The Changing Nature of Personality

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the approach of five theorists Piaget, Kohlberg, Freud, Erikson and Bandura on the topic of psychological development. It shows how Piaget focuses on the cognitive, Kohlberg on the moral, Freud on the subconscious, Erikson on the conflicts and Bandura on the social aspects. It looks at how in each case, the theories show that an individual's beliefs, thoughts and behaviors are not static but are constantly changing over the lifespan. It discusses how Piaget, Kohlberg and Erikson all describe how an individual's personality differs, based on the stage of their development and how Freud and Bandura both offer theories that are based on individuals constantly changing based on their interactions with society.

From the Paper:

"The next theorist who will be considered is Freud, whose theories are based more on the development of the subconscious. Freud believed that individuals are born with a common set of drives, he called the id (Seamon & Kenrick 1994, p. 421). These are the selfish desires and include the drive for self-preservation and reproduction. Later in childhood, an individual develops an ego, which works to control the id. As Seamon and Kenrick (1994, p. 421) explain, "the ego operates on the reality principle, seeking optimal compromises between the demands of biology and those of the real world." The next development, which occurs around age five, is the development of the superego. This superego is an internal value system that tells an individual what is considered right or wrong. According to Freud, these components form the subconscious."

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