Lark's Psychology Page

Psycopathology - Cont'd.

Copyright Lark Ritchie 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997.

Social Psychological & Interpersonal Theory

Sullivan defined psychiatry as the science of interpersonal relations. His view was that the personality, or self-concept is a result of interaction with other human beings, and the personal and social forces (relationships) acting upon an individual from birth to maturity. He has identified that the phased development of personality although emphatically critical in early childhood, extends beyond puberty, and into adulthood. Sullivan called this process acculturation. Sullivan's process of acculturation is divided into six periods (see table):

Sullivan's Personality Development Periods:

• Infancy

• Childhood

• Juvenile

• Preadolescence

• Adolescence

• Late Adolescence or Maturity

Sullivan believed that the goals or motivations for human behaviour could be segregated in two major processes of needs fulfillment which begin at infancy. The first need is the need to satisfy the base biological requirements of the organism (sleep, food, sexual fulfillment, etc.); the second is the "security need". The process expressed by the individual attempting to fulfill the security need (acculturation or socialisation) is motivated by the individual's need to adapt to the pressures acting upon him or her from a personal (parents and/or significant adults) and a cultural sense (peers and society). In a normal, mature individual, this process leads to a well adapted human being, able to act and react with culturally accepted behaviours, and in most cases able to continue adapting should his or her cultural environment be changed.

Sullivan's self-system model is a tension-reducing model and self protectionist, or guardian of one's security, in that 1) the self tends to reduce internal emotional and physical tensions (anxiety) by experimenting with, and learning behaviours which lead to a world view, model, database, or truth table from which he or she may select appropriate actions and reactions for expression as life experiences are encountered, and 2) the self learns that behaviours which produce negative interpersonal and social reactions are to be discarded in order to reduce the emotional discomfort of disapproval.

These "dissociated" behaviours are not recognised by the child as being a part of himself, and are not incorporated into the model or truth table of beneficial range of possible behaviours to be expressed. Other behaviours expressed by the developing individual, which appears to be non-significant to adults, is dealt with through "selective inattention", and are open to incorporation into the individual's model at some later time. A key distinction between the Sullivan's non-significant and dissociated repertoires is that disassociated material cannot be easily be incorporated in the self concept because such behaviours have been "first-hand experienced" as relatively destructive to the fulfillment of the two major needs.

Again we see the similarity of the models in that the personality progresses from stage to stage, ideally becoming more of a socially adjusted being. In the process, behaviours are retained or dissociated throughout life. What has not been made clear in this model is that although an individual has a retention of the beneficial behaviours, the "bad" behaviours are somehow put aside.

The question I must bring up is "When and how does a person know that a behaviour is 'bad'?" In order to make such a judgment, that behaviour must exist in a repository for "bad" behaviours, and that these behaviours are compared to impulses and are rejected by choice, whether consciously or unconsciously. If this is not so, then there would be repetition of inappropriate behaviours at a fairly high frequency rate both from people considered to be normal or abnormal. Obviously this is not the case, and so a repository of "bad" behaviours must indeed exist.

I would extend Sullivan's model to note that the disassociated material cannot totally be discarded, but is filed away within a self construct, or secondary database or truth table labeled as "behaviours which are destructive, and not me, or self" or in a sadder case, "behaviours which are only to be manifested by the bad-me". It follows that these negative behaviours may be manifest when the primary database holds no appropriate acceptable response to a situation, and the individual is compelled to express a response to avoid a disintegration of self. Such may be the case with coping measures in an extreme case of cognitive dissonance when a person is compelled to be destructive in order to reject one of two perceptions which have become apparent.

For example, a current murder trial involves a woman who is accused of killing her lover's wife after the husband attempted to break off the relationship. Such a drastic course of events may be the result of a reaction to cognitive dissonance in which one reality must be eliminated in order to hold the other. If the testimony is truth, the accused allegedly shot the wife in her home and immediately afterwards, arranged to meet with the husband for drinks at a local motel bar, and shortly after that in the motel parking lot, proceeded to attempt to become sexually involved with the husband.

