Emilio Aguinaldo College

School of Arts and Sciences

PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
Congressional East Avenue, [Link] Main, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite
(+63)046-4164342 loc. 148
[Link]/cavite

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

CARL JUNG’S ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY

I. OVERVIEW OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Analytic psychology rests on the assumption that occult phenomena can and do influence the lives of
everyone. Jung believed that each of us is motivated not only by repressed experiences but also by certain
emotionally toned experiences inherited from our ancestors.
According to Jung, the human personality is imbedded in the past, present and future; it consists of
conscious and unconscious elements, masculine and feminine traits, rational and irrational impulses,
spiritualistic and animalistic tendencies and tendency to bring all these contradicting behavior into harmony
with each other. Self-actualization is achieved when such harmony exists. But self-actualization must be sought.
It does not happen automatically. Jung also emphasized that religion is a major vehicle in the journey towards
self-actualization.
 Emphasized on inner ―growth‖
 Past and future shapes us
 Parted ways with Freud’s psychology
 Unconscious did not just contain sex and aggression
 Libido – generalized dynamic form of personality
 Assumes occult phenomena influence live
 Aim at achieving balance between opposing forces
 Inherit experiences from ancestors in form of collective unconscious (archetypes are highly developed
aspect of this)
II. CARL JUNG’S BIOGRAPHY

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychoanalyst. He had a dominant mother and a weak father. Because of the
constant quarrels between his parents, Jung tended to isolate himself from the family and engaged in dreams
remained for Jung important sources of information about himself and his future.

He studied medicine following his grandfather’s footsteps. It was while he was working at the
psychiatrist clinic of the University of the Munich when he would influence Eugene Bleuler, the psychiatrist
who coined the term ―schizophrenia.‖

He became interested in Freud after reading ―Interpretation of Dream‖, applying Freud’s ideas into his
practice. After a year, he met Freud in Vienna and they became close friends.

After several years of associating with Freud, Jung started to develop doubts about the emphasis of
sexual motivation in Freud’s theory. While traveling with Freud in America audiences, he suggested to
eliminate the role of sex in explaining the causes of behavior. Freud however thought that this suggestion was a
departure from scientific ethics.

Freud supported and helped Jung to be elected as the first president of International Psychoanalytic
Association. However, the relationship with Freud by resigning as the president of the International
psychoanalytic Association and also withdrew as a member. The break was very disturbing for Jung and he
called it the ―dark years‖ – a period of three years during which he could not read a scientific book.

This also marked a period of complete withdrawal into himself. He explored his own dreams and
fantasies with such intensity that it brought him to the brink of madness.

Later, he developed his own theory of personality which bore only a remote resemblance to that of
Freud’s. He continued to develop his theory until his death at age of 86 in Switzerland.
Summary:
- born in Switzerland in 1875,
- the oldest by about 9 years of two surviving children.
- A son before Carl only lived for 3 days
- Jung's father was an idealistic Protestant minister and his mother was a strict believer in mysticism and the
occult.
- Jung's early experience with parents—who were quite opposite of each other—probably influenced his own
theory of personality, including his fanciful No. 1 and Number 2 personalities.
- He saw his mother as having 2 separate dispositions
His no.2 personality = an old man long since dead
- He married Emma Rauschenbach and had 5 children
- Soon after receiving his medical degree Jung became acquainted with Freud's writings and eventually with
Freud himself.
- During their first meeting, they talked for 13 straight hours
- Not long after he traveled with Freud to the United States, Jung became disenchanted with Freud's pansexual
theories, broke with Freud, and began his own approach to theory and therapy, which he called analytical
psychology. (when they began interpreting each other’s dreams)
- He had affairs with Sabina (former patient) and Antonia (another former patient – but had longer relationship
with her)
- He said he was sexually abused when he was 18 yo by an older man whom he saw as a fatherly friend
- From a critical midlife crisis during which he nearly lost contact with reality, Jung emerged to become one of
the leading thinkers of the 20th century.
- He died in 1961 at age 85.

III. JUNG’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERSONALITY THEORY

LEVELS OF THE PSYCHE (*psyche - term used for personality)

Jung saw the human psyche as being divided into a conscious and an unconscious level, with the latter further
subdivided into a personal unconscious and a collective unconscious.
A. Conscious (psychic images sensed by ego)
Images sensed by the ego are said to be conscious. The ego thus represents the conscious side of personality,
and in the psychologically mature individual, the ego is secondary to the self.

 Ego as the center of consciousness but not the core of personality

 Thoughts, feelings, memories and perceptions (awareness)

B. Personal Unconscious
The personal unconscious embraces all repressed, forgotten, or subliminally perceived
experiences of one particular individual. It contains repressed infantile memories and impulses,
forgotten events, and experiences originally perceived below the threshold of our consciousness.
Contents of the personal unconscious are called complexes.
A complex is an emotionally toned conglomeration of associated ideas. For example, a person’s experiences
with Mother may become grouped around an emotional core so that the person’s mother, or even the word
―mother,‖ sparks an emotional response that blocks the smooth flow of thought; embedded themes (sex,
power, father, mother, religion, etc.) that influence consciousness and behaviour.
 psychic images not sensed by the ego.
 Does not focus on sex and aggression
 Some unconscious processes flow from our personal experiences

C. Collective Unconscious
In contrast to the personal unconscious, which results from individual experiences, the collective
unconscious has roots in the ancestral past of the entire species. It represents Jung’s most
controversial, and perhaps his most distinctive, concept. The physical contents of the collective
unconscious are inherited and pass from one generation to the next as psychic potential.

 Psychic inheritance (ideas from the experiences inherited from our ancestors)
 Knowledge all are born with
 Storehouse of experience in humankind
 Wise unconscious - intuition
 beyond our personal experiences and that originate from the repeated experiences of our ancestors.
  not inherited ideas, but rather they refer to our innate tendency to react in a particular way whenever
our personal experiences stimulate an inherited predisposition toward action.
 Love at first sight?
 ―The collective unconscious contains the whole spiritual heritage of mankind; evolution born a new in
the brain structure of every individuals.‖

Contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes. Archetypes are ancient or archaic
images that derive from the collective unconscious. These are names given to the kind of image from
his collective unconscious that man uses frequently.
The most notable of these include the persona, shadow, anima, animus, great mother, wise old
man, hero, and self.

Archetypes
 Contents of the collective unconscious
 Become part of your personal unconscious
 Originate through the repeated experiences of our ancestors and that they are expressed in certain types
of dreams, fantasies, delusions, and hallucinations.
Persona- the side of our personality that we show to others. (mask, public self)
Shadow- the dark side of personality. In order for people to reach full psychological maturity,
they must first realize or accept their shadow. (source of creative and defense =MUST BE
EMBRACED)
Anima- feminine side of men. A second hurdle in achieving maturity is for men to accept their
anima—their feminine side— irrational moods & feelings. Men’s ancestral experiences relating to
women
Animus- the masculine side of women . and for women to embrace their animus— their
masculine side. – irrational thinking & opinions . Women’s ancestral experiences relating to men
Great mother- the archetype of nourishment and destruction.
Wise old man- the archetype of wisdom and meaning
Hero- the image we have of a conqueror who vanquishes evil but who has a single fatal
flaw.
Self- the image we have of fulfillment, completion, or perfection. The most
comprehensive of all archetypes, the self is the archetype of archetypes because it pulls together the
other archetypes and unites them in the process of self-realization. As an archetype, the self is symbolized by
a person’s ideas of perfection, completion, and wholeness, but its ultimate symbol is the mandala, which
is depicted as a circle within a square, a square within a circle, or any other concentric figure.

 The most comprehensive archetype is the self; that is, the image we have of fulfillment, completion, or
perfection.
 The ultimate in psychological maturity is self-realization, which is symbolized by the mandala, or
perfect geometric figure.

DYNAMICS OF THE PSYCHE

Jung believed that the dynamic principles that apply to physical energy also apply to psychic energy.
These forces include causality and teleology as well as progression and regression.
A. Causality and Teleology
Jung accepted a middle position between the philosophical issues of causality and teleology. In other words,
humans are motivated both by their past experiences and by their expectations of the future.

B. Progression and Regression

To achieve self-realization people must adapt to both their external and their internal worlds.
Progression involves adaptation to the outside world and the forward flow of psychic energy, whereas
regression refers to adaptation to the inner world and the backward flow of psychic energy. Jung believed that
the backward step is essential to a person's forward movement toward self-realization.

- Integration of total personality – Ego shift halfway between conscious and unconscious

Synchronity – the acausal principle, in which events are determined by transpersonal forces (meaningful
related)
Individuation – requires assimilation of unconsciousness into total self; process of integrating opposites into a
harmonious self
PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPES
Jung recognized various psychological types that grow out of a union of two basic attitudes-
introversion and extraversion- and four separate functions- thinking, feeling, seeing, and intuiting.

