Neurotic Psychology - Research Paper Example

Neurotic Psychology Introduction The paper circumvents around personality psychology. The paper is framed in a manner to compare and contracts the various theorists Freud, Cattell and Allport. The discussion will be embedded on issues revolving around biological underpinnings of personality, the relationship between childhood events and adult personality. In addition, the paper will showcase the consistency of personality in adulthood, the predictive ability of interest test and personality assessment as well as the various types of treatment and based on their validity. A clear description of neurotic personality type alongside neurotic personality components will be uncovered. Body Meaningand Component of Neurotic Personality Neurotic can be understood as being nervous, emotional, hysterical, or high-strung. Neurotic can also be described as a person suffering from excessive anxiety and emotional distress. For instance, a neurotic individual would be one that constantly worries about everything and always seems disturbed in mind. Such a person shows a higher degree of emotional and become extremely excited during his happiest moments and so much emotional when melancholic. In addition, neurotic personality become so anxious and become uncomfortable and panic by some triggers. Such people show mental trouble but rather do not portray complete psychosis (Freud, 1905, p, 59). Therefore neurotic Psychology may refer to the study of features showcased by a neurotic persons as explained above. The study that circumvents around personality psychology in order to explain the changes in personality as individual grows. According to Freud’s Tripartite Theory of Personality (1923), personality is structured into three components as Id, ego and superego (psyche) that develop at distinct stages in our lives. The Id is understood as the primitive and intrinsic component of personality. It entails all the inherited or the biological component of personality incorporating the sex (life) that also called Eros compromising the libido and aggressive (death) intrinsic also referred to as Thanatos. This theory is driven by the pleasure principle that advances the idea that every wishful impulse calls for immediate satisfaction regardless of the consequences. On the other hand, ego component develops to meditate between the unrealistic id and the external real world which essence is the decision making component of personality. The ego works on the basis of reality principle based on our realistic ways to meet the demands of the id component and will always compromise an postpone satisfaction of to weed out the negative consequence of the society. The ego takes into account the social realities of the social realities as well as norms, rules and etiquette in deciding the behavioral course embraced. Finally the superego component incorporates the morals and values of a society that are learned from an individual’s parents and others. It operates in the same way conscience work and hence punishes the ego based on its ability trigger the feelings of guilt. Biological underpinnings of personality The biological underpinnings of the personality is embedded on the Traits theory of Personality. It recognizes the influence and interaction of nature that entails biology and genetics and the nature which is the environment or upbringing based on personality development. Trait theory of personality describes personality as being biological as noted by Bandura (1977) on his social learning theory that stressed on the role of nurture and environmental influence. Freudian psychodynamic theory of personality recognized the interaction between nature (innate intrinsic) and nurture that entails parental influence on shaping an individual’s personality. According to Allport theory, the theorist affirmed that personality is biologically determined at birth and adjusted by the individual’s environmental experience. This showcase that an individual’s set of personality traits are biologically underpinned through the parental influence as well as at birth. The environment also plays a key role on modelling and reshaping the personality of individuals. Different theories of Neurotic personality There are many theories of neurotic personalities. To begin with, Eysenck’s personality Theory developed by Eysenck (1952, 1967, and 1982). He designed a model of personality that employed result of factors analyses of response on personality questionnaires that recognized three dimensions of personality; neuroticism, psychoticism and extraversion. He developed the theory from the study of behaviors of soldiers that undergone initial assessment before diagnosing mental disorders to be treated for neurotic disorders (Eysenck, 1982, p, 78). The study noted natural linkages in the answers and hence concluded that there existed a number of different personality traits referred to first order personality traits. According to the theory, neurotics tend to be anxious, moody and worrying individuals that are generally overly emotional and find it hard to calm down. His theory concluded that personality is strongly attached to the functioning of the automatic nervous system. Hence personality is dependent on the balance between inhibition of the process of nervous system and excitation. Neurotic individuals own Automatic Nervous Systems that quickly responds to stress. Another theory of Neurotic Personality is the Cattell’s 16PF Trait Theory (1965). This theory criticized Eysenck’s findings of personality being understood through 3 dimensions of behavior. He looked at a range of traits (16 traits) in order to gauge an individual’s complete