Irrational Behavior as a Part of an Individuals Personality - Essay Example

Course: Topic: Student’s Name: Student Number: Course: For: Date Submitted: Acknowledgements: Irrational Behavior Abstract Credible research has shown that irrational behavior might be part of an individual’s personality that is hidden and controlled by processes that occur unconsciously in the mind. Showing happiness during sad, tragic and other inappropriate situations is one such irrational behavior. Psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers have both come up with theories that evaluate the causes of such behavior in individuals. In this paper, I will discuss how the irrational behavior can be explained from the differing perspectives of Freud and Rogers then show that the theoretical approach offered by Rogers is the most appropriate for examining this behavior. Introduction Personality, like any other concept that relates to the human mind is an abstract phenomenon whose depths have been delved by many psychologists. An individual’s personality is their consistent and unique way of reasoning that leads to particular ways of behaving (Gray, 2002). When referring to hidden personality, it is the part of an individual’s personality that is not created of conscious thought. When there is a tragic or sad situation, there are people who may burst out laughing or become overly excited because of what they witness going on. This exhibition may be perceived as being a form of irrational behavior that is inappropriate in every way. However, the individual who is showing this behavior may not be doing so out of conscious though but rather their unconscious brain processes trying to deal with what the conscious mind has refused to accept. In support of this, both Freud and Rogers have a theory that everyone has a hidden personality that they may not be aware or conscious of. This is a commonality for both theories. However, it ends there since this conclusion was reached through two different assumptions. Freud’s Theoretical Assumptions Spontaneous bursts of joy in inappropriate conditions are often done by people who may not know how to deal with what is going on. The reality may sometimes be too much for some to handle and so in a desperate attempt to feel better, their unconscious minds instruct them to be happy and they show this feeling. Freud explains, in his psychoanalytic theory, that people are energy. Everyone has energy flowing in them in the form of mental courses of action which often want to stream smoothly and freely unless there is a problem and they get piled up. He continues that people use their behavior as a way to express what they may be feeling in order to reduce any tension that may have formed by freeing some of the energy that is within (Ekstrom, 2004). By freeing some of this energy, the stress of all the energy is calmed and the individual achieves pleasure. For instance, if a person is attending a funeral and everyone is crying, the calm flow of the energy within them will get jammed up by the sadness around them which intrudes their mental state. In order to relieve this instantly, laughter may be the resulting behavior and laughter is associated with pleasure. The individual who does this may not be liked by his family or the community around him because of the behavior he exhibits. He may be mistaken for someone without feeling. Laughing could be the only thing that works to help him reduce the stress that is within him while others cry. Because crying is the most common reaction, doing the exact opposite will not sit well with those involved. Freud explains that the constant pursuit of happiness and pleasure conflicts with the society and the norms set by and for the entire civilization. The expectations that people have for the behavior that people should have in a society will lead to some people hiding their personalities by not doing what they feel like doing and when they do so, they will ignite conflict (Engler, 2006). Other than laughing, the individual might also start jumping up and down and singing and laughing. These behaviors do not conform to what people have come to expect. In the case where individuals chose to do as they feel, it may result in extreme feeling of guilt. For instance, if a child is being scolded for something they did and because they cannot handle the nervousness they feel, they decide to laugh instead, and they will be seen as being disrespectful. Since they did this unconsciously, after the action, they will show a lot of guilt which only worsens the stress they feel. In Freud’s analysis, people are motivated into action by aggressive and sexual energy that has been prevented from coming out by internal and external factors. When this happens there is little energy left for fulfilling sexual needs adequately and this leads to people being unhappy. People are left with the option of being unhappy and in turn not feeling guilty (Pervin & Oliver, 1997). This irrational behavior is a ‘slip of the tongue’ in terms of behavior and those who know they may exhibit them often try to avoid compromising situations are keep themselves in check most of the time. Freud explains this by saying that psychic energy from people is spent trying to keep hidden behaviors where they are or finding a way to express them that will be accepted (Ryckman, 2004). When this energy is pressured by stress or other factors, it overflows causing the person to slip and do something they would not have wanted people to see. Rogers’ theoretical assumptions Despite an individual showing this irrational behavior, it does not mean that they are less affected by what is going on but rather that they are dealing with it as others are. This is to say that though they may laugh in inappropriate situations, they still feel like other people and their feelings are not weaker. Rogers, in opposing Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, explains that the theory dehumanizes (Pervin & Oliver, 1997) people making them seem like people who are only after pleasure with less regard as to how they get this pleasure. In his view, people have drives that lead them to pursue activities that will help them achieve their contentment. Though the irrational behavior of showing joy in inappropriate situations will be questioned by some people, it does not mean that the person exhibiting it is any less human. They are after finding a balance of their emotions that will enable them to express sadness and be happy. It just may be going wrong but in doing so, they are working towards becoming their best selves. Rogers explains this by saying that people go about their daily activities following the actualizing tendency. It is an inclination that all life forms have to try to be the best of their best. They do this by developing their potentials as extensively as they can. His humanistic theory explains that people are motivated to be the best they can be and realize self-actualization (Boeree, 1998). The irrational behavior that the individual has forms part of their personality. Their personality is formed by the experiences that the person has had in their lifetime. The expression of emotion is something that people have automatically but how they express them is shaped by the type of development they have had and who they have been around and also their experiences. Someone who decides to laugh at a funeral, or when being punished instead of cry, may have gone through particular things in life that made them as they are. For instance, they could have grown up in a household where people seemed indifferent to other people’s plights and crying never got them anything. As a result, they will not see crying as a means to a happy end. However, the choice of the mind to choose that action is a mystery. As they grow up in their type of environment, they pick up hints with their subconscious minds that lead them to developing the hidden behavior of laughing in sad situations. Rogers explains that the identity a person has is created through many experiences that the individual has. These experiences show how they are perceived by others and by themselves. Conscious and unconscious perceptions that are contained in the phenomenological field, the world, pick up perceptions that are committed to the mind’s memory and accessed in deciding the personality to have in certain situations whether consciously or unconsciously (Engler, 2006). Rogers continues on to say that the activities of the unconscious mind that lead one to have and involuntary expression of hidden behavior cannot be explained from an objective point of view since the processes of the mind cannot be viewed directly. A person exhibiting irrational behavior is facing a conflict between who he is at the time and who he can and wants to become because who he is may not be accepted by the society. Rogers describes the real self and the ideal self. The real self is who people become after realizing self actualization while the ideal self is what they are be at the time as is accepted and expected by the society. He further goes on to describe hidden personality as the person one could be if the restrictions on them by the society were stripped (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1992). Conclusion Being elated during a sad situation is an irrational behavior. However, the behavior can somewhat be explained by taking into consideration the theoretical assumptions that lead to showing hidden behavior by Freud and Rogers. Freud’s assumptions lead to the conclusion that people are self centered and only after achieving pleasure at any cost. However, this is not the case with irrational behavior as Rogers explains that showing irrational behavior is a path to becoming a better person thus improving one’s personality. Roger’s theoretical assumptions are therefore more acceptable. References Boeree, C. G. (1998). Personality theories: Carls rogers. Retrieved 4 January 2005 from http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/rogers.html Engler, B. (2006). Personality Theories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Ekstrom, S. R. (2004). The mind beyond our immediate awareness: Freudian, Jungian and conitive models of the unconscious. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 49, 657–682. Hjelle, L. & Ziegler, D. (1992). Personality: Basic Assumptions, Research and Applications. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Gray, P. (2002). Psychology (4 ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Pervin, L. & Oliver, O. (1997). Personality: Theory and research (7th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley. Ryckman, R. (2004). Theories of Personality. Belmont, California: Thomson/Wadsworth. Ziegler, D. J. (2002). Freud, Rogers and Ellis: A comparative theoretical analysis. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 20(2), 75–91. Read More

