Personality Overview

Personality Overview

PSY 405
November 25, 2013

Personality Overview
Two theories of personality covered in the readings is explored, contrasted, and compared. Alder’s Individual Psychology and Jung’s Analytical Psychology is the chosen two for this personality overview. In addition to comparison, contrasting, and exploring the two theories, this overview will cover determinism verses free will and awareness of self. Jung’s theory, according Feist and Fiest (2009), “People are both introverted and extraverted; rational and irrational; male and female; conscious and unconscious; and pushed by past events while being pulled by future expectations” (p. 98).
The Comparison
Carl Jung created the theory of personality Analytical Psychology. Analytical Psychology assumption of occult phenomena can influence people’s lives. According to Fiest and Fiest (2009), “Jung believed that each person is motivated not only by repressed experiences, but also by emotionally toned experiences inherited from our ancestors” (p. 98). Alfred Adler created Individual Psychology to give an open minded view of individuals while driven by social influences. Adler’s theory was people who works hard for success works selflessly and gain best psychological health.
In comparison both men’s work was influenced by the same theorist, Freud. “Adlerian psychology views the individual as primarily a social rather than a sexual being and places more emphasis on choices and values than Freudian psychology” (Strictland, 2001, pp. 10-11). Both men believed dreams was important in figuring out another person’s psyche. Adler stated, according to Fiest and Fiest (2009), “Dreams are disguised to deceive the dreamer, making self-interpretation difficult. The more an individual’s goal is inconsistent with reality, the more likely that person’s dreams will be used for self-deception” (p. 89). In contrast Jung believed in archetypes, which are old images that come from the unconscious. According to Feist and Fiest (2009),” Dreams are key sources of archetypal material, and some dreams give what Jung reflected as evidence for the actuality of the archetype. The dreams make motifs that could not have been known to the dreamer through personal experience” (p. 106). Each men believed people’s motivations was toward getting to the last goal or self-realization.
Basic Assumptions of Adler and Jung
The center of Adler’s theory is his assumption. His assumption states that people are natural at socialism. Adler’s belief of people begin life fragile leads to his belief what people lack of makes him or her strive to overcome problems to become successful and be superior. “Jung wanted to comprehend the emblematic meaning of the substances of the unconscious; to be able to differentiate between individual psychology and psychoanalysis, Jung gave his discipline the label analytical psychology"(Jacobi, 1996, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). Jung’s assumption suggest there is three parts of personality; the conscious (ego), the unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The three help make a personality.
Limitations
The Adlerian theory has two limitations, which is internal consistency and parsimony. Accordingt o Fiest and Fiest (2009), “On this standard we rate individual psychology about average. Although Adler’s awkward and unorganized writings distract from the theory’s rating on parsimony, the work of Ansbacher and Ansbacher (Adler, 1956, 1964) has made individual psychology more parsimonious” (p. 94). Jung’s fascinating thoughts on myth left small amount of room for reductionism. According to Fiest and FIest (2009) “Unfortunately, Jung’s theory, like Freud’s, is nearly impossible to either verify or falsify. The collective unconscious, the core of Jung’s theory, remains a difficult concept to test empirically” (p. 131).
Strengths
A large strength in Jung’s theory is Jung did not make people out to be good or bad. He made it known people has the possibility of good and bad in the self. Adler’s strength in his theory is from the ability to make research, to compile research, and the capability to guide action. Adler also uses common sense approach to interpret an individual’s problem.

Determinism versus Free Will
One can find both Jung and Adler proposed inherent tendencies. Adler’s was social interests and Jung’s was collective unconscious, but both men had different ideas about determinism and free will. Adler’s thoughts was people have the capability to form behaviors and cultivate personalities that fit the individual’s goal (Feist & Feist, 2009). Jung differed by proposing that ancestral experiences was responsible for language and actions by the means of dreams. Jung did not totally disbelieve in free will, he believed that people have a limited ability to show free will.
Awareness of Self
Adler and Jung both agree that movement to attain self-realization has to have both conscious, and unconscious motivation. According to Fiest and Fiest (2009), “Adler maintained that not all our choices are conscious and that style of life is created through both conscious and unconscious choices. Adler believed that ultimately people are responsible for their own personalities” (p. 95). Jung believed each person has both an introverted and an extroverted attitude, although one may be conscious while the other is unconscious (Fiest & Fiest, 2009, p. 115). Both men had different opinions of the unconscious and the conscious mind.

Conclusion
Reading information on Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology and Carl G. Jung’s Analytical Psychology gives one insight into personality from both theorist points of view. Both men made contributions to the development of personality theories that answer questions in psychology practices all over the world. Even though both theorist had different thoughts on personality, each men found a way to make both theories work and many tests have been use based from both men’s theories. When comparing Adler and Jung, one can know both men’s work was influenced by the same theorist, Freud. Each believed dreams was important in figuring out another person’s psyche. In Contrast, Jung believed in archetypes and Adler believed dreams deceive the dreamer, making self-interpretation difficult. In the middle of Adler’s theory is his assumption, belief of people begin life fragile leads to his belief what people lack of makes him or her strive to overcome problems to become successful and be superior. Adler’s theory has two limitations, which is internal consistency and parsimony. Jung’s limitation was his belief of myth left small amount of room for reductionism. Adler’s theory’s strengths was how his theory could be used, and well it worked for research. Jung’s theory’s strength was no person was thought to be bad or good. In free will Jung and Adler proposed inherent tendencies. Awareness of self, Adler and Jung both agree that movement to attain self-realization has to have both conscious, and unconscious motivation. In reading about each theorist one can understand how both men’s theories made positive marks on psychology then and now.

Reference

Jacobi, J. (1996). Colliers Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/jung.htm.

Strictland, Ed. B. (2001). The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CCX3406000021&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&authCount=1.