Theories of Personality

Warm-Up Activity In your own words, define theory. Are you familiar with any theories of personality development?

Essential Questions What are some key ideas associated with Freud’s theory of personality development? What are Erikson’s eight stages of personality development? What is Maslow’s theory of self-actualization?

Theories of personality What is a theory? An organized set of ideas used to explain something Three important theories of personality were proposed by: Sigmund Freud Erik Erikson Abraham Maslow

Freud An Austrian physician interested in mental illness (late 1800’s) He concluded that each individual’s personality is made up of three parts: Id Ego Superego

Freud Id Consists of biological urges such as hunger and thirst Ego Is the thoughtful, decision-making part of the personality Example: if the id urges you to eat, the ego would help you find food Superego Is the part of the personality that judges right and wrong, or what you might refer to as your conscious Example: the superego would direct you not to steal the food that your id urges you to eat

Freud Conscious thoughts are those thoughts of which a person is aware Unconscious thoughts are those of which a person is not aware Example: a forgotten childhood event Freud believed that adult personalities are shaped mainly by early childhood experiences and conflicts He believed these memories are stored in the unconscious

Freud Freud believed that by undergoing psychoanalysis, a treatment technique that brings memories into the conscious mind, the inner conflicts can be resolved

Erikson Erikson devised an eight-stage theory of personality development He believes that an individual’s personality continues to be influenced by experiences beyond childhood According to Erikson, people continue to develop socially and psychologically up until their death Look at Figure 2-5 on page 29…

Maslow Believed that everyone has a basic drive to achieve his or her fullest potential Maslow used the term self-actualization to describe the process by which each person strives to be all that he or she can be

Maslow Personality traits of self-actualized people: Realistic Accepting Independent, self-sufficient Appreciative of life Concerned about humankind Capable of loving others Fair, unprejudiced Creative Hardworking Not afraid to be different

Maslow Maslow found that few people ever reach their full potential Maslow suggested that before people could achieve self-actualization, their basic needs had to be met Maslow put these needs in an ascending order, called the hierarchy of needs At the base of the hierarchy is what Maslow considered to be a person’s most urgent needs: physical needs of the body Getting enough sleep, exercising, and satisfying hunger and thirst

Chapter 2 Lesson 2 Review Answer questions 1 thru 5 on the bottom of page 32