Mental Health Theories of Personality Development

RUNNING Head: Psychology 1
Psychology: Mental Health
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Psychology: Mental Health
Theories of Personality Development
To explain human being, several personality theories have been developed. Many
theories of personality development explained human nature in their way. Some of these
theorists and their theoretical explanation are as below.
Psychoanalysis. The very first theory that is developed by the Sigmund Freud is known
as the psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory stressed the significance of the unconscious
mind to resolve hidden conflicts. In our society, this theory has a tremendous influence
concerning assessment and management perspective. Freud presented his psychoanalytical
theory on the idea of the unconscious mind (De Giorgio et al., 2015). According to Freud, mental
issues can be resolved by resolving the conflict of the unconscious mind. Psychoanalysis theory
explained that personality characteristics are most of the time is the reflection of the contents of
the unconscious part of the mind.
Psychosocial. Erik Erikson proposed the psychosocial theory of personality. He
explained the psychosocial theory is developed on the ego identity concept of a person (Zhang et
al., 2019). Erik Erikson worked on the psychosocial development of the personality, and he
explained eight stages from the infancy to adulthood. Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. shame
and doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Initiative, Identity vs. Confusion, Intimacy vs.
Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation are all the seven stages that are explained in the theory of
Erik Erikson. During each psychosocial stage of Erik Erikson, a person can also experience a
psychosocial crisis that can be positive and negative in its outcome(Lewis, & Wolberg, 2013).
Behavioural. B.F. Skinner first explained the behavioural nature of the person and
explained that the personality of the person is all depended on the environmental learning of

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things. These experience are most of the time related to the people with which they are
connected, reinforcement and some other laws that influence human nature (De Giorgio et al.,
2015). He explained many concepts that a person can learn from his/her environment. He
explained that children could learn from their environment by modelling in which children do the
same things as their adults do (Zhang et al., 2019). Reinforcement, punishment, imitation are all
come under the umbrella of the behaviour therapy in which behaviour therapist explained that
every person could learn from their environment through experience (Yalom, & Leszez, 2012).
Cognitive. Piaget proposed the cognitive theory of the development and explained that
all children have to go through these developmental changes for their cognitive development that
are sensorimotor, preoperational, and formal operational stages of development. Regardless of
cultural, environmental changes of the children, all children have to move through these
developmental changes that are a conscious process of the children. The sensorimotor stage is
the first stage of cognitive development in which the child learns through his senses by his
sensory activities. Preoperational stage followed by the sensorimotor stage. In the preoperational
stage, the symbolic ability is developed in which children able to animate the symbol with the
resemblance to the original symbols. The concrete operational stage is followed by the
preoperational stage that described the children are able to have concert things and able to
understand complex problems and concepts.
(Zhang et al., 2019).
Medical. The human developmental process also explained by the applications of the
medical knowledge that comes under the medical theory of human development. Under the
medical theories, causes of diseases explained in both levels general as well as the individual
level (Bergen et al., 2019). Medical researchers and physicians are both working under the

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medical theory in which one work on the causes of disease and other work on the identify
symptoms of a specific disease (Lewis, & Wolberg, 2013).
Humanistic model and approach. An American psychologist Abraham Maslow
presented a theory of personality that is called the humanistic psychology or humanism. Maslow
argues against the analytical approach of the personality because it depends on the abnormal
behaviour of a person. In this developmental theory, most of the time explained the normal and
healthy perspective of the personality (Lewis, & Wolberg, 2013). Maslow gives the concept of
the hierarchy of need in which he explained the human needs from the basic level to the highest
level of self-actualization of a person (McFarlane, 2016).
2- Diagnostic criteria according to the five axes of the DSM V on a client having mental
health problems or difficulty. When a person having mental illness psychiatric uses a manual
to diagnose the mental illness according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders-DSM V. The diagnosis under the five axial system is described as under (Yalom, &
Leszez, 2012). All the mental disorders will come under the axis I except personality and mental
retardation. Axis II explained all the personality disorders and mental retardation while in Axis
III, all medical conditions that are related to the physiology of the person will be included. When
a person has a mental disorder, he/she is facing a number of psychosocial problems that come
under Axis IV while under the Axis V Global Assessment of the functioning of the person. What
will be the treatment plan globally, the therapist using comes under the global assessment
(Lewis, & Wolberg, 2013)?
3. Concepts of Mental Health, Mental Illness
A person’s emotional, cognitive and behavioural state comes under the description of the
mental health. Mental health is described as the absence of mental illness. Mental illness is