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"Sigmund Freud Against His Followers: Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Carl Rogers"
What is Personality? Personality is a variety of limited characteristics that makes up an individual, effecting one’s behavior. For decades, there have
been several personality theorists with different concepts discussed in
Psychology courses. Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Carl Rodgers, and Alfred Adler
are personality theorists that have their own theoretical assumptions determining an
individual’s personality. These extraordinary theorists each have different,
but yet similar views on why and how an individual behaves developing their
personality. Everyone of these theorist have psychoanalyzed a girl named Blair
Cornella Waldorf.
Blair Cornella Waldorf is the main
character of a television series “Gossip Girl”. Blair’s life story starts as a
girl in her twenties who lives in a high society Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Blair attended Constance Billiard School for girls with her best friend Serena
Van der Woodsen. Blair is a high egoistic socialite who has a close
relationship with her inner circle of friends revolving Serena Van der Woodsen,
Chuck Bass, and Nate Archibald. Her mother, Eleanor Waldorf has her own fashion
clothing line where Blair worked at a time. Blair’s parents are divorced where
her father is openly gay and mother remarried. Blair is self centered at times
where she has to always be on top of things. Currently, Blair is a fashion
designer married to Chuck Bass.
Sigmund Freud is the father of Psychoanalysis theory.
Freud established the psychoanalytical theory and psychic determinism, the
models determining what motivates people to do, think and feel on a particular
situation (Chapter 3, 68). The principle of psychic determinism is that nothing happens by
chance. Freud believed that people are sexual individuals with sexual instincts that motivates one's behavior. He emphasized
that there are different parts in the human psyche where the mind consists of conscious,
preconscious, and unconscious mind. The conscious mind is where we are aware and
in control of our behaviors. The preconscious are memories stored in your mind,
so it is easier to recall. Lastly, the unconscious mind is repressed desires
and urges from the conscious mind. Freud claims that personality is structured
with three concepts of the mind that drives our behavior among the id, ego, and
superego. The id represents one’s biological and instinctual drive for food,
drink and sex. The id is present since birth, involving inherited behavior, and
impulsivity, it is a form of our unconscious mind. The id includes the pleasure
principle where pleasure is good and nothing can beat that (Chapter 3, 73). Second, the
ego consists of the true self where the individual is conscious of their own
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, while expressing and satisfying desires in
reality. Lastly, superego is subdivided into conscious and ego-ideal. Conscious
involves rules, morals, and restriction in society, as ego ideal is described
that good behavior will always be rewarded.
According to Freudian theory, Blair
Waldorf has a high ego for she is always conscious of what she does at times
she would say “I’m Audrey. I’m the lead role of my own life.” where she
envisions a life where she takes control. Freud loves Blair because this girl is constantly thinking of sex, repressed dreams, and always
striving to be the best, which is ego ideal. Blair is a creative and intelligent young woman who
aspires to get things right by accurately understanding and applying principles
to everyday interaction, which is resourceful when she has to start scheming. She is
an overly romantic individual where you can tell by seeing how she idealizes Audrey
Hepburn. When she thinks of schemes she is constantly thinking whom it could
hurt.
Freud mentions that the mind is unconscious
and we should understand that children who have high levels of anxiety are repressed which can motivate behavior. Freud mentioned the development of personality
is established during early childhood. There are five stages in the development
of personality such as the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital stage. The
oral stage is when the child is capable of putting anything they can reach into
their mouth, which can conclude a child enjoys eating, sucking, and swallowing. During the second year of life, the child is
introduced to the anal stage, children are toilet training. During the phallic
stage the child begins to feel pleasure and focus on their genitals developing
sexual desires towards their parent known as the Oedipus complex. The boys
desire their mother where they act jealous and develop hatred towards their
father. The latent stage is when an individual’s sexual desire is repressed and
they are focused on acquiring knowledge in the environment. Lastly, the genital stage
is forming of puberty resulting in sexual interest for the opposite sex and
love. In conclusion, Freud also believes that sex drives to certain behaviors. Freud theorizes major concepts and theory implications such as free
association, dream analysis, symbolism, repression, defensive processes, and
transference.
