Psychologists have developed various theories to explain the existence of personality and its possibility for change. The different attributes unique to each person, in how they feel, think, and behave, are merely the description of personality (Cherry, 2020). Personality may tend to be consistent during an individual’s life, with some psychologists arguing that personality is inborn, while others argue that personality develops with time. From either side of view, it’s in agreement that personality is crucial in every person’s life as it brings out the similarities and differences among people (Cherry, 2020). Trait perspective and psychodynamic perspective theories are critical in understanding the unique attributes that each individual portrays.
A personality theory defines how personality in an individual comes to be, either biological or developing from interaction with others (Barowski & McCallister, 2021). The development of different characteristics of people on how they react and respond to stimuli can be explained by trait perspective and behaviorist theory. Markedly, the trait perspective theory is an approach with the assumption of traits being portrayed by individuals having genetic differences (McLeod, 2017). On the other hand, psychodynamics explains how and the reasons behind why people showcase the various behaviors they possess (Vazire, 2014). The psychodynamic theory was first developed by Freud, who explained how environment and instincts interrelate to make a person who they are. The interaction of an individual with external stimuli and parental behavior determines the behaviors and mental health problems that an adult will develop (McLeod, 2017).
Since the psychodynamic theory involves the life experiences and sexual behaviors that people showcase in life, it’s worth noting that its developer, Freud, didn’t support its realism in the behaviors he showcased. This is evidenced by the fact that he used to take cocaine and influenced many people, including his sisters, to take cocaine to feel better after being depressed (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). Markedly, Freud was afraid and shy of women, which made him marry at 30 years, being a virgin (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). Therefore, the behaviors explained by Freud about the problems that could occur to an individual in adulthood upon unsuccessfully completing the five psychosexual development stages may appear to have occurred to him on a personal level. Freud’s personal life experiences led to using himself as the subject of his study in developing the psychodynamic theory.
Instincts serve a vital part in psychodynamic theory, as explained by Freud. It’s from instincts that an individual develops personality status (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). According to Freud, instincts are impulses or a form of energy that connects the body’s needs to the mind’s wishes (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). For instance, a hungry person will interpret the body’s need, which is food, as a mind wish, hence developing an instinct for food. Therefore, a person will develop the behavior of looking for food to satisfy the body’s needs. Therefore, instincts influence the behaviors of every person. Still, it’s the role of every person to reduce the need; in the same way, an individual can evade an annoying external environment stimulus (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). According to Freud, two types of instincts are present, including life and death instincts (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). Notably, life instincts are for survival and make an individual satisfy the body’s needs of sex, food, air, and water (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). Freud was more interested in sex, as he viewed sexuality as the primary motivation for pleasure instincts. On the other hand, death instincts represent the unconscious human wish to die and return to being inanimate (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). According to Freud, the aggression drive is a vital death instinct as people don’t willingly seek death.
According to Freud, libido is the source of pleasure in every person and changes over time as a person develops (McLeod, 2017). It’s from the psyche of an individual that three parts of the mind, including the Id, Ego, and Superego, are located (Vazire, 2014). Id makes people emotional and impulsive, showcasing irrational behaviors. Markedly, the Ego marks the part of the brain that it’s contrary to the Id. Ego makes an individual make rational decisions by weighing the benefits and risks of every task (Vazire, 2014); hence its more effective and leads to beneficial outcomes. The Superego part follows the rules and values as it’s the moral part of the brain. The three parts are meant to perform tasks uniformly, but once they act independently, they lead to a conflict (Vazire, 2014), making people showcase different behaviors. The Ego part moderates conflicts, and if it fails, anxiety results.
Furthermore, although psychologists have realized that the brain is made of many parts, the fact remains that people have different ways to solve and react to similar situations, making the psychodynamic theory valid and effectual. Markedly, an individual’s behavior is impacted by the conscious mind and the unconscious mental processes (Vazire, 2014). Self-knowledge can impact an individual’s unconscious processes about a particular issue. This means a person could possess a trait they don’t believe in having (Vazire, 2014). Notably, according to Freud, every action that a person takes and the behavior they portray is a reflection of the events that are in their mind. Psychic determinism (Vazire, 2014) explains how every event results from both conscious and unconscious minds.
In addition, psychodynamic theory explains how every individual is threatened by various situations in the unconscious mind but doesn’t want to admit it (Vazire, 2014). Therefore, every individual develops a defense mechanism to prevent from showcasing what’s happening in the unconscious mind. The defense mechanism includes regression, sublimation, repression, and denial (Vazire, 2014). For every individual to hide and prevent admitting to unconscious occurrences requires psychic energy (Vazire, 2014). The energy is limited; hence when overwhelmed, stress occurs.
The trait perspective theory emphasizes a person’s traits, which describes the feelings portrayed. In simple terms, trait perspective theory ignores how a person’s already existing characteristics developed (Barowski & McCallister, 2021). The theory differentiates individuals based on descriptive terms, including anger, happiness, sadness, and outgoing attributes (Barowski & McCallister, 2021). On the other hand, the psychodynamic perspective addresses various factors, including instincts’ drives, early childhood influences, and unconscious processes (McLeod, 2017) that distinguish every individual characteristic from others.
Moreover, the trait perspective theory focuses on the Big Five Personality Dimensions (Barowski & McCallister, 2021), traits that define every individual. The dimensions, including openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness (Barowski & McCallister, 2021), make individuals be who they are in expressing their personality. Notably, neuroticism explains the mood, and mental stableness, including being stressed, dramatic, or moody. Agreeableness focuses on an individual’s virtues, including kindness, trust, and affection (Barowski & McCallister, 2021). Markedly, extraversion aims at how talkative, assertive, or excitable a person is, whereas conscientiousness aims at establishing the capabilities of a person, including paying attention, meeting goals, and preparing for activities ahead (Barowski & McCallister, 2021). Nonetheless, openness is about creativity and abstract thinking that is unique to every person (Barowski & McCallister, 2021), creating a difference for another individual if the other person has a different level of the five dimensions.
