Practical Application of the Psychodynamic Theory of Personality - Assignment Example

Psychodynamic Personality Theory: Practical Application Psychodynamic Personality Theory: Practical Application Introduction Personality is one of the primary concepts in psychological science. This is a point of significant concern and one of the most studied issues of psychological nature that contributes to understanding of certain mechanisms and actions taken by different people. This concept is valuable both from practical and theoretical perspectives: practically it gives opportunity to conduct successful treatment or provide necessary psychological help, and theoretically it enables revealing of the problems and matters related to the topic mentioned. This paper will consider practical application of the psychodynamic personality theory on the example of a film character with a brief consideration of theoretical basis on the topic which will make perception and understanding of the subject matter easier. A Brief Theoretical Outline of the Personality Theories The impulse for psychological scientists’ and practitioners’ consideration and increasing interest in what personality is was given by a developmental leap of the psychological thought and science in the early XX century. Such scientists as Erik Erikson with the studies on the development of personality, Abraham Maslow with his hierarchy of needs in terms of personality motivation, Hans Eysenck famous for three-dimension personality theory including psychoticism, neuroticism, and extraversion, Herman Rorschach and “inkblot personality test”, Sigmund Freud and structural personality model, Robert White with classics of the topic mentioned, the book “The Abnormal Personality”, Albert Bandura and the observational learning concept for explanation of development of personality, Carl Rogers and the humanistic personality theory approach, and the representative of modern school of psychology, Salvatore Maddi, have developed numerous valuable concepts and revealed important problems of the theory of personality. (Kendra, 2015). This has led modern science to elaboration of the definition of the term “personality”: it is a set of characteristic feelings, behaviors and thoughts which enables distinguishing of the persons between one another and which remains with the individual regardless of the events and time. (Phares, Chaplin, 1997, 9). Salvatore Maddi, the modern theorist of personality, expands the definition in the following way: personality is a set of tendencies and characteristics, which is a stable one, which determine differences and commonalities in behavior from psychological perspective including actions, feelings and thoughts of human beings which are longitudinal from the temporal perspective and which cannot be referred to as only the result of the present-day pressures of biological and social nature. (Maddi, 1996, 9). These two modern definitions will be applied to the behavior of the main character of the movie offered, “Rachel, Rachel” by Paul Newman. Description of the Character’s Thoughts, Feelings and Actions Main character of the film, a woman whose name is Rachel, provides an interesting example from psychological perspective in general and from personality point of view in particular. Her behavior is similar to abnormal in some scenes, for example, when she decides to visit a church which she usually does not do at all, and disorder in thinking process and world perception. Thoughts. The thoughts of the woman are represented by both positive and negative ones with an insignificant predomination of negative ones which can be explained by her life situation. The beginning of the film provides such evidence: when she wakes up, the first thought is that she does not want to do this, and the thing she probably wants to happen to her is a heart attack which could reveal the situation with her daily routine. Such thoughts pursue this woman and dominate in her imagination while she goes to her working place – the local school, and the image of her being taken by the first aid team is very realistic. The woman herself recognizes that this thought is incorrect and she must not think of such things. Negative thoughts which dominate in Rachel’s mind throughout the film include also her fear of contact with people, which, she thinks, may harm her. As per her suggestions, she must take care of her mother which is also the main thought before her decision making of coming to Oregon. Rachel realizes that she has problems with her sleep and, consequently, thinks a lot of this problem, primarily on how to bring the sleep in order. She thinks about having a sleep any time she has an opportunity – when Leighton invites her to the family supper, she imagines herself sleeping in his car, and this image is as realistic as the previously mentioned image of the heart attack. It is possible to suggest that the woman has a desire to have a child. This is proved at the first time when she imagines, again quite realistically, herself taking the boy from her class to her home to take care of him and to protect him from possible attacks of the surrounding people including the mentioned Leighton who presses the boy for his inability to play hockey. The woman thinks of helping