Essay on Who Am I: Analysis of Theories Used for Self-knowledge

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There are a number of different theories on what makes an individual just that, an individual. Every person is ultimately unique no matter how similar they might seem to another person (Hall, Lindzey, & Campbell, 1957). The theories of personality are focused on many perspectives, but for the objective of this paper, I’m going to focus on three main perspectives in which I believe best resonates with my personality. The three theories I am going to discuss are known as the psychoanalytic perspective, the humanistic perspective, and the trait perspective (Hall, Lindzey, & Campbell, 1957). There are also many different examinations one can take to evaluate which personality one possesses. The most widely known one is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is widely used to date to see if an individual is “fit” for the employment they are applying to. The purpose of this paper is to decipher these four perspectives into my own words and argue which one best fits my own unique personality.

The psychoanalytic perspective of personality was developed by Sigmund Freud and relied heavily upon the unconscious and subconscious mind. His claim to personality is that the adult personality is characterized by experiences in the early childhood of each individual person (Blum, 1953). Throughout early, middle and late childhood, humans go through a series of five psychosexual stages, which Freud called his psychosexual theory of development. In order to have a “successful” personality, a child must navigate through various conflicts between their biological drives (the Id) and social expectations (Superego). With a mastery of each conflict presented at the different stages, a child will develop a mature adult personality (Ego) (Blum, 1953). If a child does not successfully conquer these obstacles, he or she will be “fixated” and can have negative personality traits as an adult (i.e. OCD, bad habits, etc).

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This theory best explains the part of my personality when it comes to desire. I am not the best when it comes to knowing what I want, as I tend to develop an attachment to people very easily, but also tend to get bored with people very easily. When it comes to love interests, I love spontaneity. I always secretly hope I encounter my love interest in the streets and we decide to go on an adventure right then and there. I have been in love a total of two times in my life and I feel myself currently slipping into the tangled web that is love for the third time. In order, my past lovers have driven a Jeep, a Chevrolet, and a Mercedes respectively. During the time frame that I was in love with the first respective two, I would be driving and tended to notice those cars more than any other. As I began falling deeper in love, the brand fixation became more selective into the type. I began seeing Jeep Wranglers and Chevrolet Camaros more often that what I had seen them before I started dating these men. Now that I am currently fixated with this man, I see Mercedes Benz cars everywhere. I believe this is the way my subconscious telling me that I am now interested in this person.

The humanistic perspective of personality was created by Carl Rogers. Rogers strained the importance of self-actualization and self-concept. The idea of self-actualization is that a person becomes the best possible version of themselves, while self-concept is the feelings of an individual towards oneself (Smith, 1978). This theory of personality revolves around the phrase “living in the now” and the state of mind of the individual. If a person has a positive self-concept (they’re confident in themselves), they tend to feel secure within themselves and view the world in a “glass half full” notion. If a person has a negative self-concept (they’re insecure), an individual may feel unhappy with themselves and see things in a negative light (Smith, 1978). In short, the humanistic theory of personality is that with love, acceptance, and encouragement, the personality of an individual would be pleasant to others and to themselves.

Growing up, I went through a lot of bullying. I know now that I was getting bullied but I didn’t see it that way when I was younger. I never really cared what anyone thought of me. I have always been a generally happy person. I have never suffered from depression and I have never wished anything negative upon people, even those that bullied me. Since I was always bullied by the other kids, I tended to talk to adults a lot more than children. The adults were usually my teachers or my parents, and they always told me to brush everyone off and take everything with a grain of salt. This aspect of my personality still lives on with me today. Through love, acceptance, and encouragement, I learned to love myself before loving anyone else. As I get older, I find myself falling more and more in love with the person I have become, and I hope I never lose sight of what is important to me. I find myself building stronger friendships are more meaningful relationships with people, and this is due to the humanistic approach adults used around me while I was growing up.

