Utopia to Gutters and Everything in Between, Coursework Example

Scientific Research Methods and Personality Study

Although Cattell’s personal eugenic agenda may have been questionable, his research methods were impeccable and scrupulous. He painstakingly divided 4500 words used to describe personality components into 160 groups of synonymous words or “surface clusters”. After which he proceeded to further narrow the list to only 171 words. These were then sorted back into a smaller set of established surface clusters, which were very, very slowly and carefully narrowed to his famous 16 Personality Factors.

Revolutionary though they were, Freud’s theories cited highly suspect case studies and scant evidence. Furthermore, the development of these theories is unclear and often countered by the psychoanalytic “Because I say so” attitude. Leaving theoretical development and processes so vaguely described reduces the opportunity to prove or disprove any theory. The scientific research method is intended to narrow the points of confusion and establish a testable standard by which to conduct one’s professional development.

Psychoanalytic Research and Evidence

The Psychoanalytic Perspective is now criticized frequently, mainly because they were so focused on Freud’s theories of childhood, the id, ego, and superego, and the influence of defense mechanisms that it is still not clear which portions of the research are fact and which are assumptions based upon Freud’s perspective. One such critical aspect is the psychoanalytic tendency to attribute accounts of sexual abuse to deep-seeded, unconscious childhood sexuality. His frequent “suggestions” to the contrary might very well have spawned false memories rather than heal the underlying conflict presented by traumatic repressed memories. Furthermore, we now know that dreams can fulfill fantasies, yes, but they can also symbolize other situations or even nothing at all. However, the repressed memories and thoughts have been shown to- at least occasionally- be attributed to other causes than repressed thoughts, feelings, and memories. While some of these early theories have been proven incorrect, they revolutionized the way in which personality was viewed and spawned further research which continues to benefit us today.

Freud’s Techniques

Nothing was too big or too small to Freud. Well, he may have believed that sexual inadequacies made men feel especially too big or too small, but no problem was separate from the details of a person’s mind according to him. Freud did not believe in hypnosis, so he turned to psychoanalytical use of free association. Any word choice or association, any slip of the tongue, and any random tidbit within the processes of speech and thought were considered revelatory. Likewise, blanks in speech or thought were thought to be anxiety or memory repression.

As we mentioned earlier, Freud placed a high value on the struggle between the id, ego, and superego. He believed very strongly that our subconscious thoughts were a very real part of these three portions of each person and that they were often transferred to thematic dreams. Dream analysis proved to be a less-threatening way of exploring childhood memories.

Adler’s Techniques in Hypothetical Case

The neo-Freudian theorist Adler himself struggled with an inferiority complex. Instead of attributing it to sexual shortcomings, as his psychoanalytic predecessor, Freud, would have done, Alfred Adler emphasized the social components of development and the need for love and security. The home has an essential role as a constant place to fulfill these needs as well as the need to feel useful. Thus Adler suggested that much more of the psyche was under the control of the ego than Freud had suggested.

Adler’s techniques- while admirable- do not suit the politically correct and emotionally distant school culture of today. It is a sad reflection on the distrust of today’s society. When a caring school official’s reputation is on the line, a hug could easily be misconstrued as a manifestation of some Freudian attachment to a student and leaves an indelible question mark over the remainder of the official’s career. In another time, Adler’s promotion of theories of love would have been utopian.

Fromm’s Personality Types

Erich Fromm, on the other hand, developed personality theories of his own that were part Freud, part Marx. He attributed five orientations to the subconscious development of personality: receptive, exploitative, hoarding, marketing, and productive. Receptive orientations can be described as submissive, accepting, and optimistic and are usually comprised of lower-class workers; Exploitative orientations can be described as assertive, initially charming, and possessing a “might makes right” philosophy to infringing upon others and are usually comprised of aristocratic or other “entitled” persons; Hoarding orientations can be described as stubborn, steadfast, and economical and are usually comprised of merchants; marketing orientations can be described as opportunistic, social, and somewhat shallow and are usually comprised of “yuppies”; Productive orientations can be described as reasoning, loving, and conscientious and are comprised mainly of pristine religious figures and other role models.

Exploitative orientations are very similar to what Horney called aggressive personality types. Horney’s aggressive-neurotic needs are power and control, exploitation, prestige, admiration, and personal achievement. Although many of the personality components of the theories of Horney and Fromm are very similar, the exploitative orientation and the aggressive-neurotic personality are nearly interchangeable. Personally, I find them equally credible and so similar as to be easily confused.

Murray’s Emotional and Psychological Needs

In addition to the needs required for survival, Henry Murray cited other emotional and psychological needs which have since become known as the psychogenic needs. One is the need for information. This need in particular has gone awry in recent years. In the past, social knowledge consisted of history, foreign languages, grammar, geography, and other academic areas; today social knowledge consists largely of entertainment media, such as movies, music, and highly-sensationalized news. Another psychogenic need which has gained popularity is ambition, which may consist of achievement, exhibition (shock value), and recognition. If the need for information is the body of subscribers to tabloid magazines, then the need for ambition is the face on the cover. And that face on the cover represents something- an ideal which is later ascribed to a brand when a popular celebrity becomes “the face of” a brand name. The need for celebrity information and for ambition convince the populace today that if they buy the same things then they will be emulating an ideal: a need which is known as materialism.

Ericson’s theories tend to focus more on social aspects of personality than personal ones. They also view adulthood as a more stable state, which is past the fluctuations that accompany the development of the pre-adolescent, adolescent, and early adult years. Murray’s psychogenic needs are not as age-oriented and might be filled very quickly, not be filled at all, or might fluctuate.

Cattell’s Syntality

Patriarchalism is one area in which syntality is currently experienced. Some of these differences in the views of men, women, and gender roles are derived from religious beliefs, but others are matters of respecting customs. Another two examples might include free speech and the relationship between government and state. Authoritarian countries run off of power and silence, so naturally their view of free speech is radically different than that of the typical American or British citizen. For Eastern countries in particular, there is no separation of church and state. For them it is not even an oppressive requirement; it is simply derived from the fact that religious beliefs are so deeply ingrained in their culture- in contrast to the minuscule impact of religion in American, English, and Australian citizens. The best way to avoid syntality and a subsequent personality conflict is to listen to the subject and keep your comments brief and impersonal.

The Big Five and Cattell’s Theories

The “Big Five” personality Factors gauge emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. It is much more subjective than Cattell’s 16 Personal Factor Theory. Both place a large emphasis on the heritability, stability, and cultural implications of the study of personalities. I find Cattell’s theories much more credible. The dimensions of the “Big Five” factors are far too narrow and can reflect syntality, sure, but it can also produce a sizable amount of gender bias which can negatively affect the overall credibility of the results. A specific example is the Openness factor. In modern Western males, the normal degree of openness would be very liberal, because it consists of the endpoints imaginative, prefers variety, and independent. However, these qualities discount the emotional factors of openness: honesty, sensitivity, and tact.