This process is influenced by home environment, family members, and social groups.
A. Home environment: total home environment is a critical factor in personality development. Fox example, children with markedly institutional upbringing or children in a cold, unstimulating home have a much greater potential to be emotionally maladjusted than children raised by parents in a warm, loving and stimulating environment. The key variable is not the parents per se but rather the type of environment that is generated for the child.
B. Family members: parents and other family members have strong influence on the personality development of the child. The study by Newcomb showed the high correlation between attitudes of parents and children with a further consistency in patterns. The relationship between parents and children was higher than that between the children and their teachers. Besides parents, siblings (brothers and sisters) also contribute to personality.
C. Social groups: besides a person's home environment and family members, there are other influences arising from the social placement of the family as the person is exposed to agencies outside the home, particularly the school, friendship, and other work groups. Similarly, socio-economic factors also affect personality development.