The psychodynamics of personality pathology

The psychodynamics of personality pathology

1. Imagine that you are a teacher. Define the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and use them to describe how you would encourage students to learn lecture and text material.

Intrinsic motivation refers to the personal interest in the pursuance of a particular topic, “learning for masteries’ sake.” Such persons find a specific subject enjoyable, and they learn it because of their natural desire to achieve a mastery of it. On the other hand, extrinsic motivations refer to the desire to pursue a subject for reasons not personal to the individual, such as approval from instructors and parents, grades, and rewards (Noels et al., 25). These persons learn particular materials not out of their desire but because it will lead to good grades, well-paying jobs in such a field, or praise from parents– all these are external rewards.

Thus, to encourage students to learn lecture and text material, I would establish a student-centered classroom. Students who take part in their learning will be more intrinsically motivated. Learning should be an active activity where students have an opinion on the course. I would also focus my students on aiming at mastery rather than performance. Students motivated by mastery will apply effort in their learning. I would put more emphasis on the intrinsic learning rewards rather than performance rewards. Additionally, I would guide students through high but realistic expectations (Mills and Blankstein, 1997). Challenges should be high enough to motivate and challenge the students to do their best, yet not too high that student feels the goals are unattainable.

2. Contrast the James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories of emotion, including the research that supports or refutes each position, using joy/happiness to illustrate your answer. Describe how Schachter’s two-factor theory combines elements from each of these theories.

James-Lange Theory of emotion states that emotions stem from physiological arousal. It relates to the sympathetic nervous system regarding human flight or fight response when under threat. Supposing one comes across a venomous snake in the woods; the sympathetic nervous system would begin significant physiological arousal, which would cause the heart to race increased heartbeat rate. Fear is only experienced after such physiological arousal. On the other hand, the Cannon-Bard theory was based on the idea that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur at the same time yet independently. Thus, when one sees a venomous snake, one feels fear, and the body resorts to flight or fight response at the same time (Friedman, 387-389). Even though the emotional and physiological reaction co-occur, they take place independently of each other.

According to James-Lange theory, emotional experience only arises after physiological responses; however, critics point out that even individuals with paralysis of the muscle and lack sensation are still able to feel emotions such as joy. Critics of Cannon-Bard state that the theory overemphasizes the idea that responses from the body do not determine emotions as research has discovered otherwise.

Schachter-Singer’s theory integrates elements from both the James-Lange theory and Cannon-Bard theories. It suggests that physiological reactions usually occur first but can be the same for different feelings. This is also known as the two-factor theory. Just as James-Lange theory, it suggests that physical sensation have to be experienced first before being identified as a particular emotion (Dror 14-16).

3. Compare and contrast a psychodynamic perspective of personality from that of a humanistic perspective. For each theory, illustrate three main principles and two primary figures and how they were important to each.

Sigmund Freud is the founding father of the psychodynamic perspective. He believed that behavior was a function of unconscious thoughts, desires, and impulses, particularly regarding aggression and sex. He aimed at the resolution of internal conflict, thus end human emotional suffering. Freud stated that “patients could only expect to change their hysterical misery into common unhappiness.” Other contributors to psychodynamic thought include Erick Erickson and Alfred Alder (Bornstein, 340-342). In contrast, the humanistic perspective seeks to understand how people view themselves and how they experience the world. The major contributors to humanistic thought include Otto Rank, Carl Rogers, and Abraham Maslow. Humanists seek to understand the subjective needs of humans. They believe that conscious feeling and thought shape behavior (Waterman, 124-126).

Psychodynamics and humanists differ in their perception of personality.

The psychodynamic view of personality is relatively pessimistic, while the humanistic view puts a positive portrayal of human personality. Psychodynamics believe that behavior is determined while humanists believed that behavior is a result of free will and choice. Human motives are based on aggression and sex according to psychodynamics, while humanists believe that individuals are motivated towards the achievement of self-actualization. Freudian view of human development is rooted in psychosexual stages. At the same time, humanists describe human development as a continuous self-image development where experiences curve out self-image in either a positive or a negative way. The two perspectives also differ in their therapeutic techniques; in psychodynamic, the therapists take an authoritative position determining the direction of conversation while in the humanistic approach, the therapists listen objectively to what the patient has to say, the patient is allowed to talk freely.

4. Describe the five-factor model of personality traits. How was the theory developed? What has research revealed about personality traits?

