Psychodynamic Approaches To Personality Analysis

An individual’s personality is what makes them unique from others. In psychology, there is no one consistent meaning for the term personality. Instead, there are multiple different approaches that psychologists have developed in order to understand personality more accurately (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2011, p. 166). The cognitive perspective and the psychodynamic perspective are two approaches that attempt to connect personality and development. In Terkel (2013), two oral histories that can be linked to the personality approaches can be found in chapter thirteen pages 265-273 and chapter eight pages 161-167. Through the oral histories of Quentin Young, M.D. and Uta Hegan, the cognitive perspective and the psychodynamic perspective, respectively,

180). Quentin Young, M.D., describes himself as youthful and enthusiastic when he first began practicing. Not only did he delight in his role as a doctor, but he found himself excited to educate his patients with the knowledge that he had obtained throughout his many years of school (Terkel, 2013, p. 271). As a young doctor, Dr. Young’s view of himself was extremely hopeful and positive and reflected his desire to become an outstanding caregiver. This relates to the positive selves theory because his motivation to achieve a hoped-for self, i.e., a great doctor, shaped his development throughout his adult life. For example, when at a crossroads to choose whether to specialize in medicine or to stay in general medicine, Dr. Young chose to stay a general doctor, even though it was becoming extremely popular to specialize (Terkel, 2013, p. 268). This example illustrates one of the decisions Dr. Young was forced to make in order to reach his hoped-for self. At the time of publication, Dr. Young was 70 years old. He indicates that although he has had many rewarding experiences in life, not one of them compares to caring for patients (Terkel, 2013, p. 265). This statement confirms that Dr. Young achieved his hoped-for self, setting his expectations high and achieving

The main idea behind this approach is to understand how the ego can adapt to exterior influences while maintaining interior desires (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2011, p. 168). Actress Uta Hegan grew up in the arts and has always had a passion for theatre (Terkel, 2013, p. 161). Uta’s ego has played a central role in directing her behavior. Through her work in theatre, she has maintained a positive self-esteem and sense of self-worth despite being told that acting for a living is not considered working (Terkel, 2013, p. 163). She was able to adapt to exterior influences by maintaining an enthusiastic attitude, while managing her interior desires of succeeding as an actress. In addition, Uta has continued to experience personality development throughout her adult life. One example she refers to is that over a five-year period, she changed her attitude about those younger than her. She originally thought of the younger generation as lazy and slob-like, however, teaching them in a classroom setting helped to change her mind (Terkel, 2013, p. 167). Being 75 years old at the time of publication, Uta is ideal example of an individual who has continued to develop throughout her adult life, while maintaining a solid sense of