Reaction Paper on Personality Theory Essay

If you were in this situation, how would you explain this mistake? Many of us might blame the slip on distraction or describe it as a simple accident. However, a psychoanalytic theorist might tell you that this is much more than a random accident. The psychoanalytic view holds that there are inner forces outside of your aware(p)ness that are directing your behavior. For example, a psychoanalyst might say that James misspoke due to unresolved feelings for his ex or perhaps because of misgivings about his new relationship. The founder of psychoanalytic theory was Sigmund Freud.While his theories were considered shocking at the time and continue to create debate and controversy, his work had a unsounded influence on a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, literature, and art. The term psychoanalysis is used to refer to many aspects of Freuds work and research, including Freudian therapy and the research methodology he used to develop his theories. Freu d relied heavily upon his observations and case studies of his patients when he formed his theory of personality development.Before we shtup understand Freuds theory of personality, we must early understand his view of how the mind is organized. gibe to Freud, the mind crapper be divided into two main parts 1. The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our amiable processing that we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not al vogues part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our awareness.Freud called this ordinary memory thepreconscious. . The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the confine of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and experien ce, even though we are asleep of these underlying influences. According to Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theory of personality, personality is composed of three elements.These three elements of personalityknown as the id, the swelled head and the superegowork 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 bloodline 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 convenient 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 infants needs are met. If the infant is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she will call off until the demands of the id are met. However, immediately satisfying these needs is not always possible or even possible. If we were ruled entirely by the pleasure principle, we might remark ourselves grabbing things we want out of other peoples 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 modal value acceptable in the real world. The ego functions in both the conscious,preconscious, and unconscious mind.The ego operates based on the r eality principle, which strives to satisfy the ids desires in realistic and socially let ways. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses. In many cases, the ids impulses can be satisfied through a process of delayed gratificationthe 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 ids primary process.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 smart setour 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 1. The ego ideal includes the rules and standards for in force(p) 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. 2. 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 move up between the id, ego and superego. Freud used the term ego strength to refer to the egos ability to function despite th ese dueling forces. A person with proper ego strength is able to effectively manage these pressures, while those with too much or too little ego strength can give out 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.