personality. Cattell distinguished between surface and source traits. Whereas surface traits are obvious and easily identifiable, source traits are less visible to others and determines various aspects of personality behaviors hence source effectively described an individual’s personality as compared to surface traits. In addition, Alport’s Trait Theory is also influential in the study of Neurotic psychology based on personality. The theory stresses on the uniqueness of the individual and the internal cognitive as well as motivational processes that shape the individual’s behavior such as traits, temperament, skills, and intelligence (Allport, 1937, p, 98). Allport affirmed that personality is biologically determined at birth and adjusted by the individual’s environmental experience. Another theory is the Freud’s Tripartite Theory of Personality (1923). Personality is structured into three components as Id, ego and superego (psyche) that develop at distinct stages in our lives. The Id is understood as the primitive and intrinsic component of personality. It entails all the inherited or the biological component of personality incorporating the sex (life) that also called Eros compromising the libido and aggressive (death) intrinsic also referred to as Thanatos. This theory is driven by the pleasure principle that advances the idea that every wishful impulse calls for immediate satisfaction regardless of the consequences. On the other hand, ego component develops to meditate between the unrealistic id and the external real world which essence is the decision making component of personality. The ego works on the basis of reality principle based on our realistic ways to meet the demands of the id component and will always compromise an postpone satisfaction of to weed out the negative consequence of the society. The ego takes into account the social realities of the social realities as well as norms, rules and etiquette in deciding the behavioral course embraced. Finally the superego component incorporates the morals and values of a society that are learned from an individual’s parents and others Relationship between childhood events and adult personality According to Freudian theory of personality, early childhood influences the adulthood personality of an individual through psychosexual stages particularly through the influence of parents amongst their children. Personality development is embedded on the interplay of instinct environment with regard to the first five years of life. Parental behavior is key to normal and abnormal development of an individual’s personality. Personal and mental health in adulthood are traceable back to the first five years of an individual life span. With respect to the psychosexual development, people including children basically show hedonistic features that implies individuals seek pleasure through gratifying the id’s desires with which source of pleasure determined through the location of the libido. As an individual from childhood to adulthood, Freud notes that there is a shift in the position of the libido which is the source of a particular pleasure. The first psychosexual stage which is referred as oral has its libido mainly concentrated in the mouth felt through sucking and swallowing. The second stage is Anal where the libido is showcased through the anus withholding or expelling faeces. The third stage is Phallic with the libido being positioned at the clitoris or penis through masturbation. The next stage which is Latent psychosexual stage has its libido showing little or no sexual motivation. The last psychosexual stage is the genital with the libido being located at the penis of vagina for sexual intercourses. The environmental and parental experience during one’s childhood accounts for future neurotic behaviors in adulthood. For instance, the first two years of the infant’s life that is neglected or inadequately fed or that is over protected (over-fed) according to Freud becomes an orally-fixated individual in adulthood life. Another example with respect to the treatment at the Genital psychosexual stage though settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another in childhood leads to an adult who is well adjusted, mature and able to love as sexual instinct is linked to heterosexual pleasure. Predictive ability of interest test and personality assessment Predictive ability of interest entails the utilization of the personality assessment results in real life situation such as to select people that may be needed in particular activities such as employment. Dissenting argument have been advanced based on the influence of personality on job performance as employers look for specific personalities with others holding onto the study outcomes based on personality scores that attach no sense on job skills. However, every firm employs the predictive ability of personality in hiring. The predictive accuracy is only a teensy-weensy attached to personality test in hiring that is only based on the direct linkage of those test to practical job performance. Personality scores may not reveal the skills required for the job performance therefore skills becomes the most productive criterion used in job hiring. Consistency of personality in adulthood Despite the myriad of social changes and transformation in the life span of an individual life span, it is arguable that selecting circumstances that are common with individual dispositions as well as affiliating with similar others accounts for the ability of individuals to set in motion processes of social interchange that permanently uphold their dispositions over time and situations. This can be test in case of marriage couples. Testing