Components of the Psychoanalytic Approach to Personality

Sunny Pilkington

PSY/250

October 15, 2012
Dr. Alisa Cortez

. Psychologists Alfred Alder, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung are prominent founders and contributors in the components of psychoanalytic approach to personality. Alder, Freud, and Jung formulated separate theories worth comparing and contrasting. “Although their theories were at least as distinct as the four men were, they were passionate about their endeavors, and never settled with conclusion - their entire lives were spent in earnest search for better understanding of the human psychological frailties and their betterment” (Psychological-Musings.blogspot.com, n.d.).. Nevertheless, critical thinking and disagreements coexists among the theories founded by each to explain personality and improve quality of life and understanding. These three psychologists have different stances on the manner psychology functions in humans. In the components of psychoanalytic approach to personality, each of the psychologists seems to be striving to be unique. In this, many disagreement publications are brought about and many mirror similarities among the three. Following are the components of psychoanalytic approach to personality per psychologist.

Alfred Alder’s theory holds that” basic psychological element of neurosis was a sense of inferiority and that individuals suffering with symptoms of this phenomenon spent their lives trying to overcome the feelings without ever being in touch with reality” (White, 1917,pp. 168-173). Moreover, Alder believes that neurotic symptoms started during childhood years. In this regard, many adult behaviors showcase the age wherein the individual halted in developing. Alder’s researches are focused on the educational models’ applications and experiments, which are known to oppose that