Life Span Development and Personality of Eva Peron
Rhonda Hager
PSY/300
June 18, 2012
Teresa Neal

Life Span Development and Personality of Eva Peron
Introduction
Many factors influence the way a person will develop and the personality they will have. Scientists have long debated on the subject of heredity versus environment and how each effects the way a person develops. Different theories have also been discovered to explain a person’s personality. In this paper we will look at how heredity and environment played a role in the development of Eva Peron. We will also discuss how the different theories of personality explain the woman she became.
Influences of Heredity and Environment
Eva Peron was born on May 7, 1919 in Los Toldos, Argentina. Her mother, Juana Ibarguren, was the mistress of Juan Duarte, a local land owner. Juana had a large personality.
She was the type of person who got what she wanted. She worked in the kitchen of the Duarte house and set her eyes on Juan Duarte. Not long after she became pregnant with her first child. It was not uncommon for men of means in Argentina to have mistresses; instead it was assumed that they would. Juan Duarte provided for Juana and her children to the extent that he could, while keeping them away from his wife and family. Eva was born into poverty and the entire family, mother and five children, shared a one room home (Barnes, 1935). Since she was not from the poorest class of people, her neighbors tended to looked down on her for not marrying. The other families did not allow their children to play with Eva and her other siblings. Eva and her sisters and brother knew from an early age what it meant to be illegitimate. They were visited by the father and shown affection but were not allowed to be with him all the time. Even at his funeral they were kept out of sight. After the father’s