Theories of Personality in Psychology The current course has been a very important step in helping students understand the issue of personality traits. Different people tend to act in different ways, which can be explained by looking at their personality traits. This makes sure that people know how to deal with different behaviors and that they grow in all areas of their personality. During the discussion, a number of ideas have been brought up that shed light on how people usually act. Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality is one of the things that have been looked at in this course. The theory looks at how people learn to act and is mostly concerned with development. The theory is about how people act based on their id, ego, and alter-ego. The theory tries to make sure that people can look at things like how children grow up and how stages like the oral stage can affect behavior. This makes sure that people and different fields, like psychology, can understand how behavior can be modeled. The final project will also look at other theories, like the behaviorist theory, which is an alternative to the traditional theories. During the lesson, a number of lessons have been taught that can be used in the final submission. One of the problems is how the different personality traits change over time. This will make sure that people can study how the different traits in people change over time. The society will be able to deal with the traits and make sure that people get to know each other. You can study things like the humanistic theory to learn more about the idea of free will in the personality spectrum. One thing that wasn’t clear during the course was how negative traits can be reduced in society as a whole and what role social institutions play in changing people’s behavior.
Personality is a set of dynamic, organized characteristics that are possessed by a person that uniquely influences their cognitions, environment, emotions, and behaviors in various situations. Sigmund Freud is one of the theorists, who came up with a far-reaching personality psychology schema, the Freudian theory of personality. It has therefore been used to add, modify and interpret from its core points (Freud, 2015). He was influenced by his thinking that regards the human mind. He believed that during conscious mental activities, such as explaining behaviors, people don’t always show the truth of the accounts of their motivation. This meant that there were certain activities that existed within the mind within the conscious and unconscious level. Here, the conscious mind consisted of thoughts that need attention now, the preconscious contains anything that can be retrieved from the memory and finally the unconscious where processes that cause most behaviors existed (Ewen, 2014).
His work was hugely dominated by his trials of finding ways of penetrating the structures and processes of personality that were greatly hidden. He used psychoanalysis to describe the exact thing in the human mind. He emphasized that the unconscious mind controlled behaviors to greater margin that people suspect.
From his psychoanalytic theory of personality, he argued that most of the human behaviors are as an impact of the interaction among the id, ego, and superego. The id fight constantly to have a person’s way in everything done. The ego mediates a satisfactory outcome and finally the superego which serves as a screening center of things going on. This structural theory of personality, therefore, places great significance on how conflicts among various parts of the mind shape the personality and behaviors of individuals, where most of these conflicts are unconscious.
According to Sigmund, the most of the personality develops during childhood where it is critically shaped through a series of psychosexual stages, which he referred to as the psychosexual theory of development. He believed that most of suffering in human is determined during childhood development. As a child passes through the stages, there is a rise in unresolved conflicts between the physical drives and the social expectations. This, therefore, means that environmental and parental experiences at early life of a child influence a person’s personality in adulthood (Fromm, 2013).
Oral stage relates to fixation on oral things, and if they not met well, there is a likelihood of developing adverse oral behaviors. The anal stage mainly refers to developing healthy toilet habits. Phallic stage primarily relates to the relationships that both girls and boys create towards their parents and finally genital stage which consists of all the tasks of other stages placed into the mind to allow onset of sexual feelings and behaviors. According to Freud, during each stage, there is a conflict between biological drives and social expectations, and therefore if a child navigates through such conflicts successfully, it will result to mastery of each stage to fully mature personality (Schultz, 2016).
However, Frauds ideas have since been met with a lot of criticism, firstly because of mainly having a narrow focus of sexuality as the main driver of human personality development. Secondly, his ideas are not supported by any experimental data, and this makes the theory to be scientifically invalid. Finally, the theory is male dominated which is a purely social bias.
