Personality Assessment Theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, B. Skinner and Carl Rogers - Essay Example

Personality Assessment: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, B.F. Skinner, Carl Rogers. Full al Establishment Personality Assessment: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, B.F. Skinner, Carl Rogers. Sigmund Freud Biography Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was psychiatrist, neurologist, medical doctor, psychologist and father of six children. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in a Jewish family but he considered himself an Atheist. Being from a Jewish family, he had a chance to study either law or medicine that is why, starting from 1873 and up to 1881, he was studying at the University of Vienna. Freud started his own practice right after graduation and his work was influenced a lot by Joseph Breuer. Later there was collaboration with Jung that did not last for too long. Freud’s book “The Ego and the Id” was published in 1923. In general, “… [he] elaborated the theory that the mind is a complex energy-system, the structural investigation of which is the proper province of psychology. He articulated and refined the concept of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression, and he proposed a tripartite account of the mind’s structure” (Thornton, n.d.). Carl Gustav Jung Biography Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) was psychiatrist, psychologist and father of five children. Being a child, he spent more time on reading than on communication with his peers. In 1895 he entered the University of Basel to study medicine. Starting from 1906 and up to 1913, he worked with Sigmund Freud but the final period was put in their relationship after Jung’s “Symbols of Transformation” publication. Freud was more materialistic and Jung was trying to combine science and spiritualism, he was the one who insisted that studying should always be complex and should take into consideration different spheres. School of analytical psychology was founded by Jung in 1914. He was the president of the International General Medical Society for Psychotherapy, 1933-1940. His main contributions are the following: he coined a term introversion and extraversion; he became a founder of Analytical Psychology; he is well-known for his theory of symbolism, his explanation of the collective unconscious and archetypes. B. F. Skinner Biography B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) was psychologist, poet, scientist, philosopher and father of two children. He started as a writer that is why he entered Hamilton College in New York. Due to Watson’s and Pavlov’s work, he got interested in psychology more than in literature, so, he continued his studying in Harvard University where he got back later as a professor, in 1948. Before, starting from 1936, he was working at the University of Minnesota up to 1945 and then he moved to Indian University but only for three years. During the World War II he was busy with a secret project and his aim was to train pigeons in order to have a chance to use them instead of missile guidance systems that had not been invented yet at that period of time. B. F. Skinner is also well-known for his Radical Behaviorism, his Baby Tender and he also contributed a lot to the learning concept. Carl Rogers Biography Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was a significant psychologist and father of two children. He was born in a big family where his mother was devout Christian, what influenced Rogers a lot. He was studying at the University of Wisconsin and the choice was made on favor of agriculture major, though very soon the preferences were given to religion. In 1922 he became a participant of “World Student Christina Federation Conference” which became a pivotal moment in his life as it was the time when he took another direction. In 1931 he graduated from Columbia University with Ph.D. in psychotherapy. His own ideas were influenced by the humanism concept, explained by Abraham Maslow. Then he was a professor of psychology at Ohio State University and at the University of Chicago and in 1957 he got back at the University of Wisconsin and took position of the Head of Psychology as well as Psychiatry Department. His main contribution is client-centered therapy and he was the one who extended the influence of humanistic psychology. Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalytic Theory and Personality Model Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory cannot exist without such parts: mechanisms of defense, psychosexual stages of development and personality structure that he understood in the following way: Id, Ego and Superego are together an energy system. Libido, sexual energy, is what drives the system. Ego operates to maintain a balance among the competing elements. When balance is tipped too far towards one element (say the superego) then anxiety occurs. In that instance, the therapist would attempt to side with the Ego and the Id against the Superego to reduce the latter’s influence. If the Id forces are too firmly in power, the therapist will side with the Ego and the Superego against the Id (Rigway, 2006). Carl Jung. Neo-Freudian Psychoanalytic There were a few fundamental differences between Freud’s and Jung’s theories: It is well-known that Freud gave a lot of meaning to sexuality. At the same time, Jung agreed on its importance but he pointed that it is only one part of many in explanation of human’s drives. Neo-Freudian claimed that all people are aimed to achieve wholeness that explains some of people’s behaviors. Understanding of the unconscious is not the same because Jung extended Freud’s idea of it. The main Jung’s addition to Freud’s unconscious, which he explained as collections of experiences that are refused by a person, is a collective unconscious: Unlike other neo-Freudians, Carl Jung … placed less emphasis on social factors and agreed