Theories of Personality and Lifespan Development: Freud, Eysenck, Bowlby, and Kohlberg

This report discusses four theories related to personality and lifespan development, including Freud's Theory of Personality, Eysenck's Theory of Personality, Bowlby's theory of attachment, and Kohlberg's theory of moral development. The report provides a description of each theory, an evaluation, and relevant research.

Running Head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology

PSYCHOLOGY 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Freud’s Theory of Personality.........................................................................................................2
Description of Theory..................................................................................................................2
Evaluation....................................................................................................................................3
Eysenck’s Theory of Personality.....................................................................................................4
Description of Theory..................................................................................................................4
Evaluation....................................................................................................................................4
Bowlby’s theory of attachment........................................................................................................5
Description of Theory..................................................................................................................5
Evaluation....................................................................................................................................6
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development........................................................................................6
Evaluation....................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Psychology can be defined as the science of mind and behavior, including unconscious and
conscious phenomena, as well a thought and feeling. Individual differences are chronic
tendencies or psychological traits that convey internal causality, a sense of consistency and
personal distinctiveness. There are a number of theories which are based on these human
differences. On the other hand, life- span development theory provides a framework for
understanding the ageing in humans. This report focuses on two individual differences theories
(Freud’s Theory of Personality and Eysenck’s Theory of Personality) and two lifespan
development theories (Bowlby’s theory of attachment and Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development) along with their evaluation with two pieces of research.
Freud’s Theory of Personality
Description of Theory
The Freud's theory of personality contain three elements namely the id, the ego and the superego.
All these elements work together for the purpose of creating complex human behaviors. Each of
these components is responsible for adding its unique contribution to personality along with
interacting in a way such that it has a powerful influence on every individual. However, the
emergence of these three elements takes place at different points in the life of an individual.
According to Frued’s theory, there are specific aspects of the personality that are more primal
and therefore pressurize an individual for acting upon the most basic urges. The remaining parts
of the personality work for counteracting these urges and striving themselves for conforming to
the demands of the reality (Schultz and Schultz, 2016).
The Id- This is the one and only element of personality which exists in an individual right from
the birth. However, this aspect is completely unconscious and includes the primitive and
instinctive behaviors. The id has been regarded as the source of all psychic energy by Frued
which, in turn, makes it a primary component of personality. The driving factor of id is pleasure
principle, which struggles for immediate satisfaction of all wants, desires and needs (LeVine,
2018).

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The Ego- This component of personality performs the function of dealing with the reality.
According to Frued, the id is responsible for the development of the ego, which ensures that
expression of the instincts of id can be done in a mode which is suitable in the real world. The
functioning of ego takes place in preconscious, conscious and unconscious mind.
The Superego- The superego is the last component of personality and is that aspect which holds
all the internalized moral ideals and standards which are acquired by the individuals from both
society and parents. In other words, it is the sense of right and wrong. Guidelines are provided by
the superego for the purpose of making judgments. Furthermore, the emergence of superego
takes place around the age of five (Ewen and Ewen, 2014).
Evaluation
The evaluation of the Freud’s Theory of Personality provides that the personality of an adult
comprises of entire childhood experiences and is based on the manner in which these experiences
have been unconsciously and consciously processed within the human developmental stages. The
necessary tasks of every developmental stage are not completed by each person. This can be the
result of the mental condition which requires psychoanalysis for the achievement of proper
functioning. The id is placed in the forefront decision making due to a number of mental
illnesses. According to the theory, the neurotic person is mostly affected as a result of the
principles of the theory. The personality structures proposed by Freud are assumed to be in
constant conflict with each other. Many of the concepts adopted by Freud are without any
scientific support, environmental and social influence (Willmott, Ryan, Sherretts, Woodfield and
McDermott, 2018).
The criticism of the theory is based around the fact that the Freud formulated the theory of
personality development on the study of abnormal individuals. Since the theory is not scientific,
it is often regarded as unreliable by the critics. However, the theory can be regarded as strong as
it takes into account various aspects of human behavior and is therefore universally applicable.
Freud’s theory of personality development has sparked and endured much further research into
the personality development area. This research and ideas are often used by the feminists for
gender development. Freud’s theory provides that when the social standards are incorporated
within an individual, it is experienced in the form of conscience. This is the point of time which
shapes the personality of an individual. Moreover, during the entire lifespan of the individual, no

