Psychoanalytic theory is one of the theories of personality organization and the gradual change of personality growth that sets the base for the psychoanalysis. This theory is a clinical approach to dealing with psychopathology and was first laid out by Freud Sigmund . Since its formation, the theory has undergone numerous refinements. Freud stopped his analysis of the brain and focused majorly on the mind and its psychological attributes . Further, he explored the childhood events that could eventually influenc e personality development (Blatt & Levy , 2003) . Likewise, the psychoanalyst examined both genetic and the development aspects which gave psychoanalytic theory its characteristics. Personality, on the other hand, is a dynamic set of characteristics possessed by a person which influence their environment, emotions and behaviour in a unique way and according to the situation ( Hall & Lindzey, 1957). Freud argues that personality is made up of three elements, the ego, the id and the superego. Against this backdrop, t his paper evaluates the contributions of psychoanalytic theory to the study of personality .
Psychoanalytic theory contributes to the development of personality as it explains human behaviour regarding the interactions among various personality components. Freud proposed that psychic energy can be converted into behaviour . This argument was based on the principle of converting heat into mechanical energy in thermodynamics . Consequently, he used the same logic to coin the term psychodynamics. T herefore, Freud places significant importance on dynamism and unconscious psychological conflicts. Further, he divided the human personality into three significant components which are the ego, the id and the super-ego. The id acts by the principle of pleasure and demands the immediate satisfaction of its needs without taking into consideration the external environments or the outcome of the action (Ainsworth & Bowlby , 1991) .
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Conversely, the ego helps realistically to meet the demands and the wishes of the id element in accordance with the outside environment by adhering to the principle of reality. Since id is more concerned with the gratification of its desires without considering the outcome, ego ensures the demands of the id are realistic. Ego is different from the id in that it follows the principle of reality by operating in both the unconscious and the conscious minds. Its primary goal is, therefore, to satisfy the gratifications of the id in a realistic manner (Pervin & John , 1999) .
The s uperego , which is also referred to as the conscience , on the other hand, combines moral judgment and the rules of the society on the ego. The s uperego, therefore, ensures that the demands and the wishes of the id are met in accordance with both the practical principles and the moral values of the society. This makes the superego element the last function in the study of personalit y and is the embodiment of both social and parental ideals established during the childhood period (Pervin & John , 1999) . It develops when the child identifies with the same sex parent and is responsible for ensuring that the morals standards are adhered to . The superego element operates on the principle of morality and motivates the person to behave in a manner that is acceptable by all. Therefore, it can be concluded that personality is based largely on the dynamic interactions of these three elements.
The release and channelling of aggressive and sexual energies that ensues the “ T hanatos” and the “ E ros” drives respectively is a core component of the psychoanalytic theory. Sigmund’s understanding of sexuality incorporated all kinds of pleasurable feelings which are experienced by the human body. The life instincts or the Eros help an individual to survive by directing the life-sustaining actions such as sex, eating and respiration. This energy is created by the life instincts and is known as the libido. The death instinct or the Thanatos is perceived as the most destructive force in every human being. When the energy of a person is directed to others, it is articulated as violence or a form of aggression (Kemberg & Caligor , 1996) . Freud claimed that Eros is more powerful that Thanatos and this ensures that people survive self-destruction .
Freud proposed five psychosexual stages in the development of personality. Likewise, he believed that the adult personality largely depends on upon the early childhood experiences and is substantially determined by the fifth age. The central fixations that build up during the infancy stage contribute to character development and behaviour of an adult. Sigmund lived in a repressive society that forced women to repress their sexual needs which in many cases resulted in some form s of neurotic illness (Blatt & Levy , 2003) . As a result, Freud retracted to understand the sexual history of his patients to comprehend the variety and nature of these illnesses. What was important were the desires and the wishes of the patients, their love experience, guilt, shame, fear and hate , and ho w they dealt with these emotions.