Sigmund Freud mentions Defense Mechanism,
operating unconscious thoughts that are unpleasant while replacing something good
to make the individual feel better. The defense mechanism allows an individual’s
thoughts, and desire roam free in their dreams. Blair is in constant denial; one
day Blair prepares for an interview instead of taking her call from the doctor
to give her the news if she is pregnant or not. Blair tells her maid Dorotoa to
hang up or she would tell the reporter that she is undocumented. According to Freud’s
defense mechanism, Blair is in denial and displacement. When Chuck Bass was
unable to proclaim his love to Blair by saying “I love you”, so Blair goes to
Prince Louis by convincing herself that she loves him not Chuck signifying projection
in Freud’s defense mechanism. Another example of projection is when Blair's Yale interview went bad, she projected her feeling of aggression towards her best friend Serena.
Freud mention’s regression as well where the
individual returns to their natural state. For example Blair strategizes schemes,
and tries to manipulate her way into Yale, but instead she went to NYU
university where she did not belong. She was having nightmares while she was in NYU where she did not fit
in, so Blair decided to go to Columbia University. Blair’s defense mechanism is
regression when something goes bad she always goes back to scheming by medaling, and plotting to get her way. We also look back at Freud’s dream analysis
theory.
Dreams can be important and deliver a
message in your unconscious mind. Sigmund Freud believed that we can take notes from an individual’s dream. Dreams unleash our desires which can be sexually
repressed desires, and the meaning is concealed rather than revealed (Dallett, 408-409). Sigmund Freud emphasizes how the unconscious mind needs and desires are based on what a person is lacking by gazing back at their
childhood. Freud mentions how one’s dream signifies meaning and true desire.
Blair Waldorf’s favorite show is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and portrays herself
as Audrey Hepburn, so one day she had a dream where she has nobody that loves
her, which signifies that she is scared of not having anyone and being forgotten.
All throughout her life, she was exposed to elite people giving her attention. Carl
Jung is a personality theorist who was one of Sigmund Freud’s followers in
psychoanalysis theory. Jung agrees that analyzing dreams can be a good thing to
understand the unconscious mind. Although, Jung doesn’t believe that all dreams
include sexual desires, but Jung’s idea is that dreams are symbolic imagery that
mean different things. Alfred Adler believed that a dream can signify an emotion regarding a problem that needs to be meet and solved (Dallett, 409).
Carl Jung personality theory was analytical
psychology including the dream analysis and human psyche. Jung saw the human
psyche as being divided into a conscious and unconscious mind. The unconscious is
subdivided into a personal and collective. Jung believes the personal unconscious consists of personal experience, repressed and painful views. Jung's personal unconscious is similar to Freud's assumption of the unconscious mind. The collective unconscious consists of characteristics that are biological in the form we were born with (Dallett, 412). Jung comes up with a term Archetype, which are images that give direction to behavioral thinking. Carl Jung viewed the unconscious as the ego’s
source of strength and vitality. Carl Jung has a mythical idea of personality which is positive and creative filled with images and symbols, where Freud had a biological idea of unconscious mind in
personality. Jung focused on mental and emotional such as the ego, persons, shadow,
animus, or anima. Carl Jung believes in symbolism through
art, dreams, and religion creating an attitude subdivided into extroversion and introversion.
Jung believed that the one's psyche is based on the outside world including
people. Blair's personality type is considered to be extroverted.
Jung had several disagreement with Freud’s
theory of sexuality motivating behavioral force. Jung believes that Freud’s
concept of the unconscious mind is limited and negative. Carl Jung believed the human psyche had three
parts as the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. In contrast to Freud's theory involved the conscious, preconscious, and subconscious. Freud
believed that the unconscious mind is our repressed thoughts of wishful thinking, drive of sex, and aggression from one's childhood. Jung believes that the ego is conscious and the unconscious is
not repressed. Jung argued that we are shaped based on our future and past,
where as Freud feels trapped in our past events.
Alfred Adler was one of Freud’s
followers, who also later added to his theory of psychodynamic. Adler is the founder of individual psychology ideas of organ inferiority and birth order. Adler believed
that all people are born with inferiority, a stimulant to healthy, normal striving, and development (Overholser, 352). Adler disagreed with Freud’s
concept of id, superego conflict, and his emphasis on sex. Adler believed that people have innate
positive motives, strive towards personal and social perfection. People are
focused on controlling their lives and fear plays a role in motivating behavior in a certain way. Adler’s theories and concept introduces the organ inferiority,
ordinal position, pampered, and rejected child. Adler believed that everyone has
an idea of a perfect self. Adler’s
theory is that everyone has feelings of inferiority, and a strive for superiority.
Adler believes that the individual and social interaction with others is important.
