Psychology2016

506 CHAPTER 13

Psychodynamic Perspectives

Personality is the unique way in which each individual thinks, acts, and feels through-

out life. Personality should not be confused with character, which refers to value judg-

ments made about a person’s morals or ethical behavior; nor should it be confused with

temperament, the biologically innate and enduring characteristics with which each person

is born, such as irritability or adaptability. Both character and temperament are vital parts

of personality, however. Every adult personality is a combination of temperaments and

personal history of family, culture, and the time during which they grew up (Kagan, 2010).

Personality is an area of psychology in which there are several ways to explain

the characteristic behavior of human beings. Despite the investigation of person-

ality reaching back to at least the fourth century BCE (Dumont, 2010), one reason

no single explanation of personality exists is because personality is still difficult to

measure precisely and scientifically, and different perspectives of personality have

arisen. Overall these tend to examine the source of personality, such as individual

behavioral tendencies or situational variables, both of which are influences that

may be conscious or unconscious (Mischel & Shoda, 1995). Sources overlap and

influence each other, such as the interaction of biological, developmental, social,

and cultural factors. Some perspectives are influenced by early schools of thought

in psychology, such as structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt, learning, or the cogni-

tive perspective. Theories or perspectives may also be influenced by newer ideas

from evolution, social adaptation, motivation, and information processing (Buss,

2009a, 2011; Higgins & Scholer, 2010; McAdams & Olson, 2010; Mischel & Shoda,

1995). From a foundational aspect, we will focus on several traditional perspec-

tives in personality, starting with the work of Sigmund Freud.

Freud’s Conception of Personality

13.1 Explain how the mind and personality are structured, according to Freud.

It’s hard to understand how Freud developed his ideas about personality unless we

have some knowledge of the world in which he and his patients lived. He was born

and raised in Europe during the Victorian Age, a time of sexual repression. People

growing up in this period were told by their church that sex should take place only in

the context of marriage and then only to make babies. To enjoy sexual intercourse was

considered a sin. Men were understood to be unable to control their “animal” desires

at times, and a good Victorian husband would father several children with his wife

and then turn to a mistress for sexual comfort, leaving his virtuous* wife untouched.

Women, especially those of the upper classes, were not supposed to have sexual urges.

It is no wonder that many of Freud’s patients were wealthy women with problems

stemming from unfulfilled sexual desires or sexual repression. Freud’s “obsession”

with sexual explanations for abnormal behavior seems more understandable in light

of his cultural background and that of his patients.

Freud came to believe that there were layers of consciousness in the mind. His

belief in the influence of the unconscious mind on conscious behavior, published in The

Psychopathology of Everyday Life (Freud, 1901), shocked the Victorian world.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE MIND Freud believed that the mind was divided into three

parts: the preconscious, conscious, and unconscious (Freud, 1900). While no one really

disagreed with the idea of a conscious mind in which one’s current awareness exists or

even of a preconscious mind containing memories, information, and events of which one

can easily become aware, the unconscious mind (also called “the unconscious”) was the

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was the founder of the
psychodynamic movement in psychology. Many of
his patients sat or reclined on the couch above while
he sat in a chair, listening to them and developing his
psychoanalytic theory of personality.

*virtuous: morally excellent.

personality
the unique and relatively stable
ways in which people think, feel, and
behave.

character
value judgments of a person’s moral
and ethical behavior.

unconscious mind
level of the mind in which thoughts,
feelings, memories, and other
information are kept that are not
easily or voluntarily brought into
consciousness.