Everyone has energy flowing in them in the form of mental courses of action which often want to stream smoothly and freely unless there is a problem and they get piled up. He continues that people use their behavior as a way to express what they may be feeling in order to reduce any tension that may have formed by freeing some of the energy that is within (Ekstrom, 2004). By freeing some of this energy, the stress of all the energy is calmed and the individual achieves pleasure. For instance, if a person is attending a funeral and everyone is crying, the calm flow of the energy within them will get jammed up by the sadness around them which intrudes their mental state.

In order to relieve this instantly, laughter may be the resulting behavior and laughter is associated with pleasure. The individual who does this may not be liked by his family or the community around him because of the behavior he exhibits. He may be mistaken for someone without feeling. Laughing could be the only thing that works to help him reduce the stress that is within him while others cry. Because crying is the most common reaction, doing the exact opposite will not sit well with those involved.

Freud explains that the constant pursuit of happiness and pleasure conflicts with the society and the norms set by and for the entire civilization. The expectations that people have for the behavior that people should have in a society will lead to some people hiding their personalities by not doing what they feel like doing and when they do so, they will ignite conflict (Engler, 2006). Other than laughing, the individual might also start jumping up and down and singing and laughing. These behaviors do not conform to what people have come to expect.

In the case where individuals chose to do as they feel, it may result in extreme feeling of guilt. For instance, if a child is being scolded for something they did and because they cannot handle the nervousness they feel, they decide to laugh instead, and they will be seen as being disrespectful. Since they did this unconsciously, after the action, they will show a lot of guilt which only worsens the stress they feel. In Freud’s analysis, people are motivated into action by aggressive and sexual energy that has been prevented from coming out by internal and external factors.

When this happens there is little energy left for fulfilling sexual needs adequately and this leads to people being unhappy. People are left with the option of being unhappy and in turn not feeling guilty (Pervin & Oliver, 1997). This irrational behavior is a ‘slip of the tongue’ in terms of behavior and those who know they may exhibit them often try to avoid compromising situations are keep themselves in check most of the time. Freud explains this by saying that psychic energy from people is spent trying to keep hidden behaviors where they are or finding a way to express them that will be accepted (Ryckman, 2004).

When this energy is pressured by stress or other factors, it overflows causing the person to slip and do something they would not have wanted people to see. Rogers’ theoretical assumptions Despite an individual showing this irrational behavior, it does not mean that they are less affected by what is going on but rather that they are dealing with it as others are. This is to say that though they may laugh in inappropriate situations, they still feel like other people and their feelings are not weaker.

Rogers, in opposing Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, explains that the theory dehumanizes (Pervin & Oliver, 1997) people making them seem like people who are only after pleasure with less regard as to how they get this pleasure. In his view, people have drives that lead them to pursue activities that will help them achieve their contentment. Though the irrational behavior of showing joy in inappropriate situations will be questioned by some people, it does not mean that the person exhibiting it is any less human.

They are after finding a balance of their emotions that will enable them to express sadness and be happy.

Read More