Particular Stage Of Human Development - Essay Example

A Case Study Based on Various Psychological Theories Introduction The human psyche has been studied in various degrees throughout history. A person’s personality and behaviour as part of his individuality is subject to certain theories laid out by psychologists all over the world. Such theories can be applied to each person’s persona. Among these psychologists are Freud, Maslow, Rogers and Bandura. Each psychologist offers his own opinions and concepts about the human psyche bringing light to many of its mysteries. Each one has attempted to define what the human psyche is, how it really works and how it affects us in our daily lives. One of these proponents, Sigmund Freud did extensive studies about the so-called divisions of the human mind (the id, ego and superego) among other studies he conducted. It is stated in his theories that these 3 aspects make up a person. He also stated that a person is always empowered by his or her libido, a primal force most commonly associated with sexual activity (Revision notes, 2003). Ross Bandura on the other hand made some theories on how individuals learn through observation as with certain behaviours. This type of learning process, called observational learning is very evident in children (Revision notes, 2003). Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow meanwhile worked on different theories on the personality of individuals. They are the proponents of Humanistic Approach, which focuses on the individual. This approach also states that a person has needs and one of these needs is the actualisation of one’s self. Being aware of one’s self therefore is tantamount to fulfilling a person’s basic need (Revision notes, 2003). This paper discusses and analyses the psyche of a particular subject, whom we shall call “Sue”, applying the various theories laid down by the above mentioned psychologists. Each set of theories presented offers a different view on how a subject thinks and feels, as well as any advantage or repercussions encountered during analysis The Subject For the sake of anonymity, we shall refer to the subject as “Sue”. Sue is a 28 year old college student currently in the 4th year of her studies. She grew up bearing many issues from her restricted childhood. A brief glimpse of her childhood reveals she was not very good in her studies; her grades were average at most. Although she was not that geared intellectually, she was very much interested in extracurricular activities. During her primary education she was an active member of her track and field club. She was very much involved in rough outdoor games such as soccer, and she would rather play with boys than girls at that time. She stays after school to practice until evening, and her diligence paid off as she won most of the track events she joined. Sue’s parents married in spite of resistance from her father’s parent’s wishes. Her grandmother and her mother have been in constant conflict and this affected her very much. This particular conflict rose to new heights as her mother was expecting another child. Later, her father was unable to work properly due to his failing health condition and as such, Sue and her mother resulted in faming to help compensate for their poor financial condition. Framing was difficult for young Sue and her mother, which had some sort of uterine disease at that time forcing her to miscarry her baby. Her parents enforce a curfew of 9 pm for her until she went to college. Her father was rather conservative and forbade her to wear jeans and high heeled shoes as this was not proper for a lady like her to wear one according to him. Her parent’s strictness on her was probably one the reasons she chose a university which was far away from her home. As she graduated and found work, she stated to seek out love from among her peers. Of course she bore these issues up to her adulthood and these have reflected negatively her life. Sue’s case was subjected to several psychoanalytic theories which includes Freudan, Banduran and Humanistic approaches. Her overall psychological profile is summarized after the analysis. Freud on Sue’s case According to Freud the human psyche is composed of three parts: the id, the ego and the super ego. The id is the part of one’s self which is primal and instinctive, it relies on emotions and reflexes rather than actual intellect. From the id, the personality of the person originates. It always seeks instant gratification (Pleasure Principle) and does not tolerate pain, displeasure, or disappointment. It operates through two basic instincts: Eros and Thanatos. Eros focuses on love and creation while Thanatos focuses on pain and destruction in any form. The primary concept around the id is “I want this, right here, right now”. The ego results from the id’s exposure and understanding of the external environment and the ego adjusts to it. It is the knowledge, the awareness of one’s self. It is the “Me” in a person. The ego surpasses the id’s instincts and at this point the individual begins to learn about the things around him/her, therefore it is driven by the person’s own intellectual capacity. The ego is rather self-centred and selfish, and will try defending and preserving itself to its best abilities. Inhibition of the ego’s wants and needs leads to some form of inhibition which may have later repercussions in one’s life. A person’s ego reacts to threats through stress and/or unease. The ego relies on a number of so-called “defence mechanisms” to deal with threats. Among these are: repression, projection, rationalisation, intellect, and bad behaviour. But an exaggerated use of these “defence mechanisms” result to neuroses, a series of abnormal