Introduction
‘Personality is what is intuitively meaningful to everyone. It is the whole integrated pattern of behaviour which distinguishes one man from another as uniquely as fingerprints and as distinctively as photographs’ (Richard S. Lazarus and Edward M. Opton Jr, (1967), p.9). In this essay I will critically evaluate the psychoanalytical theory of personality. I will use Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theory of personality as my main theory in which I will critically evaluate. I will explain his theory and state its benefits and also why it is criticised. I will also state the relevance of the psychoanalytical theory in nursing practice today. I am going to mention the work of other theorists throughout this essay. I will be using Gibbs cycle as my main framework throughout this essay.
The psychoanalytical theory of personality
It is clear that there is much analytical research on the theory of personality. And as stated by (Lazarus and Opton Jr. 1967, p.15), ‘just as two artists can paint two different, yet truly expressive portraits of the same man, so the descriptions of a man’s personality will be different, yet not inconsistent, when seen in the light of different theories of personality’. I will refer to some theorists within this essay but it is Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theory of personality, which fills 24 volumes, that I will critically evaluate. Freud’s theory developed from his personal experiences in dealing with emotionally troubled people.
Just as Carl Jung has his two model types, The romantic personality and the classic personality, in which he uses to analyse personalities. Sigmund Freud compares personality and the human mind to an ‘ice-berg’ type model. Within this ‘iceberg’ model there is three major systems, the id, the ego and the superego. These three systems, although have separate functions, come together to control our behaviour according to Freud’s theory.
The id system is considered the main source of personality