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

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

PSYCHOLOGY 2
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).

PSYCHOLOGY 3
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