Attitude- refers to the predisposition to act or react in a characteristic direction. Carl Jung insisted that each
person has both an introverted and an extraverted attitude. Introverts are tuned into their inner world with all
its biases, fantasies, dreams, and individualized perceptions. On the other hands, extraverts are more influenced
by their surroundings than by their inner world.
 Introversion – the turning inward of psychic energy with an orientation toward the subjective
 Extraversion – the turning outward of psychic energy so that a person is oriented towards the objective
and away from the subjective

Functions-both introversion and extraversion can combine with any one or more of four functions, forming
eight possible orientations, or types. The four functions are all necessary for man’s mind to perform if he is to
know and live in this world. The illogical and nonrational mental functions are intuition and sensation. The
logical and rational functions are feeling and thinking.
Note:
 The two attitudes of introversion and extraversion can combine with any one or more of the four
functions – Thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition – to produce eight basic types

1. Intuition-perception beyond the working of consciousness

 Extraverted intuitive people are oriented toward facts in the external world. Rather than fully sensing
them, however, they merely perceive them subliminally.
 Introverted intuitive people are guided by unconscious perception of facts that are basically subjective
and have little or no resemblance to external reality.
2. Sensation- receives physical stimuli and transmits them to perceptual consciousness
 Extraverted sensing people perceive external stimuli objectively, in much the same way that these
stimuli exist in reality. Their sensations are not greatly influenced by their subjective attitudes.
 Introverted sensing people are largely influenced by their subjective sensations of sight, sound, taste,
touch, and so forth. They are guided by their interpretation of sense stimuli rather than the stimuli
themselves.
3. Feeling- evaluating an idea or event.
 Extraverted feeling people use objective data to make evaluations. They are not guided so much by their
subjective opinion, but by external values and widely accepted standards of judgment. They are likely to
be at ease in social situations, knowing on the spur of the moment what to say and how to say it.
 Introverted feeling people base their value judgments primarily on subjective perceptions rather than
objective facts. Critics of the various art forms make much use of introverted feeling, making value
judgments on the basis of subjective individualized data. These people have an individualized
conscience, a taciturn demeanor, and an unfathomable psyche.
4. Thinking- logical intellectual activity that produces a chain of ideas.
 Extraverted thinking people rely heavily on concrete thoughts, but they may also use abstract ideas if
these ideas have been transmitted to them from without.
 Introverted thinking people react to external stimuli, but their interpretation of an event is colored more
by the internal meaning they bring with them than by the objective facts themselves.
The Psyche : core of the Personality
Rational
 Thinking
 Feeling

Irrational
 Sensing
 Intuiting

DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY

Nearly unique among personality theorists was Jung's emphasis on the second half of life.
Jung saw middle and old age as times when people may acquire the ability to attain self-realization.

Stages of Development

1. Childhood- the early morning sun, full of potential but still lacking in brilliance (consciousness).
 which lasts from birth until adolescence
 Does not determine future personality
 Concerned with eating, emptying bowels, sleeping (problem-free age)

Substages
a. Anarchic phase- characterized by chaotic and sporadic consciousness.
b. Monarchic phase- characterized by the development of the ego and by the beginning
of logical and verbal thinking.
c. Dualistic phase- the ego is divided into the objective and subjective.

2. Youth- the morning sun, climbing toward the zenith, but unaware of the impending decline.
The period from puberty until middle life is called youth. Young people strive to gain psychic and
physical independence from their parents, find a mate, raise a family, and make a place in the world.
 the period from puberty until middle life: a time for extraverted development & for being grounded to
the real world of schooling, occupation, courtship, marriage, and family;
 Birth of Psyche (Ego)
 Towards individuation
 Extraversion Period
 Consciousness of ―I‖ (―me, myself, and I)

3. Middle life- early afternoon sun, brilliant like the late morning sun, but obviously headed for the sunset.
Jung believed that middle life begins at approximately age 35 or 40, by which time the sun has passed its
zenith and begins its downward descent. Although this decline can present middle-aged people with increasing
anxieties, middle life is also a period of tremendous potential.
 from about 35 or 40 until old age and a time when people should be adopting an introverted, or
subjective attitude;
 Interact with People
 Ego Forms definite form and contents
 Start of introversion period

4. Old age- the evening sun, its once bright consciousness now markedly dimmed.
As the evening of life approaches, people experience a diminution of consciousness just as the light and
warmth of the sun diminish at dusk. If people fear life during the early years, then they will almost certainly fear
death during the later ones.
 which is a time for psychological rebirth, self-realization, and preparation for death.
 Return to the unconscious
 Completion of the Psyche
Note:
 A healthy middle life and old age depends on proper solutions to the problem of childhood and youth

B. Self-Realization
Self-realization, or individuation, involves a psychological rebirth and an integration of various parts
of the psyche into a unified or whole individual. Self-realization represents the highest level of human
development.
IV. JUNG’S METHOD OF INVESTIGATION
1. Word Association Test- this is the oldest method in which the subject is asked to respond to some stimulus
words with the first word that comes to his mind. Jung typically used a list of about 100 stimulus words chosen
and arranged to elicit an emotional reaction.
 to uncover complexes embedded in the personal unconscious. The technique requires a patient to utter
the first word that comes to mind after the examiner reads a stimulus word.
2. Dream Analysis- in Jung’s theory, dreams are often compensatory; that is, feelings and attitudes not
expressed during waking life will find an outlet through the dream process. The purpose of Jungian dream
interpretation is to uncover elements from the personal and collective unconscious and to integrate them into
consciousness to facilitate the process of self- realization.
 dreams may have both a cause and a purpose and thus can be useful in explaining past events and in
making decisions about the future. "Big dreams" and "typical dreams," both of which come from the
collective unconscious

3. Active Imagination- this method requires a person to begin with any impression- a dream image, vision,
picture, or fantasy- and to concentrate until the impression begins to ―move‖.
 used active imagination to arrive at collective images.
 This technique requires the patient to concentrate on a single image until that image begins to appear in
a different form. (archetypes)

4. Psychotherapy- the ultimate purpose of Jungian therapy is to help neurotic patients become healthy and to
encourage healthy people to work independently toward self-realization. Jung identified four basic approaches
to therapy, representing four developmental stages in the history of psychotherapy.
a. The first is confession of a pathogenic secret (cathartic method of Breuer)
b. The second stage involves interpretation, explanation, and elucidation (Freud)
c. The third stage involves the education of patients as social beings (Adler)
d. The fourth stage suggested by Jung is transformation. By transformation, he meant that the therapist
must first be transformed into a healthy human being, preferably by undergoing psychotherapy.
 help neurotic patients become healthy and to move healthy people in the direction of self-realization.
Jung was eclectic in his choice of therapeutic techniques and treated old people differently than the
young.
 Jungian therapist use dream analysis and active imagination to discover the contents of the patients’
collective unconscious.
USEFULLNESS OF JUNG’S THEORY JUNG’S CONCEPTION OF HUMAN NATURE
Characteristics Theory Determinism Vs. Freedom Either
Capacity to generate Research Moderate Optimism Vs. Pessimism Either
Falsifiability Low Causality Vs. Teleology Either
Ability to organize data Moderate Conscious Vs. Unconscious Either
Ability to guide Action Low Biological Vs. Social influences High Biological
Internal consistency Low Uniqueness Vs. Similarities High similarities
Parsimony Low
Prepared by:

BAUTISTA, JUNO C. MP-CP, RPm

Psychology Program Head
References:

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2017). Theories of Personality, 9th Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill
Feist, Feist & Roberts (2013). Theories of Personality, eight Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill
Bischof, L.J. (1970). Interpreting Personality Theories 2nd Edition. New York: Harper & Rows, Publishers.
Burger, J.M. (1986). Personality Theory and Research. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Feist, J & Feist, F. (2008). Theories of Personality, Seventh Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill
Teh, L.A. & Macapagal, M.J. (editors) (2008). General Psychology for Filipino Students. Manila, Philippines:
Ateneo De Manila University Press.
 Emilio Aguinaldo College
School of Arts and Sciences
PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
Congressional East Avenue, [Link] Main, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite
(+63)046-4164342 loc. 148
[Link]/cavite

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

KAREN HORNEY’S PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY

I. OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY

The psychoanalytic social theory of Karen Horney was built on the assumption that social and cultural
conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality. People who do
not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during childhood develop basic hostility toward their
parents and, as a consequence, suffer from basic anxiety. Horney theorized that people combat basic anxiety
by adopting one of three fundamental styles of relating to others: (1) moving toward people, (2) moving
against people, or (3) moving away from people. Normal individuals may use any of these modes of relating
to other people, but neurotics are compelled to rigidly rely on only one.

Although Horney’s writings are concerned mostly with the neurotic personality, many of her ideas can
also be applied to normal individuals. This part looks at Horney’s basic theory of neurosis, compares her
ideas to those of Freud, examines her views on feminine psychology, and briefly discusses her ideas on
psychotherapy.

