Preview

Two Theories Of Personality Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
570 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Two Theories Of Personality Essay
Compare and Contrast two theories of Personality

Our personality is our characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting (Psychology David G Myers), it’s the combination of traits that ‘outlines the doctrine of uniqueness’ (Gifts Differing – Understanding Personality Types) that sets us apart from everyone else. Psychologists vary between themselves concerning the meaning of personality. Most would agree that it originated from the Latin word persona’ – meaning a theoretical mask – but they differ on how an individual obtains this ‘unique mask’ (i.e. how they develop their personality) and thus this brings the divers theories of personality. This essay will compare and contrast two popular theories: one being the: Psychoanalytic theory, and the other a Humanistic approach.
…show more content…
It’s based on the assumption that personality is a reflection of these internal conflicts (Personality and Research, Gordon L Flett) and the levels of consciousness in human experiences. Freud’s theory suggests that there are in fact three levels of consciousness. The: Consciousness, –which ironically only occupies a minor place within the theory – functions as the level of mental health that is directly available to us, Pre-consciousness which contains experiences that are not yet conscious, but can become so, and The Unconsciousness (where the bulk of his theory is grounded on) which contains experiences that are beyond the individuals awareness; by repression, due to its content. In his Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality he claims that the development of personality could be understood in relation to ‘motivations’, which brought about his Structural Model and the introduction of his ‘tripartite model; the: Id, Ego and Super-ego (The Handbook of Personality, Oliver P Joh et

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Personality Perspective

    • 375 Words
    • 1 Page

    There has been many different studies of the personality. The different personality perspectives are Psychoanalytic, Humanistic, Trait, Social Cognitive, and Biological. In this paper I 'm going to explain the differences between the perspectives.…

    • 375 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Firstly, a brief account of psychodynamic theory. Freud proposed that there are three key elements to the structure of a personality; the id, ego and superego. Firstly the id is present from birth and represents the pleasure principle; in other words this aspect of the unconscious involves instinctive and primitive behaviours which seek immediate gratification. The superego on the other hand is the aspect of personality that holds our internalised moral standards, usually developing through experiences and teaching from parents, society and peers. The superego gives humans a sense of right and wrong. Lastly, the ego deals and seeks out reality – encapsulates the reality principle. The ego ensures the impulses of the id are expressed in an acceptable manner, in addition the ego balances the id and superego. The development of the ego and superego alongside the id is proposed via the psychosexual stages of development in which the individual becomes focus on erogenous zones and…

    • 1697 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Personality is an individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. Learning about personality helps us to understand how and why people act the way they do. There are four perspectives of personality: psychoanalytic perspective, humanistic perspective, social cognitive perspective and trait perspective. The psychoanalytic emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes and the influence of early childhood experience. The humanistic perspective represents an optimistic look at human nature, emphasizing the self and the fulfillment of the person’s unique potential. The social cognitive perspective…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    personalitytheoryoutline

    • 2193 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Personality theory is a grand subject centered between six foundational tenets. Each tenet will be discussed in detail and be accompanied by factual, scholarly evidence. Each tenet is different from the other but also entwined in the whole of the personality. The tenets each have their own relation to the individual personality; however, they are also relational to one another and work together to make up the whole personality. In order to be psychologically healthy, certain progress needs met under each foundational tenet.…

    • 2193 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    “When discussing the theories on personalities you could name a view that are researched. Biological Theories are the approach of genetics and personality traits. Behavioral Theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. These theorist reject theories that internal thoughts and feeling into account. Psychodynamic Theories are influenced by Freud, focuses on the childhood experience and the unconscious mind in personality. Humanist Theories emphasizes on the importance of free will and individual experience in the development of personalities. Trait Theories is one of the largest in personality theories. It basically a relative characteristic that causes a person to act the way they do (abouteducation).”…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    **Psychoanalytic Aspects of Personality -five stages of Freudian psychosexual development -Id, Ego, and Superego ***Neo-Analytic and Ego Aspects of Personality: Identity. -Erikson's eight stages of development -Jung's idea of the collective unconscious ***Biological Aspects of Personality ***Behaviorist and Learning Aspects of Personality - "extinguish" classically conditioned fear responses -classical conditioning and operant conditioning ***Cognitive and Social-Cognitive Aspects of Personality -vicarious learning -internal versus external locus of control from social learning ***Trait and Skill Aspects of Personality -five traits included in the Big Five theory of personality -Henry Murray's needs ***Humanistic and Existential Aspects of Personality. -positive psychology - humanistic/existential approach and free will ***Situational-Interactionist Aspects of Personality -Walter Mischel's critique of personality -the two broad types of self-healing personalities ***Male-Female Differences, Cultural and Ethnic Differences ***Love and Hate, Where Will We Find Personality? -two of the many possible explanations for people's aggression and hatred -three romantic attachment styles described by Shaver and colleagues ***Summary and Evaluation -designer personality -positive and negitive potentialities of the human genome project Learning Objectives: At the completion of this course, learners will be able to: 1.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theories of Personality

