Psychoanalytic and psychosocial social theories of personality

Comparison of Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Social Theories of Personality Outline

Overview

According to the psychoanalytic theory developed by Freud, three aspects make up personality. The aspects include ego, superego, and id. The theory argues that such aspects collaborate to develop complex behaviors in human beings (Caligor & Kernberg, 2005). Every aspect is believed to influence a person’s personality uniquely. Also, the three aspects interact in perspectives that substantially impact an individual.

Nonetheless, each personality element takes place in different instances of life. For example, it generates psychic energy, which includes the personality component (Ewen, 2014). The id is then followed by the ego, which guarantees that impulses of the id are portrayed in a manner that is admissible in the real world (Newman & Newman, 2015). Later at the age of five, the superego establishes itself. These three aspects are diverse and interact to influence behavior.

On the other hand, the psychosocial theory of personality developed by Erikson explores the mental processes and the self-understanding aspect that associates a person with the nature of social relations and the social world (Ewen, 2014). The theory centers on developmental changes of the ego that are sequenced and include social relationships, individual perspective, identity formation, and self-understanding in their life. According to Newman and Newman (2015), development occurs due to continuous interaction between the social environment and the people who live within such environments. Otherwise, in some instances, particular societies have institutions that influence development in a particular dimension (Newman & Newman, 2015). Societies with sanctions, laws, structures and roles influence personal growth towards given mature adulthood.

Differences between Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Social Theories

Whereas the psychoanalytic theory centralizes on an individual’s inner development, the psychosocial theory focuses on mental processes and the self-understanding component that associates a person with the nature of social relationships and their social world (Ewen, 2014). Also, the psychoanalytic theory by Freud centralizes on the value of feeding, while psychosocial theory focuses majorly on how caregivers respond to the needs of children. Subsequently, the Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Social Theories exhibit different stages. For instance, in Erikson’s psychosocial theory, the first stage is trust versus mistrust, where one (baby) learns to either mistrust or trust someone (Newman & Newman, 2015). However, in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the initial stage is the oral stage, where children find pleasure in tasting, sucking, and eating (Ewen, 2014). Additionally, Freud’s theory was based on individual development, while Erikson’s theory was based on an individual’s interaction with their social environment.

Similarities between Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Social Theories

Both Freud and Erikson focused on the contribution of social experience while appreciating the role carried out by a childhood in defining personality in adulthood (Ewen, 2014). Also, the Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Social Theories outlined distinct predetermined instances where personality develops (Caligor & Kernberg, 2005). Finally, Both Freud and Erikson centralized the value of unconsciousness in development.

Importance of Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Social theories of personality in Book on Personality Theories