 Her theories are also appropriate to normal development. She agreed with Freud that early childhood
traumas are important, but she placed far more emphasis on social factors.
 “Search for love”
 Focused on conscious processes
 Socialization
 Founder of Association for Advancement of Psychoanalysis American Institute for Psychologist
 Feminist view in Psychologist

Horney and Freud Compared

Neuroses are not instincts but a person’s attempt to find its paths in the society
Criticisms to Freudian theory:
 its rigidity toward new ideas
 its skewed view of feminine psychology
 its overemphasis on biology and the pleasure principle.

II. KAREN HORNEY’S SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Horney was born on September 6, 1885 at the City of Hamburg in Germany. She attended medical
school at the University of Berlin and while there became interested in psychoanalysis. Unlike many of the neo-
Freudians, Horney was not a student of Freud. Instead, she studied Freud’s work indirectly, and later taught
psychoanalysis at the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute and the New York Psychoanalytic Institute.
Horney soon began to question some of the basic tenets of Freudian theory. In particular, she could not
agree with some of Freud’s views concerning women, views she believed to be misleading, perhaps insulting.
The biography of Karen Horney has several parallels with the life of Melanie Klein. Each was born
during the 1880s, the youngest child of a 50-yearold father and his second wife. Each had older siblings who
were favored by the parents, and each felt unwanted and unloved. Also, each had wanted to become a physician,
but only Horney fulfilled that ambition. Finally, both Horney and Klein engaged in an extended self-analysis
Summary:
 born in Germany in 1885, only daughter of her parents and she has an older brother
 Her mother is 18 years younger than her father (he had other children from his previous marriage)
 She is mad at her father and idolized her mother
 She was not a happy child = superficially independent but dependent to men inside
 She married Oskar Horney and had 3 daughters
  She had several love affairs (Erich Fromm)
 Horney was one of the first women in Germany admitted to medical school, where she specialized in
psychiatry.
 Horney died in 1952 at age 65.

III. HORNEY’S CONTRIBUTION TO PERSONALITY THEORY

 Horney insisted that social and cultural influences were more important that biological ones.
 Children who lack warmth and affection fail to meet their needs for safety and satisfaction.
 These feeling of isolation and helplessness trigger basic anxiety, or feeling of isolation and helplessness
in a potentially hostile world.

The Impact of Culture

Horney insisted that modern culture is too competitive and that competition leads to hostility and feelings
of isolation. These conditions lead to exaggerated needs for affection and cause people to overvalue love.
 Feelings of isolation ->needs for affection ->overvalue love ->neuroses
 See love and affection as the solution to problems
 Both normal and neurotic personalities experience intrapsychic conflicts through their desperate
attempts to find love

The Importance of Childhood Experiences

Neurotic conflict stems largely from childhood traumas, most of which are traced to a lack of genuine
love. Children who do not receive genuine affection feel threatened and adopt rigid behavioral patterns in an
attempt to gain love.
 Lack of genuine love ->neurotic needs(rigid behavioral patterns ->gain feeling of safety/love

Basic Hostility and Basic Anxiety

All children need feelings of safety and security, but these can be gained only by love from parents.
Unfortunately, parents often neglect, dominate, reject, or overindulge their children, conditions that lead to the
child's feelings of basic hostility toward parents. If children repress basic hostility, they will develop feelings
of insecurity and a pervasive sense of apprehension called basic anxiety.

Basic Hostility
- When parents do not satisfy child’s needs = child develops feeling of basic hostility towards the parents
- Repress hostility towards parents (unaware) produces insecurities -> lead to basic anxiety.

Basic Anxiety
- Happens when external condition obstruct natural psychological growth

“an insidiously increasing, all-pervading feeling of being lonely and helpless in a hostile world”

- Irrational emotional experience (unpleasant feeling of extreme discomfort)

- The inability of people to use different tactics in their relationship with others generate basic conflict;
that is, the incompatible tendency to move towards, against, and away from people.
- Horney called the tendencies to move toward, against, and away from people, the three neurotic trends.

Protection from basic anxiety (does not necessarily indicate neurosis):

1. Affection: not real love
2. Submissiveness: in order to gain affection
3. Power/prestige/possesion: dominate, humiliate, deprive others
4. Withdrawal: emotionally detached from people

 Normal people have the flexibility to use any or all of these approaches, but neurotics are compelled to
rely rigidly on only one.

Compulsive Drives
Neurotic individuals are frequently trapped in a vicious circle in which their compulsive need to
reduce basic anxiety leads to a variety of self-defeating behaviors; these behaviors then produce more basic
anxiety, and the circle continues.
Neurotic Needs
The table below illustrates the ten needs from which Horney evolved her three basic adjustment
techniques or styles. These needs are the result of the disturbed interpersonal relationship specifically the
parent-child relationship. All personalities have these needs to some extent. The neurotic has them to an
overpowering degree.

Neurotic Needs Salient Feature Tendency of moving in

relation to people
[Link] neurotic need for Live to please others and win Toward
affection and approval love
2. The neurotic need for a Attach themselves to a Toward
powerful partner powerful partner
3. The neurotic need to restrict They tend to be contended Away from
one’s life with very little. They
downgrade their own abilities
and dread making demands on
others
4. The neurotic need for power The need to control others and Against
to avoid feelings of weakness
or stupidity

5. The neurotic need to exploit The need to win at games, Against

others always be dominant
6. The neurotic need for social The need to be recognized Against
recognition or prestige and attract attention to
themselves
7. The neurotic need for The need to be admired for Against
personal admiration what they are rather than for
they possess
8. The neurotic need for Have a consuming desire to be Against
ambition in personal rich, famous, important
achievement regardless of cost to self and
others
9. The neurotic need for self- Go to extreme lengths to avoid Away from
sufficiency and independence being obligated to anyone
10. The neurotic need for They strive relentlessly for Away from
perfection and unassailability perfection, they dread making
mistakes

Neurotic Trends
Horney originally identified four general ways that people protect themselves against the feeling alone
in a potentially hostile world. This includes affection, submissiveness, power, and withdrawal. As her theory
evolved, she began to see that the list of 10 neurotic needs could be grouped into three general categories, each
relating to a person’s basic attitude toward self and others.
 applies to normal individual; neurotics are limited to a single trend

In 1945, Horney identified the three basic attitudes, or neurotic trends enumerated and discussed
below.

1. Moving toward People (helplessness)

One approach to dealing with neurotic anxiety is to emphasize one’s helplessness. People who
employ this style become extremely dependent on others, compulsively seeking affection and acceptance. A
person who relies on this style “needs to be liked, wanted, desired, loved; to feel accepted, welcomed,
approved of, appreciated; to be needed, to be of importance to others, especially to one particular person;
to be helped, protected, taken care of, guided.”

In terms of relationship, people using this style do not love; they cling. They do not give; they only
take. They do not share affection; they demand it. The slogan that best identifies this style is “If you love
me, you will not hurt me”.

 undue compliance to others' wishes to protect against the feeling of helplessness

 strives for affection, seek a powerful partner,
 Affection and approval
 they see themselves as loving, generous, humble, unselfish and sensitive to feelings. Narrowly
restricting one’s life

2. Moving against people (hostility)

If one way of handling anxiety is to cling to others, another way is to fight. Some children find that
aggressiveness and hostility are the best means of dealing with a poor home environment. This hostility
includes need to exploit others, to take advantage of weaknesses in others, to be in control, to be powerful.

This style is characterized by Horney as externalization (similar to Freud’s projection), that is, the
belief that all people are basically hostile and out to get what they can.
Relationships with neurotic people who use this style are necessarily shallow, unfulfilling, and
ultimately painful. They regard love and other such emotions as silly and sentimental; they enter into
relationships only when there is something to be gained. The individual who uses this technique says “If I
have power, no one can hurt me.”
 assume that everyone is hostile, and, therefore, should be aggressive people who exploits other for their
own benefit
 they seldom admit their mistakes and need to appear perfect, powerful and superior
 They play to win than to enjoy
- Power
- Exploiting other
- Social recognition or prestige
- Personal achievement
- Personal admiration

3. Moving away from people (isolation)

Instead of dealing with others in a dependent or hostile manner, the child may choose to reduce
anxiety by being self- sufficient and independent. The desire for privacy is very strong. Such people usually
find a job requiring little interaction with others; in general, they avoid affection, love, sympathy, and
friendship.
This is certainly the wrong kind of person to fall in love with- affection cannot be returned; it is not
even felt. Thus, for both participants, the relationship will be shallow and unrewarding. People using this
style say “If I withdraw, nothing can hurt me.”
 People who feel isolated from others insist on privacy, independence, and self-sufficiency.
 Their greatest need is to need other people
 Perfectionist and unassailability
Intrapsychic Conflicts
The neurotic trends flow from basic anxiety, which in turn, stems from a child’s relationships with other
people. To this point, our emphasis has been on culture and interpersonal conflict. However, Horney did not
neglect the impact of intrapsychic factors in the development of personality. As her theory evolved, she began
to place greater emphasis on the inner conflicts that both normal and neurotic individuals experience.
This section looks at two important intrapsychic conflicts: the idealized self-image and self-hatred.

 people experience inner tensions

 become part of people's belief system and take on a life of their own, separate from the interpersonal
conflicts that created them.

A. The Idealized Self-Image - an extravagantly positive view of themselves with infinite powers and unlimited
capabilities; they see themselves as “a hero, a genius, a supreme lover, a saint, a god.
 -realization and stable sense of identity
 extravagantly positive picture of themselves that exists only in their mind.

Idealized Self
Gives personality a sense of unity
- Externalization
- Blind spot (compartmentalization)
- elusiveness
- Rationalization
o Excessive control
o Arbitrary rightness

Real Self (Self)

Is the potential for growth beyond the artificial idealized self

” Horney recognized the following three aspects of the idealized image:

1. Neurotic search for glory- it is comprehensive drive toward actualizing the ideal self. As neurotics
come to believe in the reality of their idealized self, they begin to incorporate it into all aspects of their lives-
their goals, their self-concept, and their relations with others. This includes three elements: the need for
perfection, neurotic ambition, and the drive toward a vindictive triumph.
 Comprehensive drive to actualize the idealized self-image
 tyranny of the should, neurotic ambition, and the drive toward a vindictive triumph

2. Neurotic claims- a belief that something is wrong with the outside world, they proclaim that they are
special and therefore entitled to be treated in accordance with their idealized view of themselves.
 They believe that they are entitled to special privileges and make neurotic claims on other people that
are consistent with their idealized view of themselves

3. Neurotic pride- a false pride based not on a realistic view of the true self but on a spurious(distorted)
image of the idealized self.

B. Self-Hatred- it is the outcome when the neurotics realized that their self does not match the insatiable
demands(fall short) of their idealized self. Horney (1950) recognized six major ways in which people express
self-hatred as follows: relentless demands on the self, merciless self-accusation, self-contempt, self-frustration,
self-torment, and self-destructive actions and impulses.

FEMININE PSYCHOLOGY
As a psychoanalyst in the 1930s, Horney found herself a woman in a man’s world. Many of her initial
doubts about Freud’s theory began when Horney found she couldn’t agree with some of Freud’s disparaging
views of women.
For an instance, Freud maintained that the essence of female development could be found in the concept
of penis envy, the desire of every young girl to be a boy. Horney countered this male-flattering position with
the concept of womb envy, which maintains that men are jealous of women’s ability to bear and nurse children.
Horney did not suggest that men are therefore dissatisfied with themselves, but rather she argued that each sex
has attributes that the other admires. She did suggest, however, that men compensate for their inability to have
children through achievement in other domains.
IV. HORNEY’S PSYCHOTHERAPY
The general goal of Horneyian therapy is to help patients gradually grown in the direction of self-
realization. More specifically, the aim is to have patients give up their idealized self-image, relinquish their
neurotic search for glory, and change self-hatred to an acceptance of the real self. Therefore, the therapy
includes self-analysis leading to self-understanding.
As to techniques, Horneyian therapists use many of the same ones employed by Freudian therapists,
especially dream interpretation and free association.

- Healthy people solve their basic conflict by using all three neurotic trends, whereas neurotics
compulsively adopt only one of these trends.
- The three neurotic trends (moving towards, against, or away from people) are a combination of 10
neurotic trends that Horney had earlier identified.
- Both healthy and neurotic people experience intrapsychic conflict that have become part of their belief
system. The two major intrapsychic conflict are the idealized self-image and self-hatred
- The Idealized self-image results in neurotics’ attempts to build a godlike picture of themselves.
- Self-hatred is the tendency for neurotic to hate and despised their real self.
- Any psychological differences between men and women are due to cultural and social expectations and
not to biology
- The goal of Horneyian psychotherapy is to bring growth towards actualization of the real self.

USEFULLNESS OF HORNEY’S THEORY HORNEY’S CONCEPTION OF HUMAN NATURE

Characteristics Theory
Capacity to generate Low Determinism Vs. Freedom Deterministic
Research More Optimistic than
Optimism Vs. Pessimism
Falsifiability Low pessimistic
Ability to organize data High (neurotics). Causality Vs. Teleology Middle position
Low(for people in Middle position
Conscious Vs. Unconscious
general)
Biological Vs. Social More social
Ability to guide Action High
influences
Internal consistency High More on Similarities
Uniqueness Vs. Similarities
Parsimony High

Prepared by:

BAUTISTA, JUNO C. MP-CP, RPm

Psychology Program Head

References:

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2017). Theories of Personality, 9th Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2013). Theories of Personality, eight Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Bischof, L.J. (1970). Interpreting Personality Theories 2nd Edition. New York: Harper & Rows, Publishers.

Burger, J.M. (1986). Personality Theory and Research. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Feist, J & Feist, F. (2008). Theories of Personality, Seventh Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Teh, L.A. & Macapagal, M.J. (editors) (2008). General Psychology for Filipino Students. Manila, Philippines:
Ateneo De Manila University Press.
 Emilio Aguinaldo College
School of Arts and Sciences
PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
Congressional East Avenue, [Link] Main, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite
(+63)046-4164342 loc. 148
[Link]/cavite

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
MELANIE KLEIN’S OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY

I. OVERVIEW OF OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY

The object relations theory of Melanie Klein was built on careful observations of young children. In
contrast to Freud, who emphasized the first 4 to 6 years of life, Klein stressed the importance of the first 4 to 6
months after birth. She insisted that the infant’s drives (hunger, sex, and so forth) are directed to an object—a
breast, a penis, a vagina, and so on.
Klein’s ideas tend to shift the focus of psychoanalytic theory from organically based stages of
development to the role of early fantasy in the formation of interpersonal relationships

II. History
- Born in Vienna in 1882, Youngest of the four siblings
- Had a complex family relationship
(Mother, Father, Siblings, Husband)
She felt rejected by her parents, especially her father
She developed fondness to her older siblings, Sidonie and Emmanuel who both died
- Met Sandor Ferenczi in 1909 (significant?)
- Read ―on Dreams‖ in 1914 (significant?)
- She married Arthur Klein, Emmanuel’s close friend, at age 21
- They had 3 children; she has an estranged relationship with her eldest child, Melitta
- Klein separated from her husband
- Became an analyst by being psychoanalyzed and through a study of psychoanalysis.
She had neither a PhD nor an MD degree but became an analyst
- Was first in Freud’s Circle to psychoanalyzed Children directly (who was the first?)
- Her ―the Psycho-Analysis of Children‖ was published in 1932 (what was the content?)
As an analyst, she specialized in working with young children.
- Specialized in child psychology
She believed that children develop superego much earlier than Freud believed (4-6 months after birth)
- Play therapy
- Extended Freud’s developmental stages
- Died in England in 1960

III. INTRODUCTION TO OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY

Differs from Freudian theory in three important ways:
 it places more emphasis on interpersonal relationships,
 it stresses the infant's relationship with the mother rather than the father, and
 it suggests that people are motivated primarily for human contact rather than for sexual pleasure.
The term ―object” refers to any person or part of a person that infants introject, or take into their psychic
structure and then later project onto other people
 Psychic life of infant – begin with inherited predisposition
 Infant possess unconscious life (phantasy)
 Object relations theories assume that the mother-child relationship during the first 4(2) or 5 months is
the most critical time for personality development.
 Klein believed that an important part of any relationship is the internal psychic representation of early
significant object, such as the mother’s breast or the father’s penis

Emphasis is placed on child’s relation to the breast is The very early Klein’s ideas tend to
the infants’s drives fundamental and serves as a tendency of infants to shift the focus of
(hunger, sex, and so prototype for later relations to relate to partial psychoanalytic theory
forth) are directed to an whole objects, such as objects gives
from organically based
object—a breast, a mother and father their experiences an
penis, a vagina, and so unrealistic or fantasy- stages of development
on. like quality that to the role of early
affects all later fantasy in the formation
interpersonal of interpersonal
relations.
relationships

IV. PSYCHIC LIFE OF THE INFANT

- infants begin life with an inherited predisposition to reduce the anxiety that they experience as a consequence
of the clash between the life instinct and the death instinct

Phantasies (images of ―good‖ breast and Objects (objects have life of its own in child’s
―bad‖ breast) fantasy world)
- very young infants possess an active, - Drives have an object-aim (hunger: good
unconscious phantasy life. breast; sex: sexual organ)
- Their most basic fantasies are images of the - any person or part of the person an
"good" breast and the "bad" breast. infant introjects and projects later on to
others

- child's relationship with these objects

(parents' face, hands, breast, penis, etc.), which
she saw as having a life of their own within the
child's phantasy world.
- Objects are introjected or taken into
child’s Phantasy world and have a life
of their own

- Infants introject these psychic representations into their own psychic structure and then project them
onto an external object, that is, another person. These internal pictures are not accurate representation of
the other person but are remnant of earlier interpersonal experiences.

- The ego, which exist at birth, can sense both destructive and loving forces, that is both a nurturing and
frustrating breast

- To deal with the nurturing breast and the frustrating breast, infants split these object into good and bad
while also splitting their own ego, giving them dual image of self.

V. POSITIONS
 In their attempts to reduce the conflict produced by good and bad images, infants organize their
experience into positions
Paranoid-Schizoid Position (3-4 months) Depressive Position (5-6 months)
- ―to bite or not to bite‖ breast  the anxiety that infants experience around
- Tolerated by the ego 6 months of age over losing their mother
- Tendency to see the world as having and yet, at the same time, wanting to
both destructive and omnipotent destroy her.
qualities  resolved when infants phantasize that
 The struggles that infants experience they have made up for their previous
with the good breast and the bad breast offenses against their mother and also
lead to two separate and opposing realize that their mother will not
feelings—a desire to harbor the breast abandon them.
and a desire to bite or destroy it.
 To tolerate these two feelings, the ego  Anxiety over losing a loved object
splits itself by retaining parts of its life  Sense of guilt for wanting to destroy loved
and death instincts while projecting object
other parts onto the breast
 It then has a relationship with the ideal
breast and the persecutory breast.
 To control this situation, infants adopt
the paranoid-schizoid position, which is
a tendency to see the world as having
both destructive and omnipotent
qualities.
VI. PSYCHIC DEFENSE MECHANISM

Children adopt various psychic defense mechanisms to protect their ego against anxiety aroused by their
own destructive fantasies.

A. Introjection
 phantasy of taking into one's own body the images that one has of an external object, especially the
mother's breast.
 Infants usually introject good objects as a protection against anxiety, but they also introject bad objects
in order to gain control of them.

B. Projection
 phantasy that one's own feelings and impulses reside within another person
 Children project both good and bad images so that they ease the unbearable anxiety of being destroyed
by the dangerous internal forces

C. Splitting
 mentally keeping apart, incompatible images to tolerate good and bad aspects of themselves and of
external objects.
 Splitting can be beneficial to both children and adults, because it allows them to like themselves while
still recognizing some unlikable qualities.

D. Projective identification
 split off unacceptable parts of themselves, project them onto another object, and finally introject them in
an altered form.

VII. INTERNALIZATION
After introjecting external objects, infants organize them into a psychologically meaningful framework

A. Ego (sense of self)

 Internalizations are supported by the early ego's ability to feel anxiety, to use defense mechanisms, and
to form object relations in both phantasy and reality.
 a unified ego emerges only after first splitting itself into the two parts—the life instinct and the death
instinct.

B. Superego
 the superego preceded rather than followed the Oedipus complex. Klein also saw the superego as being
quite harsh and cruel.

C. Oedipus complex
 begins during the first few months of life, then reaches its peak during the genital stage, at about 3 or 4
years of age
 based on children's fear that their parents will seek revenge against them for their phantasy of
emptying the parent's body.
 For healthy development, children should retain positive feelings for each parent.
 the little boy adopts a "feminine" position very early in life and has no fear of being castrated as
punishment for his sexual feelings toward his mother. Later, he projects his destructive drive onto his
father, whom he fears will bite or castrate him. It is resolved when the boy establishes good relations
with both parents.
 The little girl also adopts a "feminine" position toward both parents quite early in life. She has a positive
feeling for both her mother's breast and her father's penis, which she believes will feed her with babies.
Sometimes the girl develops hostility toward her mother, whom she fears will retaliate against her and
rob her of her babies, but in most cases, the female Oedipus complex is resolved without any jealousy
toward the mother.

Additional
- Klein believed that the superego comes into existence much earlier than Freud had speculated and that it
grows along with the Oedipal process rather than being a product of it.

- During the early female Oedipus complex, the little girl adopts a feminine position towards both parents.
She has a positive feeling both for her mother’s breast and her father’s penis. Which she believed that
will feed her with babies.
 - Sometimes the little girl develops hostility towards her mother, who she fears will retaliate against her
and rob her of her babies.

- With most girls, however, the female Oedipus complex is resolved without any antagonism or jealousy
toward their mother.

- The little boy also adopts a feminine position during the early, Oedipal years. At the time, he has no
fears of being castrated as punishment for his sexual feelings for his mother.

- Later, the boy projects his destructive drive onto his father, who he fears will bite or castrate him.

- The male Oedipus complex is resolved when the boy establishes good relations with both parents and
feels comfortable about his parents having sexual intercourse with one another.

Later Views of Object Relations:

A. Margaret Mahler: Security to Autonomy

Believed that children’s sense of identity rest on a three step relationship with their mother.
1. Infants have basic needs cared for by their mother
2. They develop a safe symbiotic relationship with an all powerful mother.
3. The child emerges from their mother’s protective circle and establish their separate individuality

In General, Mahler’s work was concerned with the infant’s struggle to gain autonomy and a sense of self.

From careful observations of infants as they bonded with their mothers during their first 3 years of life.

three major developmental stages.

 normal autism (first 3 to 4 weeks of life) a time when infants satisfy their needs within the all-powerful
protective orbit of their mother's care.
 normal symbiosis, when infants behave as if they and their mother were an all-powerful, interdependent
unit.
 separation-individuation (4 months until about 3 years) a time when children are becoming
psychologically separated from their mothers and achieving individuation, or a sense of personal
identity.

B. Heinz Kohut: Development of the Self

Theorized that children develop a sense of self during early infancy when parents and others treat them as if had
an individualized sense of Identity
“Extensive application to borderline and narcissistic personality disorder”
 emphasized the development of the self.
 In caring for their physical and psychological needs, adults treat infants as if they had a sense of self.
 The parents' behaviors and attitudes eventually help children form a sense of self that gives unity and
consistency to their experiences.

C. John Bowlby: Separation Anxiety

Investigated infants’ attachment to their mother as well as the negative consequences of being separated from
their mothers

―this theory emphasizes different stages of separation anxiety‖

Three stages of separation anxiety:

1. protest
2. apathy and despair
3. emotional detachment from people, including the primary caregiver. Children who reach the third stage
lack warmth and emotion in their later relationships.

D. Mary Ainsworth : Attachment style

Develop a technique from measuring the types of Attachment style an infant develops towards its caregivers
 developed a technique called the Strange Situation for measuring one of three the types of attachment
styles—secure attachment, anxious-resistant attachment, and anxious-avoidant attachment.
  These developmental psychologist were the first in long series of what were know as baby
psychologists
 These individuals were very interested in the parenting experience and its effect on the child
 Some of the commonly known names included Harry Harlow, Benjamin Spock, T. Barry Braselton, and
even Fred Rogers

VIII. Psychotherapy
The goal of Klein's therapy was to reduce depressive anxieties and persecutory fears and to lessen the harshness
of internalized objects. To do this, Klein encouraged patients to reexperience early fantasies and pointed out the
differences between conscious and unconscious wishes.

USEFULLNESS OF KLEIN’S THEORY

Characteristics Klein’s Theory
Capacity to generate Research Low to Moderate
Falsifiability Low (except attachment theory)
Ability to organize data High during infancy, low in early childhood
Ability to guide Action High
Internal consistency High
Parsimony Low

KLEIN’S CONCEPTION OF HUMAN NATURE

Determinism Vs. Freedom High Determinism, Low Freedom
Optimism Vs. Pessimism Either
Causality Vs. Teleology More on Causality
Conscious Vs. Unconscious High on unconscious
Biological Vs. Social influences More on Social
Uniqueness Vs. Similarities More on Similarities

Prepared by:

BAUTISTA, JUNO C. MP-CP, RPm

Psychology Program Head

References:

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2017). Theories of Personality, ninth Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2013). Theories of Personality, eight Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Bischof, L.J. (1970). Interpreting Personality Theories 2nd Edition. New York: Harper & Rows, Publishers.

Burger, J.M. (1986). Personality Theory and Research. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Feist, J & Feist, F. (2008). Theories of Personality, Seventh Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Teh, L.A. & Macapagal, M.J. (editors) (2008). General Psychology for Filipino Students. Manila, Philippines:
Ateneo De Manila University Press.
 Emilio Aguinaldo College
School of Arts and Sciences
PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
Congressional East Avenue, [Link] Main, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite
(+63)046-4164342 loc. 148
[Link]/cavite

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

ERICH FROMM’S HUMANISTIC PSYCHOANALYSIS

I. OVERVIEW OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOANALYSIS (Socialpsychological approach to personality)

Erich Fromm’s basic thesis is that modern-day people have been torn away from their prehistoric union
with nature and with one another, yet they have the power of reasoning, foresight, and imagination. He
developed a theory of personality that emphasizes the influence of sociobiological factors, history, economics,
and class structure. His humanistic psychoanalysis assumes that humanity’s separation from the natural world
has produced feelings of loneliness and isolation, a condition called basic anxiety.

