Psychodynamic Approach To Personality Analysis

Introduction

What makes us who we are? What drives our personality? There is a varied diversity of people in this world and there is also a variation of personality theories explaining the “What makes us, Us.”

Personality theories aim to explain how people are inclined to think, feel and behave and what causes and influences these behaviours. Simply put, why one acts in the way one does.

Having the unique personality that I do, I found it challenging to focus on only one specific approach to identifying my personality however this essay will be discussed from a humanistic perspective and based on only one theorists approach. The theorist I most associate my personality with is Carl Rogers Person-Centred approach to personality theory, in most

It looks at human behaviour through the lens of an observer as well as the behaver. Humanism centres on the view that every individual is unique, has the free will and potential to change at any time in life and they are each responsible for their own happiness and well-being. Thus, seeing individuals as naturally striving to be creative and happy rather than being mediocre and conventional. It is also centred around that we are all born with the innate capacity for self-actualisation which is our unique desire to achieve our highest potential. (Weiten,

As I have chosen Rogers approach I have found that his research has explored the conditions that encourage positive developments of the self and increase movement on the way to self-actualization. His approach is more future focussed meaning what and who the person can become rather than what the person has been. For Rogers, “the most important aspect of personality is the congruence between various aspects of the self and congruence between the real self and the ideal self.” (Stewart,