Henry A. Murray: Personology
Personology is the science of people. It is used to interpret and organize the lives of humans. The central ideas of the science must be to "understanding of what we mean by the concept "person," and for development of methods of understanding the lives of persons as the "long unit for psychology"" (Barresi & Juckes 1988 pg 1). It is important to take accounts when studying personology from first person perspective instead of a third person perspective. Henry A. Murray believed that personality psychology had to deal with the life course of person and came up with the word "personology" (Barresi & Juckes 1988). He developed the phrase because he felt that personality psychology was an "unwieldy" phrase.
…show more content…
It has a selfish instinct, an acceptable instinct such as a need for love, achievement, and to be nurtured, and tension reduction is pleasurable. The Ego has defensive functions. It also has promoted expressions of acceptable impulses. Some of the ego functioning can be conflict free. The Superego has more emphasis on the "Ego-Ideal". The natural tendency of the superego is to get the maximum gratification with minimum anxiety and guilt ("Henry Murray: Personology").
According to Murray there are two types of Needs: Viscerogenic (internal source) and Psychogenic needs (external source or press).Needs are arranged according to their hierarchy of strength. The strongest of the needs are called "Prepotent" needs. If needed needs will combine to achieve the same goal. Needs can conflict with one another. According to Murray needs are based on internal influences on behavior. External behaviors are called press. There is an Alpha press and a Beta press. The Alpha Press is the objective characteristic of an object in that environment in comparison with Beta press which is a person's evaluation and perception of that object. Viscerogenic needs include lacks(leading to intakes), Inspiration(of oxygen), food, water, sex lactation, expiration, urination, defecation, sentience(sensuous impressions), distensions(leading to outputs), harms(leading to retractions), noxavoidance, heat and cold avoidance, and harm
The id is the unconscious part of our mind that "contains our secret desires, darkest wishes, (and) intense fears" ("Psychoanalytic Criticism" 2). The id is entirely irrational and serves only to fulfill urges and wishes that the person most desires. The superego is also unconscious and is driven by the morality principal. It "represents the demands of morality and of society" (Mullahay 39). The superego urges us to do what will be accepted by our peers and by society. It can be compared to our conscious in the sense that it drives us to do what is right so that we won’t feel guilt or remorse. The third part to the trio is the ego, which is based solely on logic and rationality, and is part of the conscious mind. The ego "represents reason and sanity" and makes sensible and logical decisions even though these decisions may not fulfill all of our desires (Mullahay 36). "The ego (can be called) the battleground for forces of the superego and id" in that it "regulates (the) id and comes to terms with (the) superego" ("Psychoanalytic Criticism" 2).
theory of the Superego, the Ego and the Id. The Id is the centre of
Person-centered theory is founded on the following assumptions; it is founded on the notion that every individual has the capability for self-actualization. That is; the influential tendency where every matter, whether organic or inorganic, advances from simpler nature to more comprehensive forms and actualizing tendency where the predisposition within every humans (both animals and plants) to incline toward full completion and or fulfillment of their potentials; wholeness. Some of these predispositions exist to offer maintenance whereas others are meant for enhancement. Occasionally, human
I am glad to note you have a similar view of the book as I do. In my opinion, Murray is very insightful and well-spoken. You stated, "... The two sections on America's exceptional setting and ideology are the sections I will focus on." You did state part of what made America exceptional in the past; I'd be interested to hear whether you still believe America's setting is still exceptional. I believe it has declined with use of modern technology and transportation, but the fact we're still known as "The melting pot" is incredible.
