These theories were influenced by Sigmund Freud (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). Freud introduced the concept of psychoanalysis as the first formal theory of personality. Understanding the development of the personality requires one to understand Freud’s system first. Freud identified the essential elements of personality as instincts (Gabbard, Williams & Litowitz, 2012). He noted that instincts are a form of psychological energy that creates a connection between the needs of the body and the needs of the mind such as thirst or hunger. When a need such as a thirst arises in the body, it triggers a state of physiological energy which the mind transforms into a wish. The wish drives a person to behave in a way that satisfies the bodily need (Gabbard, Williams & Litowitz, 2012). The primary purpose of instincts is to initiate a process of satisfying a need in order to maintain a homeostatic balance in the body (Gabbard, Williams & Litowitz, 2012).
Feud believed that people take different paths to satisfy their needs. According to him, an individual’s personality is determined by substituting the psychic energy with objects (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). Though instincts are the exclusive sources of energy for human behavior, investing the energy in different activities explains the diversities in human behavior. Feud believed that all the activities done by individuals are displacements of energy from the original objects meant to satisfy instinctual needs (Gabbard, Williams & Litowitz, 2012).
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Feud identified two types of instincts; life instincts and death instincts (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). Life instincts serve the purpose of survival while death instincts serve the unconscious wish by people to die.
Principles of Psychoanalysis Personality Theories
Feud identified three forces that psychoanalytic theory is built on and explains the principles of the theory (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). These are the id, the ego and the superego.
The Id (Pleasure Principle)
The id is a reservoir of the instincts, and as such is directly related to the satisfaction of bodily needs. The id works in accordance to the pleasure principle, in that it works to increase pleasure and reduce the pain (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). It seeks for immediate satisfaction of needs and does not tolerate delays in satisfaction for any reason. It fails to recognize the reality and can be easily compared to newborn babies who cry without the knowledge of how to satisfy their need. Pleasure principle is, therefore, the principle in which the id structure of personality functions to maximize pleasure and reduce pain, which Freud referred to as the primary process thought (Schultz & Schultz, 2015).
The ego (Reality Principle)
This structure is characterized by conscious awareness. As a child grows, he or she is taught how to deal with other people intelligently and rationally and to develop powers of recognition, perception, judgment and memory, powers used by adults to satisfy their needs. Freud referred to this as the secondary process thought (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). The purpose of the ego structure is not to diminish the impulses of the id but to help it obtain the tension reduction that it desires. It postpones or delays id satisfaction in order to meet the reality demands (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). This helps to observe and respond effectively to the reality principle which stands in the way of pleasure principle within which the id structure operates. As such, ego structure helps to control the impulses in the id structure of personality by providing appropriate reality constraints on the expression of the id instincts.
The superego (Principle of Repetition Compulsion)
This personality structure is responsible for the limitation of satisfaction and identifies the influence of other people such as parents, teachers, role models and cultural traditions among others (Schultz & Schultz, 2015). It aims for perfection and forms the organized part of the personality structure but in a reasonably unconscious manner. It can be thought of as a type of conscience that causes punishment for misbehavior with guilt feelings. This structure is guided by the principle of repetition compulsion in the unconscious mind which is based on instinctual activity and the nature of the instincts (LOEVINGER, n.d.). The repetition principle is sufficiently powerful to overrule the pleasure principle (LOEVINGER, n.d.).
The Principle of Dynamic Unconsciousness
According to this principle, Freud states that unconscious ideas help to influence the behaviors in a similar way that conscious ideas do (LOEVINGER, n.d.). This principle, however, is not sufficiently strong to support its notion that the most important determinants of an individual’s behavior are unconscious. This is because the consequences of action only affect the conscious sources and as such, every unconscious idea is converted into conscious ones before they are implemented into actions (LOEVINGER, n.d.).
Principle of Converse Consequence
This principle also falls under the superego structure of personality structure. It explains the desire to exact vengeance by a party on the other. However, other factors influence the individual’s actions by creating a limitation on the individual (Ellis, Abrams & Abrams, 2009). For example, a child may desire to exact vengeance on the parent, but is limited by the thought of what will happen once the revenge action is over. Like search, the child learns to contain the desire to exact vengeance on the parent, and as such suppresses the pleasure principle driving the id structure of personality.
Psychoanalysis and the differences in Gender and Culture
Psychoanalytic clinical theory illuminates logic in how we perceive gender, mature object relations and heterosexuality (Dimen, 2010). According to Chodorow, psychoanalysis provides a normative story that ties heterosexuality to male dominance and sexuality to gender (Dimen, 2010). The task of psychoanalysis is to treat gender roles and their normative values as manifest content. The norms of conformity to gender role behavior obstruct the diverse sexual identities within a psyche (Dimen, 2010). A difficulty exists in specifying what a man is when he is part of female and vice versa. Freud failed to present the female body-ego which skews the understanding of sexual development. It fails to elaborate on how a female’s body affects her character other than her preoccupation with the loss.