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other psychological structures emerge. Until death, these three structures will regulate the
psychological life. (Abu- Raiya, 2014)
Eysenck’s Theory of Personality
Description of Theory
Eysenck’s theory of personality is grounded on the basis of biological factors and argues that a
type of nervous system is inherited by the individuals due to which their learning and adaptation
to the environment abilities is affected. According to Eysenck, people have two particular
personality dimensions namely extroversion vs. introversion and neuroticism vs stability. Later
on, a third dimension was supplemented in the model namely psychoticism vs. socialization.
This theory provides that people with high extroversion are friendly and are ready to associate
with others, on the other hand, people with high introversion always engage in solitary behaviors
and have a high need to be alone and therefore, limit their communications with others (Eysenck,
2017).
In the neuroticism/ stability dimension, individuals with high neuroticism have a sympathetic
nervous system and are more anxious and therefore their emotive state and bodies lean towards a
flight-or-fight reaction. On the other hand, people with high stability, requires more stimulation
for activating their flight-or-fight reactions which, in turn, makes them more emotionally stable
(Eysenck, 2017).
In the psychoticism/ socialization dimension, individuals with high psychoticism are impulsive,
cold, autonomous thinkers, antisocial, unconventional and unreceptive. On the other hand,
people with high socialization are expected to have high instinct control and therefore they are
empathetic, selfless, conventional and supportive (Eysenck, 2017).
Evaluation
This theory suffers from certain weaknesses in respect of the research and measurement.
Eysenck pointed out that diverse system of cortical arousal are activated in diverse people. In
other words, there is no certainty regarding which arousal system will be activated in a specific
individual at a specific point of time. Another arsea of uncertainty is associated with the
attribution of connectedness while trying to recognize the reasons behind the response of

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particular person under given conditions. The assumptions made under Eysenck’s personality
theory are similar to Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory. The theory was capable of inspiring
several generations of researchers but has certain limitations as well. These limitations are on
account of cognitive processing and individual differences in performance which are linked with
personality traits. The specific areas of concern are complex processing handling, neglected
adaptive significance of traits, etc. (Matthews, 2016).The theory is heavily based on learning
theory methodology and concepts. There was lack of exposure to patients and lack of clinical
experience which, in turn, made him result in conclusions that are out of the clinical reality. This
can be explained in the form of an over simplistic view regarding the connection between
psychological disorders and personality (Claridge, 2016).
Bowlby’s theory of attachment
Description of Theory
The Bowlby’s theory of attachment emphasizes on the significance of a safe and unquestioning
bond between a mother and an infant on the well- being and development. Attachment can be
defined as the long lasting psychological association with a important individual that results in
pleasure while networking at the time of stress. The attachment theory recognized the emotional
tie of an infant to the caregiver as a reaction that supports endurance. This idea was applied in
the context of infant- caregiver bond. The theory does not consider feeding as the origin for
attachment. The dominant theme of the theory is that that the mothers who are responsive and
available for the needs of their infants are able to form a feeling of security in their children. In
other words, the attachment must act in the form of a foundation of being capable of forming
other secure relationships. The infants are aware about the fact that the caregiver is reliable
which, in turn, generates a protected base for the child for exploring the globe. The equipped
behaviors of babies are cooing, crying, babbling and smiling for the purpose of ensuring the
adult attention. Moreover, the adults are also biologically programmed for responding to infant
signals. The four phases of attachment according to the theory are pre- attachment phase (from
birth to 6 weeks), “attachment of making” phase (6 weeks – 6 to 8 months), “clear cut”
attachment phase (6-8 Months to 18 Months-2 Years) and formation of reciprocal relationship
phase (18 Months – 2 Years and on). The different styles of attachment are avoidant attachment,

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secure attachment, disorganized/ disoriented attachment and resistant attachment (Holmes,
2014).
Evaluation
The attachment theory of Bowlby is based on enormous body of research along with some
conceptual elaborations. The theory provides that many adaptive advantages are provided by the
adaptive security during every stage of life; however, there are a number of studies that indicate
that approximately half of the human species are insecure with respect to attachment or are
insecurely attached. The research further provides that differences in personality and attachment
orientation have significant implications on adaptation in different life domains, which is mostly
neglected by the attachment researchers (Ein- Dor, 2014). The assumption of Bowlby further
provides that it is the physical separation that results in deprivation; on the other hand, some
researchers argue that it is not physical separation rather it is disruption of attachment. Bowlby’s
work further provided that mother is the central care giver and therefore, care should be provided
to the child on continuous basis which, in turn, imply that mother should not go for work.
However, mothers are caregivers in only a small percentage of society, there are relatives and
friends in various cases who are involved in care of children.
The attachment theory has observed only a single attachment style as adaptive and has branded
others maladaptive. Certain researches have taken places which address the probability that there
are probable adaptive benefits of insecure attachment styles under particular environment
conditions (Ein-Dor and Hirschberger, 2016).
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is inspired by Piaget’s work. There are six stages of
moral development as per the Kohlberg’s theory of moral development which is further
separated into three levels namely pre- conventional, conventional and post- conventional (Crain,
2015).
Pre-Conventional Morality- At this level, children are only concerned with safeguarding their
own interest and this is their idea of morality. This is done by way of escaping punishment and
learning rapidly which, in turn, secures other benefits by pleasing others (Crain, 2015).

