¶ … psychology, theories of personality abound. Two of the most significant theories of personality include psychodynamic and humanistic/existential theories. Although these two theories share some features in common, they are based on widely different assumptions about human nature and human behavior. Each describes the way personality impacts human behavior under certain situations. However, psychodynamic theory presumes that human personality is static and less likely to change. Humanistic and existential theories are built on the assumption that human personality is dynamic. The differences between psychodynamic and humanistic theories of personality also have an impact on their approaches to treatment interventions and therapy. Psychodynamic theories of personality are based on the theories of Sigmund Freud, who believed that human personality is determined by subconscious factors and the person's psycho-sexual nature. The personality is divided into three main and immutable components according to the psychodynamic worldview. Those three components include the id, ego, and superego. The id is the part of the personality that is childlike, needy, and interested in instant gratification. The ego is the part of the personality that is constructed in the social world, and in which the individual becomes heavily invested. The superego operates like a general conscience of moral behavior and internalized...
In many ways, the superego attempts to mediate between the desires of the ego and id. Psychodynamic theory does not place any emphasis on the achievement of balance or happiness, but rather on simply understanding the subconscious forces that comprise the personality. Mainly the personality is believed to be driven by impulses including sexual urges and the "death wish," (McLeod, 2007).
Personality Theories PERSONALITY VS SITUATION Personality refers to the unique set of relatively constant behaviors and mental processes in a person and his or her interactions with the environment (Kevin 2011). It is generally accepted that personality is influenced by genetics in the form of dispositions or temperament at 40-60% and by the environment. The tasks of the psychologist are to characterize and describe personality traits, investigate the relationship between these traits
R Harris "believes that parent do not shape their child's personality or character" (Lee, 2003) rather, it is the child's peers who hold more influence on the child. According to Harris, children do not use all the information they have learned from their parents. In general, children behave in the manner which they have learned from people in their social group. According to Haimowitz, family environment does not contribute much to
Human Behavior Theories Application There are several factors that have been used to explain human behavior in the past and there have been accurate instances that these theories have proven to be applicable and true. The subject of this human behavior study application will be a close friend with whom we study in college. Vincent (not real name) has been a friend from the mid childhood years and we have been
Human Response to Physical Structure: Environmental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on explaining human behavior in relation to the physical environment. In this case, the physical environment basically incorporates plants, animals, and material objects that have a significant impact on behavior at various levels. However, this branch of psychology does not focus on the interactional procedures among people as emphasized on other branches of psychology. In analyzing human
Another psychological approach studied the physical basis for emotion. LeDoux (1995, p. 209+) noted, "Scientists concerned with human nature have not been able to reach a consensus about what emotion is and what place emotion should have in a theory of mind and behavior." He proposed, however, that "findings about the neural basis of emotion might also suggest new insights into the functional organization of emotion that were not apparent
Human Behavior in the Social Environment The way human beings behave when they are in a social environment varies as compared to when they are alone. In isolation, people will behave in such a manner that portrays their identity. However, when in the company of many people in a social place, people tend to experience tension and the desire to please other arises. Therefore, the kind of personality people show when
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