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages

    2. Reflect on what we learned about the humanistic movement in psychology. How was it different from other psychological theories that came before it? What were its main goals? How did many aspects of the “human potential movement” fail to adhere to the goals that were set forth by the founders of humanistic psychology?…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Psych Quiz

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. What is it? 2. Freud’s theory 3. Behavior theory 4. Biological theory 5. Humanistic theory…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As mentioned earlier there are three stages to this theory which are; the id, the ego, and the superego. The id stage is the stage that is present from birth. This stage is derived from genetics from parents, and family ties. This stage is based solely on biological paths, instincts and urges. This type of personality is totally unconscious and you do not have control of it. The id is not affected by reality, or the everyday world. It engages a primary process thinking, which Freud though it was primitive illogical, and irrational. The ego stage is responsible for dealing with reality. According to Freud the ego formed from the id and ensure that the impulses from the id can be in manner acceptable in the real world; in other world the ego is pretty much what controls the id impulses. The last component of personality to develop is the superego. The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our behavior, moral and ideals that we learn from parents and the society. The superego is our sense from right and wrong; it is on charge to bring behavior under control. According to Freud there were two different part of superego; the ego ideal, and the conscience. The ego ideal includes the rule for good behavior, while the conscience is the opposite, it includes information that are view as bad by the…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sigmund Freud developed this theory. Freud described the conscious mind, the things that we are aware of to the unconscious mind, the preconscious which is information you are currently not aware of, but can easily bring to conscious awareness and the unconscious. He compared the human mind to an iceberg, and the conscious, preconscious mind was the tip and mid of the iceberg with the unconscious mind the bottom underwater. According to Freud, each person possesses a certain level of psychoanalytical energy that consists of three basic structures. The three personality developments are the ID, the Ego and the…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Freuds psychoanalytic theory explains how the unconscious mind, id, ego, superego, and childhood experience develop personality in the early stages of life. As early as infancy Freud believed sexual urges and the need to fulfill pleasure motivate behavior. Sexual urges and the need to fulfill pleasure reside within the id. Because the id does not recognize reality the ego is responsible for control the behaviors sent to retrieve pleasure filling needs. The ego develops personality because it recognizes social norms and controls behavior to them. The superego realizes morality and delivers emotions such as guilt if necessary. Whereas Freud relates personality to the inner self Sullivan believed the interpersonal relationships developed throughout a child 's life and throughout a lifetime constitutes personality. Sullivan believes personality would be nonexistent if were not for interpersonal relationships. Sullivan does not dismiss the ideas of Freud but believed elements outside of the self also contribute to personality. Could personality exist without the outer self world and interpersonal…

    • 1438 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Sigmund Freud developed an over-all view of personality in which behavior is a result of struggles among drives and needs that inevitably conflict (Cervone, Pervin, Oliver, 2005 p. 74).” The psychoanalytic theory view is that personality is developed gradually as the individual move through different psychosexual stages: oral, anal, and phallic. Sigmund Freud also theorized that a person operates from three states of being: the id, the superego, and the ego. “The Psychoanalytic theory places enormous emphasis on the role of early life events for later personality development (Cervone, Pervin, Oliver, 2005 p.112).”…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Personalities are often very hard to figure out. Each person has a unique and sometimes complex personality and sometimes they do not mix with others. Different psychologists have different theories as to why people are the way they are. One theory is the psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory digs into a person’s mind to find out where their problems stem from. The theories stem from childhood and then dig deep into who each person is as an adult. The following reflects on the theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler; they all have similarities, yet are completely different.…

    • 1863 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Generally, one is born, cared for, and admitted into what we see as society. We all from initial parting begin to shape and mold how we are and who we will become. We are cared for, commonly undergo schooling, grasp morality and are lead from driving forces, both biological and environmental while continuously (till death) evolve into our personalities. Personality may simply be defined as characteristics and/or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. Personality is what makes us all unique, a form of ambiguous and forever changing self, heavily influenced by many internal and external factors, a one of a kind recipe that all cognitive thinking animals acquire making each and every one of them, us, a completely different being. Different experiences, different outlooks, and different cultures, is what make you, us, and I all extraordinary individuals. The following will entail a concise description of the infamous Dr. John Nash, his life, his struggles, but mainly his personality. I will be comparing several examples of his personality to two theorist, Alfred Adler and Gordon Allport.…

    • 514 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From this Theories of Personality course, I have learned many concepts that I can apply to my life and would help me in my future career. I really enjoyed the chapter on personality disorders. I find it interesting that there are various types of personality disorders that surround me on a daily basis and not being aware of them. The three types of personalities are distinguished by Cluster A (weird); Cluster B (wild); Cluster C (worried). The one that I am most intrigued by is the wild cluster. Cluster B is called the dramatic, emotional, and erratic cluster. Some personality disorders associated with it are antisocial, narcissistic, borderline, and histrionic. Between these disorders, I became most interested in in borderline and histrionic. I have encountered some individuals with this type of personality disorder before and now I can diagnose them. My previous relationship, I believe that my ex was in between borderline and histrionic. He used to be very controlling and would say things like he would die or kill himself if him and I were ever to break up. He…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays