Term Paper on "Create My Own Personality Theory"

Term Paper 6 pages (2013 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

personality theory has the same fundamental structure as Freud's, but with strong general modifications. I see the human person as much more inherently directed to and inclined towards his metaphysical, or spiritual, nature than (and departing from the grips of) his animal nature. The id represents everything sensate in his person and in his world: the instincts that must perpetuate his physical life in order to work out that higher life form for which he is destined and where, in the fast-coming future, his physical nature will be perfected and merge with his immortal metaphysical soul. While in this world, his ego forms out of his external and internal environment and his reactions towards them -- as behaviorists like Bandura hold -- but not all of the ego is artificial or reactionary. Some of it comes from intelligent, enlightened determination that results from consultations with the superego, which is conscience. My perception of the superego is not the hierarchy of do's and don'ts of parents and other authority figures but God's indwelling and intervention in human character. While it is true that there is much evil and hostility and distortion in the world, these result from the decision not to heed the inner light we all have as well as from the lack of knowledge about this inner light.

My personality theory consists also of the conscious, subconscious and unconscious minds of Freud. But unlike Freud's personality structure, the conscious mind is the strongest and will in time empty the unconscious and subconscious of contents and function as it evolves. Because of the inner light that each person is gifted with from conception, he -- if he faithfully and diligently heeds that light -- will be able to surmount the mishandling and rejections he may have undergone in childhood and through adulthood. If he does not, those experiences will indeed be locked up in his subconscious and unconscious minds. But the inner light will never fail a person. The person must reject that light constantly and with all his might in order to snuff it out. But his entire nature will go against this aberrant action on his part.

Like Adler, my personality theory is that each person aspires for his highest capability and state. He compensates for failures and losses. He also has an aggression drive but -- following this faithful inner light -- the drive is only self-preserving, not selfish. This drive loves the person and wants him to remain alive, but it does not need to destroy other people in order to do that. My theory also adopts that of Skinner on operant conditioning wherein the person, as a child still bereft of reason and proper apprehension and appreciation of his inner light, first moves and lives on drives and instinct. His initial acts are repeated by the sense pleasure and success associated with it or following it. But nothing stops there, because an inherent force drives a man to go higher and become better. This self-accentuating force is much stronger than all the negative forces in the outer or external environment. from which the person may flee. Besides, I agree that the human personality is not only shaped by his environment but that it also shapes that environment. This means that the human person can, in fact and indeed, control both environments where he finds himself !

My personality theory adopts the core of logotherapy, as Frankl evolved it, in that the person is constantly drawn to the destiny marked out for him. This is his most powerful motivation and all his actions -- direct, mediate and intermediate -- are in that direction, most of these actions probably not conscious. Frankl believes that a person malfunctions or dysfunctions when he is disconnected from or does not get connected to his proper destiny as a soul with a body. He experiences extreme anguish and derailment which can lead to psychosis or other madaptive or maladjusted behavior patterns.

My personality theory also consists of the different growth and development stages as do other theories. The basics must be met: the sense of belonging, security, self-acceptance or self-esteem. If he does not get this from his environment, he gets it from the inner light that never leaves him. He experiences many rough-and-tumble moments. He can be overpowered by bullies in his neighborhood, or he has a cruel parent or no parents. Yet these deprivations or sufferings only serve as building blocks to his understanding the world and the foibles to which human nature can succumb. He too succumbs now and then, but he is always raised to his feet by a pre-existing light and power that is within him.

This person has the ability to flow through culture, but un-selfishly refuses to join culture that is self-negating or others-negating. What is good for one is generally good for another person. He knows that this inner light will bring him to his best, and although he does not know how, he trusts it and it gives him the security and peace he needs in daily living.

This person is bound for self-actualization and the healthy personality is self-actualized. All that it needs is to turn control over to that light which is the more knowledgeable, the wiser and more caring of ourselves. Others call it "faith." But this is a stage that does not happen by the turn of the will. It is worked on assiduously. If one must achieve it, he must observe the world as a detached consciousness. He must take risks in making choices, but feel safe in that risk, anyway. That is why he does not regret. He ventures into trusting himself and accepting the choices he makes as genuine and good, although sometimes inaccurate. He is a truth-adhering person. His entire life thrives on it. He needs no masquerading or misrepresenting. The truth to him is the only given in his life. He is divided when he agrees to a single lie he tells himself or another person. As a healthy personality, he is in control of his mind and his progression towards his destiny. He is thus his own disciplinarian and director. He chooses only things that are useful and meaningful. His mind does not wander into uselessness or wrongness as often as do ordinary. lazy minds. His life is meaningful because he chooses to do only those activities that provide or further the already-occurring meanings in his life. He refuses to accept pain when it is absent or unnecessary. He sees suffering as only a momentary necessary evil. The rest of the time it is an unnecessary evil that contradicts self-love. Like Maslow and Adler, this person's growth and development are hindered by choices not made in the direction of one's or another person's real good. When this happens to a marked extent, defensive and defective behavior or personality can take the place of a healthily progressing one.

The different responses to outside (and unconscious or subconscious inner) stimuli make up one's personality and personality type. Adler suggested four types which to him were only heuristic devices, meaning they were intended only as useful fiction for study, perhaps, nt absolute categories where personalities may be encased. There is the ruling type who is likely to be the eldest child in a family. He wields power and seeks constant favor and sacrifice fro the rest of the household. He jealously defends that privilege from succeeding siblings until he either yields to sadism, bullying or other wanton behaviors, or turns into a selfless giver. Again, his guiding inner light will impel him to the latter by providing him with information and inner strength to make the gallant choice. The leaning type is the sensitive parasite and those who are forever feeling that they are incapable. They thrive on pity and are plagued with personality disorders like anxiety, neurosis and hysteria. The avoiding type is the developed counterpart of the leaning type. The avoiding person has the lowest level of living energy. He repels people who have repelled him. He lives in the forest, in the mountains or some separate corner in the world and into a world of his. He finds solace in being only with himself and disliking human contact. And Adler's last type is the socially useful one, which to him is the healthy person because this type has the energy for doing things for others. These four types are aligned to those suggested by Greek thinkers, i.e. The choleric (hot-tempered), sanguine (cheerful and optimistic), melancholy (depressed and pessimistic) and the phlegmatic (lazy and sluggish). These types are assimilated into my own theory but they are all momentary, in that the inner light in each person will unfailingly rouse him into very strong action to defeat his environment.

I emphasize that my personality theory departs from Freud's significantly because I believe that a person develops a lifestyle that is not only a mechanical reaction to the id and the superego. Rather,… READ MORE

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