behaviour patterns resulting from anxiety. The third part of an individual’s psyche is the super-ego which results from the ego’s set of ideals. It forms the person’s life values and standards and determines if he will be lawful or unscrupulous. In short, the super-ego is one’s “conscience”; it operates through the Morality principle. It is constant conflict with the id and it seeks to stop the id’s libido rather than riding along with it. These three are all powered by what we call libido a strong force that drives one’s desires (Farrar, 1997). In Sue’s case, her ego ran free early in her life as evidenced by her love of sports but was later on suppressed by her superego which was reinforced by the teachings and strict guidelines laid out by her parents. She was not allowed to do what she wants all of the sudden, something which hindered her emotional development later in her life. She no longer had that much freedom to do the things at her own whim, something she viewed as a way for her parents to restrain or control her. Freud views each person as very selfish organisms, always driven by his/her needs and is also at constant conflict with him/her. For Sue, her excellence in sports is what drives her, and the sudden prohibition to participate in such events has made her to be somewhat of an introvert (Revision notes, 2003). Later on, it is revealed that Sue always wants to sleep and stay in bed. In her interviews, she mentioned that she always wake up late and would always hurry to attend her morning classes. She would wake up at about 8:00am or 8:25 am, though her classes start at about 9:00am. This nature shows that Sue’s id manifested itself as a selfish urge to sleep throughout the day. This shows Freud’s assumption that people are by nature are selfish and will do whatever it takes to fulfil their desires even if it costs them embarrassment or some other sort of mishap. It is also worth to note that according to Freud are more defensive when they threatened or under threat emotionally, mentally etc. He also suggests that women develop weak superegos making them more vulnerable to certain psychological attacks (Revision notes, 2003). Bandura on Sue’s case Bandura was the proponent of the Social Learning Theory now known as the Social Cognitive Theory which states that a person not only learns through memorization and exercises but also through observation. This is known as Behavioural Learning. For example, being violent is not an inherent trait but one can learn to be violent by observing and then practicing violent behaviour. Other types of behaviour can be learned through Behavioural Learning. This type of learning is influenced by Attention (how long it takes for you to stay interested in a subject matter), Retention (memory functions), Motor reproduction (or muscle memory) and motivation and reinforcement (practicing what the individual has learned) (EPIC 2005). The behaviour itself is not the only factor that affects how a particular behaviour is learned. The environment in which the individual is exposed to is another factor. An individual who is constantly exposed to a particular behaviour coupled with an environment conducive to that kind of behaviour will surely learn and acquire that behaviour (Revision notes, 2003). A well known experiment involving Behavioural Learning is the use of the “Bobo doll”. Adults “attacked” the bobo doll using various methods and instruments while being taped. Another version of the “bobo attack tape” shows the adult being punished or rewarded after attacking the bobo doll. Some children were made to watch either tape and it is found out that children who watched him version where the adult is neither punished nor rewarded were more prone to violent behaviour. Those who have seen the adult being punished after “attacking” the bobo doll did not imitate the adult’s behaviour and thus were rewarded accordingly. It was also found out that children exposed to television are more prone to violent behaviour than children who are not much exposed to television (Revision notes, 2003). In Sue’s case, she did not have any vices or unpleasant behaviour prior to her entrance in the university. Her behaviour was prim and proper because it is what her parents have inculcated in her. Upon entering the university, she was exposed to parties where alcoholic drinks are prepared and consumed. She learned to drink and in doing so, became alcoholic in the process. She would stay at a party till dawn; afterwards, she’ll go home drunk. The people attending these parties are usually unruly and Sue, being exposed to that kind of behaviour, eventually acquired their rudeness. She would often talk back in a very unpleasant manner if the person spoke to her in a manner that what she thinks is unacceptable to her. The drinking parties provided the conducive environment in which her alcoholism developed along with the speculation that there might have been peer pressure involved thus reinforcing her untoward behaviour to other person (Revision notes, 2003). The Humanistic Approach and Sue The Humanistic Approach was originally a reply to other psycho dynamic theories. Where other theories fail to define behaviour itself and with this, the Humanistic Approach is not just a variation of previous approaches but a whole new approach by itself. The proponents of this approach is Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow who states that each individual’s definition of behaviour is personal and subjective as each person is in his or herself subjective (Mcgraw-Hill 2006) Rogers’s contribution in the Humanistic Approach is his emphasis on the individual and the self that the person represents. He states that individuals are in the path