The trait perspective of personality was first developed by Gordon Allport. Allport viewed traits as the basis of personality. He stated that there are three classes of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary. Hans Eyesnic later developed another form of trait theory. He believed there to be two major traits: introversion and extroversion. Allport had too many details in his theory, while Eyesnic had too little. Later on, Raymond Cattell edited Allport’s over 4000 traits and narrowed it down to 171. From those 171, he narrowed them down to sixteen source traits (the root of all behaviors) and the rest were classified as surface traits (easily identifiable traits) (Jayawickreme, Zachry, & Fleeson, 2019). Developed by Costa and McCrae in 1985, The Big Five is the most commonly used method of measuring personality traits. It is the most commonly used because it is made on a continuum with the two extremes on their respective sides. The Big 5 consists of: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

In my opinion, the trait perspective of personality is the most complete and thought out of all the theories. I resonate with this one a lot because it is easily measurable and I feel that it is the one that is the easiest to understand. It is not as drastic as Freud’s theory but it is also not as humanistic as Roger’s theory. The trait perspective can clearly describe the traits someone might have. For example, if we were to use Eyesnic’s trait theory, we can say I am an extrovert. Does this mean that I am loud, like everyone, and am bubbly all the time? Absolutely not. Because trait theory is more open to interpretation, on the continuum of the big five, I am more of an extrovert, but I have some introvert qualities as well. It’s not an all or nothing situation with this theory.

I grew up in a very Hispanic household, and I struggled quite a bit when I first began school because no one could help me with the fully in English language homework. I am a first-generation college student in my family and I hope to make everyone proud, but most importantly I am doing this for myself and my own well-being because I know at the end of all the examinations and hard work, the rewards will come flowing in with financial stability, happiness, and many other things.

I don’t think social factors influenced me much growing up. My parents were always very strict and I went to private school, but I never doubted my skills nor my intelligence despite all the pressure but on me to succeed. If my parents ever got a little too strict, some venting with a friend and the occasional roll of the eyes and ignoring them made me feel much better. I never truly rebelled against my parents because even though they were consistently on top of me and not letting me breathe, I always knew they meant well, and I have always been a good kid. Religion was also a big part of my household. We never went to church, but my parents made me take catholicism classes and I got baptized as a baby, did my holy communion at ten years old, and did my confirmation at thirteen. My mom and I prayed together every night for good health and prosperity, but I don’t believe in a god. I honestly believe this comes from my upbringing.

My mom always told me that I had to be independent and not rely on anyone, and she has been telling me that from a young age, I always questioned everything. I like asking why and I like getting straightforward answers. I genuinely enjoy learning and going to school. My friends call me a workaholic because after a week-long break, I start complaining that I’m bored and that I wish to go back to school.

While there are many personality assessment tests, I’d like the take the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. The reason I chose this one is that it is based on Catell’s 16 source traits and as previously mentioned, I believe it is the best theory of personalities. The questionnaire is designed to measure normal behaviors and can be used as a guide for career development, employee selection, marital help, and counseling; it also has some clinical aspects of it, its not just random clicking of answers. It can be taken on an electronic device or on paper and a pencil.

References

  1. Blum, G. S. (1953). Psychoanalytic theories of personality McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.fiu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.fiu.edu/docview/615257729?accountid=10901
  2. Hall, C. S., Lindzey, G., & Campbell, J. B. (1957). Theories of personality (No. 04; BF698, H3.). New York: Wiley.
  3. Jayawickreme, E., Zachry, C. E., & Fleeson, W. (2019). Whole Trait Theory: An integrative approach to examining personality structure and process. Personality & Individual Differences, 136, 2–11. https://doi-org.ezproxy.fiu.edu/10.1016/j.paid.2018.06.045
  4. Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2009). Theories of Personality (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Michele Sordi.
  5. Smith, B. (1978). Humanism and Behaviorism in Psychology: Theory and Practice. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 18(1), 27. https://doi-org.ezproxy.fiu.edu/10.1177/002216787801800104

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