Personality development

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An individual's personality is an aggregate conglomeration of the decisions they have made throughout their life and the memory of the experiences to which these decisions led. There are inherent natural, genetic, and environmental factors that contribute to the development of our personality. According to process of socialization, "personality also colors our values, beliefs, and expectations ... Hereditary factors that contribute to personality development do so as a result of interactions with the particular social environment in which people live." There are several personality types as Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers illustrated in several personalities typology tests, which are based on Carl Jung's school of Analytical psychology. However, these tests only provide enlightenment based on the preliminary insight scored according to the answers judged by the parameters of the test.

Other theories on personality development include Jean Piaget's stages of development, Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, and personality development in Sigmund Freud's theory being formed through the interaction of id, ego, and super-ego.

Personality development

Personality is defined as the enduring personal characteristics of individuals.[1]

Although some psychologists frown on the premise, a commonly used explanation for personality development is the psychodynamic approach. The term "ambot" describes any theory that emphasizes the constant change and development of the individual. Perhaps the best known of the psychodynamic theories is Freudian psychoanalysis.


An individual's personality is an aggregate conglomeration of the decisions they have made throughout their life and the memory of the experiences to which these decisions led. There are inherent natural, genetic, and environmental factors that contribute to the development of our personality. According to process of socialization, "personality also colors our values, beliefs, and expectations --- Hereditary factors that contribute to personality development do so as a result of interactions with the particular social environment in which people live." There are several personality types as Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers illustrated in several personalities typology tests, which are based on Carl Jung's school of Analytical psychology. However, these tests only provide enlightenment based on the preliminary insight scored according to the answers judged by the parameters of the test.

Freud's psychoanalytic theory

Drives

Freud believed that two basic drives—sex and aggression—motivate all our thoughts and behaviour. He referred to these as Eros (love) and Thanatos. Eros represents the life instinct, sex being the major driving force. Thanatos represents the death instinct (characterised by aggression), which, according to Freud, allowed the human race to both procreate and eliminate its enemies.

Structure of personality

Freud conceived the mind as only having a fixed amount of psychic energy (libido). The outcome of the interaction between the id, ego and the superego, (each contending for as much libidinal energy as possible) determines our adult personality.

Tripartite personality

Freud believed that personality had three parts—the id, ego, and super-ego—referring to this as the tripartite personality. The id allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud believed that the id is based on the pleasure principle, i.e. it wants immediate satisfaction, with no consideration for the reality of the situation.[2]

As a child interacts more with the world, the ego begins to develop. The ego's job is to meet the needs of the id by taking into account the constraints of reality. The ego acknowledges that being impulsive or selfish can sometimes hurt us, so the id must be constrained. The superego develops during the phallic stage as a result of the moral constraints placed on us by our parents. It is generally believed that a strong superego serves to inhibit the biological instincts of the id (resulting in a high level of guilt), whereas a weak superego allows the id more expression (resulting in a low level of guilt).[3]

Defense mechanisms

The ego, having a difficult time trying to satisfy both the needs of the id and the superego, employs defense mechanisms. Repression is perhaps the most powerful of these. Repression is the act by which unacceptable id impulses (most of which are sexually related) are "pushed" out of awareness and into the unconscious mind. Another example of a defense mechanism is projection. This is the mechanism that Freud used to explain Little Hans' complex. Little Hans is said to have projected his fear for his father onto horses, which is why he was afraid of them.

Psychosexual stages

Freud believed that at particular points in the child's development, a single part of the body is particularly sensitive to sexual stimulation. These erogenous zones are the mouth, anus and the genital region. At any given time, the child's libido is focused on the primary erogenous zone for that age. As a result, the child has certain needs and demands that are related to the erogenous zones for that stage. Frustration occurs if these needs are not met, but, a child may also become overindulged, and so may be reluctant to progress beyond the stage. Both frustration and overindulgence may lead to fixation—some of the child's libido remains locked into that stage. If a child is fixated at a particular stage, the method of obtaining satisfaction that characterised that stage will dominate their adult personality.

Although many people view Freud's descriptions of personality development as pure fantasy, his ideas have endured and have had far reaching influences both in and outside psychology. Freud has changed the way we think about the importance of childhood, and also made us aware of the unconscious elements of our psyche that are essential for development.

See also

Developmental stage theories

References

  1. ↑ Santrock 2002, p. ??.
  2. ↑ Santrock 2002, p. ??.
  3. ↑ Santrock 2002, p. ??.

External links

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