Personality of Abraham Lincoln - Essay Example

? Personality of Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was a famous American president who helped end the slavery trade and stop secessionist movements from destabilizing the country. Lincoln had a charming personality and respected all the citizens. He was a good listener and participated in charitable events through out the country. This paper will discuss the history of Lincoln and the events which shaped his personality development. The paper will also discuss the various theories which explain personality development process and their advantages and disadvantages. In the last part, the paper will discuss the different methods of assessing personality and the related results. Personality of Abraham Lincoln Introduction Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and led the country to victory during the American Civil War (Sandburg, 2002). He contributed immensely towards ending slavery in America. He was a lawyer by profession before he was elected as President. He had previously served as Illinois State legislator and a member of the House of Representatives (Sandburg, 2002). His Presidency was marked with abolition of slavery, neutralization of the war in United Kingdom and defeat of secessionists. He is regarded as one of the most remembered Presidents in US history (Sandburg, 2002). Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 in Southeast Hardin County. His father was Thomas Lincoln and his mother was Nancy Hanks. Though his parents were not educated, they were respected and affluent citizens of Kentucky back country. The family was forced to move to Indiana in 1816 (Sandburg, 2002). His mother later died from milk sickness when he was nine years. His father remarried Sarah Bush who Lincoln embraced as his mother. Surprisingly, Lincoln did not relate well with his father. Lincoln had only 18 months of formal education but he was a keen reader and writer. He married in 1842 and later had four sons whereby only one survived to adulthood (Sandburg, 2002). Lincoln started his political career by vying for Illinois General Assembly position in 1832 which he lost and joined the military during the Black Hawk war. In 1834, he was elected a State legislature and was influenced by the England law hence he joined law school. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and moved to establish start practicing law in Springfield (Sandburg, 2002). He once labeled slavery as inhumanity which was based on bad policies when he was the leader of the Illinois Whig Party. He joined Republican Party in 1860 and was endorsed to run for the presidency which he won with landslide victory later in the same year. After his win, secessionist’s movements sprung (Sandburg, 2002). His major goal was abolishment of slavery which he accomplished in 1862 by signing “emancipation proclamation” law. After the war, he initiated reconstruction of America by signing “homestead Act in 1862” where government land was sold to the poor citizens at low prices (Sandburg, 2002). Legal tender act of 1862 also created the first currency of US while the National banking Act of 1863 and 1865 formed the sound financial system which ensured economic growth and stability. He was assassinated by Confederate spy on 14th April 1965 and was pronounced dead the following day (Sandburg, 2002). Abraham Lincoln was friendly to other people since he trusted them. Lincoln has strong appreciation for the motivation of others. Lincoln was also honest hence this trait my have been influenced by his previous service to the country during the Black Hawk war. He maintained that integrity and truth was the basis of good character. Lincoln was also charitable since he occasionally purchased books for Phi Alpha Society hence this trait may have been influenced by his understanding of the sufferings of Americans during slavery time (Sandburg, 2002). Lincoln was a good listener hence this trait may have been influenced by his love for writing and reading. Each visitor to the White House was welcomed with appreciation and courtesy. The trait could have been influenced by the numerous parents who went to his office to seek pardons for their sons who had been condemned for military offenses during the civil war (Sandburg, 2002). Lincoln was a man of logic due to his conscience, excellent understanding and sense of equity and right. This trait could have been influenced by his love for Laws of England and his legal profession. Lincoln power of reason may have emanated from hereditary intellectual capabilities of his father (Sandburg, 2002). How Psychoanalytic and Neoanalytic theories theories explain personality development Psychoanalytic theory which was developed by Sigmund Freud emphasizes the impact of early family life on the individual personality development (Ryckman, 2007). According to this theory, the personality of Lincoln could have been influenced by his father and mother who were respected people in the society. Psychoanalytic theories ignore the cognitive capabilities and level of individual motivation. The main advantage is the emphasis on the early social environment of the individual (Shaffer, 2009). Neo-analytic theories of personality development focuses on the ego have the main determinant of personality. They emphasize the level of motivation and social interaction of the self (Shaffer, 2009). They deal with how the ego would cope with both internal and external demands of others in personality development. Some of neo-analytic theories include social influence theory which was developed by Alfed Adler and theories of adult-life cycle which were developed by Eric Erikson (Ryckman, 2007). According to these theories, Lincoln personality could have been influenced by his desire to end slavery and introduce democracy in the country. Main advantage is the relationship between level of motivation and the social life of the individual. They ignore the cognitive and hereditary factors which control personality development. Psychosocial theories These theories consider the impact external factors in personality development like the social environment which consists of parents and the society (Bryson & L’Abate, 1994). Personality