There are many of ways that show how this theory is still relevant today. Today it is seen that human beings cannot keep secrets. This is because they reveal their innermost selves with their clothes, twitches and unconscious mannerism. This means whatever a person does; he expresses it for people to see and hear. This was one of the fundamental orientations of Freud. Furthermore, Freud theory is still relevant today especially in dreaming context, where our dreams are driven by the conscious and the subconscious desires and fears (Benet-Martínez, 2015).
References
Benet-Martínez, V. D. (2015). Six visions for the future of personality psychology. APA handbook of personality and social psychology, , 665-689.
Ewen, R. (2014). An introduction to theories of personality. . Park Drive: Psychology Press.
Eysenck, H. J. (2013). The Experimental Study of Freudian Theories (Psychology Revivals). . Abingdon: Routledge.
Freud, S. (2015). The Freudian Theory of Personality. Journal Psyche, 20-50.
Fromm, E. (2013). Sigmund Freud’s Mission: An analysis of his personality and influence. New York City,: Open Road Media.
Schultz, D. P. (2016). Theories of personality. . Boston: Cengage Learning.
Position Statement on Personality Theory
Another relevance in the 21st century is witnessed in the lifestyle that people are living. Lifestyle, in this case, is being defined by education completion, jobs, and social relations. From the theory, the childhood background creates the grown-ups personality; therefore being able to value or disvalue education hence the completion factor. This condition mostly creates one-self un-knowingly. In most cases, those grown without education influence from the guardians end up disregarding it and permanently alienate themselves with those who are brought up with education pressure. The same case applies to jobs, where people develop a preference on which position to be associated. The best elaboration to this is the preference of the professions that exist in this era. On social relations; is best defined by the societies which exist today. These societies are either loving or hateful ones depending on the people in them. Personal traits of the community members join them as one hence their status of being loving or hateful. A loving society contains individuals who are welcoming and generous and vice versa to the other group.
Another relevance today of Freudian theory of personality is witnessed on leadership. This is a factor that one acquires unconsciously. According to the theory, personality is built from the background growth of a child. When observed keenly, the experience of most leaders simply from homes, companies all the way to government leader; have been brought up in a leadership family. The Hilton family, for example, has all their businesses run and owned by family members. Leadership personality is enhanced by the family members which in most cases gets embraced despite being a responsibility. In other words, personality can be stated as a product from background influence as stated by Freud.
Lastly but not least, a major relevance personality from the theory today; is well illustrated by the psychiatrist’s questioners. The psychiatrist is known of the many questions made on the patient as a way of understanding the cause of the problem. The two main questions asked are” How old are you” and “where are you from.” These two questions and the doctor in identifying the background and its level of influence on the patient’s personality against the age. Without these questions, physicians would be enduring a lot of hardship in understanding the client’s conscious factors to determine the unconscious ones without directly asking them; which might bring a lot of uncomfortable statuses. In summary, therefore, the theory is proven to be true, as the physician employs it in understanding their clients as well as advocating for effective treatment.
The secondary research of this theory is best explained by Freud’s notion of parental care being responsible in all psychiatrist diseases to criminality. He further explains that besides the explanation not being scientific, it plays a huge role in defining the grownups behaviors. In other words, the theory mostly blames the guardians for the traits of their children. Besides the environment provided by the parents, the genetic factor is also not ruled out. According to most of the environmentalists today, they highly support and confirm that biological and genetic factors define the existing product. The official standards of diagnosing psychological disorders in America reflects on the adoption of neo-Kraepelinian.
Universal neo-Kraepelinian is a scientific biological method that emphasizes on diagnostic precision as well as the genetic and biological ontologies search (Sigmund Freud, n.d.). This, therefore, means that a psychological issue in an individual from a certain family must have inherited some of the psychotic genes in the family line. The method which is currently practiced and encouraged by the American Psychiatric Association affirms Freud’s theory.