The five-factor model of personality trait is a model of personality divided into five traits: extraversion, openness, agreeableness, contentiousness, and neuroticism. These traits are understood as thought patterns, behaviors, and feelings that are enduring across the lifespan of an individual (Judge et al., 531).

It was developed in the 198os and 90s based lexical hypothesis, suggesting that the basic elements of human behavior have been encoded in language over the years. The lexical hypothesis suggests that the responsibility of personality psychologists is to select essential personality traits from thousands of adjectives in language that differentiate people according to their behavioral traits. The lexical hypothesis began in 1930 as a multiple factor examination, and within the same decade, an empirical means was developed to select the verbal description. Several psychologists agreed that the five-factor approach displayed the most successful impact out of these approaches (Judge et al., 532-533).

Research has validated the five-factor model. First, the five factors have subsequently emerged from an examination of factors performed on several sets of data encompassed of descriptive trait terms from several languages such as English, German, and Chinese. Second, studies from twin and absorption have discovered an extreme component of genetics related to the five-factor model. Third, the five-factor approach has generally been applied across the lifespan of humans. For instance, children have been found to use the five factors when describing themselves and other persons (Chiaburu et al., 1156-57).

5. Describe the characteristics and causes of
6. Antisocial personality disorders

Antisocial personality disorder illustrates an inherent behavioral pattern where individuals continuously violate and disregard the rights of others around them. It is a deviation from the expectations of an individual’s cultural norms. It has its onset in early adulthood or adolescence, becomes stable over time, and leads to personal impairment or distress. The symptoms differ in severity, where dangerous or harmful behavior is referred to as psychopathic or sociopathic. Limitations characterize sociopathy on an individual’s conscience (Brown et al., 382. Psychopathy, on the other hand, is the complete absence of regard to other people. These individuals are characterized by impulsiveness, lack of remorse, deceitfulness and aggressive behaviors

The exact causes of this disorder remain unknown; however, it is assumed that both genetic and environmental factors have an influence. Antisocial behavior is displayed mostly among individuals with parents who also exhibit antisocial behavior. Environment through socialization by a role model will lead to an individual developing antisocial behaviors

1. Borderline personality disorders

A borderline personality disorder is an illness marked by an ongoing pattern of differing moods, behavior, and self-image. Persons with the illness experience episodes of anxiety, anger, and depression that may last for a few hours to days. This illness is characterized by self-harming behavior such as cutting, extreme feelings of emptiness, problems with anger control, and recurring suicidal behavior.

Just like an antisocial personality disorder, research has not identified the exact cause of borderline personality disorder; however, environmental, genetic, and social variables may be the contributing factors. People with close family members with the illness are at a higher risk of developing the disease. Most of the individuals with the illness have reported a past incidence of a traumatic event such as childhood adversity, abuse, or abandonment (Paris, 421-425).

Works Cited

Bornstein, Robert F. “A Freudian construct lost and reclaimed: The psychodynamics of personality pathology.” Psychoanalytic Psychology 23.2 (2006): 339-353

Brown, Darcy, et al. “Clozapine: an effective treatment for serious violent and psychopathic men with antisocial personality disorder in a UK high-security hospital.” CNS spectrums 19.5 (2014): 391-402.

Chiaburu, Dan S., et al. “The five-factor model of personality traits and organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis.” Journal of applied psychology 96.6 (2011): 1140-1166

Dror, Otniel E. “The Cannon-Bard thalamic theory of emotions: A brief genealogy and reappraisal.” Emotion Review 6.1 (2014): 13-20.

Friedman, Bruce H. “Feelings and the body: The Jamesian perspective on autonomic specificity of emotion.” Biological psychology 84.3 (2010): 383-393.

Judge, Timothy A., Daniel Heller, and Michael K. Mount. “Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis.” Journal of applied psychology 87.3 (2002): 530-541

Mills, Jennifer S., and Kirk R. Blankstein. “Perfectionism, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, and motivated strategies for learning: A multidimensional analysis of university students.” Personality and individual differences 29.6 (2000): 1191-1204.

Noels, Kimberly A., Richard Clément, and Luc G. Pelletier. “Perceptions of teachers’ communicative style and students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.” The Modern Language Journal 83.1 (1999): 23-34.

Paris, Joel. “Clinical features of borderline personality disorder.” Handbook of Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment 2 (2018): 419-450

Waterman, Alan S. “The humanistic psychology–positive psychology divide: Contrasts in philosophical foundations.” American Psychologist 68.3 (2013): 124-133