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Kohlberg's stages of morality are defined as pre conventional, conventional, and post conventional. During the pre conventional level, we tend to only worry about ourselves and our necessities, while at the conventional level we are concerned with living up to expectations to lost close to us and by law. Post conventional, however, is being aware that people hold a variety of values due to their empathetic ability. Also, this moral stage provides an understanding of universal principals while maintaining the importance of self-chosen values. An instance of a moral dilemma in my life was when I was assigned multiple summative projects that would credit towards my grade heavily while my best friend was experiencing the death of her grandfather. While it was my instinct to prepare myself for these exams to better my grades, I chose to help my friend out due to the empathy I had towards her and her situation. I put myself in her perspective and realized how badly she needed someone to support and encourage her, so I put off studying for my tests until later that evening. This placed me in the post conventional stage due to my ability to feel for my friend and prioritize our friendship over something as temporary as my grades. I was aware of what I valued most, being her emotional stability and our relationship, over other priorities such as studying for my exams.

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The four main techniques to parenting are labeled as authoritative, authoritarian, neglectful or uninvolved, and permissive. Typically, parents strive to be considered as authoritative, due to the positive and successful qualities that follow the specific style. Common traits following authoritative parents are loving, supportive, understanding, and caring, all the while setting boundaries and disciplining your children when necessary. On the contrary, authoritarian parents are extremely cross, and are focusing only on the discipline of their children. They are not warm and loving, and have stern and numerous rules and boundaries their children are expected to follow, no questions asked. Parents who are defined as permissive are extremely laid back, at a point where there is no definition between child and parent. A permissive parent is too focused on pleasing their child, rather than educating them on what's right and wrong. These types of parents set no boundaries, yet are still involved in a relationship with their kid(s). The least loving and involved parents are labeled as neglectful. They are not engaged in their child's life, and don't ever plan to be. This can result in children growing up with one parent in the household, and can cause trust issues as they grow older.

Personally, I have authoritative parents that have positively influenced the person I am today. One instance I can remember that portrays this parenting style was when I attended a high school party where I was exposed to drugs and alcohol. Based on my morals, I did not partake in the behavior that I was surrounded by at the party, however I felt extremely uncomfortable and unsafe. It was my best friend's birthday party, and I felt like I had to be there to support her and take it upon myself to ensure she had a good night. I acted as a babysitter to all the intoxicated teens there, just so she didn't have to feel overwhelmed or stressed. I was constantly having to make adult-like decisions, and it put a lot on my anxiety. Although I didn't want my best friend to get in trouble for permitting this behavior at her party, I didn't hesitate to call my mom and explain the whole situation. I was concerned and quite honestly scared for the safety of myself and my friends at the house. My mom was not pleased, but instead of making me feel at fault, she quickly supported me and talked me through what to do. After everything had settled down, she came to the house around 1 AM to pick me up. In the morning, her and my dad had an intense conversation with me on how dangerous the behavior at the party was, and how they would not allow me to go to my best friend's house when she had intentions of throwing a party.  They were open to hearing my perspective, and were proud of me for handling the situation like I did. The vulnerability from both my parents and myself, and the genuine care from my parents shows that they were portraying an authoritative parenting style. They determined a set of expectations and boundaries that I was aware of, yet were open to my side of the story. This has allowed me to build a honest and loving relationship with my parents, and the ability to trust them when I am in a time of need.

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Erik Erikson is a theorist who focused his studies on the aspect of social personality development. Erikson specifically analyzed the separate stages of one's life, and the predicaments that come along with each time period. He specifically looked at the correlation between how each conflict was resolved, and how that resulted in the different developments of a child's personality.
Specifically focusing on the stage "Autonomy vs. Doubt", and how that has shaped me to become independent. This stage aids a child in developing a personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. When I was around 8 years old, the first day of third grade rolled around and it was time for me to select my outstanding first-day outfit. Now at least in my family, the first day of any grade was monumental. My mom would wake up extra early, make us a big breakfast, help us with our hair and outfits, and have a big sign that said, "OLIVIA'S FIRST DAY OF __ GRADE", that we would stand in front of to take a picture before heading to the bus. Because I was in third grade, and wanted that independence from my mother, I begged her to let me choose my outfit for the big day. Did I have any fashion sense? Absolutely not, but I thought I did. My mom was hesitant, because she knew the countless combinations of patterns in my closet, but we settled to let me choose my shoes instead of my whole outfit. This gave me a sense of independence that I had hoped for, and to this day has defined me as a separate person. My parents have always been open to giving me the opportunity to make my own decisions, and this was the first example. Just by letting me select my shoes, I was able to find that self-identity that differed me from my parents and allowed me to be my own individual. I now have built enough trust and honesty in my relationship with my parents to where I get the chance to experience things most people my age don't because of my responsibility and independence to accomplish what it is I want to achieve.
Another example of a stage that has shaped my personality, is the "Intimacy vs. Isolation" point of development. Going back to the December of my freshman year, my dad and stepmom at the time had been experiencing extreme distancing. I didn't feel the love our family typically expressed so effortlessly, and it originated from the fault of love between my dad and stepmom. I never saw them willingly talking to one another, my dad had been "accidentally" falling asleep in my brother's room, and my relationship with my dad became distant. I finally figured out that it was because my dad and stepmom were filing for a divorce because she had been cheating on my dad for over three months. This was absolutely detrimental to our family, and especially my dad. Watching someone who played such a strong, brave, and intelligent role in my life become isolated, withdrawn, and depressed, had such a negative influence on our family. I never thought I would watch my dad fall in love again, and I would never have a motherly relationship like I did with my stepmom. After 2 years of my dad slowly starting to put himself out there, he found Angela. At first I was skeptical, based on the failure of the "Intimacy vs. Isolation" stage that had caused me to be guarded to love, but I was willing to give it a try. After 6 months of my dad and Angela dating, she had finally been introduced to my siblings and I. Through trying to create a healthy, loving relationship with Angela, it has been extremely difficult to put myself out there, and be vulnerable to loving someone like I did my past stepmom. I find myself doubting her authenticity often, and her compatibility in our family due to how that failure with my stepmom shaped my life.

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Nature and nurture both have a powerful effect on one's traits and personality. While nature focuses on the biological, genetic aspect of one's upbringing, nurture is focused on the influence of your surroundings, such as other people or your environment. In my personal life, I believe that nature has had more control over who I am today, specifically regarding anxiety and depression. I was diagnosed with both generalized anxiety and mild depression going into my freshman year, and this was not a shock to my parents. I had been consistently expressing common symptoms of mental disorders, and it was noticed by my mom not only because she was a therapist, but because she had experienced it herself for over 15 years. When the concern of my parents was brought to my attention, my mom explained our family history with both anxiety and depression. On both sides, my aunts, my grandma, my grandpa, my cousins, and even my mom herself, had all struggled with these disorders. When I went to a professional to seek help, she prescribed me the same medication that my relatives have been taking for years previous. It is evident that it was passed down genetically from multiple generations, which explains why it was so obvious to my parents that I suffered from depression and anxiety also.