For more clarifications, let’s take an example of a serial killer. A serial killer is a person who kills for amusement and does not have any guilt over the act. This is quite a huge psychotic problem to the person and the society. For such a person, the cause of the killing behavior is mostly based on genetic factor than the growing environment. According to the theory, some of the behaviors are conducted unconsciously. From the questioning of the cause of their doings on the captured serial killers concludes that they do not care and the act is part of them. This summary statement illustrates that the behavior is in control of the person. The mind is already corrupt and misguided by the act. Psychiatrist, therefore, ends up requesting the family history and conducts a genetic test to ensure no more existence or possibility of another member being infected.
Cultural perspective
Freudian theory of personality has a lot of positive cultural perception on the society if at all it is given the respect it deserves. From the above discussion, it is well elaborated of the causes of certain behaviors without the conscience of the person. The human behavior out of continuous repetition creates certain culture per say. With the knowledge of this theory in the current world can be used to shape crime, disunity and illiteracy cultures among others (Larsen at all 2008).
Crime is a culture controllable from the theory knowledge from the interception of authorities, psychiatrist, and people. If the authorities get to understand that the background environment of individuals is responsible for building criminals, they can get involved and control the status by providing better options for reducing criminal environment. A psychiatrist may also be employed to Help criminal based individuals, especially on parents in guiding them of the outcome of their children if not morally monitored at the young age. Lastly, people knowledgeable of the theory can fight crime amongst themselves to save the young ones from adopting the traits.
Disunity is a culture highly developing in many states due to people differences. With the knowledge of this theory, people can learn to understand and appreciate each other thereby promoting unity. Understanding of human difference can highly result in creating harmony and development among people. This theory avails the option of understanding since it openly illustrates people to be who they are, from where they come from.
Lastly but not least, illiteracy in most states can be defined as past tense if at all this theory is well understood by people. Illiteracy is technically brought about by the lack of influence and thrive to education. Some societies contain members who do not find the value of education in their lives, thereby giving little or no effort in advocating for education. In other words, these societies create a non-education environment where the young ones grow and adapt the social system. This theory, however, shares a light that one can change characters depending on the exposure or rather used to the environment. Therefore, individuals from a not- education based society can personally change their education bias if exposed to and learning group. Education is chosen since it is one of the most valuable assets in the 21st century.
References
Benet-Martínez, V. D. (2015). Six visions for the future of personality psychology. APA handbook of personality and social psychology, , 665-689.
Ewen, R. (2014). An introduction to theories of personality. . Park Drive: Psychology Press.
Eysenck, H. J. (2013). The Experimental Study of Freudian Theories (Psychology Revivals). . Abingdon: Routledge.
Freud, S. (2015). The Freudian Theory of Personality. Journal Psyche, 20-50.
Fromm, E. (2013). Sigmund Freud’s Mission: An analysis of his personality and influence. New York City,: Open Road Media.
Larsen, R. J., & Buss, D. M. (2008). Personality psychology. Jastrebarsko: Naklada Slap, 269-71.
Schultz, D. P. (2016). Theories of personality. . Boston: Cengage Learning.
Sigmund Freud. (n.d.). Retrieved from psychologist world: https://www.psychologistworld.com/psychologists/sigmund-freud
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Personality Theory- Alternative Theoretical Positions and Application
Southern New Hamprshire University
Alternative Theoretical Position
Personality and human variation is elaborated by study of their behavior and response to the external environment. Theorist have tried to bring on board various propositions which support their thoughts concerning the way human beings interact and influence others. Investigation on the general life of people is basically conducted through evaluating the differences in acts (Hall et al., 1998). Moreover, human nature and their similarities gives a lead in establishing and justifying a certain behavior in the human fraternity. Personality is defined as characteristics possessed by an individual and uniquely influences the surrounding environment. It is also recognized as pattern of thoughts, feelings that strongly determines the expectations. Alongside this, two more elements used to study personality are identified. One is nomothetic; this is whereby general laws are applied to cut across diverse set of groups (Hogan & Smither, 2008). The second one is idiographic where unique characteristics of a person are studied.