this boy, but her inability to do this in practice makes her think of herself as of a coward after the boy goes to talk to the mentioned man. The end of the above mentioned episode reveals the fact that there is an evidence of the internal struggle within the individual. The woman thinks that she wants to escape the school she works at, and the counterargument is found at once and states that she would already do it if she wanted to and even excludes any possibility of the realization of her intention. In this moment she recalls the experience of her childhood which is present throughout the entire thinking of the woman, and this reveals her thought that she wants to be herself and to be really happy. As per her suggestions, this opportunity is worth anything, which makes it possible to conclude that this is one of her primary thoughts. The woman perceives her life through her thinking on it. According to her speculations, she is in the middle of her life when, she reckons, she experiences the last point of the rise, and all the following years and stages of her life will be concerned with the fall and fading. Another woman Rachel talks to makes her consider the idea of opening to God which, as she tries to perceive her interlocutor, has given her opportunity to live again. Rachel, however, does not accept this point of view motivating this by the fact that the church, particularly the way its work is organized (Rachel thinks that the people who shout and take strange actions while in church are stupid), cannot bring the person to life. Later on the emotional condition of Rachel who has decided to visit the church anyway proves that there is something strange with those people, and her thoughts lead her to the condition similar to nervous breakdown. Actions. The woman’s actions throughout the film also represent specific features. As it has been mentioned above, she is able to take strange and illogical actions. Her visit to the church cannot be explained by her own desire or result of her thinking activity, because her position regarding the church and, probably, religion excludes any such actions at all. The actions that happen repeatedly and regularly are her preparations and taking care of her mother who, on one hand, needs this care, but, on the other side, oppresses her daughter and deprives her of opportunities of communication with the others and her time spending. The actions are aimed at satisfaction of the mother’s demands, but the practice is that Rachel not always performs these regular actions with pleasure and, finally, decides to arrange her own life, even though it is a bit too late. The above mentioned mental fear of communication with the others finds reflection in the actions Rachel takes as well. When she meets Nick, a friend of her childhood, she behaves the way introvert people do – she tries to avoid further communication with the man and wants to escape from him as soon as possible, she worries much when talking to him, and refuses in response to his invitation to spend time together in the cinema. This is also not quite typical behavior of the woman aged 35 and being alone, and, logically, it must be opposite to the one she takes up, but she uses any opportunity to stop communication and come back home to take care of her mother. The woman, however, shows features of her desire, quite possibly unconscious, of being loved. When the word ‘love’ is spelled in the church, her behavior resembles to such one in case of nervous breakdown, and being affected by disorder which has been brought by this word into her mind, she kisses her female companion probably imagining a partner who would be her beloved. This action evidences that her conscious is not working the usual way at this moment, and that it is the subconscious which deliberates intentions of such actions and emotions that drive her behavior of such a kind. When her mind is in order again, she regrets of taking such action, which is another proof that these has been a gap in her mental activity, and her physical actions have been conditioned by the subconsciousness. Her runaway after recognizing the action itself and the possible consequences evidences that, though there may be some disorders with her mental condition, mechanisms and actions taking work properly and prove her capability. Rachel’s walk in the field of flowers and watching the river water which she does after breakdown are aimed, probably, at restoring the mental balance and powers necessary for further activity. Her subsequent visit to the father’s grave has the same goal because as a child she has paid much attention to him and his activity, and this action evidences that the woman supports family traditions even though her mother has decided to distant from her father. Further communication of Rachel and Nick which leads to intimate relations makes the woman being more decisive and take her actions with a greater extent of independence and less consideration of the mother’s opinion. The actions have also become more self-centered, in contrast with the previous primary focus on the mother. This opens Rachel mind for a fresh look on the world and the opportunities it offers, which she reasonably tries to use by taking her own actions and resisting possible