this proposition required the examining the mate selection based on the data on married couples as was executed by two ongoing longitudinal studies carried out by the Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley (Pervin, 1993, p, 45). The outcome of this study was in line with other research findings that have attached homogamy as a key norm in marriage. Marriage to a similar other facilitates consistency with respect to intraindividual organizations of personality features across middle adulthood. On the other hand, consistency of personality types across adulthood have also been validated through latent profile analyses in two large scale panel studies. Here examination of personality types across adulthood and old age was aided by data from 2 nationally representative panes studies from Germany that captured 14,718 participants between 16-82 years as well as Australia data that covered 8,317 individuals in the age bracket of 15-79. The measurement of the Big Five Personality Traits was done twice over the four-year period. Both Latent profile transition and profile analyses unearthed four main outcomes. The first solution had three scores in German sample with four in Australian samples showed that personality types were greatly interpretable. In the second measurement it was revealed by the invariance test the noted personality types showed consistency across all age with slight variation in male and female. Age was noted to be related to the number of persons categorized within a particular personality type as it was resilient and under-controllers in ageing than young personalities. Both gender and age groups revealed consistency of personality type membership over the four years. Therefore, consistency in personality is found across age, time and age. Personality assessment Personality assessment is based online where individual can answer predetermined questions that guide one to identify his personality type. The questions are intended to be honestly answered in order to correctly depict a particular individual’s personality type. In this case, based on the assessment the researcher undertook online based on answering the questions, the result was ESTJ personality type based on the application of the 16 personalities test. The ESTJs depicts individuals that are proponent to traditions and order and use their understanding of whatever is rated righteous and incorrect and socially conventional to uphold togetherness in families and communities (Weinberg & Gould, 1999, p, 78). They embrace the values of dedication, dignity and honesty and are valued for their clarity in giving pieces of advice and guidance and problem solvers even under difficult situations. They are proud of bringing unity amongst people hence take the roles of being community organizers and are hardworking in bringing people together in celebration of achievements besides defense of the traditional values holding communities and families together. Types of treatment and based on their validity The particular treatment can be best be explained through the Freudian Psychosexual stages. In the first oral stage, such treatment such forceful feeding (underfeeding or overfeeding a child) leads to oral passive characterized by trusting and dependency if forcefully underfed while oral aggressive characterized by dominating and aggressiveness results if a child is forcefully overfed (Hyman & Sheatsley, 1956, p, 67). In the Anal psychosexual stage, toilet training that can be too harsh and too lax amongst the children may lead to Anal retentive that is characterized by tidiness, stubbornness or mean if too harsh or may take the form of Anal expulsive that entails generosity and untidiness if too lax amongst the children (Weinberg & Gould, 1999. P, 56). At Phallic stage, treatment such as Abnormal family set-up may lead to unusual one-to-one relationship with another that is characterized by self-obsession, inadequacy, vanity, envy, anxiety and inferiority. On the other hand, treatment at Genital psychosexual stage may involve such set of treatment as settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another. Such individuals become well adjusted, mature and able to love and be loved. Conclusion In summary, neurotic psychology is significant in showcasing the personality of particular individual. Neurotic individuals are highly emotional and always troubled in mind. This study of behavioral features attached to personalities have become useful in determining specific traits or skills required in a particular job. Many researchers have attached personality assessment outcomes as the basis of determining those fit for the jobs by most employing organization (Loehlin, Willerman& Horn, 1988, p, 89). However, the scores in personality test have been disputed to show any linkages to skills required such interpersonal skills, therefore may not be effective in hiring. Many theories have been advanced to explain the personality psychology with each other criticizing the findings of a particular theorist. It is however essential to study an individual’s personality as this aids in determining the best mechanism for harmonious and peaceful coexistence of amongst the people. Reference Adorno, T. W., Frenkel-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D. J., & Sanford, R. N. (1950). The authoritarian personality. New York: Harper and Row (pp. 228). Allport, G. W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Cattell, R. B. (1965). The scientific analysis of personality. Baltimore: Penguin Books. Eysenck, H. J. (1982). Personality, genetics, and behavior: Selected papers. Freud, S. (1905). 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