Analysis of Personality Theories

Summary

Personality theories are a set of hypotheses or assumptions about the nature and mechanisms of personality development. They try not only to explain but also to predict human behavior, defining patterns of behavior that are characteristic of a specific type of personality. This paper analyzes the individual psychology of Alfred Adler and analytic psychology by Carl Jung. Even though these are two different theories, at the same time, they have some similarities.

Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler

The basis of Alfred Adler’s theory is that a person cannot be separated from society. Therefore, his personality theory considers how the individual reacts to “the problems of the outside world” (Adler, 2019, p.185). A person is a member of society; therefore, the essence of their nature can only be understood through an understanding of social relations. However, individual psychology also considers unique characteristics and the “natural strengths and weaknesses” of each individual (Farsi, 2022, p.2). Although human behavior is determined by interaction with other people in many aspects, it is also determined by their personal subjective beliefs. Moreover, since childhood, each individual feels helpless and inferior, which forms the basis for the further struggle of a person for primacy, for achieving superiority over others.

In addition, Adler claimed that school primarily influences a child’s personality formation. However, Bluvshtein (2020), analyzing Adler’s theory, notes that the psychologist, for the most part, did not focus on the educational process but on the child’s social interaction with other children at school. Moreover, according to individual psychology, a person is constantly developing self-improvement and development. People independently plan and manage their lives depending on the goals they set for themselves. By achieving the set goals, a person increases their self-esteem and thus finds their place in life.

Jungian Analytic Psychology

According to Jung’s theory, each individual’s personality consists of the ego, personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The ego is the central part of the personality, which includes thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories (O’Brien, 2020). This part determines a person’s self-identification and rational perception of the world and other people. Another component of personality is the personal unconscious, which consists of information repressed from the person’s consciousness (Diamond, 2021). For the most part, these are traumatic situations that consciousness preferred to forget but which influenced the formation of an individual’s personality.

Even though, for the most part, Jung focuses on the personal experiences of a person, analytic psychology also takes into account the social aspect. According to Odde and Vestergaard (2021), individual and social aspects must be analyzed to the same extent to present a personality theory fully. In addition, certain archetypes, or collective unconscious, are embedded in each individual’s personality. These archetypes are responsible for people’s instinctive behavior and for their perception of the world through basic ideas that are approximately the same in different cultures but are not directly related to each other (Sorge, 2020). Thanks to this, it is possible to explain the similar behavior of individuals with different life experiences in similar situations.

Discussion

Thus, Alfred Adler’s theory of personality is inextricably linked with the existence of a person in society, while the analytic psychology of Carl Jung focuses on the personal experience and experiences of a person. According to Adler, personality formation cannot occur in isolation from society due to interaction with other people. On the other hand, Jung notes that a personality consists of his thoughts, feelings, and how the individual reacts to events in life. However, in Jung’s theory, the social aspect is also essential since it affects the formation of the unconscious part of the personality.

References

Adler, A. (2019). The fundamental views of individual psychology. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 75(3), 185-187. Web.

Bluvshtein, M. (2020). Individual Psychology as a” Living Force of Progress”. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 76(1), 6-20. Web.

Diamond, S. A. (2021). Existential therapy and Jungian analysis: Toward an existential depth psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 61(5), 665-720. Web.

Farsi, I. (2022). The Basic Principles of Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology. The Review of Contemporary Scientific and Academic Studies, 2(7), 1-5. Web.

O’Brien, N. (2020). Fundamental concepts of analytical psychology. In N. O’Brien & J. O’Brien (Eds.), The Professional Practice of Jungian Coaching (pp. 27-43). Routledge.

Odde, D., & Vestergaard, A. (2021). A preliminary sketch of a Jungian socioanalysis–an emerging theory combining analytical psychology, complexity theories, sociological theories, socio‐and psycho‐analysis, group analysis and affect theories 1. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 66(2), 301-322. Web.

Sorge, G. V. (2020). The construct of the ‘mana personality’ in Jung’s works: a historic‐hermeneutic perspective. Part I. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 65(2), 366-388. Web.