The superego is the morality principle where a person feels responsible towards society. It also blocks out aggression and can cause guilt. Greg operated in his superego when he returned home, “He thought ahead of what his father would say and wondered if he should tell him about Lemon Brown. He thought about it until he reached his stoop, and decided against it,” (Myers 8). He didn’t want to tell his father about Lemon Brown because he didn’t want to get in even more trouble or another lecture, “Greg pushed the button over the bell marked Ridley, thought of the lecture he knew his father would give him, and smiled,”
The superego is a projection of the ego. It is the moral censoring agency; the part that makes moral judgments and the repository of conscience and pride. It brings reason, order and social acceptability to the otherwise uncontrolled and potentially harmful realm of biological impulses (Guerin 128-31).
The founder of the person-centered theory is Carl Rogers, who proposed two general assumptions called the formative tendency and the actualizing tendency. According to Rogers, one is always willing to reach higher development, which is driven by actualizing tendency instead of only being determined by outer forces. Formative tendency, as stated by Rogers, referred to every matter starting as a much simpler form and developing to a much higher one. Rogers entirely believed that one possesses the ability to move in positive directions if the right conditions are given and the individual has the tools within him or herself to do so. A person therefore knows that he or she possesses the tendency to always grow and develop further in his or her personality (Cloninger, 2008).
The focus of this paper is the person-centered approach, which is the understanding of personality and human relationships in psychotherapy and counseling in the areas of client-centered therapy, education of student-centered learning, organizations, and other group settings. Even though psychoanalysis and behaviorism have made major contributions to psychology, it has influenced the understanding and practices of the humanistic movement, specifically with the therapies for the different mental disorders. Psychoanalysis understands the unconscious behavior, behaviorism focuses on the conditioning process that produces behavior. Humanistic psychology focuses on the person's potential to act as a whole person in a nurturing environment by
However, According to Freud, the super-ego exists as a way to level out the ego, and, in a way, keep it in check. Therefore, the super-ego is responsible for an individual’s conscience, or, their ability to feel guilt. Freud continues his explanation of these concepts by asserting the idea that the super-ego calls our attention to our own failures and misconducts, and attempts to assist us in learning from them in order to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Furthermore, the conscience is the form in which the super-ego controls our actions and thoughts, and creates guilt within us. Therefore, the ego is the decision-making, acting part of an individual, while the super-ego acts as the ego’s voice of authority and control (Freud).
These are biological needs which are the strongest. Since this is the basic level for human being to survive and search for satisfaction
Freud identifies an overwhelming sense of guilt as one of the central problems threatening modern civilization since individuals have consequently begun to rebel against civilization with an aggression that exceeds the level of aggression originally suppressed, threatening the disintegration of society, and attributes it to the operation of the superego, an internal psychical agency that monitors the intentions and actions of the ego, keeping the aggressive instincts of the latter in check. Essentially, the aggression that was initially directed outside of the self is redirected into the self. A part of the ego separates from the rest to form the superego. Conflict between the ego and superego creates guilt, a need for punishment. Another term for the superego is conscience. Freud traces the formation of
The area consists of all the internalized norms, values, and feelings that are taught in the socialization process. The superego brings the social pressures of reality to push upon the id. The superego exhibits society’s restraint on the id. When the id is saying, "I want that," the superego is saying, "Wait, slow down, think about this for a little bit. Is this right?" The superego acts as the mind’s conscience and responds to the social rules.
The Superego is representative of our conscience and is opposite of the id. “Superego” comes from Latin and really means “above the ego”. It is the greatest power of our mind. The superego is what most people would call the conscience or where a god would be. The Superego is a basis for how we view the world, social norms, and morals. Also, as the Superego portrays the conscience, it holds our sense of wrong and right. We have to follow the needs of the Superego or else we might feel some guilt or shame.
Finally, Myers states that "the superego strives for perfection and judges our actions, producing positive feelings of pride or negative feelings of guilt" (380). The superego acts as the mind's conscience. In the story, the narrator, Mama, clearly represents the superego portion of the mind structure because of her guilty conscience and her wishes to be perfect, both mentally and physically.
The super-ego can be thought of as the conscience. It employs the societal concepts of right and wrong, which are typically introduced by a person’s parents (Weiten 364).