1 of 32

Course: Mental Health Nursing

Topic: Concept of Personality Development

The Nurses International Community

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

2 of 32

COPYRIGHT

NI Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

3 of 32

Module Goals

Learners will be able to:

Define personality.
Explain the theories of personality development and their relationship to nursing care (Freud, Sullivan, Object Relations).
Discuss the role of the nurse in personality development.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

4 of 32

What is the Definition of Personality?

American Psychological Association, 2019

Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.
The study of personality focuses on two broad areas.

Understanding individual differences in particular personality characteristics (such as sociability or irritability).
Understanding how the various parts of a person come together as a whole.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

5 of 32

Psychodynamic of Personality Development

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

According to Freud:

Personality develops as a result of a conflict between two forces:

Biological aggressive and pleasure-seeking drives versus internal (socialized) control over these drives.
Personality is the result of efforts to balance these two competing forces.

Three interacting systems

Id
Ego
Superego

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

6 of 32

Psychodynamic of Personality Development

Figure; 11.6 The job of the ego, is to balance the aggressive/pleasure-seeking drives of the id with the moral control of the superego by, Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

7 of 32

Psychodynamic of Personality Development

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Id:

Contains most primitive drives or urges
Present from birth.
Directs impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex.
Operates on “pleasure principle,” seeks immediate gratification.

Ego:

The rational part of the personality.
Operates the “reality principle.”
Balances the demands of the id and superego.
Helps the id satisfy its desires in a realistic way.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

8 of 32

Psychodynamic of Personality Development

Superego:

Develops as the child interacts with others, learning the social rules for right and wrong.
Acts as moral compass that tells how one should behave.
Strives for perfection and judges the behavior, leading to feelings of pride or feelings of guilt.
According to Freud:

A person who has a strong ego and can balance the demands of the id and the superego, has a healthy personality.

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

9 of 32

Psychodynamic of Personality Development

Imbalances in the system can lead to:

Anxiety disorders, or unhealthy behaviors.

Example:

A person who is dominated by their id might be narcissistic and impulsive.
A person with a dominant superego might be controlled by:

Feelings of guilt and deny themselves even socially acceptable pleasures.

If the superego is weak , a person might become a psychopath.

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

10 of 32

Freud: Psychosexual Development of Personality

Theory of Sigmund Freud

Personality develops during early childhood
Childhood experiences shape personalities as well as adult behavior
In each psychosexual stage of development the child’s pleasure-seeking urges, coming from the id, are focused on a different area of the body, called the erogenous zones
The psychosexual stage of development

Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency, and
Genital

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

11 of 32

Freud: Oral Stage of Psychosexual Development

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Birth to 1 year
Pleasure is focused on the mouth
The pleasure derived from sucking
(nipples, pacifiers, and thumbs)
According to Freud:

An adult who smokes, drinks, overeats, or bites their nails is fixated in the oral stage.
May have been weaned too early or too late, resulting in these fixation tendencies, all of which seek to ease anxiety.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

12 of 32

Freud: Anal Stage

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

1–3 years
Children experience pleasure in their bowel and bladder movements.
Freud suggested that success at the anal stage depends on how parents handle toilet training.
Parents who offer praise and rewards encourage positive results and can help children feel competent.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

13 of 32

Freud: Anal Stage (continued)

Parents who are harsh in toilet training cause a child to become fearful of soiling and they may develop an anal-retentive personality
The anal-retentive personality

Stingy and stubborn
Compulsive need for order and neatness (perfectionist)

If parents are too lenient in toilet training, the child may fail to develop sufficient self-control and develop an anal-expulsive personality
The anal-expulsive personality

Messy, careless, disorganized
Prone to emotional outbursts

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

14 of 32

Freud: Phallic Stage

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

3–6 years
Children become aware of their bodies and recognize the differences between boys and girls.
The erogenous zone is the genitals
Experiences desire for the opposite-sex parent, and jealousy and toward the same-sex parent.
Boys

The desire for the mother and urge to replace his father is called an Oedipus complex
At the same time, fear that father will punish him for his feelings resulting in castration anxiety

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

15 of 32

Freud: Phallic Stage (continued)

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

Failure to resolve the Oedipus complex may result in:

Fixation and development of a personality that might be described as vain and overly ambitious.

For Girls:

A girl desires the attention of her father and wishes to take her mother’s place is called an Electra complex.
Failure to resolve result:

Fixation and personality with vain and overly ambitious.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

16 of 32

Freud: Latency

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

6 years to puberty
This period is not considered a stage, because sexual feelings are dormant as the children focuses on other pursuits, such as school, friendships, hobbies, and sports.
Engages in activities with peers of the same sex, which serves to consolidate a child’s gender-role identity.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

17 of 32

Freud: Genital Stage

Spielman, Jenkins, & Lovett, 2020

The final stage (from puberty on)
A strong desire for the opposite sex
Individuals who successfully completed the previous stages, reach the genital stage with no fixations, are said to be well-balanced, healthy adults.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

18 of 32

Critical Thinking Question

A 5 year old boy is more attracted to his mother and urges to replace his father. A nurse understands this to be related to which term according to Freud?

