Editing Personality psychology (section)

=== Psychoanalytical theories ===

[[Psychoanalysis|Psychoanalytic]] theories explain human behavior in terms of the interaction of various components of personality. [[Sigmund Freud]] was the founder of this school of thought. He drew on the physics of his day (thermodynamics) to coin the term [[psychodynamics]]. Based on the idea of converting heat into mechanical energy, Freud proposed psychic energy could be converted into behavior. His theory places central importance on dynamic, unconscious psychological conflicts.<ref name=Kahn>{{cite book|last=Kahn|first=Michael|title=Basic Freud : psychoanalytic thought for the twenty first century|year=2002|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=9780465037162|edition=1. paperback}}</ref>

Freud divides human personality into three significant components: the [[id, ego and super-ego]]. The '''id''' acts according to the ''pleasure principle'', demanding immediate gratification of its needs regardless of external environment; the '''ego''' then must emerge in order to realistically meet the wishes and demands of the id in accordance with the outside world, adhering to the ''reality principle''. Finally, the '''superego''' (conscience) inculcates moral judgment and societal rules upon the ego, thus forcing the demands of the id to be met not only realistically but morally. The superego is the last function of the personality to develop, and is the embodiment of parental/social ideals established during childhood. According to Freud, personality is based on the dynamic interactions of these three components.<ref name="Carver">Carver, C., & Scheier, M. (2004). ''Perspectives on Personality'' (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Spielman |first1=Rose M. |title=Psychology 2e |last2=Jenkins |first2=William J. |last3=Lovett |first3=Marilyn D. |publisher=Open Stax |year=2020 |edition=}}</ref>

The channeling and release of sexual (libidal) and aggressive energies, which ensues from the "Eros" (sex; instinctual self-preservation) and "Thanatos" (death; instinctual self-annihilation) drives respectively, are major components of his theory.<ref name="Carver" /> Freud's broad understanding of sexuality included all kinds of pleasurable feelings experienced by the human body.

Freud proposed five psychosexual stages of personality development. He believed adult personality is dependent upon early childhood experiences and largely determined by age five.<ref name="Carver" /> Fixations that develop during the infantile stage contribute to adult personality and behavior.<ref name=":1" />

One of Sigmund Freud's earlier associates, [[Alfred Adler]], agreed with Freud that early childhood experiences are important to development, and believed birth order may influence personality development. Adler believed that the oldest child was the individual who would set high achievement goals in order to gain attention lost when the younger siblings were born. He believed the middle children were competitive and ambitious. He reasoned that this behavior was motivated by the idea of surpassing the firstborn's achievements. He added, however, that the middle children were often not as concerned about the glory attributed to their behavior. He also believed the youngest would be more dependent and sociable. Adler finished by surmising that an only child loves being the center of attention and matures quickly but in the end fails to become independent.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carlson |first1=Jon |url=https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/Alderian-Psychotherapy-Intro-Sample.pdf |title=Adlerian Psychotherapy |last2=Englar-Carlson |first2=Matt |publisher=American Psychological Association |date=January 2017 |isbn=978-1-4338-2659-7 |pages=1–9}}</ref>

[[Heinz Kohut]] thought similarly to Freud's idea of transference. He used [[narcissism]] as a model of how people develop their sense of self. Narcissism is the exaggerated sense of self in which one is believed to exist in order to protect one's low self-esteem and sense of worthlessness. Kohut had a significant impact on the field by extending Freud's theory of narcissism and introducing what he called the 'self-object transferences' of mirroring and idealization. In other words, children need to idealize and emotionally "sink into" and identify with the idealized competence of admired figures such as parents or older siblings. They also need to have their self-worth mirrored by these people. Such experiences allow them to thereby learn the self-soothing and other skills that are necessary for the development of a healthy sense of self.

Another important figure in the world of personality theory is [[Karen Horney]]. She is credited with the development of "Feminist Psychology". She disagrees with Freud on some key points, one being that women's personalities are not just a function of "Penis Envy", but that girl children have separate and different psychic lives unrelated to how they feel about their fathers or primary male role models. She talks about three basic Neurotic needs "Basic [[Anxiety]]", "Basic Hostility" and "Basic Evil". She posits that to any anxiety an individual experiences they would have one of three approaches, moving toward people, moving away from people or moving against people. It is these three that give us varying personality types and characteristics. She also places a high premium on concepts like Overvaluation of Love and romantic partners.