Such a case if, indeed truth, might be considered to be the actions of a psychopathic personality. A different view could suggest that under the duress of an illicit love affair in which many deep emotional factors are at play, a person could evolve what is considered to be an alternate personality in order to cope with the conflicts and diametrically opposed perceptions of her realities.

Erik H. Erikson - A Refined Model of Personality Development.

Although influenced by Freud, Erik Erikson's model describes the progress of personality development in psychosocial rather than psychosexual terms, and argues that personality development is not a process which is strictly chronological and absolutely sequenced. Erikson's model may best be viewed as eight "stages" in the sense of sliding scales or continuums on which one positions his or her self image or personality. This identification of a continuum is a significant step in proposing a model because it allows for a person to adopt not just one set of behaviours at a developmental stage, but to vacillate along a range of behaviours dynamically as new information is received and assimilated into the personality. These stages then in effect, represent various ranges of perceptions and behaviours from which an individual may select reactions to stimuli presented by his or her environment.

Erikson's stages or continuums are listed below:

Erikson's 8 Stages of Man

• Trust vs. Mistrust

• Autonomy vs. Doubt

• Initiative vs. Guilt

• Industry vs. Inferiority

• Identity vs. Role Confusion

• Intimacy vs. Isolation

• Generativity vs. Self Absorption

• Integrity vs. Despair

The concept of "stages" has been misconstrued by lay people, and the popular press, and in some cases, social and psychological field workers, subtly taking on a colloquial meaning of "insulated significant event-periods" or compartmentalised self images which are rigid and immutable unless modified via the equivalent of the "surgical" techniques and interventions of the psychotherapist.

On the contrary, Erikson believed that these stages are constantly being set and reset dynamically throughout the human life experience, and that failures at one stage of development can be rectified at later periods ( We will explore the concept of a stage in detail later). In other words, at each of the stages of development, prior, or lower level concepts and inconsistencies may be restructured or resolved based on new personal experience.

This model of development is a more refined model over that of Freud, and presents some additional insights which are important to the discussions in this paper. Consequently only those significant highlights are addressed.

Trust vs. Mistrust (Year One)

In infancy, the regular and constant interaction of the mother and infant lay the foundations for trust in the infant. It is the basis for an internal prime-level model reflecting what the infant can expect from the environment, in physical and emotional terms. In normal circumstances, the experiences of the infant are positive and allow for the child to experiment further. When the child experiences events which do not build a sense of trust in its environment, he or she may be handicapped in the formation of healthy subsequent stages.

David Elkind, in an article titled "Erik Erikson's Eight Stages Of Man" describes a case of a 4 year old boy who had been shunted from foster home to foster home, whose adoptive parents wanted to return him to the adoption agency. He had spent a year with his biological mother, and was taken away from her because of a drinking problem.

"Like the burned child who dreads the flame, this emotionally

burned child shunned the pain of emotional involvement. He had

trusted his mother, but now he trusted no one. Only years of

devoted care and patience could now undo the damage that had

been done to this child's sense of trust."

Autonomy vs. Doubt (Years Two and Three)

On this stage, a child assesses and positions himself somewhere on the sliding scale according to the evaluations of his parents based on his attempts to gain control over his environment - the sense of autonomy. Failure to achieve a balanced sense of autonomy will handicap his or her ability to achieve

autonomy in adolescence and adulthood.

Too little autonomy will lead to an overdeveloped sense of shame and doubt, too much autonomy leads to an unrealistic sense of power and influence relationships with others in the social environment.

Initiative vs. Guilt (Years Four and Five)

Again on this stage a child positions himself according to his or her parents response to his initiatives in higher levels of motor skills and intellectual activities. When the parental response is positive, initiative and further experimentation is reinforced; when the response is negative or demeaning, then the child may develop a sense of guilt over self initiated activities hindering him or her through later stages.

Industry vs. Inferiority (Years Six to Eleven)

On this stage, the child assesses himself or herself in his or her efforts to interact within a broader social context beyond the family, including the social institutions such as schools and organisations such as Cubs and Brownies. The child creates his own toys, games, and experiments with social behaviours. Encouragement and praise enhances a sense of industry; criticism and excessive discipline encourage a sense of Inferiority. His positioning along this scale affects his predictions and evaluations of those around him as he moves through life.

