Psychodynamic and Humanistic Approaches to Personality
Psychodynamic and Humanistic Approaches
Personality can be defined as the unique characteristics that various individuals possess. These characteristics differentiate individuals from others. In other words, personality can also be defined as a unique system of feelings, thoughts and behaviors that prevail over time and that is evident in various situations. Different psychologists have determined different approaches to study personality. Some psychologists try to examine various aspects of personality that an individual possesses, whereas, others try to understand why there are differences in the personalities of various individuals. (Morris et al., 2010)
Listed below are the two different approaches to personality;
Psychodynamic Approach
Psychodynamic theories establish the thought that our personality is an outcome of inner psychological forces which are not under the control of our conscious mind. Psychodynamic approach basically studies the energy of our unconscious mind and it also explores how this energy transforms into the behavior that various individuals portray at different situations. (Morris et al., 2013) This perspective focuses on how different internal processes such as, needs, desires, emotions and drives lead towards motivating individual behavior. This perspective evolved over time and its emphasis has shifted from innate or unconscious processes to the learning capabilities of human beings and their interaction with their surroundings. (Unknown, 2008)
The historical work in relation to this perspective was done by famous psychologist, Sigmund Freud. Other eminent psychologists that contributed a lot to this approach include, Carl Jung, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, Margaret Mahler, Karen Horney, Heinz Hartmann, Robert W.White, Donald Winnicott, Otto Kernberg, Heinz Kohut, and Erik Erikson. (Unknown, 2008)
In order to understand the evolution of the psychodynamic approach it is necessary to analyze the work of Simund Freud. Freud analyzed personality from different points-of-view and all of these points-of-view or perspectives were interrelated to each other. Summarized below are some of the important theories that Freud proposed in order to understand the personality development and behavioral patterns in various individuals (Unknown, 2008).
Drive or Instinct Theory: This theory states that human behavior is motivated by two powerful drives namely, 'thanatos' or the instinct of aggression or deterioration and 'eros', which can be defined as the drive for life or the instinct for survival. Modern psychologists have included two more drives in this approach that have been observed to motivate human behavior. These drives include, the drive for power or mastery over others and the drive for connection or relationship with others. According to the drive or instinct theory, these are the four major factors that develop and motivate human behavior in various situations and that shape human personality. (Unknown, 2008)
Topographical Theory of The Mind: This theory divides the activities of mind into different stages. These stages include, the 'conscious activities', these are the activities of which we and our minds are fully aware, 'pre conscious activities', these activities can be defined as the thoughts, feeling and emotions that can be easily perceived by our minds or that can be easily brought to our minds and 'unconscious activities', these can be defined as the repressed feelings and thoughts of which, we and our minds are not aware. These feelings and thoughts are not under the control of our conscious mind but can have an influential and powerful effect on our behaviors and personalities. All the psychologists, advocating the psychodynamic approach, believe in the power of the unconscious, even though different theories put emphasis on varying aspects of the unconscious. (Unknown, 2008)
Structural Model Of The Mind: This model suggests that the structure of our personality consist of three parts namely, 'id', this is the unconscious part of our personality and it strives to get the basic instincts and drives fulfilled, 'superego' this part is made...
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