Week 13 notes

Personal Development : Personality

SIGMUND FREUD Theory According to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality, personality is composed of three elements. These three elements of personality--known as the id, the ego and the superego--work together to create complex human behaviors. The Id The id is the only component of personality that is present from birth. This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes of the instinctive and primitive behaviors. According to Freud, the id is the source of all psychic energy, making it the primary component of personality. The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension. For example, an increase in hunger or thirst should produce an immediate attempt to eat or drink. The id is very important early in life, because it ensures that an infant's needs are met. If the infant is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she will cry until the demands of the id are met. However, immediately satisfying these needs is not always realistic or even possible. If we were ruled entirely by the pleasure principle, we might find ourselves grabbing things we want out of other people's hands to satisfy our own cravings. This sort of behavior would be both disruptive and socially unacceptable. According to Freud, the id tries to resolve the tension created by the pleasure principle through the primary process, which involves forming a mental image of the desired object as a way of satisfying the need. The Ego The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality. According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world. The ego functions in both the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind. The ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate ways. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses. In many cases, the id's impulses can be satisfied through a process of delayed gratification--the ego will eventually allow the behavior, but only in the appropriate time and place. The ego also discharges tension created by unmet impulses through the secondary process, in which the ego tries to find an object in the real world that matches the mental image created by the id's primary process.

Week 13 notes The Superego The last component of personality to develop is the superego. The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society--our sense of right and wrong. The superego provides guidelines for making judgments. According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around age five. There are two parts of the superego: The ego ideal includes the rules and standards for good behaviors. These behaviors include those which are approved of by parental and other authority figures. Obeying these rules leads to feelings of pride, value and accomplishment. The conscience includes information about things that are viewed as bad by parents and society. These behaviors are often forbidden and lead to bad consequences, punishments or feelings of guilt and remorse.

The superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works to suppress all unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to make the ego act upon idealistic standards rather that upon realistic principles. The superego is present in the conscious, preconscious and unconscious. The Interaction of the Id, Ego and Superego With so many competing forces, it is easy to see how conflict might arise between the id, ego and superego. Freud used the term ego strength to refer to the ego's ability to function despite these dueling forces. A person with good ego strength is able to effectively manage these pressures, while those with too much or too little ego strength can become too unyielding or too disrupting. According to Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a balance between the id, the ego, and the superego.

Week 13 notes Erik Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development Like Freud, Erik Erikson believed in the importance of early childhood. However, Erikson believed that personality development happens over the entire course of a persons life. In the early 1960s, Erikson proposed a theory that describes eight distinct stages of development. According to Erikson, in each stage people face new challenges, and the stages outcome depends on how people handle these challenges. Erikson named the stages according to these possible outcomes: Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust In the first year after birth, babies depend completely on adults for basic needs such as food, comfort, and warmth. If the caretakers meet these needs reliably, the babies become attached and develop a sense of security. Otherwise, they may develop a mistrustful, insecure attitude. Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Between the ages of one and three, toddlers start to gain independence and learn skills such as toilet training, feeding themselves, and dressing themselves. Depending on how they face these challenges, toddlers can develop a sense of autonomy or a sense of doubt and shame about themselves. Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt Between the ages of three and six, children must learn to control their impulses and act in a socially responsible way. If they can do this effectively, children become more selfconfident. If not, they may develop a strong sense of guilt. Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority Between the ages of six and twelve, children compete with peers in school and prepare to take on adult roles. They end this stage with either a sense of competence or a sense of inferiority. Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion During adolescence, which is the period between puberty and adulthood, children try to determine their identity and their direction in life. Depending on their success, they either acquire a sense of identity or remain uncertain about their roles in life. Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation In young adulthood, people face the challenge of developing intimate relationships with others. If they do not succeed, they may become isolated and lonely. Stage 7: Generativity vs. Self-Absorption As people reach middle adulthood, they work to become productive members of society, either through parenting or through their jobs. If they fail, they become overly self-absorbed. Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair In old age, people examine their lives. They may either have a sense of contentment or be disappointed about their lives and fearful of the future. Eriksons theory is useful because it addresses both personality stability and personality change. To some degree, personality is stable, because childhood experiences influence people even as adults. However, personality also changes and develops over the life span

Week 13 notes as people face new challenges. The problem with Eriksons theory, as with many stage theories of development, is that he describes only a typical pattern. The theory doesnt acknowledge the many differences among individuals. Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development Typical Age Stage Conflict Faced Range 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Trust vs. mistrust Autonomy vs. shame and doubt Initiative vs. guilt Industry vs. inferiority Identity vs. role confusion Intimacy vs. isolation Generativity vs. selfabsorption Integrity vs. despair First year of life 13 years 36 years 612 years Adolescence Early adulthood

Major Challenge(s) Having basic needs met, attaching to people Gaining independence Acting in a socially responsible way Competing with peers, preparing for adult roles Determining ones identity Developing intimate relationships

Middle adulthood Being productive Old age Evaluating ones life

Week 13 notes FACTORS Personality is the wide term, which is the result or net effect of different circumstances and factors. There are many factors which affect personality or which determine the personality. Few among them are as follows: Heredity Brain Family Background Social group (where we interact) Situation Cultural Factor Physical Features

(1) Heredity: Heredity is the transmission of qualities from generation to generation. This can happen due to chromosomes of the germ cell. Heredity predisposes to certain physical, mental, emotional states. It has been established through research on animals that physical and psychological factor may be transmitted through heredity. It has been concluded from various researches that heredity plays an important part in determining an individuals personality. (2) Brain: It is the second biological factor that affects the personality of a person. The role of brain in personality formation is very important. If a persons brain is sharp, he can understand the situation better and take prompt decision. This improves his personality. (3) Family Background (Members): Parents and other family members have strong influence on the personality development of the child. Parents have more influence on the personality development of a child as compared to other members of the family. Family influences the behaviour of a person especially in early stages. The nature of such influence will depend upon the following factors: Family Size Birth Order Race Religion

Week 13 notes Geographic location Parents educational level Socio- economic level of family

For Instance: The study made by Newcomb showed that there is higher co-relation between attitude of parents and children than that between the children and their teachers. (4) Social Groups: Besides a persons home environment and family members, there are other influences arising from the social placement of the family as the person is exposed to agencies outside the home (i.e. social groups) these social groups includes school mates, friends, colleagues at work place or any other group to which an individual belongs because A man is known by the company he keeps. Similarly, socio-economic factors also affect personality development. (5) Situation: Situational factors may also play an important role in determination of human personality. Many a times, the behavior of a person is determined not by how that man is but by what the situation is in which he is places. An employee who is hard working and always gets ahead may prove lazy and trouble maker if he is put under unfavorable situation. This aspect is very important because it can be kept in control by the management. (6) Culture: According to Hoebel Culture is the sum total learned behavior trait which manifested and shared by the member of the society In other words It is a unique system of perception, belief, values, norms, pattern of behaviour of individual in a given society Culture is the factor which determines the decision making power of an individual. It includes independence, competition, artistic talent, and aggression, Co-operation etc. Each culture expects that the person should behave in a way, which is accepted by the group. Personal belonging to different cultural groups has different attitudes. Every culture has their own sub-culture also. However, a direct relationship cannot be established between personality and given culture. (7) Physical Features: The physical features of the individual also have a great impact on personality of an individual. Physical features include height, weight and such other physical aspect of an individual.