Personality Theories - Term Paper Example

Running Head: theories of personalitY Theories of Personality Teacher’s ID The given paper aims to explore theories of personality and examines phenomenon concerning psychoanalysis, personality development, trait theories and behaviorism. Along with developing understanding of these theories, the paper further critically analyzes their application in real life scenarios. While doing so, Horney’s definition of perfectionism and its efficacy in real life is examined. The paper further intends to analyze if criteria offered by Allport while discussing normal mature adult is adequate enough or needs additions in order to describe healthy and normal phase of adulthood. Another area of exploration is concerned with establishing importance of Staats behavioral repertoires in development of individual’s personality. Lastly, the paper explores if American culture fails to provide adequate support for personality development at any stage. A cumulative analysis of these theories and their real life application would assist in developing their thorough understanding. a. Introduction Personality development is a much explored area in the field of psychology. Researchers from different schools of thought have focused on transitions that individuals go through during the course of life and examine influence of external and internal factors on these changes. Given below is the discussion of various theories concerning same factors. The discussion mainly surrounds theories concerning psychoanalysis, personality development, trait theories and behaviorism b. Theoretical Analysis Classical Psychoanalysis Classical Psychoanalysis considers childhood events to be a fundamental role player in one’s personality development other than basic hereditary characteristics. Therefore, various psychological problems that one faces in the later phase of life are often a byproduct of repressed desires that can be unconsciously irrational. The unconscious desire to materials these repressed needs is often met by defense mechanism of conscious mind which creates mental disturbance such as depression and anxiety etc. In order to reduce this difference between conscious and unconscious mind, various therapeutic interventions can be used (Cloninger, 2012). Analytical Psychology Jung’s analytical psychology represents underlying phenomenon behind common human behavior. According to Jung, common fears and thoughts are a result of collective unconscious which is constructed by archetypes inherited from the ancestors. Along with many other common traits, animus/ anima, the shadow and the self are the predominant archetypes in Jung’s work. Where animus/ anima represents unconscious opposite gender present in all of us which also describes one’s sexual orientation, shadow and the self illustrate fear for dark and balancing act of different archetypes respectively. Jung also recognizes self-actualization achieved through individuation which allows persons to investigate and accept disowned parts of their personality. Jung also divided personality types into extravert and introvert based on their personality combinations of sensation, intuition, thinking and feeling (Cloninger, 2012). Dolliver (1994) has provided a comparison of Adler, Freud and Jung’s work and categorized their theories as Freud’s extraverted and Jung’s as introverted as examined by Adler. Dolliver (1994) further asserts that personality types of these behavioral scientists and the transition they have shown over the course of life is consistent with development in their work. Therefore, it can be ascertained that surface behavior can synchronize with underlying source of behavior. Individual Psychology According to Adler, social influences play a vital role in designing one’s personality instead of just sex and aggression. Furthermore, desire or expectation of future tends to design one’s present behavior. Hence, disadvantaged people with physical weaknesses tend to compensate for these deficiencies by striving for superiority in other areas in the pursuit of remaining consistent with rest of society. These goals further design an individual’s style of life and creative power in them. On the other hand, some reconcile with their disadvantages and tend to remain dependent on others. Another type of individuals is those who become obsessed with the idea of compensation. Hence, external factors either lead to development of safeguarding mechanisms such as excuses, aggression and withdrawal (Cloninger, 2012). Psychosocial Development Erikson’s theory of personality development illustrates eight major phases that one goes through since birth till death. First stage refers to trust versus mistrust during which a child learns to trust his caregiver in response to care and affection after birth till one year. Second phase is about gaining control of physical skills and activities and is known as autonomy versus shame which continues from two to three years. Third stage is called initiative versus guilt in which a child learns to assert control on their environment. Fourth stage i.e. industry versus inferiority, lasts from 6 to 11 years and is concerned with developing a coping mechanism against social and academic pressures. Fifth stage i.e. identity verses role confusion (12 to 18 years) allows one to develop personal identity. Sixth stage is called intimacy versus isolation which is concerned with relationship building and management. Seventh stage i.e. generativity versus stagnation is about development of need to create and nurture by having offspring or positive impact on society. Last stage which continues from65 years till death is called ego integrity versus despair which is about looking back on life events and deriving sense of satisfaction or despair out of them (Cloninger, 2012). Erikson’s theory is further supported by Akhondi, Binaafar, Ardakani, Kamali, Kosari and Ghorbani (2013) while examining psychosocial development in fertile and infertile men. It was found that infertility being a bio-psycho-social phenomenon has a tendency of affecting relationship of a couple as it affects their desire to trust each other, men’s personal perception of their autonomy and will to have children and nurture them. Out of these stages, American culture tends to provide limited support in the sixth stage i.e. intimacy versus isolation. Increasing rate of divorces, single parents, overemphasis on nucleus family model and increased psychological issues in young people