Essay

Innate Theories of Personality

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Module
Psychology (PER.PSYC02)

Institution
Cardiff Metropolitan University (CMU)

This document contains information about the pioneers in psychology that developed their theoretical ideologies on the basis of trait theories, biology, and the innate nature of how individual differences exist. The pioneers mentioned include Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic theory of the perso...

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Uploaded on October 4, 2020
Number of pages 2
Written in 2019/2020
Type Essay
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Freud and Psychoanalysis

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Some examples from this set of practice questions

Who is Sigmund Freud?

Answer: Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who developed the theory and practice of psychoanalysis as a therapy to treat anxiety and depression disorders.

What is psychoanalysis?

Answer: Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic tactic that allows a shared dialog between the psychoanalyst and client in order to gather unconscious information and bring it to consciousness.

What did Freud hypothesize about behavior in adulthood?

Answer: According to Freud, much of the reason for maladaptive behaviors and personalities in adulthood roots from prior childhood traumas, such as sexual abuse, emotional abuse and other forms of child adversity in a household or society.

Psychoanalytic theory of personality

Answer: Freud believed that the unconscious mind was built by three distinct factions that he called the id, ego and superego. These factions were based upon certain principles, and were the mould by which adult behavior was shaped and reformed.

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Personality Psychology

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1. Essay - Individual differences- understanding personality psychology
2. Essay - Innate theories of personality
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One of the most significant figures in relation to discussing human personality is
Sigmund Freud, the creator of extremely invigorating and sometimes taboo theories
about human behavior, personality and development. Freud proposed the psychodynamic
theory of personality that�s governed by the libido in 1923, with the belief that s governed by the libido in 1923, with the belief that
human personality was inborn and consisted of three primary components; the id, ego
and superego, all of which would coexist within the human mind; more particularly,
the unconscious. The id was proposed as functioning under a pleasure principle,
such that the individual would seek immediate gratification (usually sexual) once
having an impulsive desire for something or someone. The ego was said to develop
after the creation of the id in order to maintain a boundary by which the
individual would demonstrate their impulses or other behaviors in such a way that
is socially acceptable. This part of personality was said to be piloted by a
reality principle.

Lastly, the superego was present as a collection of one�s governed by the libido in 1923, with the belief that s moral principles and
conscience, based on things experienced and taught by society and parents. This
abundance of morality, or lack thereof is the advocate between doing the right
thing or the wrong. However, as most of his theories, Freud�s governed by the libido in 1923, with the belief that s psychosexual
personality theory is also heavily criticized, perhaps mainly by Carly Jung, a
former colleague and another highly reputable figure in psychology. Jung disagreed
on the nature and purpose of the libido; while Freud claimed it was a source of
energy specific to sexual gratification, Jung believed it was a rather generalized
psychic energy that motivated all forms of behavior. Jung also thought otherwise of
the nature of the unconscious in such a way that not only past experiences lead to
the development of behavior, but also present and future aspirations, creativity,
and intellect as being capable of shaping human personality.

Jung himself proposed a widely renowned theory with regard to the unconscious.
However unlike Freud�s governed by the libido in 1923, with the belief that s constant application of sexual energy being a governor to
all behaviors, Jung divided the human unconscious as having a personal as well as
collective unconscious, alongside an ego. The ego represented the conscious mind,
consisting of thoughts, memories, and emotions that the individual is well aware
of. The personal unconscious in contrast to this, contains forgotten and repressed
information and memories, and is built on something he called complexes
(collections of thoughts, feelings, attitudes and memories associated to a
particular concept). The more elements intact with the complex, the greater its
influence on the individual. The collective unconscious however is very different
to this, and has been the most significantly original and controversial theory of
personality. Jung believed that there is a level to the human unconscious that is
mutually shared among all members of the human species as a whole, through the
evolutionary process. This collective unconscious holds latent memories from an
ancestral part of the human mind and is held to be a predisposed and universal
language among human civilization.

Other theorists believe there are certain inborn traits to individuals that depict
and shape human personality. Gordon Allport (1936) believed there existed
personality traits (over 4000 of them) and categorized these traits into three
major levels; cardinal, central and secondary. People ruled by cardinal traits are
dominated by such traits, so much so that they may eventually become known
specifically for them. For instance, a narcissist, Machiavellian, Don Juan, or
Christ-like are examples of cardinal traits. Central traits on the other hand, are
the basic characteristics that create the foundation of an individual�s governed by the libido in 1923, with the belief that s
personality. These can include intelligent, honest, respected, dedicated and so on.
Secondary traits are often situational, such that they may only become predominant
in certain and specific instances. Secondary traits can also be related to certain
attitudes and preferences. According to Cattell (1965), there are 16 traits that
define and shape human personality. His initial number of traits included 171, but
once analyzed (through factor analysis) he identified similar and common terms, and
combined them to eventually have 16 traits that he believed were the source to the

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