The trait approach to personality is comprised of two significant hypotheses. The first is that the distinctiveness of one’s personality remains constant over time (Burger, 2008). For instance, the fist assumption of the trait dimension suggests that given a certain situation that occurs on more than one occasion, a person’s personality traits will be the underlining factor for them reacting the same just about every time. Certainly, their actions may not be the same every time, but based on an average, they will be. The second assumption is that the personality traits remain relatively consistent in different situations. This part of the theory suggests that when a person reacts to different situations, his or her reactions should not deviate much for each occurrence. Undoubtedly, specific situations will require a much different reaction, but all in all their reaction behavior should be similar. For example, a person who is extremely sensitive may react to good news and bad news both by crying.
The oral stage is what Freud considered the first stage in his Psychosexual Stages of Development. During this stage (ages 0-18 months), Freud says that the mouth, lips, and tongue are primary areas that stimulate sexual desire. At this age, children have the need to put everything in their mouths (Burger, 2008). The development of an oral personality or fixation may be caused by trauma experienced during this oral stage (i.e., feeding problems). Adults with oral personalities are often dependent of others. Freud suggests that if the fixation or trauma occurs after the child has teeth, he or she may show excessive aggression as an adult (Burger, 2008). Some examples of oral fixations are as follows: smoking, gum chewing, and the constant need to have something in the mouth.
The second stage of Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development is the anal stage. The anal stage (ages 18 months – three years) is the time when most children are potty trained. During this stage the anal region becomes the most erogenous area. Freud believed that an upsetting toilet training experience could lead to an anal personality (Burger, 2008). Those with an anal personality are often terribly stubborn or generous (depending on their toilet training experience).
Freud’s Psychoanalytic approach to personality also touched on defense mechanisms.
Defense mechanisms are techniques used to deal with unwanted thoughts or desires (Burger, 2008). Three of these mechanisms are repression, denial, and intellectualization. Repression is when a person tries not to think about an anxiety-provoking situation, in turn, avoiding the anxiety. For example, A woman finds that the birth of her child is particularly painful yet she continues to have children (each time the level of pain is surprising). In Freud’s theory, her unconscious mind would rather not think about the pain from the previous childbirth, thus reducing the anxiety about the present one. Denial is when a person refuses to acknowledge that a certain situation or event has occurred (Burger, 2008). An alcoholic refusing to admit that he or she has a problem but they cannot stop drinking would be a form of denial. Intellectualization is when the ego avoids uncomfortable emotions by focusing on facts and logic. For instance, a person with a considerable amount of debt creates a complicated spreadsheet of how long it would take to repay the debt using a number of repayment options and interest rates. This complex information focuses on the logic of the situation rather than the problem itself.
There are five classes in the Big Five Theory: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness (Burger, 2008). After reading the Big Five Theory, I found that I fit into two categories: Agreeableness and Extraversion. I find myself to be helpful, trusting, and sympathetic. I prefer cooperation over competition and have extremely pleasant social exchanges. I am always energetic and optimistic. Between the psychoanalytic and trait theories, I would have to say that the trait theory is the one that best describes me. In almost every situation I am the same. I like everything to run smoothly, but if something were to arise I am always willing to come to some type of compromise to get things accomplished. I always approach a situation in an optimistic manner. I can never hold a grudge and will always listen and take into consideration the other side of the story.
All of the personality theories, to a certain extent, have some truth to them and they have provided a more complete picture of human development, whether one agrees with each individual theory, or not. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychology, has greatly influenced the way we look at psychology today. His theory of personality provides the cornerstone for many other theories to follow, either in agreement or rejection of his. Further, he gave the impression of the individual being primarily driven by sexual needs and desires, and nothing else; he reduced and made the individual simple and not complexly structured.
References
Blewitt, P., & Broderick, P. C. (2006). The life span: Human development for helping
professionals (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Burger, J.M. (2008). Personality (7th ed). Belmont, Ca: Thomson Wadsworth.