Behaviorist theories affirms that behaviors are influenced by an external stimuli (Maddi, 2001) .This school of thought was put across by B.F Skinners, who strongly argued about relationship between the responses of human beings to what they are exposed to. This is a radical shift from the stand of Freudian philosophy (Peter, 2015). According to Skinners, the prior situation of a person has a great influence on what he or she experiences in the current time. This theory assume that people have tendency to borrow from past in order to handle their current problems. Besides, the continued reference to the past situation either impede or propel their performance. For example, a child cries because the parent offers help to the crying baby. The young one would form the habit with the idea of drawing attention from the mother. The parent has an option of dealing with such behavior through punishing or by showing the kid the right way. Such an adoption might take time before it is halted. Skinner believes that children get used to doing bad things because the attention they receive acts as a reinforcement.
He puts forward that people form behavior through operant conditioning. Basically, what an individual is used to defines his/her character more elaborately (Progoff, 2013). Richard Herrnstein extended this theory by concluding that traits are determined by the strength of the external stimuli. He believed on thoughts of Skinner concerning the influence of environment on the behavior of people (Progoff, 2013). Richard further notes that traits are biologically influenced. The two assumptions by the mentioned theorist agree on the fact that personality is not an inherent element. It is widely related to what the people here and do. External stimuli are good in shaping people and can be utilized for the benefit of the society (Rennie & Nissin (n.d.). However, the work done by Richard confirms that external factors contribute to the behavior in organism. He further added more content to show that even biological factors have a portion. The famous classical conditioning experiment involving dogs is support the idea (Hall et al., 1998).
Humanistic theories emphasizes on free will. It was put across by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers who believed that determining the course of behavior is subjective and solely dependent on the individual(Hogan & Smither,2008). The proposition affirms that human beings is one complete entity and they have the choice to choose what is good and bad. Those interested in growth find all means to achieve their objectives. This kind of behavior is more reliable since it is not forced. Alongside this, it results to self-actualization (Maddi,2001). Some of the characteristics which were identified by Maslow for self-actualization are; awareness, acceptance of the things which cannot be changed, reality and denmocratic rights for everyone. Freud’s theory is different from Humanistic theory in the view of human being. According to Freud, the behavior is developed by single components which sum up to define the personality. Humanistic theory does not divide a human being into components (Peter,2015). A person is viewed as a complete entity, where his or actions are dependent on creativity. Man is viewed as active and innovative who responds to the situations that happen in life. In other words, the occurrences does not define an individual but instead the approach refines the character.
Sigmund Freud identifies three stages that human beings undergo in developing their behavior (Maddi, 2001). They are classified as Id, ego and superego. Every stage has its own characteristics as the mind expands. He is against the stand given by Humanistic theory, which assumes subjective experiences. Freud theory is widely used in various situations in the present times. In the parenting work, the child adopts the language they hear from the surrounding (Progoff, 2013). Parents have significant influence in imparting initial knowledge to the young ones. Additionally, they behave as they are instructed and generally carry on the same traits in future dates. Human brain is thought to grow in various stages. The capacity of information retention is developed from one level to another based on varied exposure to learning environment. This is the outcome when knowledge acquisition is talked about.
Application
Psychoanalytic theories by Sigmund Freud can be employed in the present world to explain some of the prevalent behavior. For example, the current use of social media is increasing at an alarming rate. People sharing information via social media platform are increasing on daily basis. According to Freud, the stages of human development are unique in characteristics. The recent study by Peter (2015) affirms that the highest age bracket in social media consist of teenagers, who find pleasure exchanging thoughts with their friends. This is the stage classified by Freud as Ego. Individuals at this stage seek for anything which would make them relevant and more close to people. Advancement in technology targets this age bracket. Moreover, those in super ego class use technology for executive business rather than chatting with friends and colleagues. This situation clearly explains and confirm to the commentaries of Freud. Understanding the change in use of social media with age can be evaluated by defining certain traits in both old and young people.