It is important on how the individual perceives themselves comparing one self
to others in strength, weakness, goals, and ego. Early childhood is important
to understand how to make their lives superior. Adler quotes “Everything grows as
if it were striving to overcome all imperfections and achieve completion” (Overholser,
351). In contrast with Freud’s theory, inferiority motivates a human mind to overcome
obstacles to maintain a perfect outlook. Adler
believes that there are three problems of life being sex and marriage, school
and occupation, and Family and social life. Blair has insecurities and secrets, but she acts superior. Blair is a leader who enjoys bossing people around to do her dirty work.
According to Alfred Adler, the urge
towards perfection motivates each of us. Adler would psychoanalysis Blair as a
perfectionist. Blair is constantly trying to put her self on the top of the
list whether it is school, friends, family, social life, or her love life. Blair
associates her self with people who are in a similar social status including her
friends and boyfriend. She is very
organized and tends to scheme, to accommodate perfection. She doesn’t like
messiness, so she constantly protects her friends and family from whatever
drama comes their way. Blair interned at the W Mag, which was a fashion
industry, she excelled in it by organizing events and striving her way to the
top. She accomplished many things by the help of her minions and her drive of
perfection. In conclusion, Blair is a leader and planner, who devotes her life
and time to succeed in making everything in her life perfect, especially being
the only child. During Blair's childhood, she experienced feeling of inferiority where she might have a need of superiority. Blair's parents are divorced which may have made her feel inferior. Blair tries to be perfect because she feel she is constantly competing with her mother and best friend Serena. She
tries to maintain a perfect outlook for herself through her group of friends
and fashion industry, which can symbolize her mother.
Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist, his theory was person-centered psychology of actualizing tendency. Rogers believed that an individual needs the social environment to grow, develop, direct towards autonomy (Joseph and Murphy, 29). There are three condition in the environment being unconditional positive regard as an acceptance, empathy as understanding of one's feelings, and congruence as genuine. Roger believed in fully functioning, who are able to self actualize of one's well being described as positive psychology (Joseph and Murphy, 34). Rogers was interested in positive psychology that people are essentially good, where they have the potential to grow into self actualization. Rogers disagrees with Freud and Jung claiming that people are rational, who are motivated through their conscious mind. Rogers rejects Freud's idea that our past memories influence our behaviors. Rogers believed in the self –actualization that everyone is capable of achieving their goals and desires. Self actualization relies on the environment. Blair Waldorf is constantly trying to maintain a positive self concept when it comes to society, peers and family. Blair values herself to be a very important figure to her society and peers. She loves her on again and off again boyfriend Chuck Bass where she can see a future together one day when they both become an important figure in society. Blair Waldorf is known for being mature for her age where she is constantly judging her surrounding, knowing the path she is heading to. She has potential to follow her dreams to go to Yale University, and pursue her career as a fashion designer. Throughout the show Blair also deals with the hardship of her bulimic problem, and the fact that her mother is never around when she needs her the most. She aspires to become the best that she can be.
Roger mentions self worth in positive regard based on Blair self worth depends on the people she surrounds herself with including inner circle of best friends, family, wealth, and minions that follow her around. Rogers mentions real self and ideal self in congruence, where the ideal self is the person you would like to become, where the real self is the person you are today. Rogers mentions two types of positive regard such as unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard when the parents interject their attitude, love, belief to the child of who they are. conditional regard where is worth and love is presented under certain conditions where the individual learn to evaluate (Joseph and and Murphy, 29). Blair Waldorf’s ideal self is trying to be like her mother Eleanor Waldorf, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn. Majority of the time she is congruent with her ideal and real self being able to reach self actualization. Blair is that type of girl who knows what she wants that goes and achieves it. Blair believes that she has amazing fashion sense where she idealizes Audrey Hepburn. She tries to maintain a positive outlook for herself through her group of friends, and fashion industry, which can symbolize her mother. She doesn’t like messiness, so she constantly protects her friends and family from whatever drama comes their way. Overall, Blair has self actualization.
