Freudian, humanistic, and self-determination theories applied to personal personality assessment

Freudian Theories Freud’s theory of psychosexual development shows how individuals develop their personality as they progress through specific stages. In fact, Freud also suggested that the most important stages occur in early childhood, before the age of five (McLeod, 2008). The child experiences tension or conflict at early stages, based on frustrated psychosexual desires. For example, if oral gratification like sucking on the nipple is withheld, then the person may become fixated on this stage. Fixation can lead to behaviors that compensate for the frustrated desire. When applied to my own personality, I can see how an oral fixation could explain why I like to chew gum or suck on candies, and why I used to smoke. Another aspect of Freudian theory is the division of the mind into three parts: the id, ego, and superego. The ego is the self-concept that I have carefully developed over time. When the id has desires for gratification—oral or otherwise—the ego must decide whether to satisfy those desires or not. Satisfying those desires in a socially acceptable way helps to balance the dictates of the superego with those of the id. Thus, chewing gum is a socially acceptable means of satisfying my id and superego and does not cause conflict. Smoking, however, does cause some conflict because my superego does not view this behavior as being acceptable socially or as part of my ego construct. Humanistic The theory of self-determination evolved out of earlier humanistic approaches to personality development. According to Ryan & Deci (2000), self-determination theory also incorporates the social and environmental factors that may influence personality and motivation. Self-determination theory suggests how we may be intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Moreover, Ryan & Deci (2000) claim that the main three psychological needs that motivate people include competence, autonomy, and relatedness. When these fundamental needs are met, we feel satisfied and whole, but if these needs are not met, we experience distress. I have recently realized that I am lacking in all three of these. The lack has led to diminished motivation, some depression, and low self-esteem. In terms of competency, I feel a low sense of self-efficacy in some areas, which is why I am going to school and also participating more in sports. Building competency has gradually helped me to feel better about myself, as I am satisfying this deeper need for competency. The self-determination theory shows me why I feel motivated to build competencies, as they increase a sense of mastery and confidence. I also recently realized the need to become more autonomous, while also building closer relationships with others. Balancing personal autonomy and relatedness can be challenging for me, because it is hard to allow myself to be vulnerable with others and rely on them without feeling like I am depending on them emotionally. Applying self-determination theory actually helps me to resolve this conflict, showing how I can build self-efficacy and self-reliance, through healthy choices and habits. I can see how making my own decisions and being less vulnerable to external influences is a core need, and when this need is not satisfied I can feel a diminished sense of autonomy. This can then lead to reduced psychosocial functioning. Big Five Model The Big Five model of personality traits can be represented by the acronym OCEAN: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Cherry, 2018). Using this model, I can see where I score on each of these traits. While few people will be fully expressive in all of these, most will fall somewhere on a spectrum. For example, I am mainly open to new experiences and am comfortable thinking creatively about how to solve problems. Yet there are times I can be closed, resistant to change, and fearful of new things. In terms of conscientiousness, I also score somewhere in the middle whereby at times I can be very organized and meticulous and at other times fail to complete things on schedule. I am also in between being fully extraverted and fully introverted. While I do gain energy and pleasure from most social engagements, I can also spend many days on end not seeing people and am fine with that. One of the traits that I score highest on is agreeableness. I genuinely do like to see other people’s point of view, and am empathic. I do not like conflict. Unfortunately, I also score high on neuroticism, which would explain why I can get stressed out easily.