According to Fromm, individual personality can be understood only in the light of human history. “The
discussion of the human situation must precede that of personality, psychology must be based on an
anthropologic-philosophical concept of human existence”.

 Assumes that existential need are innate

 Lack of animal instinct + presence of rational thoughts = feeling of loneliness and isolation (basic
anxiety)
 Strive to be reunited with nature and other people
 Human personality can only be understood in the light of history.
 Humans have been torn away from their prehistoric union with nature and left with no powerful instincts
to adapt to a changing world. They have acquired the ability to reason, which means they can think
about their isolated condition. Fromm called this situation the human dilemma
 People experience this basic dilemma because they have become separate from nature and yet have the
capacity to be aware of themselves as isolated beings. The human ability to reason, therefore, is both a
blessing and a curse.
 It forces them to attempt to solve basic insoluble dichotomies (Existential Dichotomies)
 Life & Death
 Goal of complete self-realization & shortness of life to reach the goal
 Alone & cannot tolerate isolation

II. FROMM’S SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Erich Fromm was born in Germany in 1900, the only child of orthodox Jewish parents. A thoughtful
young man, Fromm was influenced by the bible, Freud, and Marx, as well as by socialist ideology. After
receiving his PhD, Fromm began studying psychoanalysis and became an analyst by virtue of being analyzed by
Hanns Sachs, a student of Freud. In 1934, Fromm moved to the United States and began a psychoanalytic
practice in New York, where he also resumed his friendship with Karen Horney. Much of his later years were
spent in Mexico and Switzerland. He died in 1980.
Summary:
 born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1900, the only child of orthodox Jewish parents.
 His humanistic philosophy grew out of an early reading of the biblical prophets and an association with
several Talmudic scholars.
 Fromm's first wife was Frieda Fromm-Reichmann but divorced
 Fromm moved to the United States and began a psychoanalytic practice in New York, where he resumed
his friendship with Karen Horney and became lovers and then separated
 He then married Henny Gurland, two years younger than him but died
 He met Annis Freeman and got married again
 He died in Switzerland in 1980.
[Link]’S CONTRIBUTION TO PERSONALITY THEORY

A. Escape from Freedom and Positive Freedom

Fromm believes that we are free to be and do whatever we please. Yet it is very freedom that creates
greatest problem for us. Once we emerge on our own, we are faced with enormous personal responsibilities, we
are isolated, we are alone. Freedom can be frightening. As Fromm said, we feel an “unbearable state of
powerlessness and aloneness.” As we become aware of our individuality, we become aware of all that we
cannot control and come painfully face-to-face with our insignificance. According to Fromm, we have two
types of responses to this situation: escape from freedom or positive freedom.
 humans are the freaks of the universe
 High freedom = High isolation from others
 Freedom ->basic anxiety (a burden of being alone)

Mechanisms of Escape from Freedom

 To reduce the frightening sense of isolation and aloneness, they form Mechanism of escape
 To escape basic anxiety -> mechanism of escape

The following are the three strategies people employ in an attempt to overcome the feelings of
powerlessness and anxiety that accompany freedom.
1. Authoritarianism- the tendency to “fuse one’s self with somebody or something outside of oneself in
order to acquire the strength which the individual self is lacking”. Fromm describes these
authoritarian characters as reflecting an ironic combination of strivings for submission and strivings for
domination, or, in Fromm’s terms, masochism and sadism.
 The tendency to give up one's independence and to unite with a powerful partner
 Masochism stems from feelings of powerlessness and can be disguised as love or loyalty.
 Sadism involves attempts to achieve unity through dominating, exploiting, or hurting others. (power
over weak, exploit others)

2. Destructiveness- the individual attempts to overcome life’s threatening situations by destroying them.
For example, we may say that we are fighting for love of country but in reality we are neurotically
striving to overcome the feelings of powerlessness and isolation that threatens us all.

 Feelings of isolation; an escape mechanism that is aimed at doing away with other people or things.
To restore feeling of power
 Goal is to push other away to gain strength

3. Automaton Conformity- the individual simply has a blind acceptance of all of the contradictions of
life. If he can’t beat them, he must join them. He totally lacks any spontaneity and has no true
experience of what is really his own life.

 surrendering of one's individuality in order to meet the wishes of others.

 Give up individuality and conform to society

Positive Freedom-it refers to spontaneous (achieved) and full expression of both the rational and emotional
potentialities. Spontaneous activity is frequently seen in small children and in artists who have little or no
tendency to conform to whatever others want them to be. They act according to their basic natures and not
according to conventional rules.
 It is the successful solution to the human dilemma of being part of the natural world and yet separate
from it.

B. Character Orientations
According to Fromm, people relate to the world in two ways- by acquiring and using things
(assimilation) and by relating to self and others (socialization). In general terms, people can relate to things and
to people either productively or nonproductively.
Social Character
The core of a character structure common to most people of a given culture

Nonproductive Orientations
Those that fail to move people closer to positive freedom and self-realization.

1. Receptive characters (masochistic)- feel that the source of all good lies outside themselves and that the
only way they can relate to the world is to receive things, including love, knowledge, and material possessions.
 Positive qualities include loyalty and trust;
 negative ones are passivity and submissiveness.

2. Exploitative characters (sadistic) - aggressively take what they desire rather than passively receive it.
 Positive qualities of exploitative people include pride and self-confidence;
 negative ones are arrogance and conceit.

3. Hoarding (destructive) - seeks to save that which they have already obtained including their opinions,
feelings, and material possessions. People with this orientation hold everything inside and do not let go of
anything.
 Positive qualities include loyalty,
 negative ones are obsessiveness and possessiveness.

4. Marketing character (indifferent) - see themselves as commodities, with their personal value dependent on
their exchange value, that is, their ability to sell themselves.

 see themselves as commodities and value themselves against the criterion of their ability to sell
themselves.
 They have fewer positive qualities than the other orientations, because they are essentially empty.
 They can be open-minded and adaptable, as well as opportunistic and wasteful.

Productive Orientations
The single productive orientation has three dimensions- working, loving, and reasoning. Healthy people
value work not as an end in itself, but as a means of creative self-expression. Productive love is characterized
by care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge. In addition to these four characteristics, healthy people possess
biophilia: that is, a passionate love of life and all that is alive. Finally, productive thinking is motivated by a
concerned interest in another person or object.
 work toward positive freedom through productive work, love, and thoughts.
 Productive love necessitates a passionate love of all life and is called biophilia.

Productive Social Character

1. Working (love and reason)
2. Cares for other
3. Values relationships
4. Responsibility, respect and knowledge

C. Personality Disorders
Fromm (1981) held that psychologically disturbed people are incapable of love and have failed to
establish union with others. He discussed three severe personality disorders- necrophilia, malignant narcissism,
and incestuous symbiosis.
1. Necrophilia- more generalized sense to denote any attraction to death. It is an alternative character
orientation to biophilia. Necrophilic personalities hate humanity, they are bullies, they love destruction, terror,
and torture.
 the love of death and the hatred of all humanity.
 their destructiveness is a reflection of a basic character.
2. Malignant Narcissism- people with this disorder are preoccupied with themselves, but this concern is not
limited to admiring themselves in a mirror. Preoccupation with one’s body often leads to hypochondriasis, or
an obsessive attention to one’s health.
 Convinced that everything belonging to them is of great value and anything belonging to others is
worthless.
 Narcissistic people often suffer from moral hypochondrias, or preoccupation with excessive guilt.

3. Incestuous Symbiosis- refers to an extreme dependence on the mother or mother surrogate.

 Extreme dependence on one's mother or mother surrogate to the extent that one's personality is blended
with that of the host person
 Hitler, possessed all three
of these disorders, a
condition he termed the
syndrome of decay.

**Syndrome of growth: love,

biophilia and positive freedom

D. Fromm’s Concept of LOVE

In the final analysis of
man’s troubled existence, Fromm fervently feels that the answer to the problem is the capacity of man to love.
According to him, love is an art, it requires the effort and knowledge the other types of art demand. Love is an
active process in which we establish individuality. It is in genuine love, said Fromm, that we find the paradox
“two beings become one yet remain two”.
In his popular book entitled “The Art of Loving” , Fromm identified care, responsibility, respect, and
knowledge as four basic elements common to all forms of genuine love. He proposes five types of love. They
are described below:
1. Brotherly love- the most fundamental, the strongest, and the most underlying kind of love. It is a
love between equals.
2. Motherly love- the love and care for the helpless, the wanting to make them strong and independent.
3. Erotic love- usually allied with sexual experience, a “craving for complete function,” and is what
most consider the only kind of love. It is exclusive and inclined toward jealousy.
4. Self-love- care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge of self.
5. Love of God- has the highest value, is the most desirable good, and emphasizes care, respect,
responsibility, and specially knowledge.

