Martin Luther King
Introduction
Martin Luther king junior, a black American, is known for his fight against discrimination against black-Americans. His life is marked with much achievement. His christian background and family had a great influence in his lifespan. He was born in 1929 and served as pastor together with his father in the Baptist church at Atlanta, an occupation his grandfather had also been in for seventeen years. He was named after the religious leader who founded the Lutheran church. He held several post; he became the president of the senior class with a majority of whites in at his years in the seminary while studying theology (King, 2009).
He married Coretta an intelligent and strong woman. His passion to fight for the blacks made him convert his Nobel Prize into money that would be used in the movement that advocated for civil rights. For this reason, he held an executive position at National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He is known to have led many other organizations. He wrote books and articles and made hundreds of speeches, led boycotts, matches and protests in his campaigns against ill-treatment of the blacks by the whites. One of the protests he led in Alabama attracted caught world’s attention. This marked the beginning of the revolution. He was also involved in politics; he campaigned for the would-be successor of John F. Kennedy.
Distinction between Influences of Heredity and Environment on Martin’s Psychological Development
Heredity aspects are those that are inherited from parents through genes. They beyond are beyond a person’s control. Such are skin color, height which is physical. A child can also inherit psychological aspects like being an introvert and emotional like anger outbursts. Martin inherited the color of skin from his parents. The psychological and emotional aspects can also influenced by the environment. Environmental influences come from the surroundings e.g. friends and social set-up.it majorly influences the morals of an individual. His embraced the Christian values because of being in Christian family.
Family Issues Or Social Support Systems May Have Influenced The Personal Developmental Growth And Adjustment For Martin Luther King.
Martin’s father and grandfather were both pastors, this influenced to join pastor hood afterwards.tne were also fighters for civil rights and held leadership positions in the field. His grandfather had been a president of the local chapter of the Baptist church and many others. His father, king senior was a chairman of different committees. These two figures also influenced to him to join ministry and even to take theological course, it is while he was here that he was elected to be the president. It not only exposed him more but also helped him develop his character and abilities as a leader. He confesses that his father had set a good example for him. In Crozer Theological Seminary, he received a prize which boosted the attention he needed in his pursuit for civil rights. Having from a well-able family background, he was able to pursue his education to the highest level at a tender age. Most institutions are used to awarding the best students and Martin received many of these. Being an experienced, educated and exposed pastor, he was able to enlighten his fellow blacks about their civil rights on religious grounds (Cockroft, 2009).
He was born in times when the social set-up in America was not favorable for the blacks. This was an attitude that had been carried on since times when slave trade had been going carried on. Information from Luther’s research papers shows that his college experiences at Boston may have boosted him to fight more for civil rights. During those days, special treatment was given to the whites. There were separate schools that for whites and blacks. His sister who he looked up to when he was a child was he motivation for his conversion. When she went forward to get saved after a preaching by a white from Virginia, Luther felt left out and therefore followed her sister to also get saved. The black American pastors, who had the European-American religious enlightenment, were his main role models. He didn’t like the African-American religious perspectives he had learnt from his childhood experiences.
Theories of personality and their applications in Martin Luther King Junior.
Type personality theory
It’s among the oldest theories to be developed. It was developed by Hippocrates. Its name is derived from the type of fluid used. In his theory he classifies people in four different categories depending on their temperaments which are determined by body fluids. The first category is the sanguine that are referred to as optimists. They are determined by blood. The choleric are known to be angry associated with yellow bile, melancholies are the sad and thoughtful, associated with black bile, the four and last are phlegmatic, known to be cool and composed and determined by phlegm. This theory can be used in classifying Luther’s personality. He can be called a sanguine. Despite the abuses he went through in his movement on civil rights, he still purged on and never giving up. The determination aspect in a person comes from a focused and optimistic perspective. The many speeches, protests and matches are a true indication of his optimistic view. His popularly known speech he made ‘I have a dream’ further justifies his optimistic personality (Malam, 2009).
Psychodynamic personality theory
It was proposed by Freud. He proposed a three structure personality. These parts are; id, ego and superego.id part is about satisfying inner primary instincts, ego is the part that brings in the balance between gratifying the inner needs of instincts and the surrounding limits. The superego aspect is the absorption of parental and environmental ideologies. Unlike in type theory, this theory is founded on the conflicts that are constantly working through in a person and the determinants of someone’s character/personality. It gives particular emphasis on the role of experiences of a person as a child in formation of a person’s character. His childhood experiences as pastor’s kid are a clear influence on his personality. Having been brought by a grandfather and a father who were civil right movement leaders and pastors made him become the same. These two men in his life also held different leader positions which made him end up to be a leader as well. His inner need to leave the African-American ideologies and adapt those of European-American origin was asserted by the available clergy role models (Cockroft, 2009)
Why type personality theory is the best
Type personality theory is the best since it gives categories of people from their predominant behavior/character. The character is also the determining factor of how much one can achieve. This makes it easier to identify a person’s personality with faster and with ease. Furthermore each category has a list of other traits that help in identifying. Psychodynamic theory does not give a clear way of identifying a person’s personality. Using this theory can give varied views on a person’s character since it depends on the environment can also which differ. Primary inner needs also differ as the environment differs
Conclusion
It’s amazing how an individual’s background can determine how far that person can go. King’s great grandfather, grandfather and father determined not only his career but also his destiny. Their leadership position acted as a catalyst for the leadership qualities in him. Their education level and overall exposure opened doors for him. It is when in these educational institutions that his leadership qualities could be channeled and later became prominent. Moreover his being an African-American stirred him up to be a civil rights activist.
References
Cockroft. K., Duncun N, & watts J (2009). Developmental Psychology. Chicago: Juta and Company Ltd
King, M.(2009).I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World .New York: Baker & Taylor.
Malam J, (2009).Martin Luther King. California: Evans Brothers, 2009
