his success in his acting career to his uncle (The Official Jackie Chan Website., n.d.).
References
Friedman, H. S. & Schustack, M. W. (2016). Personality: Classic theories and modern research (6th ed.). MA: Pearson
The Official Jackie Chan website. (n.d.). http://www.jackiechan.com/biography.htm
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