Electra complex
Oedipus complex

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

19 of 32

Stack-Sullivan: Interpersonal Theory

Nursing Theory. Org., 2020

Theory of Henry Stack-Sullivan

Considered the father of interpersonal psychiatry.
Explains the role of interpersonal relationships and social experiences with regard to the shaping of personalities.
Includes six developmental stages, calls “epochs” or heuristic stages in development.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

20 of 32

Stack-Sullivan: Epochs or Stages

Nursing Theory. Org., 2020

The first stage

Infancy
From birth to eighteen months
The main characteristic of this stage is the gratification of needs.

The second stage:

Eighteen months until six years of age.
Characterized by delayed gratification.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

21 of 32

Stack-Sullivan: Epochs or Stages

The Third Stage, Juvenile Era

Between six and nine years of age
Characterized by the formation of a peer group

The fourth stage, Preadolescence

Between nine and twelve years of age
Characterized by the development of relationships within the same gender

The Fifth stage, Early adolescence

Occurs from twelve to fourteen years
During this stage, the adolescent develops an identity

Nursing Theory. Org., 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

22 of 32

Stack-Sullivan: Epochs or Stages

Nursing Theory. Org., 2020

The sixth stage, late adolescence:

Fourteen to twenty-one years of age
Final stage characterized by the formation of lasting relationships

The theory explains three types of self

The good me
Bad me
Not me

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

23 of 32

Stack-Sullivan: Interpersonal Theory

The “Good me” vs “Bad me”

Based on social appraisal and the anxiety that results from negative feedback
The “not me” refers to the unknown, repressed component of the self

Anxiety, self-system, and self-esteem

Security operations are those measures that the individual employs to reduce anxiety and enhance security
A self-system is all of the security operations an individual uses to defend against anxiety and ensure self-esteem

Nursing Theory. Org., 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

24 of 32

Critical Thinking Question

According to Stack-Sullivan’s theory what mainly shapes personality?

Gender
Interpersonal relationships
Sexual development
The aging process

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

25 of 32

Klein: Object Relations Theory

A variation of psychoanalytic theory
Focuses on importance of interpersonal relationships (e.g. the intimacy and nurturing of the mother)

Objects are usually persons, parts of persons (such as the mother's breast).
Also "objects" refers not to inanimate entities but to significant others with whom an individual relates, usually one's mother, father, or primary caregiver.

Etherington, 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

26 of 32

Klein: Object Relations Theory

An object relation involves mental representations of:

The object as perceived by the self
The self in relation to the object
The relationship between self and object

For example, an infant might think:

"My mother is good because she feeds me when I am hungry" (representation of the object)
"The fact that she takes care of me must mean that I am good" (representation of the self in relation to the object).
"I love my mother" (representation of the relationship)

Etherington, 2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

27 of 32

Klein: Object Relations Theory

Focus

Helping individuals identify and address deficits in their interpersonal functioning.
Explore ways that relationships can be improved.

A therapist may help individuals:

Understand how childhood object relations impact current emotions, motivations, and relationships and contribute to any problems being faced.
Explore ways to integrate the "good" and "bad" aspects of internal objects.
Help experience less internal conflict.

Etherington,2020

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

28 of 32

Nurse Role in Understanding Personality Development

Developmental theories provide framework for examining describing and appreciating human development.
Provide context for the client’s response to an Illness.
Guide treatment of client’s response to an illness.
Understand the specific task or need of client in each developmental stage.
Help parents to understand the needs and task of each development stage.
Plan appropriate individualized care according to different stage of development.

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

29 of 32

Critical Thinking Question

The nurse uses knowledge about personality development to do which of the following: (select all that apply)

Anticipate a child’s developmental level
Help teach parents what to expect at different stages of development
Recognize expected pediatric characteristics
Create an individualized plan of care

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

30 of 32

References

American Psychological Association (2019). Personality. https://www.apa.org/topics/personality

Etherington, L. (2020, Febuary 12). Melanie klein and object relations theory. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/Melanie-Klein.html

Good Therapy. (2016). Object Relations. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/object-relations#:~:text=Object%20relations%20is%20a%20variation,the%20need%20to%20form%20relationships

McLeod, S. A. (2017). Theories of personality. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/personality-theories.html

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

31 of 32

References:

Nursing Theory. Org. (2020). Interpersonal Theory. https://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/stack-sullivan-interpersonal-theory.php

Spielman R M., Jenkins W J., & Lovett, M. D. (April 22, 2020). Freud and the Psychodynamic Perspective.Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/11-2-freud-and-the-psychodynamic-perspective

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org

32 of 32

Please go to

My Learning Experience

to provide feedback on your experience.

Thank you, and come back soon!

Contact info: info@nursesinternational.org