1. Concepts of Personality Development
Chapter 2
Concepts of
Personality Development

2. Introduction
Personality is defined by the DSM-IV-TR as “enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts.”

3. Introduction (cont.)
Life-cycle developmentalists believe that people continue to develop and change throughout life, thereby suggesting the possibility for renewal
and growth in adults.

4. Introduction (cont.) Stages are identified by age.
However, personality is influenced by temperament (inborn personality characteristics) and the environment.
It is possible for behaviors from an unsuccessfully completed stage to be modified and corrected in a later stage.

5. Introduction (cont.)
Stages overlap, and individuals may be working on tasks from more than one stage at a time.
Individuals may become fixed in a certain stage and remain developmentally delayed.

6. Introduction (cont.)
The DSM-IV-TR states that personality disorders occur when personality traits become inflexible and maladaptive, causing either significant functional impairment or subjective distress.

7. Psychoanalytic Theory – Freud
Dr Sigmund Freud
Oldest of eight children
Married with 3 girls and 3 boys
Physician-Biologist
Jewish-anti-religion
Based theory on personal experiences
Died of cancer of jaw & mouth lifelong
cigar chain-smoker

8. The Structure of Personality
Freud believed basic character was formed by age 5 years
He organized the structure of the personality into three major components:
THE ID —Ruled by the pleasure principle
THE EGO — Ruled by the reality principle
THE SUPEREGO —Ruled by the moral principle

9. Id
Present at birth
Operates to demands of Pleasure Principle - strive to satisfy desires and reduce inner tension
Id-driven behaviors are impulsive and may be irrational

10. Ego Deals with real world Develops between the ages of 4 and 6 months
Experiences the reality of the external world, adapt to it, and respond to it.

11. Superego Develops between age3 and 6 years
Initializes the values and morals set forth by primary caregivers
Derived from a system of rewards and punishments
It is composed of two major components:
ego-ideal
conscience

12. Psychoanalytic Theory – Freud (cont.)
Topography of the Mind
The conscious
The preconscious
The unconscious

13. Psychoanalytic Theory – Freud (cont.)
Dynamics of the personality
Psychic energy:
Ego balance between id (impulsive behaviors) and Superego (idealistic behaviors)
Cathexis
Id invest energy in an object to achieve gratification (e.g., drink alcohol to relieve anxiety)
Anticathexis
Use of psychic energy by the ego and superego to control id impulses.

14. Freud’s stages of Personality development
ORAL STAGE
Related to later mistrust and rejection issues
ANAL STAGE
Related to later personal power issues
PHALLIC STAGE
Related to later sexual attitudes
LATENCY STAGE
A time of socialization
GENITAL STAGE
Sexual energies are invested in life

15. Oral Stage: Birth to 18 months
Satisfy drive of hunger and thirst by breast or bottle
If fixated after weaned:
Over Dependency
Over Attachment

16. Anal Stage: 18 months to 3 years
Learning independence and control.
Id wants pleasure of reducing tension by defecating & urinating
Toilet training may have far- reaching effect on the child’s personality:
strict and rigid stubborn, stinginess
expelling feces in unacceptable manner disorganization, untidiness

17. Phallic Stage: 3– 6 years Focus on genital organs
Emerging sexual gender identity
Differences between boys and girls
Development of the Oedipus complex (males) and Electra complex (females)
Personality fixed by end of this stage

18. Latency Period 6-12 years of age
Time between resolution of Oedipus complex and puberty
Usually not possible for sexual urges to be directly expressed
Sexual energies are channeled into school and friends
Focus on the relationship with the same gender

19. Genital Stage Adolescence – Adulthood (13-20 years)
Normal sexual relations
Marriage
Child-rearing

20. Psychoanalytic Theory – Freud (cont.)
Relevance to nursing practice
Being able to recognize behaviors associated with the id, ego, and superego will assist in the assessment of clients’ developmental level.
Understanding the use of ego-defense mechanisms is important in making determinations about maladaptive behaviors and in planning care for clients to assist in creating change.

21. Interpersonal Theory – Sullivan (1953)
Based on the belief that individual behavior and personality development are the direct result of interpersonal relationships
Major concepts of this theory
Anxiety
Satisfaction of needs
Interpersonal security
Self-system

22. Interpersonal Theory – Sullivan (cont.)
Stages of development
Infancy (birth - 18 months) gratification of needs
Childhood (18 months – 6 years) learning to experience a delay in personal gratification
Juvenile (6 - 9 years) satisfactory peer (GROUP) relationship
Preadolescence (9 – 12 years) satisfactory relationship with the same gender
Early adolescence (12 – 14 years) satisfactory relationship with the opposite gender
Late adolescence (14 – 21 years) develop a lasting, intimate opposite- gender relationship

23. Interpersonal Theory – Sullivan (cont.)
Relevance to nursing practice
Relationship development is a major psychiatric nursing intervention. Nurses develop therapeutic relationship with client in an effort to help him generalize this ability to interact successfully with others .
Knowledge about the behaviors associated with all levels of anxiety and methods for alleviating anxiety help nurses assist clients in achieving interpersonal security and a sense of well-being.

24. Theory of Psychosocial Development – Erikson (1963)
Based on the influence of social processes on the development of the personality
Erikson identified eight stages of development and the major tasks associated with each stage.

25. Theory of Psychosocial Development – Erikson (cont.)
Stages of Development

26. Theory of Psychosocial Development – Erikson (cont.)
Relevance to nursing practice
Many individuals with mental health problems are still struggling to achieve tasks from a number of developmental stages. Nurses can plan care to assist these individuals to fulfill these tasks and move on to a higher developmental level.

27. Theory of Object Relations – Mahler (1975)
Based on the separation-individuation process of the infant from the maternal figure (primary caregiver)
Stages of development
Phase I – The Autistic Phase (birth to 1 month)
Phase II – The Symbiotic Phase (1 to 5 months)
Phase III - Separation-Individuation (5 to 36 months)
Deferentiation ( months)
Practicing ( month)
Rapprochment ( months)
Consolidation ( months)

28. Theory of Object Relations – Mahler (cont.)
Relevance to nursing practice
Understanding the concepts of Mahler’s theory of object relations assists the nurse in assessing clients’ level of individuation from primary caregivers. The emotional problems of many individuals can be traced to lack of fulfillment of the tasks of separation-individuation.

29. A Nursing Model – Peplau (1991)
Applies interpersonal theory to nurse-client relationship development
Correlates the stages of personality development in childhood to stages through which clients advance during the progression of an illness
Sees interpersonal experiences as learning situations for nurses to facilitate forward movement in the development of personality

30. A Nursing Model – Peplau (cont.)
Peplau identifies six nursing roles in which nurses function to assist individuals in need of health services:
Resource person
Counselor
Teacher
Leader
Technical expert
Surrogate

31. A Nursing Model – Peplau (cont.)
Four stages of personality development
Stage 1 – Learning to count on others
Stage 2 – Learning to delay satisfaction
Stage 3 – Identifying oneself
Stage 4 – Developing skills in participation

32. A Nursing Model – Peplau (cont.)
Relevance to nursing practice
Peplau’s model provides nurses with a framework to interact with clients, many of whom are fixed in, or because of illness have regressed to, an earlier level of development.
Using nursing roles suggested by Peplau, nurses may facilitate client learning that was not achieved in earlier experiences.