Frommian Theory
Erick Fromm the.ory was influenced by Freud and Horney and it looks at people from the perspectives of anthropology, psychology, and history. Fromm was born in Germany in 1900 and was influenced by the Freud, Marx, socialist ideology and the Bible. He studied psychoanalysis after he received his Ph.D. He moved to New York in 1934 where he practiced psychoanalytic under Freud. He also maintained his friendship with Karen Horney.
According to Fromm, humans have been torn away from their historical union with nature and no longer have the power to adapt to a changing environment. However, humans have gained the ability to reason and can think of their isolated condition which according to Fromm assumption is known as the human dilemma (Feist, Feist & Roberts, 2013). The dilemma can only be satisfied by meeting the human needs of an individual and not their animal needs. Such an accomplishment moves a person towards a reunion with the natural world.
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There are five existential or human needs identified by Fromm; relatedness which can be in the form of submission, power, and love. The other is transcendence through the creation or destruction of people or things. The third is rootedness which is the need to establish roots as well as to feel at home. The fourth is a sense of identity and the fifth is a frame of orientation (Feist, Feist & Roberts, 2013).
The objective of Fromm psychotherapy was to establish satisfaction of the five human needs. A therapist, in this case, will try to accomplish this by sharing information as a human being and not a scientist. His theory is base on strong writing on a wide spectrum of human issues but rates lowly on the ability to generate additional research and usefulness to practitioners' parsimony and internal consistency. However, it rates highly on the organization of the existing theory due to its broad scope (Feist, Feist & Roberts, 2013).
Interpersonal Theory
It was formulated by Harry Sullivan the first American who developed a comprehensive theory. According to this theory, personality is shaped by the relationship an individual has with others. Sullivan had a close interpersonal relationship with a boy who was five years older and he termed the relationship as having the power to transform a preadolescent to a psychologically healthy individual. He worked as a psychiatrist at St Elizabeth even though he had no training in psychiatry. He worked with schizophrenic patients where he won a reputation as a wizard in therapeutic work (Feist, Feist & Roberts, 2013).
Sullivan structured the dynamics of personality into malevolence, intimacy, lust, and self-system. According to him, interpersonal development takes place in seven stages which are infancy, childhood, preadolescence, early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood. Sullivan argued that disordered behavior originates from an interpersonal relationship which can only be understood by investigating the social environment (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2007) . A therapist, therefore, should be a participant observer who is concerned about establishing an interpersonal relationship with the patient. The theory, however, rates low on its skill to contribute to research and falsifiability as well as the capability to organize knowledge and guide action. It is also low on parsimony and self-consistency.
Ego Psychology
It is a school of psychoanalysis that originated from the ego-id-superego model by Freud. Erickson believed that an individual evaluates what they have done in the past and use the experiences for growth. He believed that social and interpersonal forces, as well as culture, shaped the personality of an individual. He also believed in the decision-making process and consciousness. According to Erickson, the development of the physical organs and the brain follows a predetermined genetic blueprint. He suggested that the development of psychosexual proceeds in the same way and follows the epigenetic principle. Development occurs due to the interaction of the biological, psychological and environmental factors. He identified eight psychological stages where a subsequent stage builds from the previous one (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2007) . There are specific problems or crisis that must be resolved at each stage in order to move on. Each stage also has an optimal time. Crisis can lead to the stagnation or progress of an individual and are caused by conflict by opposing elements.
According to Erikson, personality develops in s series of stages. He described the impact of the social environment on an individual. He believed that people faced conflicts that form the turning point in development. The conflicts develop a psychological quality or fail to develop that quality. There are chances for success or failure during these times.
The three theories deal with human development where they identify human needs, conflicts, and stages of development. The three recognize the influence of the environment in shaping their personality. The theories expand on the works of Freud and other theorists who tr.ied to understand human development. The three formulate different theories that tried to explain human development.
References
Feist, J., Feist, G., & Roberts, T. (2013). Theories of personality (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hergenhahn, B., & Olson, M. (2007). An introduction to theories of personality . Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
