Life Span Development and Personality Paper

Life Span Development and Personality Paper Faith L. Mayo Axia College of University of Phoenix

Life Span Development and Personality Paper Adolf Hitler was a famous individual from the 20th century; his story has been well known for many years and will continue to spread through time as it was a memorable part of our history. He was the founder and leader of the Nazi party from 1933-1945 (Wistrich, 1997). His father was Alois Hitler, who was an authoritarian disciplinarian. He was strongly attached to his mother Klara Poelzl, she was a strong woman and a very hard worker. Once she passed away from cancer, Adolf Hitler began to show signs of moodiness, temperamental, and not willing to work (Wistrich, 1997). He moved to Vienna in 1907 and applied to Viennese Academy of Fine Arts, which he was rejected. This was the final turning point for Adolf Hitler. According to the Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team; in 1913, Hitler moved to Munich to join the Sixteenth Bavarian Infantry Regiment, serving as a despatch runner. He was badly wounded and placed in gas chambers for four weeks. Once he was released, he had to recuperate in a hospital for three months (C.W. and CL Heart, 2007). Hitler believed this would be his fate; to punish those that had embarrassed him in front of his nation; the Jewish and the Bolsheviks. In 1919, Hitler started out with 40 members by his side and used the swastika and the “Heil” sign at greetings (C.W., at,el, 2007). In the year 1921, the Nazi Party had grown to over 3,000 members; this only fuelled his self-esteem, power, and personal growth. Hitler seemed to enjoy people being afraid of him, cowering down, and worshiping his public speeches. Hitler was thrown in jail for nine months; as his 3,000 memebers went up against policeman and sixteen members were killed. This empowered Hitler to change his status; he decided it was the best decision to go to elections. Unfortunately, by 1930 Nazi elections went from 810,000 to 6,409,000 (C.W., at,el, 2007). Hitler created his own army, authority, and swept throughout his the nation. He had concentration camps and gas chambers to murder any Jewish people that were found. As the war continued on Hitler’s health deteriorated and he began to stay away from the publics view (C.W., at,el, 2007). In April 1945, Hitler married a woman named Eva Braun. The very next day, Hitler chose to take his own life by shooting a pistol into his mouth. Eva followed the same path and committed suicide right by his side (C.W., at,el, 2007). A Psychological viewpoint; Hitler was impacted by both nature and nurture as he was growing older. Adolf Hitler had three siblings; one dies right after birth and two that passed away from Diphtheria. Adolf Hitler’s father, Alois Hitler was also a military soldier and was very stern and set in his own ways. He was an authoritarian disciplinarian, there were a few allegations of child abuse but there has been no proven evidence to support these findings. Adolf had resentment towards his father, Alois. Adolf remarked, “I respected my father, but I loved my mother” (Cook, A.) Adolf’s mother, Klara was a completely dedicated mother, hard working, and supportive to her husband and children. Klara supported Adolf and his desire to become an artist. However, Alois, believed it was not a real career choice, and was disappointed in Adolf’s actions (Cook, A.). Alois passed away in 1903, but didn’t affect Adolf in a negative manner (Cook, A.). Clara passed away from breast cancer in December of 1907. This was an absolute tragedy in Adolf’s life; he remained by her side until the day she passed away, he cooked, cleaned, and took care of his younger sister (Cook, A.). At first with Adolf’s childhood life seemed to be fairly normal, but then these tragedies pushed him into a rollercoaster ride of emotions; his siblings passing away, his father, and then his mother. Some people believed that Adolf was already an aggressive child with various mood swings and his mother Clara would try to suppress these feelings (Cook, A.). Therefore, it is possible that his personality traits could have been inherited through a dominant gene, as he seemed to be an authoritarian just as his father was. Adolf Hitler was left all alone after the death of Klara and Alois. He had no other family besides siblings; which they went onto live in orphanages (Cook, A.). Adolf moved to Vienna to apply to Vienna Art Academy. He was devastated to find out that he was not accepted into the Academy. According to The Roots of an Evil Dictator he stated, “I was so convinced of my success that when the news that I had failed to pass was brought to me it struck me like a bolt from the skies.” Now Adolf Hitler was left without a family, no place to turn or be accepted, and he is unable to cope with his application being denied. One personality theory that may be applied to Adolf Hitler’s life could be a Behaviorist theory by B.F. Skinner. Skinner believed that people will behave in a certain manner based on a stimulus gets a response and/ or consequence. For instance, Hitler grew up with a mother, who had lost three children in the past. Klara allowed Adolf to misbehave and then showered him with affection and love. On the other hand, Adolf’s father, Alois would discipline the naughty behavior and this created a negative image of his father. Another personality theory that could be a party of Hitler’s actions could be the Social- Cognitive theory by Albert Bandura. Albert believed that behavior is going to be guided by expectations from the world or people around them. This will change the thought process of the individual. In Hitler’s experience he wanted people to be satisfied, proud, and acknowledge him. As in his childhood and early adulthood, he was rejected by his father, the Art academy, and then he was placed in a gas chamber. Once he was released and healthy, Hitler only wanted to be well known, successful, and looked up upon. The most relative theoretical approach in Hitler’s life would include the Behavioral approach. The reason for this is because Hitler seemed to be just like any other child as he was younger. However, as he excelled in school, his grades soon started to decline after he began having problems at home. His personality started to become moody, unstable, and irresponsible. This occurred after the deaths of his siblings and continued to get worse over the years. His father was more of a disciplinarian and his mother coddled his negative behaviors. Hitler wanted to be accepted by other people in this world and have them rely on him for guidance. He also was mortified by his punishment in the gas chambers and wanted revenge on any people other than Germans. Jewish people tended to be his target as he believed they were all the same, and none of them could possibly be nice; as this is what he had experienced in the past. Unfortunately, he was terribly incorrect with his discrimination tactics, which led to his death.

Reference
Cook, A,. The Roots of an Evil Dictator: Adolf Hitler’s Human Beginnings. Retrieved on July 26, 2010. http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/ww2/cook.htm

C.W. and CL Heart, 2007. Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, Adolf Hitler. Retrieved on July 26, 2010. http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/hitler.html

Wistrich, Robert, S.,1997. Jewish Virtual Library, Adolf Hitler 1889-1945. Retrieved on July 26, 2010. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html