of self-actualisation if they have a full understanding and experience of the “self” which he defines as the “I” or the “me” of a person. According to him, self actualisation is the driving force behind behaviour and the evaluation of a person’s behaviour as “right” or proper leads to feelings of worthiness and gratification. According to Rogers part of our personality is formed from self-actualisation and a part from the feedback people around us give to us. Most of Rogers’ sessions are done using Client-based therapy wherein the client and the therapist develop rapport through unconditional positivity, empathy and congruence to solve psychological issues (Revision notes, 2003). Mallow supported this by stating that self-actualisation is not just a capability of persons but is also a human necessity. Humans he says are distracted from self-realisation because they prioritize other needs. Maslow, ranks human needs into 5 rankings: first is physiological (food, air water, sleeps etc.), Second is Safety, Third is Love and belongingness, fourth is esteem and then finally self-actualisation. As we can see, the basic human physiological needs come first because if someone neglects taking in these factors, it may lead to that individual’s death. Self-actualisation is at the bottom, but is nevertheless important (Revision notes, 2003). The Humanistic approach tries to persuade individuals to seek self-actualisation; therapists from both the Roger and Maslow schools accept this flow of thought. These therapists aim for other people to experience their worth and tell these people to discard their emotional burden. A lot of talk and interaction is involved in such sessions, thus a proper bonding between the patient and therapist is established (Revision, 2003). Again in Sue’s case, it appeared that her priorities are geared more into acquiring love and belonging than anything else. She revealed that during the time she was reviewing for her university entrance exams, she unconditionally fell in love with her tutor it did not matter that the man ignored her or did not return her feelings for her. All that mattered is that she was in love with him, even though her feeling was unrequited. Her other needs such as esteem and self-actualisation did not matter to her. Seeing this, it can be said that she has little concern for herself, as she is willing to lay down her emotions for the person she loves most but does not return her love. CONCLUSION The subject “Sue” has undergone psychological analysis with the application of certain psychological theories such as that of Freud’s, Bandura’s, Rogers’ and Maslow’s. Through Freud’s theory, we learned that Sue in her adult years, has a strong id running through her as she is always taking on things and situations based on her instincts. But during her younger years, her ego ran free, as she garners much pride and honour through physical excellence. This period of excellence was cut-off during her later years, especially when she got to study in a university where her parents laid down a set of rules and guideline that inhibited and hindered much of her emotional development. She also had difficulty controlling her urge to sleep at every chance she gets through the day. This evident selfishness has affected her academic performance during her college years. Talking about her behaviour, her once mild-mannered, introvert attitude was replaced with a rather rude disposition. Through continuous exposure and imitation of unpleasant behaviour around her during her college years, she turned into an alcoholic. This is in accordance to Bandera’s Social Cognitive Theory which states that behaviour is learned through imitation and exposure. Finally we subjected Sue to the Humanistic Approach by Rogers and Maslow. From the Humanistic Approach we found out that the person is always seeking to reach self-realisation and that it is one of the basic needs of a human being just like food, water, air, love belonging etc. It is also stated in that theory that the person is always finding way to achieve self-realisation as it brings a sense of self to the subject. Sue’s case shows that some subjects can and will prioritise any sort of necessity in which he or she is happy and contented with. For Sue it is her love for her male tutor that she gave importance, although he did not return Sue feelings for him. it should be noted that Sue is not actually pursuing to build a realise what kind of person she is and this lead to her disappointment and frustration she experiences today. From these findings, we can conclude that Sue indulges much to her desires and whims for some form of fulfilment or gratification. She appears to be restless and frustrated when things does not go about according to her desires. She also showed some evidence of modified behaviour ever she turned to alcohol as a way to relieve herself. Despite all these shortcomings and issues, Sue is not without hope and with the proper therapy methods and further analysis, her conflicts whether internal or external can be resolved. REFERENCES EPIC 2005, http://www.epic.co.uk/content/resources/email_newsletter/bandura.htm Farrar, Frederick Michael.15 July 1997, Primal Theory and Liberation: Janov, Freud and Jung http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~straus/JFJ.html Mcgraw-Hill 2006, l http://mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/approach/huminist.htm#Rogers Revision-notes.co.uk 2001-2003 http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/69.html Revision-notes.co.uk 2001-2003, http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/72.html Revision-notes.co.uk 2001-2003, http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/984.html Read More