All the theorists had strengths and limitations. Freud, Jung, Adler, and Rogers have similarities and differences in their theoretical assumption. Freud theory was psychoanalysis/psychosomatic where Jung and Adler added mire theories to Freud's ideas. We can see that these three theorist have similar, but Jung added his theory of analytical psychology and Adler added his theory of individual psychology. Freud’s strength was the unconscious mind and the development of early childhood. Childhood is important when it comes to developing an individual’s personality. Freud and Jung concur that every individual’s goal is to receive pleasure instead of pain. They also agree that there are specific reasons for certain actions based on psychic determinism. Adler’s theory concluded that every individual is unique with feelings of inferiority that drives an individual towards success. Adler agreed with Freud that childhood is important where he claims that one's drive for success comes from childhood inferiority, resulting in inferiority complex. Adler sought perfection, where Freud and Jung sought understanding of one's unconscious mind. Feud believed that in one's dream can portrays one's wish that needs to be fulfilled. From the understanding of Freud and Roger's theoretical assumption, Rogers believed that a client should be treated through unconditional positive regard, so they can can feel equal worth with who they socially interact. From the reading above we can see how each theorists are different. As can see, I compared all three theorist to Freud's theoretical assumption. I hope I made sense of it.
Roger mentions self worth in positive regard based on Blair self worth depends on the people she surrounds herself with including inner circle of best friends, family, wealth, and minions that follow her around. Rogers mentions real self and ideal self in congruence, where the ideal self is the person you would like to become, where the real self is the person you are today. Rogers mentions two types of positive regard such as unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard when the parents interject their attitude, love, belief to the child of who they are. conditional regard where is worth and love is presented under certain conditions where the individual learn to evaluate (Joseph and and Murphy, 29). Blair Waldorf’s ideal self is trying to be like her mother Eleanor Waldorf, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn. Majority of the time she is congruent with her ideal and real self being able to reach self actualization. Blair is that type of girl who knows what she wants that goes and achieves it. Blair believes that she has amazing fashion sense where she idealizes Audrey Hepburn. She tries to maintain a positive outlook for herself through her group of friends, and fashion industry, which can symbolize her mother. She doesn’t like messiness, so she constantly protects her friends and family from whatever drama comes their way. Overall, Blair has self actualization.
All the theorists had strengths and limitations. Freud, Jung, Adler, and Rogers have similarities and differences in their theoretical assumption. Freud theory was psychoanalysis/psychosomatic where Jung and Adler added mire theories to Freud's ideas. We can see that these three theorist have similar, but Jung added his theory of analytical psychology and Adler added his theory of individual psychology. Freud’s strength was the unconscious mind and the development of early childhood. Childhood is important when it comes to developing an individual’s personality. Freud and Jung concur that every individual’s goal is to receive pleasure instead of pain. They also agree that there are specific reasons for certain actions based on psychic determinism. Adler’s theory concluded that every individual is unique with feelings of inferiority that drives an individual towards success. Adler agreed with Freud that childhood is important where he claims that one's drive for success comes from childhood inferiority, resulting in inferiority complex. Adler sought perfection, where Freud and Jung sought understanding of one's unconscious mind. Feud believed that in one's dream can portrays one's wish that needs to be fulfilled. From the understanding of Freud and Roger's theoretical assumption, Rogers believed that a client should be treated through unconditional positive regard, so they can can feel equal worth with who they socially interact. From the reading above we can see how each theorists are different. As can see, I compared all three theorist to Freud's theoretical assumption. I hope I made sense of it.
References
Chapter 3 Psychoanalytic Theory: The Freudian Revolution, Dissen, and Revision
Dallett, J. (1973). Theories of dream function. Psychological Bulletin, 79(6), 408-416.
Chapter 3 Psychoanalytic Theory: The Freudian Revolution, Dissen, and Revision
Dallett, J. (1973). Theories of dream function. Psychological Bulletin, 79(6), 408-416.
doi:10.1037/h0034485
Joseph, S., & Murphy, D. (2013). Person-Centered Approach, Positive Psychology,
and Relational Helping: Building Bridges. Journal Of Humanistic Psychology,
53(1), 26-51. doi:10.1177/0022167812436426
McLeod, S. A. (2013). Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-
Freud.html
Overholser, J. C. (2010). Psychotherapy that strives to encourage social interest: A
Joseph, S., & Murphy, D. (2013). Person-Centered Approach, Positive Psychology,
and Relational Helping: Building Bridges. Journal Of Humanistic Psychology,
53(1), 26-51. doi:10.1177/0022167812436426
McLeod, S. A. (2013). Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-
Freud.html
Overholser, J. C. (2010). Psychotherapy that strives to encourage social interest: A
simulated interview with Alfred Adler. Journal Of Psychotherapy Integration,
20(4), 347-363. doi:10.1037/a0022033