Identity vs. Role Confusion (Years Twelve to Eighteen)

On this stage, the adolescent positions himself or herself along a continuum describing his or her own personality role. The adolescent constructs personal theories of others and him or herself, and the conceptions others may hold of his or herself. A personal integration of these ideas are formulated bringing some form of harmonious view or model of society (ego identity) with which the individual uses as a resource in maintaining and presenting a personality.

When the individual has an integrated psychosocial identity, the move to development of intimate relationships is approached with openness and without apprehension. When an integrated and consistent personality model is in place, the individual experiences role confusion, not knowing what he is, where he belongs, or whom he belongs to.* In some cases, when this is the case, an individual will seek a "negative identity", opposite to one identified by his or her family or social group, for example, a "druggie", "delinquent", or "rebel".

Intimacy vs. Isolation (The Years of Young Adulthood)

This stage sets the person along a scale of ability to be intimate with others, both on levels of friendship and sexuality. When a sense of intimacy is not established, a sense of isolation will be experienced - a sense of being alone, with no one to share with, or care for.

Generativity vs. Self Absorption (Years of Middle Age)

On this stage a person positions himself along a scale which describes his capacities to become concerned for others in a general sense, including society, and the world in which future people will live. When one does not have a sense of generativity, he or she falls into a state of self absorption in which personal needs are the major concern.

Integrity vs. Despair (The Final Years)

On this stage, the individual assesses his or herself according to the cumulative experiences of a lifetime. When a person looks back at life and feels satisfied with his or her personality expressions, then that person feels a sense of integration. When reflection brings an assessment of lost opportunities and regret, then that person experiences a sense of despair.

Erikson's model then sets a more promising approach to understanding and treating an individual with emotional problems. The stages can be reset at any time during the individual's life, as in the case of Scrooge, in Dickens "A Christmas Carol" , where a man, late in life and generally miserable, experiences a significant event (his dream) which causes him to reset of several of the positions along the various stages of personality. Dickens use of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, and their presentations of events that may have been used to set the relative positions on each of the scales, illustrates the process of personality development, and at the same time shows the dramatic effect of such repositioning of the personality on such stages.

Organismic & Humanistic Theory

As opposed to the psycho dynamic models, which tend to reduce the mind to distinct and interacting functions or subsystems, other theorists tend to view the human mind as a unified, organised whole. These can be classified as the Organismic theories as initially proposed by Kurt Goldstein.

One of the principals in this view, is Abraham Maslow, who studied healthy individuals rather than those with disturbed personalities or physiological pathologies. Another key individual within the humanistic movement is Carl Rogers. Each of their models of the personality are briefly discussed below.

Abraham Maslow - The Holistic-Dynamic View

Abraham Maslow's model is based on an organism having needs which must be fulfilled in order to develop and grow to full potential. The ultimate goal in personality development, according to Maslow is to become self actualised. The familiar hierarchy of needs triangle illustrates the dynamic nature of the organism as it deals with needs fulfillment. The process is a constant and progressive adaptive movement towards the ultimate of self actualisation or maturity. Wm. Glasser and L. M. Zunin, in an article titled "Reality Therapy" , have this to say of Maslow's view:

"Maslow believed most that individuals have a capacity for

creativity, spontaneity, caring for others, curiosity, continual

growth, the ability to love and be loved, and all characteristics

found in the self actualised person. A person who is behaving

badly is reacting to the deprivation of his basic needs. If his

behaviour improves, he begins to develop his rue potential and

move toward greater health and normalcy as a human."

This progression again is similar to previously presented views on personality, but is not based on an analytical decomposition or dissection of the personality structures. Instead, it sees the individual as a whole person striving for an ideal. What is important is Maslow's description of the dynamic movements through the hierarchy of needs. This model of needs fulfillment illustrates what every person feels or knows about the dynamics at work within himself.

To Continuation of this paper...

© 1997 Lark Ritchie. Contact me at this address..