Alfred Adler, who was an associate of Sigmund, agreed with Freud that the childhood experience is a great pillar in personality development most preferably set by the birth order. Adler argued that the oldest child was responsible for se t t ing high achievement goals to (or “intending to”) get the attention when the other siblings were born. He also believed that the children born in the middle are more ambitious and competitive in their behaviour . His reasoning was that the behaviour o f the children born in the middle was motivated by the achievement of the firstborn child. Adler continues to argue that the middle children were not always concerned about the credit that is attributed to their behaviour . Furthermore, Alfred believed that from the birth order the youngest child is more likely to be sociable and dependent. Adler concluded by saying that a child who is born alone in a family loves being the centre of attention most of the times and matures quickly but in the end, the child fails to become independent , therefore, affecting his personality and behaviour (Kemberg & Caligor , 1996) .
Kohut Heinz contemplated similarl y to the transference idea of Freud. Heinz used narcissism as a representation o f how human beings develop their sense of self. Narcissism is an exaggerated sense of oneself . According to narcissism, o ne is believed to exist to protect his or her low self-esteem and the sense of worthlessness. Heinz had a substantial impact on the field by introducing the self-object transferences which mirror the idealization . This means that children idealize and emotionally identify with the idealized competence of admired figures like sibling s and parents sink into the idealization of reality. Children also need their self-worth which is mirrored by parents and siblings. This experience, therefore, helps them to learn self-calming and other skills that are necessary for the development of a strong sense of self (Pervin & John , 1999) .
In h er explanation of how psychoanalytic theory contributes to personality development, Karen Horney claims that real self and the ideal self are contained in every being ( Hall & Lindzey, 1957 ) . The real self explains how a human being take s action with the consideration of personality, morals and the values in the environment th at he /she lives in and is part of . On the other hand, she argues that an ideal self is a creation that the people implement to be conventional to social and personal norms ( Hall & Lindzey, 1957 ) . Freud Sigmund thought that when we explain our behaviour to other people or ourselves, we seldom give an accurate explanation of our motivation.
Freud described a topographical model which shows how psychoanalytic theory influences the development of personality. This topographical model consists of three main components or parts, the unconscious, preconscious and the conscious thought. He explained that the unconscious is the part of the brain that is reachable to the conscious though t and is primarily driven by pleasure. The difference between the conscious and the unconscious are repression and other defences . Sigmund saw that dreams are the central window to the unconscious part of the mind. The preconscious is the part of the brain that is accessible to the conscious thought. The line of separation between the preconscious and the unconscious minds is an important difference to draw (Kemberg & Caligor , 1996) . T he accessible part of the brain is t he conscious part, and it processe s thoughts which include speech. It is driven by the principle of reality and must act by the reality in which one lives. The dynamic levels deal with the instinctual forces. A person traces all the instincts and therefore, all the actions are determined by the love and the destructive instincts. The two abilities work together and also against each other, and they always contribute to whatever humans do.
In conclusion, it is evident that the psychoanalytic theory remains one of the best theories that contribute to the study of personality development. Freud exp ounded human behaviour in the form of the interactions among various personality components. Freud proposed that psychic energy can be converted into behaviour . Alfred Adler claimed that childhood experience is a great pillar in personality development most preferably set by the birth order . Adler argued that the oldest child was the one to establish the high achievement goals in a household . Psychoanalytic theory releases and channels of aggressive and sexual energies that ensue the “Thanatos” and the “Eros” drives respectively are the main components of t his theory . Also , Sigmund’s understanding of sexuality incorporated all kinds of pleasurable feelings which are experienced by the human body . Therefore, based on the arguments of the different scholars, psychoanalytic theory contributes significantly to the study of personality.
References
Ainsworth, M. S., & Bowlby, J. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. American Psychologist , 46 (4), 333.
Blatt, S. J., & Levy, K. N. (2003). Attachment theory, psychoanalysis, personality development, and psychopathology. Psychoanalytic Inquiry , 23 (1), 102-150.
Hall, C. S., & Lindzey, G. (1957). Theories of personality . New York: Wiley.
Kernberg, O. F., & Caligor, E. (1996). A psychoanalytic theory of personality disorders. Major theories of personality disorder , 106-140.
Pervin, L. A., & John, O. P. (1999). Handbook of personality: Theory and research . Elsevier.