E. Fromm’s Five Existential/ Human Needs

Our human dilemma cannot be solved by satisfying our animal needs, but it can only be addressed by fulfilling
our human needs, which would move us toward a reunification with the natural world.
 Needs that must be met for a meaningful existence
 Inner being is developed

1. Transcendence- to go above being just an animal, to improve and learn, to increase in material things
(urge to rise above a passive and accidental existence).
 to transcend their nature by destroying or creating people or things.
 Humans can destroy through malignant aggression (killing for reasons other than survival; not common
to all humans) but they can also create and care about their creations
2. Sense of Identity-capacity to be aware of ourselves as a separate entity (awareness of ourselves as a
separate person)
 The drive for a sense of identity is expressed nonproductively as conformity to a group and
productively as individuality.
3. Rootedness-the need to establish roots or to feel at home again in the world.
 Like the other existential needs, rootedness can take either a productive or a nonproductive mode.
 With the productive strategy, we grow beyond the security of our mother and establish ties with the
outside world.
  With the nonproductive strategy, we become “fixated” and afraid to move beyond the security and
safety of our mother or a mother substitute.
4. Frame of orientation-the need for road map to make their way through the world.
 Expressed nonproductively as a striving for irrational goals
 Express productively as movement toward rational goals.
5. Relatedness- feeling of oneness with fellow men and with self (desire for union with another person/s)

Fromm postulated three basic ways in which a person may relate to the world:
1. submission - transcends separateness of his existence by becoming part of something bigger than oneself
2. power - welcome submissive partners: symbiotic relationship
3 love - solve our basic human dilemma. It is the ability to unite with another while retaining one's own
individuality and integrity.

Summary of Human Needs

 People are highly motivated to satisfy the five existential, or human, needs because if they are
unsatisfied in these needs, they are driven to insanity. Each of the needs has both a positive and a
negative component, but only the satisfaction of positive needs leads to psychological health.

IV. PSYCHOTHERAPY
Fromm believed that the aim of therapy is for patients to come to know themselves. Without knowledge
of ourselves, we cannot know any other person or thing. He believed that patients come to therapy seeking
satisfaction of their basic human needs- relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, a sense of identity, and a frame
of orientation. He asked the patients to reveal their dreams, as well as fairy tales and myths. Then, Fromm
would ask for the patient’s associations to the dream material.

Prepared by:

BAUTISTA, JUNO C. MP-CP, RPm

Psychology Program Head

References:

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2017). Theories of Personality, 9th Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2013). Theories of Personality, eight Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Bischof, L.J. (1970). Interpreting Personality Theories 2nd Edition. New York: Harper & Rows, Publishers.

Burger, J.M. (1986). Personality Theory and Research. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Feist, J & Feist, F. (2008). Theories of Personality, Seventh Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Teh, L.A. & Macapagal, M.J. (editors) (2008). General Psychology for Filipino Students. Manila, Philippines:
Ateneo De Manila University Press.
 Emilio Aguinaldo College
School of Arts and Sciences
PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
Congressional East Avenue, [Link] Main, City of Dasmariñas, Cavite
(+63)046-4164342 loc. 148
[Link]/cavite

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
ERIK H. ERIKSON’S EGO PSYCHOLOGY/ POST-FREUDIAN THEORY

I. OVERVIEW OF ERIK ERIKSON’S EGO PSYCHOLOGY/ POST-FREUDIAN THEORY

Erikson regarded his post-Freudian theory as an extension of psychoanalysis. Same with Freud, Erikson
also believed that childhood experiences shape our personality later in life but the latter holds that personality is
still flexible throughout the adult years. He states that failure at an early stage jeopardizes a full development at
a later stage but fulfillment in any one stage does not automatically guarantee success. Each stage of specific
psychosocial struggle contributes to the formation of personality.

The theory was termed ego psychology since Erikson held that ego is a positive force that creates a self-
identity, a sense of “I.” As the center of our personality, our ego helps us adapt to the various conflicts and
crises of life and keeps us from losing our individuality to the leveling forces of society.

II. ERIKSON’S SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Erik H. Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 15, 1902. He was brought up by his mother and
stepfather, but he remained uncertain of the true identity of his biological father. To discover his niche in life,
Erikson ventured away from home during late adolescence, adopting the life of a wandering artist and poet.
After nearly 7 years of drifting and searching, he returned home confused, exhausted, depressed, and unable to
sketch or paint.
Thirty years after coming to the United States in the mid- 1930’s, he became a naturalized citizen of the said
country.
Erikson had never received a university degree, he became friendly with the psychoanalysts and was later
trained by them. After changing his name from Homburger to Erikson, he became a practicing psychotherapist
and a well- known personality theorist.
This person who at the end of life was known as Erik H. Erikson had previously been called Erik
Salomonsen, Erik Homburger, and Erik Homburger Erikson.
Although Erikson retained several Freudian ideas in his theory, his own contributions to the psychoanalytic
were numerous.
Summary:
- born in Germany in 1902: Erik Salomonsen.
- After his mother married Theodor Homberger, Erik eventually took his stepfather's name.
- At age 18 he left home to pursue the life of a wandering artist and to search for self-identity.
- Married Joan Serson and they had 4 children; one had a down syndrome whom they sent to a facility
- In mid-life, Erik Homberger moved to the United States, changed his name to Erikson, and took a position at
the Harvard Medical School.
- Later, he taught at Yale, the University of California at Berkeley, and several other universities. He died in
1994, a month short of his 92nd birthday.

III. ERIKSON’S CONTRIBUTION TO PERSONALITY THEORY

Erikson as a personality theorist marked with 2 important contributions- the first is his own concept of
Ego and by formulating the stages of psycho-social development.

A. THE EGO IN POST- FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY

Erikson’s concept of the ego was much different from Freud. In Freud’s term, ego is the mediator
between id impulses and superego demands but Erikson believed that the ego contains many important
functions of a constructive nature.
Erikson viewed ego as a relatively powerful, independent part of personality that works toward such
goals as establishing one’s identity and satisfying a need for mastery over the environment. For this reason, his
theory was termed as ego psychology.

The principal function of the ego is to establish and maintain the sense of identity. The sense of identity
is a complex inner state that includes a sense of oneself as unique, yet also as a whole within oneself and having
continuity with the past and the future.
  emphasis on ego rather than id functions
 ego is the center of personality and is responsible for a unified sense of self.
 Ego is the person’s ability to unify experiences and actions in an adoptive manner
 Childhood: weak and fragile
 Adult: formation and strengthening

Erikson identified three interrelated aspects of ego:

1. Body ego- refers to experiences with our body; a way of seeing our physical self as different for
other people.
2. Ego ideal- represents the image we have of ourselves in comparison with an established ideal.
( image of ourselves vs an established ideal)
3. Ego identity- image we have of ourselves in the variety of social roles we play.
(image of ourselves in the social roles we play)

Society's Influence:
 Society (cultural environment) shapes the ego
 influenced by child-rearing practices and other cultural customs.
 Pseudospecies = fictional notion that they are superior to other cultures.

Epigenetic Principle:
Erikson believed that the ego develops throughout the various stages of life according to an epigenetic
principle, a term borrowed from embryology. Epigenetic development implies a step-by-step growth of fetal
organs. In similar fashion, the ego follows the path of epigenetic development, with each stage developing at
its proper time. This development is analogous to the physical development of children, who crawl before they
walk, walk before they run, and run before they jump.
 it grows according to a genetically established rate and in a fixed sequence.
 A step-by-step growth
 It does not replace the earlier stage
 “Epigenesis means that one characteristic develops on top of another in space and time”

B. STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

Each of the eight stages of development is marked by a conflict (an interaction of opposites ) between a
syntonic (harmonious) element and a dystonic (disruptive) element, which produces a basic strength or ego
quality(must have both experiences). Too little basic strength at any one stage results in a core pathology for
that stage. Also, from adolescence on, each stage is characterized by an identity crisis or turning point, which
may produce either adaptive or maladaptive adjustment.
 Favourable ratio : develop both poles but have stronger pull on positive pole
 Psychological Crisis : must be resolved to move on to next stage
 Failure = issues in life
Table 2. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development
Stage Features Basic Core Pathology
Virtue(Strength)/
Ego Strength
1. Trust vs. Mistrust Whether children come to trust or mistrust Hope Withdrawal
(birth- 1 year) themselves and other people depends on
Infancy the social care and comfort the primary
-similar to oral stage (Freud) caregiver has provided.
- Infants are dependent on others for food,
“Principal psychosexual mode care and affection.
of adapting” - - must be able to trust their parents
Oral-Sensory Mode
characterized by both If infants’ needs are met, and are shown
receiving and accepting genuine affection they think the world is
- include sense organs safe and [Link] care is inadequate,
such as the eyes and ears. inconsistent or negative, he approaches the
- Trust: the mother world with fear and suspicion.
provides food (or relates) Positive outcome
regularly Needs are met by responsive parent ->
-Mistrust: if no develop secure attachment and trust.
correspondence between Negative outcome
their needs and their Develop mistrust towards people
environment
2. Autonomy vs. Shame During this stage, society creates on Will Compulsion
and Doubt children a new conflict, that is whether to
(2-3 years) compares to assert their will or not. When parents are
Freud's anal stage patient, accepting and encouraging,
Early childhood (toddler) children acquire a sense of independence
and competence. When children are not
“Principal psychosexual mode allowed such freedom and are over-
of adapting/adjustment” - protected, they may doubt their ability to
Anal-urethral-Muscular deal with the environment.
children behave both - learn to do things for themselves
impulsively and - Self-control and self-confidence
compulsively Positive outcome
- includes mastery of other Encourage initiative->develop confidence
body functions such as to cope
walking, urinating, and
holding. Negative outcome
Disapproving parent->child feel ashamed
- Autonomy: faith in and doubt abilities
themselves
- Shame & Doubt: self-
consciousness, uncertainty
3. Initiative vs. Guilt At this stage, children gain greater freedom Purpose Inhibition
(3-5 years) that parallels in exploring their environment and often
Freud's phallic phase. attempt tasks that parents do not approve.
Early childhood Parents who allow their children freedom
Play age
to explore and master new tasks are
“Principal psychosexual mode allowing them to develop initiative. Parents
of adapting” - who curtail this freedom and make the
Genital-Locomotor Mode children feel their activities are pointless
children have both an and a nuisance, children become passive
interest in genital activity
and feel guilty about doing things on their
and an increasing ability to
move around. own.
- Become more engage in external world
- Oedipus complex as an - Learn to balance being adventurous and
early model of lifelong responsive
playfulness and a drama Positive outcome
played out in children's Encourage involved parent -> child learns
minds as they attempt to to follow
understand the basic facts Negative outcome
of life Develop a sense of guilt when trying to be
- Initiative: to act with independent
purpose and set goals
- Guilt: too little purpose
4. Industry vs. Inferiority This period reflects the determination of Competence Inertia
(6-12 years) children to master what they are doing so
School age (elementary) that they develop a successful sense of
modesty industry. Parents, teachers who
Latency
a time of psychosexual support, reward and praise children are
latency , but it is also a time encouraging and help in developing
of psychosocial growth children’s sense of industry. Those who
beyond the family. ignore, rebuff, deride children’s effort are
- learn the customs of their strengthening feelings of inferiority.
culture, including both - learning and acquiring skills
formal and informal
education.
- Industry: work hard &
finish the job Positive outcome
- Inferiority: work is not Have pleasure in intellectual activities
sufficient to achieve goals productive->develop sense of competence
Negative outcome
Develop a sense of inferiority
5. Identity vs. As young adults, they seek independence Fidelity Role
Identity Confusion from parents, achieve physical maturity Repudiation
(12-18 years) and are concerned about what kind of
Puberty and Adolescence persons they are becoming. Seeking to find -role denial
psychosexual growth & an identity, adolescents try on many new
psychosocial latency. roles. If they experience continuity in their
perception of self, identity [Link]
“Principal psychosexual mode the adolescent fails to develop a sense of
of adapting” - identity, he/she experiences role confusion
Genital maturation or a ”negative identity.”
- Identity emerges from - be able to resolve “who am I? conflict
a) childhood
identifications a Positive outcome
b) historical and social Develop strong identity, have plans and
context goals for the future
- Identity: having a sense
of who they are Negative outcome
- Identity confusion: Fall into confusion and indecisive
divided self-image “Identity Crisis”
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation Young adults reach out and make contact Love Exclusivity
(19-30 years) with other people and to fuse one’s identity
Young adulthood with that of others to develop intimate
[Link] to intimacy is the
“Principal psychosexual mode ability to share with and care for
of adapting” - [Link] to establish close and
Genitality intimate relationship results to a feeling of
expressed as mutual trust isolation.
between partners in a - love relationship
stable sexual relationship. - Intimacy
- Intimacy: ability to fuse Positive outcome
one's identity with that of Able to form close relationships achieve
another person without sense of identity
fear of losing it
- Isolation: fear of losing Negative outcome
one's identity in an Fear commitment, feel isolated
intimate relationship. “quarter life crisis”
7. Generativity vs. This stage involves having a sense of Care Rejectivity
Stagnation productivity and creativity. Generativity-
(31-60 years) has to do with parental responsibility,
a time when people make interest in producing, and guiding the next
significant contributions to generation. Stagnation- condition in which
society individuals are not able to find meaning
and purpose in life and have little interest
Adulthood (middle) in self- improvement or in making
“Principal psychosexual mode contributions to society.
of adapting” - - ability to look outside self and care for
Procreativity others
procreativity, or the caring - parenting = create legacy
for one's children, the
children of others, and the Positive outcome
material products of one's Have and nurtured children -> contribute to
society. next generation
- Generativity: guiding Negative outcome
the next generation Remain Self-centered and experience
- Stagnation: too self- stagnation
indulgent, too much self- “Mid-life crisis”
absorption
8. Integrity vs. Despair The stage of facing reality, recognizing and Wisdom Disdain
(60- death) accepting other. Individuals in self- -feelings of
The Old age (late improvement or in making contributions to being finished
adulthood) society taking stock of the years that have or helpless
gone before. Some feel a sense of
“Principal psychosexual mode satisfaction with their life’s
of adapting” - accomplishment, achieving a sense of
Generalized Sensuality integrity. Others experience despair,
generalized sensuality; feeling that the time is too short for an
taking pleasure in a attempt to start another life and to try out
variety of sensations and alternative roads to integrity.
an appreciation of the - reflect upon one’s life
traditional life style of - filled with pleasure and satisfaction or
people of the other gender. disappointment
- Integrity: the
maintenance of ego- Positive outcome
identity (social roles) Sense of fulfilment-> accept death with a
- Despair: the surrender sense of integrity
of hope (originated from
infancy) Negative outcome
Individual despairs and fear death

Note:
As Erikson himself aged, he and his wife began to describe a ninth stage—a period of very old age when
physical and mental infirmities rob people of their generative abilities and reduce them to waiting for death.

Erikson’s Eight Basic Virtues/ Ego Strength

The following are the 8 basic virtues in relation to the 8 stages of psychosocial development:
1. Hope is the enduring belief in the obtainability of fervent wishes, in spite of the dark urges and rages
which mark the beginning of existence.
2. Will is the unbroken determination to exercise free choice as well as self-restraint, in spite of the
unavoidable experience of shame and doubts.
3. Purpose is the courage to envisage and pursue valued goals uninhibited by the defeat of infantile
fantasies, by guilt and by the foiling fear of punishment.
4. Competence is the free exercise of dexterity and intelligence in their completion of tasks, unimpaired by
infantile inferiority.
5. Fidelity is the ability to sustain loyalties freely pledged in spite of the inevitable contradictions of value
systems.
6. Love is mutuality of devotion forever subduing that antagonism inherent in divided function.
7. Care is the widening concern for what has been generated by love, necessity, or accident; it overcomes
the ambivalence adhering to irreversible obligation.
8. Wisdom is detached concern with life itself, in the face of death itself. (Erikson, 1963)

IV. ERIKSON’S METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

A. Anthropological Studies
Erikson's two most important anthropological studies were of the Sioux of South Dakota and the Yurok
tribe of northern California. Both studies demonstrated his notion that culture and history help shape personality.
B. Psychohistory
Erikson combined the methods of psychoanalysis and historical research to study several personalities,
most notably Gandhi and Luther. In both cases, the central figure experienced an identity crisis that produced a
basic strength rather than a core pathology.
Criteria for Evaluating a Theory Concept of Humanity
Characteristics Theory Determinism Middle
vs. Freedom
Capacity to generate Research Higher than Optimism Vs. Somewhat optimistic
average Pessimism
Falsifiability Average Causality Vs. More Causal
Teology
Ability to Organize Data High only Conscious Vs. Mixed
with regard to Unconscious
developmental
stage
Ability to Guide Action High Biological Vs. More Social
especially Social
after Influence
adolescence
Internal Consistency High Uniqueness Emphasis on Uniqueness
Vs. Similarities
Parsimony Moderate
Prepared by:

BAUTISTA, JUNO C. MP-CP, RPm

Psychology Program Head

References:

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2017). Theories of Personality, 9th Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Feist, Feist & Roberts (2013). Theories of Personality, eight Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Bischof, L.J. (1970). Interpreting Personality Theories 2nd Edition. New York: Harper & Rows, Publishers.

Burger, J.M. (1986). Personality Theory and Research. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Feist, J & Feist, F. (2008). Theories of Personality, Seventh Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill

Teh, L.A. & Macapagal, M.J. (editors) (2008). General Psychology for Filipino Students. Manila, Philippines:
Ateneo De Manila University Press.