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Conventional morality- This is the stage when children learn different authorities and rules. They
further get aware that there are certain conventions which govern their behavior and they are
required to learn obeying them. This stage does not make any distinctions between legal
principles and moral principles. This level is divided into two stages, first is where children are
concerned with safeguarding the favor of others along with pleasing others and second stage
allows the children to extend the principle to cover the entire society (Peters, 2015).
Pre- Conventional Morality- This stage allows children to learn what is right and wrong from the
moral viewpoint and what is right and wrong as per the rules. Sometimes breaking a rule is
regarded as the correct thing to be done. These moral principles are utilitarian principles of
mutual benefit which is closely associated with the stage of social order, but is non- authoritarian
and universal in nature (Peters, 2015).
Evaluation
The Kohlberg’s theory of moral development has been criticized by the critics and is called an
attempt for the purpose of making his own moral belief seem to be psychological facts. The
theory also seems to possess a troubling normative aspect. In other words, the theory suggests
certain moral reasoning which is better than that provided by others. Some studies suggest that
some children of age 6 are also capable of attaining vague concepts relating to universal ethical
principles and are therefore capable of distinguishing between moral and universal along with
non- moral, arbitrary and conventional. The Kohlberg’s theory further provides that the
individuals belonging to every culture are progressing in moral reasoning through six separate
chronological stages sequence. The codes and moral values are developed with the help of
interaction between the environment and the individual. Along with this, the moral judgment are
characterized according to the reasoning of the person for delinquent behavior rather than what
person thinks of its content (Herzog and Einat, 2016).
The moral development theory of Kohlberg is majorly reliant on the philosophy and rationale of
the well- known Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and American philosopher John Dewey.
Obvious gender bias has been exercised in the moral development theory by Kohlberg. The
individuals are presented with the moral dilemmas as it would depict the resources needed for
moving upward. The individuals trying to engage in upward mobility will make the use of
morality for generating the required momentum for constituting a stage change (Barron, 2015).

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Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that Psychology is the science of mind and behavior, including
unconscious and conscious phenomena, as well a thought and feeling. This report focused on
Freud’s Theory of Personality, Eysenck’s Theory of Personality , Bowlby’s theory of
attachment and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development along with their evaluation with two
pieces of research. Freud’s Theory of Personality and Eysenck’s Theory of Personality are the
theories of individual differences while Bowlby’s theory of attachment and Kohlberg’s theory of
moral development are the theories of lifespan development.

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References
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between a Qura’nic theory of personality and Freud’s and Jung’s ideas. Journal of religion and
health, 53(2), pp.326-338.
Barron, K., 2015. A conceptual analysis of cognitive moral development and voice behavior in
an organization. International Journal of Business & Public Administration, 12(2).
Claridge, G. 2016. Hans Eysenck's contribution to our understanding of personality and
psychological disorders: A personal view. Personality and Individual Differences, 103 (2016),
pp.93-98.
Crain, W., 2015. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications: Concepts and
Applications. Psychology Press.
Ein- Dor, T. 2014. Attachment dispositions and human defensive behavior. Personality and
Individual Differences, [Online]. Available at:
https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.09.033 [Accessed on: 17 December 2018].
Ein-Dor, T. and Hirschberger, G., 2016. Rethinking attachment theory: From a theory of
relationships to a theory of individual and group survival. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 25(4), pp.223-227.
Ewen, R. and Ewen, R.B., 2014. An introduction to theories of personality. Psychology Press.
Eysenck, H., 2017. The biological basis of personality. Routledge.
Herzog, S. and Einat, T., 2016. Moral judgment, crime seriousness, and the relations between
them: an exploratory study. Crime & Delinquency, 62(4), pp.470-500.
Holmes, J., 2014. John Bowlby and attachment theory. Routledge.
LeVine, R.A., 2018. Culture, behavior, and personality: An introduction to the comparative
study of psychosocial adaptation. Routledge.

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Matthews, G. 2016. Traits, cognitive processes and adaptation: An elegy for Hans
Eysenck'spersonality theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 103(2016), pp. 61-67.
Peters, R.S., 2015. Moral Development and Moral Education (Routledge Revivals). Routledge.
Schultz, D.P. and Schultz, S.E., 2016. Theories of personality. Cengage Learning.
Willmott, D., Ryan, S., Sherretts, N., Woodfield, R. and McDermott, D., 2018. Motivation: A
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Bulletin, 49(2), pp.229-234.