1. How would you describe personality to a person who has no knowledge of the field of personality psychology?
Personality is an individual’s characteristic style or pattern of thinking, feeling, emotion, and behavior. Personality is something that develops over time. It can be hereditary, such as, my oldest son has my temper and stubbornness, or my daughter has her mother’s attitude. Relationships and building attachments and environmental experiences influence your personality. It is a person’s unique behavioral and mental patterns, a person’s unique consistent pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
2. What are some key personality features that define you?
There are so many different personality features or traits that I could use to define myself. But to be specific I would use these personality traits: adventurous, challenging, dedicated, abrasive, hardworking, impatient, introvert, emotionally stable, and open to new experiences. Though there are many different personality traits that can help define why I see myself also as abrasive, and an impatient individual who does not tolerate excuses or believe in giving people more than one chance, I do have a compassionate side when it comes to family and loved ones. Being adventurous is my best feature or trait, I am willing to go where I have never been before and am willing to do things I have never done, even if I do not know how it’s going to turn out, people say life is short, I say life is long, we have so much time to do so many things, it is only short if you do not use it wisely.
3. Are your personality features consistent, or do they change according to the situation?
I think that my personality features are consistent with what is considered a normal situation. With that being said, if I am in a normal situation my personality features can remain consistent, but I do have the ability to adapt to whatever situation I am in, this depends on my comfort level also. Even when I introduce myself into one of these, that I do not deem as normal my personality features can remain consistent. However, when I unknowingly become part of a situation or a change in environment that is not what I consider as normal then some of my personality features may not remain consistent.
4. What are the main tenets of the psychoanalytic perspective of personality? What do all psychoanalytic theories have in common?
The psychoanalytic perspective of personality focuses on the conscious and unconscious. The theory is constructed on the idea that our behaviors and emotions are created by unconscious factors. Both Freud and Jung believed the human mind was divided into three parts. Freud: Id, Ego, and Superego. Jung: Ego, Personal Unconscious, and Collective Unconscious. Both theorists believed in analyzing dreams and symbols to understand problems.
The main principles on which the psychoanalytic theory is based are the Id, Ego, and Super Ego which were Freud’s standing. The unconscious was divided into the ego, the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious, these were according to Jung. The Id is the most primitive structure of personality, in that behaviors are encouraged by feelings. The Id is the unconscious and runs on what an individual inherited at birth. The Ego is talking about our conscious perceptions, memories and thought that help us deal with reality. The superego drives the id through socially acceptable behaviors. Jung stated that the ego is the conscious, the personal unconscious included a person’s memories, and the collective unconscious holds the knowledge that we were born with, or what we have experienced and learned as a species.
| Theorist | Main components of his theory (90 words minimum) |
| Freud | Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality consisted of three diverse elements of which personality is consisted of. The three elements of personality are as follows the ID, the EGO and the SUPEREGO. Together they work to create complex human behaviors. The ID is “the most primitive structure of personality; the source of psychic energy. EGO is the rational and coping part of personality, it is the most mature structure of personality; mediates intrapsychic conflict and copes with the external world. SUPEREGO consists of the rules and ideals of society that have become internalized by the individual. Some of the superego is conscious, but much of it remains unconscious” (Cloninger, 2013). |
| Jung | Jung’s theory puts people in three dimensions, and talks about their differences within those. Introversion or Extraversion, and two pairs of Psychological Functions, those are the three different types. He was not as concerned with the childhood aspect like Freud was, he focused more on the developments that happened in the adulthood stage. During a persons midlife, this is when they become the unique person they are and when they develop their unconscious qualities, he called it the Individuation process, which draws upon the deep unconscious reservoir of personality that Jung called “the collective unconscious, as well as on a strong ego” (Cloninger, 2013). |
| Significant differences between the two,
|
Freud believed in past experiences mostly related to childhood as the main cause for a person’s behavior, Jung just believed in past experiences and future aspirations.
Jung believed that most developmental emphasis was on adult hood, while Freud stated it all started in the childhood. This was the big thing that stood out to me, and one of the main reasons Jung started to disagree with Freud, they went from coworkers to enemies. |
Cloninger, S. (2013). Theories of Personality (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
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5. How would you describe personality to a person who has no knowledge of the field of personality psychology?
6. What are some key personality features that define you?
7. Are your personality features consistent, or do they change according to the situation?
8. What are the main tenets of the psychoanalytic perspective of personality? What do all psychoanalytic theories have in common?
| Theorist | Main components of his theory (90 words minimum) | Significant differences between the two (90 words minimum) |
| Freud | Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of interactions among three component parts of the mind, id, ego, and superego. He believe that the three components create complex human behaviors. His theory is known as Freud’s structural theory of personality. It emphasizes on the role of unconscious psychological conflicts in shaping behavior and personality.
ID the most primitive structure of personality. Ego is the rational and coping part of personality. It’s the most mature structure. Superego which most of it is unconscious, but some is conscious. |
Nature of unconscious: The difference s between the two were Jung believed a storehouse of repressed memories specific to the individual and our ancestral past. Freud believed storehouse for unacceptable repressed desires specific to the individual.
Cause of behavior: Jung believe that past experiences in addition to future aspiration. Freud believe past experience particularly in childhood. Nature and purpose of the libido: Freud believed a source of the psychic energy specific to sexual gratification and Jung believed a generalize source of psychic energy motivating range of behaviors. These were the significant difference between the two theories and what helped cause the two to separate. |
| Jung | Jung is known for his research in personality, dream analysis and the human psyche. Jung’s theory puts people in three dimensions and talks about their differences within those. Jung regarded the psyche as made up of a number of separate but interacting systems. The three main ones were the ego, the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. Jung does not agree with the childhood aspect like Freud. He concentrated on more of the adulthood aspects. He believe that during the middle of a person’s life is when the person becomes unique and develop unconscious qualities that he called individuation process. |
References
· Defining Personality – Boundless Open Textbook. (n.d.). Retrieved December 02, 2016, from https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/personality-16/introduction-to-personality-76/defining-personality-303-12838/
· Genetics, the Brain, and Personality – Boundless Open Textbook. (n.d.). Retrieved December 02, 2016, from https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/personality-16/introduction-to-personality-76/genetics-the-brain-and-personality-317-12852/
· McLeod, S. (1970). Saul McLeod. Retrieved December 02, 2016, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html