counteraction from the mother’s side, for example, when the mother is informed about the daughter’s moving to Oregon. Emotions. The emotions the woman experiences throughout the film are various. The predomination of the negative ones, as in the case of thoughts, is also observed, but it is not significant, and the positive emotions change the world perception to the better. Negative emotions are connected primarily with the daily routine the woman has to cope with (her working at school which she wants to escape), and the perception of life when she thinks that the better part of it has almost passed and it is on the way to descend. Positive emotions are related to childhood and memories from this period of her life: she feels good when recalling serenity and opportunity to be herself, though there are also negative emotions of these years such as her being humiliated by the peers because of her father’s occupation. Explanation of the Thoughts, Actions and Emotions from the Perspective of the Psychodynamic Personality Theory The behavior of the woman can be explained from the mentioned theory point of view. First of all, there is a great deal of influence of the childhood memories on the way of thinking and world perception of the woman, and these memories are quite realistic and are connected with the similar situations from the adult life of the woman. (Cherry, 2015; McLeod, 2007). Another fact that giver opportunity to apply namely this personality theory to the character is that the subconscious motives drive the behavior of the individual, which, as it has been mentioned in the example with the kiss, reveals the covert desires of the individual. (McLeod, 2007). The actions of such motives are powerful enough because they cause actions even if the mind does not operate the usual way. “Personality is shaped as the drives are modified by different conflicts at different times in childhood”. (McLeod, 2007). As a child, the woman suffered from the adversary behavior of her peers who used to humiliate her, and, though she did not conflict with them directly, internally she opposed their actions and tried to be herself which became later on the driver of her behavior. This shaped her personality in such a way that she was looking for such opportunities and tried to act according to it, frequently recalling the childhood and the experience of that period of her life. According to the mentioned personality theory, the behavior of the individual is motivated by two drivers of the instinctive level: eros, which means sex drive and instinct of life, and thanatos, which is aggression and instinct of death. These parts made the ‘id’, one of the three structural elements of the personality. (McLeod, 2007). The woman’s id is reflected in the eros (her attitude to sex and contacts with the representatives of the opposite sex becomes positive), and her thanatos, aggression, is reflected in her imagination, when she pretends feeding her mother with excessive amount of pills when she argues her late coming back home. The super-ego and id, the components of the unconsciousness, permanently conflict with the ego, that is, the part of mind which is conscious, as per the theoretical suggestions. (McLeod, 2007). This is probably an explanation of the woman’s visit to the church which is not grounded by obvious reasons which could be result of thinking activity. In this case, the thing that is unattractive subconsciously represents certain interest and makes pay attention to it, which the woman, probably, could not resist. Such conflicts lead to anxiety in the mind of the individual. (McLeod, 2007). The suggestion of the mentioned theory about the fact that the behavior is predetermined and nothing is occasional, however, can be criticized. (McLeod, 2007). The woman kissed another woman which is not quite typically of the women in general and of the film character in particular, and this is most probably the result of mind disorder caused by strong emotional experience. Conclusion Personality theories make a significant part in psychology. Practical application of the theoretical material from this topic contributes to treatment of various problems and conditions that may occur in the course of life of the individuals. The example of the main character of the film “Rachel, Rachel” gives opportunity to apply the psychodynamic personality theory because of certain facts. Firstly, the woman is subjected to considerable influence of the memories and experiences from her childhood which are powerful enough to influence her decisions making. Secondly, there are subconscious drivers that condition the woman’s behavior to certain extent. Finally, there is a conflict of the conscious and subconscious parts of the woman’s mind which lead to anxiety and make her search a solution for defense from it. References Cherry, K. (2015). Theories of Personality. http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologystudyguides/a/personalitysg_3.htm Maddi, R. (1996). Personality Theories: A Comparative Analysis (6th Ed.). Prospect Heights: Waveland Press. McLeod, S. (2007). Psychodynamic Approach. http://www.simplypsychology.org/psychodynamic.html Phares, E., Chaplin, W. (1997). Introduction to personality (4th Ed.). New York: Longman. Read More