are some of common scenarios widely seen in American society. Failed relationships and difficulty in trusting others not only affects one’s behavior towards others resulting in social isolation and increased preference for virtual contact but also causes disturbed psychotic behaviors that also affect individual’s quality of life. Community-based and other social interventions can be used to mitigate this impact during adulthood. Interpersonal Psychoanalytic Theory Horney’s interpersonal psychoanalytic theory describes that basic anxiety and hostility are the vital emotions that causes a child to feel isolated and make them feel angry. Thoughts generated as a result of dominating emotions lead to development of responses that would make a child either move towards, against or away from caregiver. Similar interpersonal orientations are also visible in adults. Individuals move toward people in self-effacing situation whereas opposite is the response in the expansive situation where need for power over others is stronger. Lastly, moving away from people would occur in resignation situation in which withdrawal is a preferred strategy (Cloninger, 2012). Although perfectionism is described as a defense mechanism however it is viable to set relatively high standards. The rationale behind doing so is to not only achieve quality in relationships but also excellence in one’s skills set professionally. If an individual sets a certain criteria with reference to relationships, it would allow them to only have few relations that are meaningful and healthy instead of a huge social circle that would not provide any emotional support. Personological Trait Theory Allport states in this theory that personality is a byproduct of combinations between hereditary characteristics and person’s environment. Hence, an individual learns to respond and adjust with external forces in a unique manner determined by his psychophysical systems. Allport further sheds light on individual and common traits and categorizes them into cardinal, central and secondary traits on the basis of their pervasiveness. Hence, central traits are the characteristics that best define an individual. On the other hand, cardinal traits have a dominating effect on behaviors and actions of an individual whereas secondary traits refer to behaviors in regular or routine circumstances. Allport also explains stages of personality development which include bodily sense, self-identity, ego-enhancement, ego-extension, self-image, rational agent (rational coper), appropriate striving, the knower (self as knower). Furthermore, personal dispositions and proprium form the basic elements of an individual’s personality which unite to form a personality (Cloninger, 2012). Although Allport has presented an extensive array of qualities of a normal and mature adult which provide a criteria of how one should see themselves and others and deal with them however these qualities tend to ignore spiritual needs of an individual. Perhaps, this area is being covered in unifying philosophy of life however a place of religion and spirituality in these qualities may assist in giving it a holistic view. Factor Analytic Trait Theories Raymond Cattell infers that personality is a combination of various traits and its combined profile is formed as a result of hereditary and environmental factors. Cattell’s theory further divides personality traits into ability, temperament and dynamic traits and their known combination assists in prediction of behavior. Cattell’s 16 factor theory presents various tests through which a personality types is determined by observing and examining surface (observable) and source (underlying) traits (Cloninger, 2012). Behaviorism Dollard, Miller, Skinner and Staats have provided a combined overview of behaviorism by stating that behavior is determined by external factors and can be altered by changing environmental conditions where this change continues throughout one’s life span. Skinner presents a concept of radical behaviorism and influence of operant conditioning and its impact as a reinforce (increased response), punishment and extinction which induce decreased responses. While discussing reinforcement as a behavioral phenomenon, Staats offers various behavioral repertoires which include emotional-motivational, the language-cognitive, the sensory-motor while explaining a wide array of behavior. Dollard and Miller further provide a mechanism through which individuals undergo behavioral changes and consider drive, cue, response and reward to be the factors leading to learning and change (Cloninger, 2012). Out of three behavioral repertoires, language-cognitive repertoire appears to be the significantly important one. Language learning is not only mandatory for social interaction but it also puts down foundation for our basic cognitive mechanism and thought process. It is important to note that other two repertories involve learning of emotions and actions and without prior knowledge of what they are and how they should be exercised, it is difficult for an individual to feel and demonstrate appropriate behavior. c. Conclusion Theories of personality are one of the most studied areas in various fields including psychology. Where some of these theories consider inheritance to be the major causative agent behind human thought process, others consider environmental factors to be the dominating factor behind the way a human functions. It can be seen that they both offer valid grounds as one describes the way children operate in their infancy during when they have just began to learn whereas rest provides ground for impact of learning on their cognitive and sensory functions in adolescence and adulthood. Since childhood experiences and events that took place in later part of life can be responsible for mental disturbance such as anxiety and depression, it is important to identifying underlying causes using appropriate theory and follow therapeutic interventions offered by them. References Akhondi, M.M., Binaafar, S., Ardakani, Z.B., Kamali, K., Kosari, H., & Ghorbani, B. (2013). Aspects of psychosocial development in infertile versus fertile men. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, 14(2), 90-3. Cloninger, S.C. (2012). Theories of Personality: Understanding Persons, 6th ed. Pearson Education. Dolliver, R.H. (1994). Classifying the personality theories and personalities of Adler, Freud and Jung with Introversion/ extraversion. Individual Psychology, 50(2), 192-202. Read More