Freud’s psychoanalysis presents a monistic view of a female as simply a situation of being non-male. However, subsequent contributions have helped to identify the female ego and an early primary sense of femaleness for the girl child (Dimen, 2010). The normative model of female behavior that excludes the presence of masculine wishes presents a fantasy of gender consistency to normalize the characteristics of interiority, relatedness, and connectedness (Dimen, 2010).
Freud stated that ego is first and foremost a bodily ego, which is a representation of psychic activities as equivalents of bodily equivalents (Dimen, 2010). By using body ego to explain gender differences, Freud can be said to have used imaginary anatomy to display the differences. Body ego incorporates representations of sex and gender that are differentiated, i.e. related to anatomy (Dimen, 2010). The interaction of body ego with the outside world helps in the development of a self that translates to become firmer and fuller as it enriches itself through isomorphic structures (Dimen, 2010). A well-developed body ego helps to generate adaptive features which define the gender differences.
Psychoanalysis explains gender in terms of fantasies, sexuality and the unconscious actions. Gender differences emanate from a complex development that is dialectically related to a more global development process of mental growth (Ellis, Abrams & Abrams, 2009). The interpersonal interactions in the intersubjective mostly construct masculinity and femininity at any given time and in a particular culture (Ellis, Abrams & Abrams, 2009).
Does Psychoanalysis theory comprehensive explanation of how personality develops?
Yes. Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis presents a comprehensive explanation of how personality is developed from childhood to adulthood. According to Freud, personality development occurs as a result of conflicts between the id, the ego and the superego structures of personality that happens as a person transitions from being a child into an adult (Ellis, Abrams & Abrams, 2009). This happens in five distinct stages namely oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Each of these stages has a different focus from the rest.
• Oral (0-1 years of age). A child is born with a suckling reflex. The mouth, therefore, becomes the pleasure center for the fulfillment of suckling needs during infancy ("Theories of Human Development | Boundless Psychology", 2018).
• Anal (1-3 years of age). During this stage, children began to experiment with human excretes ("Theories of Human Development | Boundless Psychology", 2018). They learn to exercise control over their bodily functions through toilet training.
• Phallic (3-6 years of age). At this stage, children become aware of their genitals and begin to struggle with sexual desires towards the opposite sex ("Theories of Human Development | Boundless Psychology", 2018). This is manifested in by the children’s desire of the parent of the opposite sex.
• Latency (6-12 years). This stage is characterized by subsiding of sexual instincts, and children begin to develop a conscience or superego ("Theories of Human Development | Boundless Psychology", 2018). They begin to behave in morally acceptable ways by adopting their parents’ behaviors and other close adults.
• Genital (12+ years of age). At this stage, sexual impulses are reignited.
The ability to address the biological drives and desires across these stages determines the child’s ability to handle similar challenges as an adult ("Theories of Human Development | Boundless Psychology", 2018).
How does Psychoanalysis theory address changes in personality in an individual’s lifespan?
Psychoanalysis explains changes in personality patterns in an individual are explained by the emphasis on social elements personality development, the identity crisis and how personality is shaped over the course of the entire lifespan (Gabbard, Williams & Litowitz, 2012). The unconscious instincts of an individual are of great importance to the development of an individual’s personality. These instincts are molded in the early childhood events and help shape the adult’s unconscious and sexual instincts (Gabbard, Williams & Litowitz, 2012). Other factors that shape the personality patterns are the societal and cultural factors including the child-parent relationship.
Personal Opinion on the Theory
a) Does the theory make sense?
Yes, this theory makes sense as it presents how a personality is developed from childhood to adulthood.
b) Does the theory explain all the aspects of personality adequately?
Though the theory explains the development of personality from childhood to adulthood, the theory fails to clearly state clearly how the differences in gender and culture are shaped. Also, the assumption that unconscious instincts have a more significant impact on an individual’s personality is not true.
c) What needs to be added to the theory?
The theory needs to explain further on sexuality and gender differences for a better understanding of the existing differences between men and women. It also needs to consider the impacts of learning and culture in shaping an individual’s personality.
d) Is the theory still valid?
The theory is not valid in our modern world despite the strong therapeutic connection that the theory has. This is because psychoanalysis fails to validly test its therapeutic approach and earlier failure to offer evidence-based practices.
e) Additional thought to the theory
This theory needs to be refined in terms of the validity of its therapeutic tests. This will help psychologists and other users to understand the theory better.
References
Dimen, M. (2010). Gender in Psychoanalytic Space. Other Press Professional.
Ellis, A., Abrams, M., & Abrams, L. (2009). Personality theories. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Gabbard, G., Williams, P., & Litowitz, B. (2012). Textbook of Psychoanalysis (2nd ed., p. Washington, London). American Psychiatric Publishing.
LOEVINGER, J. THREE PRINCIPLES FOR A PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 71. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/be4c/09765427205d3e1812487d64d91c67c82a9e.pdf
Schultz, D., & Schultz, S. (2015). Theories of Personality. Cengage Learning.
Theories of Human Development | Boundless Psychology. (2018). Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/theories-of-human-development/
