Compare And Contrast Erikson's Theory Of Personality

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I. Introduction Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Personality is characterized by many dimensions of a person’s overall being. The belief that personality stems from one origin is small minded and on many levels, unsupported. If the scope of personality is expanded, it suggests that there is not a single explanation determining a person’s personality and how it is formed. Personality Theories have been generated for centuries by individuals who desire to identify what distinguishes a person’s personality and how it affects their behavior. What is it that comprises all the unique characteristics about a person? My view of personality is primarily originated from …show more content…

In Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, individuals can acquire unhealthy personalities as a result of how they were treated during each stage of their development. Although these stages are not in chronological order, they are essential to development. I agree with Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development because it summarizes specific stages everybody goes completes in life and attaches a virtue. Conversely, the theory is detailed but not so definite that it cannot apply to everyone’s personality development in some way. (Engler, 2014). Contrasting Freud's stages of psychosexual development, Erikson does not limit these stages to a specific year of life, rather he uses stages such as infancy and …show more content…

The humanistic approach is the assumption that we as humans have the choice to exercise free will. Carl Rogers would say personality is “an organized consistent pattern of perception of the “I” or “me” that lies at the heart of an individual.” (Engler, 2014, p. 3). I believe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs designates principals all humans need and desire. The five requirements are physiological, safety, belonging and love, self-esteem, and self-actualization. This model is in the shape of a triangle and initiates at the bottommost level. As we reach each phase, we commence to reach the uppermost of the pyramid to a point of self-actualization. Self-actualization is encountered when we grasp our full potential. (Engler, 2014, p. 324). This approach can be connected to Bandura’s agentic perspective simply stating that we are our own agents. (Engler, 2014). I believe people are a combination of these perspectives. Although I am confident I follow a humanistic approach to my personality, I recognize many peers that acquired a deterministic approach to outline their personality or a combination of

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