with Freud that the unconscious exerts a powerful influence. But to Jung … , the unconscious contains more than our repressed thoughts and feelings. He believed we also have a collective unconscious, a common reservoir of images derived from our species’ universal experiences. Jung said that the collective unconscious explains why, for many people, spiritual concerns are deeply rooted and why people in different cultures share certain myths and images, such as mother as a symbol of nurturance (“Personality,” n.d.). B. F. Skinner. Behavior Learning Theory Behaviorism studying is concentrated on the external display of people’s conduct because it is considered that internal processes that happen in people’s souls are not evident and lack facts, cannot be framed into some regulations and common rules that make internal emotions and thoughts not sufficient enough. Such approach makes the whole theory limited because only one side of a “3D picture” is studied, ignoring all the rest ones. B. F. Skinner is one of the representatives of Behaviorism. The main idea of Skinner’s Behavior Learning Theory is based on both positive and negative reinforcement. According to Skinner (1957): Interference concerning the structure of the organism are based on observation of behavior and outside events. Nevertherless, one’s estimate of the relative importance of external factors and internal structure in the determination of behavior will have an important effect on the direction of research on linguistic (or any other) behavior, and on the kinds of analogies from animal behavior studies that will be considered relevant or suggestive. The experiment he invented looked the following way: there was a box where a rat was placed and it got food regularly through an automatic dispenser. This caused certain changes in its behavior because later it knew when food was coming (because of the sound of the dispenser that it is used to hear every time before food was delivered). Then the rat got a chance to get food every time it pressed a special lever, added to its box, but it stopped using it when food was not delivered in such a way any more. This experiment shows that people, not only animals, are able to change their behavior and everything depends on motivation, and everyone is absolutely free to decide on how to conduct but there should be an understanding that the consequences will follow, so, it should be accepted as well then. All the mentioned above means, according to Skinner, that so-called freedom of taking independent decisions is illusionary and is dictated by the circumstances and surrounding. Carl Rogers. Humanistic Theory of View Humanistic psychology is a result of psychoanalysis and behaviorism synthesis that preceded it. It supposes that its main focus should be on a person, in other words, should be person-centered. The fundamental change of such psychology is that there was an effort to examine personality from another angle, trying to present it from a more positive side and to prove that there is a place for a personal choice and not everything is predicted. Carl Rogers is one of the brightest representatives of this “movement”. Following Sammons’s (n.d.) vision: Rogers believed that people could only fulfill their potential for growth if they had a basically positive view of themselves (positive sdelf regard). This can only happen if they have the unconditional positive regard of others – if they feel that they are valued and respected without reservation by those around them. The problem that most people have, as Rogers saw it, was that most people don’t perceive the positive regard of others as being unconditional. Rather, they think they will only be loved and valued if they meet certain conditions of worth (e.g. behaving well, passing lots of exams, etc.) Conclusion To sum everything up, it is possible to conclude that psychology of the 20th century was developing gradually and it is possible to divide this process into three main stages: The first stage is Psychoanalysis that is presented by Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung. The second stage is Behaviorism and Skinner as its representative. The third stage is Humanistic Psychology, which is based on Carl Rogers’ studying. All theories of Freud, Jung, Skinner and Roger are important for understanding both of the surrounding and yourself. This field of investigation is so meaningful because people live in a society and it is impossible to imagine it without interaction. Examining and explaining own behavior, reactions and some habits may be useful not only for everyone as for an individual, but also for finding common language with others. The concept of “personality” is very complex that is why it requires complex studying to have a chance to make the right conclusion. Due to this, Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism and Humanistic Psychology all together are able to give more answers to the risen questions but even all the present, existing theories are not enough to say that there is full understanding of various personality models. So, there is fundamental base for a new generation of psychologist to continue working at this question. References Anonymous. (n.d.). Personality. (pp. 553-592). Retrieved from http://www.ahshistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/13-PERSONALITY.pdf Rigway, J. (2006). 2221 Theory & Practice 1: Lecture 3. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Retrieved from http://www.myauz.com/ianr/articles/lect3freud07.pdf Sammons, A. (n.d.). The Humanistic Approach: the Basics. Humanistic psychology. Retrieved from http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newResources/approaches/AS_AQB_approaches_HumanisticBasics.pdf Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. [Reviewed by N. Chomsky]. 26-58. Thornton, S. P. (n.d.). Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. A Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/freud/ Read More