Psychological and Social Theories, Essay Example

The paper is aimed at providing an overview and application of psychological and social theories in a context of the case study. It is an impetus for the critical evaluation of the theories with special emphasis how different theories play a part in defining a personality.

Introduction to personality:

The individual selected for the case study is Michael Jackson, The king of Pop. He had a clear history of psychological disturbances including exclusion due to bullying and under the influence of illegal substances.

The psychoanalysis theory of Freud formed the basis of all the psychodynamic theories. Freud presented the idea of exploration of thoughts and feelings in order to understand, fully, the behavior of an individual.  The theory has a special dominating influence on all the psychological theories presented. The personality development theories presented by Freud put special emphasis on the importance of childhood. This has made us aware of the fact, that the unconscious elements of our psyche play an important part in an effective development of our personality.

According to Freud the problems faced by adolescents have their roots in the problematic childhood. In many of his interviews, Jackson reported his problematic childhood. In the documentary of Martin Bashir, he claimed that if he and his brothers didn’t dance and sing well enough, their father, Joe Jackson, would strike them with a belt.” He further added that as a boy, though he was able to run away and escape the blows sometimes, his father beat him ‘too much,’ sometimes grabbing an ironing cord to whip him with, Jackson said.” ‘But when he could catch me, oh my God it was bad, it was really bad,’ Jackson said.”

– ABC News, Tough Love- Michael Jackson Describes Beatings During Jackson 5 Rehearsals.

In a British documentary, MJ had said that when he was growing up his father used to tease him about the size of his nose, As a victim of child abuse both physically and mentallyhe became a sadomasochistic adult, who had severe issues with his self-image.

As the theory, of Karen Horney defined, MJ had two views of his own self. The “real self” is how one really is with regards to personality, values, and morals; but the “ideal self” is a construct one applies to himself to conform to social and personal norms and goals.

Although he had money, power and fame but he was very unhappy in his personal and physical identity as an African-American man. In order to get his ideal self, he undergone several surgical treatments to transform his face to gain self acceptance but also to mesmerize and captivate his audience.

“His skin is whiter. His nose is getting thinner every six months. His lips are getting thinner. His eyebrows are getting higher. His eyes are getting wider every time. His cheekbones are getting bigger.”

-ABC News – ‘Nasal Cripple’ A Leading Surgeon on the Evolution of Michael Jackson’s Face.

From the dresses, he wore at most of the occasions it can be noticed that he had the desire to be perceived as European nobility.

The personality theory presented byHorney stated that the unconscious conflicts shape personality. The theory put least emphasis on theon sexual drives and more on the roles of social and cultural forces.  As stated by Horney, MJ developed deep-seated form of anxiety due to the harsh and abusive behavior of his father. He had the feeling of loneliness and helplessness in a potentially hostile world.  The harsh behavior of his father led to the development of deep form of resentment toward him, described as basic hostility by Horney. He seems to have developed neurotic personalities by having maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships.

Below we will undertake the analysis of MJ’s life according to Erikson life-stage virtues. According to Erikson each stage has ‘contrary dispositions’. All the crisis stages have related life stage and its inherent challenges. The successful completion of a stage leads to the achievement of healthy ratio or balancein between the two opposing dispositions.In most of the later stages of Michael life, that healthy balance was missing. He had a high level of mistrust for everybody related and was hopelessly unrealistic or gullible. Successfully completing his second stage Michael grew up as “one’s own person and not a mindless or quivering follower” (Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Human Development). He was free-thinker and independent, while also having a sense of ethics and consideration and responsibility. At the third stage, there were instances when most of his guilt was quickly compensated by a sense of accomplishment.

Around age 6 to puberty. By comparing himself with others children although he might have found major disparities in his personal abilities and worth relative to other children but on the other hand, he also realized what other children were enjoying and he could not. He did not have a teacher or counselor who could ensure that he could not feel inferior rather he had his father who kept on teasing him mentally and physicallyThe teen idol explored his confused identity and found his love relationships frustrating and could not settle down despite his various efforts.

In order to satisfy his desire of assisting the younger generation, he started a family and had three children but in an unusual manner. He was not lucky enough to reach the age of wisdom but feared early death and might havedissatisfied with what he accomplished or failed to accomplish within his life time.