Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with some definitions of personality and its components, and outlines inborn and constitutional aspects of intelligence and temperament. It continues with descriptions of the developmental processes determining infant sociability; the acquisition of intelligence and emotional maturity; and the influences of the social environment. Although human behaviour is immensely varied, there are limits to this variability, and within the range of what is possible there are constraints on the behaviour of individuals. The book focuses on the facts and theories which seem most relevant to the understanding of individual differences between people, and especially of disturbed children and their parents. It is concerned with both objective and subjective aspects of personality development in childhood and aims to convey, with examples from clinical practice, how scientifically-observed developmental processes and transformations may be experienced and appraised subjectively by an individual person.