Notably, appreciating the three stages of development identified in this theory would play a big role in gauging the various aspects embraced by different age groups. Freud is of the idea that desire for petty things decreases with age. What a child craves become irrelevant as the time progress. Each level is well documented with its characteristics which can be utilized to measure the strength of influential social media. The approaches to finding solutions are generally stipulated by stepwise research on various groups concerning their views on usage of current technology. This would Help in incorporating theoretical work into real life hence improving understanding of psychological theories.
References
Hall, C. S., Lindzey, G., & Campbell, J. B. (1998). Theories of personality. New York: J. Wiley & Sons.
Hogan, R., & Smither, R. (2008). Personality: Personality theories and applications. Tulsa, OK: Hogan Press.
Maddi, S. R. (2001). Personality theories: A comparative analysis. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
Peters, R. S. (2015). Psychology and Ethical Development: A Collection of Articles on Psychological Theories, Ethical Development and Human Understanding. Florence: Taylor and Francis.
Progoff, I. (2013). Jung’s psychology and its social meaning: An introductory statement of C.G. Jung’s psychological theories and a first interpretation of their significance for the social sciences. London [u.a: Routledge.
Rennie, D., & Nissim, R. (n.d.). The Grounded Theory Method and Humanistic Psychology. The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice, 297-308.
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Personality Psychology Theory
The course at hand has been a crucial stepping stone in ensuring the students can understand the issue of personality traits. Various individuals tend to behave in divergent manner and that can be explained by studying the existent personality traits. This ensures one can understand how to handle various behaviors as well as ensure development among the various personality realms. A number of ideas have been posited within the discussion that inform on how individuals tend to behave.
One of the areas that have been studied in the course is the personality theory that was developed by Sigmund Freud. The theory studies the manner in which individuals develop behavior and focuses on development. The theory focuses on behavior revolving around id, ego as well as the alter-ego. The theory focuses on ensuring one can look at issues such as childhood development and the how stages such as the oral stage can influence behavior. This ensures the society as well as various fields such as psychology can understand the manner in which behavior can be modeled. The final project will also focus on the alternative theoretical positions such as the behaviorist theory that offers an alternative to the traditional theories.
A number of lessons have been exposed within the lesson that can be applied within the final submission. One of the issues is the growth within the various personality traits. This will ensure one can study how the various traits within individuals can be studied and the progression. The society will be in a position to handle the traits as well as ensure individuals get to understand each other. Issues such as the humanistic theory can be studied so as to understand the concept of free will in the personality spectrum. One of the areas that was unclear during the course is the comprehensive manner in which the negative traits can be reduced within the society and the position of societal organs in influencing behavior.
Personality Psychology Theory
Name
Institutional Affiliation
The course at hand has been a crucial stepping stone in ensuring the students can understand the issue of personality traits. Various individuals tend to behave in divergent manner and that can be explained by studying the existent personality traits. This ensures one can understand how to handle various behaviors as well as ensure development among the various personality realms. A number of ideas have been posited within the discussion that inform on how individuals tend to behave.
One of the areas that have been studied in the course is the personality theory that was developed by Sigmund Freud. The theory studies the manner in which individuals develop behavior and focuses on development. The theory focuses on behavior revolving around id, ego as well as the alter-ego. The theory focuses on ensuring one can look at issues such as childhood development and the how stages such as the oral stage can influence behavior. This ensures the society as well as various fields such as psychology can understand the manner in which behavior can be modeled. The final project will also focus on the alternative theoretical positions such as the behaviorist theory that offers an alternative to the traditional theories.
A number of lessons have been exposed within the lesson that can be applied within the final submission. One of the issues is the growth within the various personality traits. This will ensure one can study how the various traits within individuals can be studied and the progression. The society will be in a position to handle the traits as well as ensure individuals get to understand each other. Issues such as the humanistic theory can be studied so as to understand the concept of free will in the personality spectrum. One of the areas that was unclear during the course is the comprehensive manner in which the negative traits can be reduced within the society and the position of societal organs in influencing behavior.