The trait perspective theory was advanced by Eysenck when he developed second-order personality traits (McLeod, 2017). According to Eysenck, a person’s behaviors can be put into dimensions depending on how different individuals show them. The “Introversion/Extroversion (E); Neuroticism/ Stability (N)” (McLeod, 2017) makes an argument based on how people inherit a nervous system, which has an impact on their learning and adaptation to environment ability (McLeod, 2017). Markedly, extroverts are considered to be social beings who crave excitement. However, extroverts can easily get bored since they are impulsive and carefree (McLeod, 2017). According to Eysenck, extraverts require stimulation to level their optimum stimulation, as they usually inherit an under-aroused nervous system (McLeod, 2017).
On the other hand, introverts are usually silent and control their emotions. According to Eysenck, introverts prefer less, as they inherit an over-aroused nervous system, hence aim at reducing stimulation (McLeod, 2017). Nonetheless, the trait perspective theory contains the dimension of neuroticism and stability. Eysenck analyzed how the sympathetic nervous system impacts how individuals react to events. Stable individuals are calm when stressed (McLeod, 2017), but people with high neuroticism are unstable in similar stressful events. The unstable individuals worry more and fast, showcasing fear and emotions. This is because their ANS shows a quick response to stress (McLeod, 2017); hence overreact easily to stimuli.
Moreover, the psychodynamic perspective theory is further explained through the psychosexual development that determines the characteristics that a person will showcase in their life. Psychosexual development addresses how each person desires pleasure as articulated by the Id part of the brain. Psychosexual development is impacted by how the libido source changes over time (McLeod, 2017). The development begins at the mouth, in the oral stage, then proceeds to the anal stage, phallic stage, latent stage, and finally the genital stage (McLeod, 2017). According to Freud, the personality development of an adult is determined by childhood experiences, making the first stages of psychosexual development important to every individual (Vazire, 2014). If any person fails to undergo the five stages, the individual will probably experience problems as they grow up in how they behave and react to various life events.
The first stage of the oral stage in psychosexual development runs from birth to 18 months, focusing on the mouth, lips, and tongue (Vazire, 2014). Also, an individual could use oral fixation methods, including biting fingernails, being sarcastic, and smoking (Vazire, 2014) due to stress. Markedly, the anal stage is the second stage which runs from 18 months to three and a half years. Children struggle with self-confidence and being obedient. The focus of the second stage is the anus, replicated by withholding and expelling feces (McLeod, 2017). Notably, the third stage is the phallic stage which runs from three and a half to six years. The focus is on the sexual organs (Vazire, 2014), including the penis and clitoris, which are replicated by masturbation. If a child fails to complete the third stage successfully, they end up being over or under-sexualized.
Latency is the fourth stage in psychosexual development and runs from seven years to puberty (Vazire, 2014). There are a few or no psychological struggles or sexual motivation for the individuals. Nonetheless, the genital stage is the last stage, focusing on the penis and vagina as showcased through sexual intercourse (McLeod, 2017). The genital stage runs from puberty onwards, with struggles being life enhancement and creation (Vazire, 2014). Freud’s arguments have been supported by further research, although at a minimal rate. The attachment theory (Vazire, 2014) explains how an individual’s sexual behavior could relate to their attachment with their parents.
The trait perspective theory, as explained by Eysenck’s personality dimensions, can be elaborated by the use of the Internet in how people socialize and interact. The Five-Factor Model, which elaborates on the psychoticism showcased by people, is explained by the existence of many social media platforms (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). Video gaming addiction in Germany for the people high on neuroticism and the failure of many people in the United States to share personal experiences on social media, showcasing high emotional stability and high agreeableness (Schultz & Schultz, 2017) is evidence that Eysenck’s Five-Factor Dimensions of individual behaviors is valid and necessary.
Trait perspective and psychodynamic perspective theories are necessary to understand why people act, react, reason, and behave the way they do. The trait approach theory showcases how inheritance and genetics are crucial factors in determining a person’s personality. Extraversion, psychoticism, and neuroticism are the main dimensions that show how inheritance is important in concluding why an individual behaves in a particular way (Schultz & Schultz, 2017). The biological explanation in trait perspective theory makes it easy to conclude that genetics are integral to what every person takes to be good or bad. The existence of scenarios where an individual does something awful and is not remorseful, while other people present see such an act as wrong is directly related to biology as explained by the trait perspective theory, and the external environmental factors as explained by the psychodynamic perspective theory.
References
Barowski, J., & McCallister, J. (2021). Personality Theory. https://study.com/learn/lesson/theories-of-personality.html#:~:text=Psychoanalytic%2C%20humanistic%2C%20trait%20perspective%20and,environmental%20experiences%20of%20a%20person.
Cherry, K. (2020). Theories and Terminology of Personality Psychology. https://www.verywellmind.com/personality-psychology-study-guide-2795699
McLeod, S. (2017). Theories of Personality. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/personality-theories.html
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2017). Theories of Personality. Eleventh Edition. https://www.amazon.com/Theories-Personality-Duane-P-Schultz/dp/1305652959
Vazire, S. (2014). Personality: A Six-Day Unit Lesson Plan for High School Psychology Teachers. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/lessons/personality.pdf
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