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to satisfy the lust dynamism. He also noted that the adolescent’s early attempts
at heterosexual relationships can (and often do) lead to embarrassing outcomes, such as impotence,
frigidity, premature ejaculation, any and all of which can lead to serious damage to one’s self-
esteem. He felt that parental support during this time was critical to the successful transition of this
period. If the attempts at heterosexual relationships are successful, and they usually are, then the
child has taken another positive step up the ladder of interpersonal relations.
Epoch 6: Late Adolescence. Late adolescence originates with the achievement of satisfying sexual
activity. Of course, the adolescent is now functioning (at least part of the time) in the realm of
reality, such as working and paying taxes, and having increased social responsibilities (helping
care for an elderly grandparent or a younger sibling, moving away from home and accepting the
concurrent adult life-roles). Sullivan feels that those adolescents having the experience of attending
college have an advantage. They have an extra few years to make this transition beyond their high-
school graduation.
Epoch 7: Adulthood. Harry Stack Sullivan did not say a great deal about adulthood, except that it
represented the completion of personality development. The reason Sullivan did not say much
about adulthood is that he was a psychiatrist, and psychiatrists do not get many opportunities to
observe normally functioning adults. Sullivan was smart enough to know that what he observed in
the pathological adult population was not applicable to the rest of the nonpathological population.
Nature versus Nurture
An issue that has dominated developmental psychology for years is the nature—nurture
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controversy. This issue is directly related to any discussion of personality as well. You might ask
students how much of personality they believe is genetically inherited (nature) and how much is
learned from the environment (nurture). While generally, researchers argue that both appear to play
a role in personality, you might point out that how much of a role each plays may depend on what
part of personality you are discussing. For example, genetics clearly plays an important role in
nervous system development, which can affect traits such as introversion. On the other hand, the
environment (nurture) plays an important role in emotional maturation, as evidenced by Harlow
and Spitz’s studies on the effects of early isolation. Ultimately, one of the best ways to sum up the
research on this controversy is to say that nature sets a potential range of development, and nurture
determines where, within that range, a person will end up. With some aspects of personality,
nature sets a wide range of development, giving the environment plenty of room to have an impact.
With other aspects of personality, nature sets a narrow range of development, leaving the
environment room for only a minor impact. With most aspects of personality, nature appears to set
a moderate range of potential development.
Personality: Add Women and Stir!