development is guided by the social environment. One major theory is Erikson’s theory which is based on eight stages which run from birth to death (Ryckman, 2007). The main advantage is that they explain how the social environment shapes the behavior and personality of individual from birth to death (Shaffer, 2009). The main disadvantage of the theories is the ignorance of individual self-actualization needs and the cognitive capabilities of the individual (Bryson & L’Abate, 1994). Trait, evolutionary, genetic/biological theories Trait theories emphasize that personality development is influenced by traits which are inherited at birth. Lincoln may have inherited intellectual traits from his parents which could have influenced his personality development (Ryckman, 2007). The traits include personal dispositions, common traits, functional equivalence, variability and consistency and the importance of culture (Bryson & L’Abate, 1994). Evolutionary theories assert that personality evolves gradually during the life time of an individual. The theory is based on Charles Darwin work on human evolution (Shaffer, 2009). Genetic theories imply that personality development is influenced by certain special genetics which guide the life of the individual. One advantage of the theories is the scientific researches which have confirmed the relationship of some traits, genetics and particular personality. The disadvantage of these theories is because they fail to explain the underlying causes of behavior and personality development (Bryson & L’Abate, 1994). Cognitive, behavioral and social learning theories These theories emphasize on the continuous reciprocal interactions between cognitive, behavioral and environmental influences. The theories assert that personality development is influenced by the external environment, self-efficacy, reinforcements and the emotional coping responses (Shaffer, 2009). The personal factors which influence personality development include cognitive skills and biological events. These theories do not consider the level of individual motivation and self actualization needs hence suffer a major disadvantage. The main advantage of these theories is that they try to explain how cognitive capabilities and social environment factors influence the behavior and personality of the individual (Ryckman, 2007). Behavioral theories assert that personality development is influenced by conditioning where rewards and punishments for behavior exist (Bryson & L’Abate, 1994). One advantage of behavioral model is that it is based on observable behaviors but the model suffers a disadvantage since it does not consider the internal influences of personality like feelings and moods (Shaffer, 2009). Humanistic theories Humanistic theories on personality development are based on the individual self –image and self-actualization needs. They hold a positive view of human nature and emphasize that personality development is influenced by the individual need of self-fulfillment (Shaffer, 2009). Lincoln had positive view of equality and human rights for all American citizens hence he was honest and a good listener to all the citizens. Lincoln also sought self-actualization by studying law and later ascending through the political ranks to become the president. Humanistic theories ignore the influence of social environment and genetic factors in personality development. The main advantage of humanistic theories is the emphasis of motivation and self-actualization goals in personality development (Shaffer, 2009). Methods of measuring and assessing individual personality There are numerous techniques which can be used to measure and assess the individual personality. Some of the methods include the Morrisby profile and Personality assessment inventory (Bryson & L’Abate, 1994). The morrisby profile assesses the mental functioning of the individual (Bryson & L’Abate, 1994). The personality test includes compound series tests, three general ability tests, and verbal tests, numerical and perceptual tests (Ryckman, 2007). This personality measurement is used for individual with high cognitive capabilities. The assessment should provide the assessor with accurate level of the mental functioning of the individual like the intelligence level and communication skills (Shaffer, 2009). Another personality test which is applicable is personality assessment inventory which contains four different scales which are the validity scales which measure the respondents approach to the test whether defensive or otherwise. Another scale is the treatment consideration scales which measure the treatment of clinical disorders like depression (Ryckman, 2007). The third scale to this method is interpersonal scale which identifies interpersonal characteristics of the individual. The last scale is the clinical scale which identifies any clinical disorders. It is used when the concerned individual is willing to answer the questions honestly. The method identifies any clinical disorders, past treatment and interpersonal skills of the respondent (Shaffer, 2009). Conclusion Abraham Lincoln was one of the influential American presidents. He is credited with ending slavery and the secessionist movements in the country. He had a pleasant personality since he was honest, cheerful, motivated and listened to all citizens carefully. He was also a logical thinker. Some of the theories which explain personality development include humanistic theories, behavioral theories, psychoanalytic theories, trait theories and cognitive theories. Personality measurement and assessment methods like Morrisby profile can identify the mental functioning of the individual. The Personality assessment inventory method can be used to measure the individual reaction to t he personality test, the clinical disorders, the treatment of the disorders and interpersonal skills of the individual. References: Bryson, C & L’Abate, L. (1994). A theory of personality development. New York. John Wiley. Ryckman, R. (2007). Theories of personality. Belmont. Wadsworth. Sandburg, C. (2002). Abraham Lincoln: The praise years and the war years. New York. Harcourt Brace. Shaffer, D. (2009). Social and personality development. Belmont. Wadsworth. Read More