The Differences between Healthy and Unhealthy Personalities

/in /by

Research a minimum of eight scholarly sources related to these concepts in the Ashford University Library to support your statements in the paper. Popular websites and your textbook may augment, but they will not count toward, the minimum number of sources needed for the paper.  The following content and headings must be included in your paper.

Please visit the Ashford Writing Center for guidance on how to format headings in APA Style. Also, please take note of the suggestions provided for the length for each section in the instructions below.

Instructions:
Provide a general introduction to the topic of theories of personality. Explain what you plan to cover and describe the direction your paper will take. This section will not feature a heading, and it will be approximately two to three paragraphs.

Major Concepts
In this section, you will present the seven specific concepts identified from the seven models you think best apply to the study of personality in distinct subheadings.  For each concept, identify the major personality model from which the concept was taken as well as the theorist associated with that model.  This completed section will be approximately four to five pages.

Excluded Concepts
In this section, present the concepts you have chosen to exclude in your theory of personality development.  Reflect on the basic assumptions that define personality and identify three specific excluded concepts from any of the theories studied in the course.  For each of the excluded concepts, provide a rationale explaining the various aspects of the concept that make it unsuitable for your use.  This section will be approximately one to two pages.

The Differences between Healthy and Unhealthy Personalities
Describe the basic differences between healthy and unhealthy personality, based on the concepts that you have chosen to include and exclude from your theory.  This completed section will be approximately one page.

The Roles of Heredity, the Environment, and Epigenetics
Provide your analysis of the roles heredity, the environment, and epigenetics play in the development of personality. Discuss how heredity and the environment might affect personality disorders. This completed section will be approximately one page.

Assessment and Measurement of the Theory
Reflect on the major concepts you have selected for inclusion and provide a brief description about how those concepts are measured and/or assessed. Review the assessment sections of each chapter and discuss those measures you think are most applicable and effective.  This completed section will be approximately one page.

Self-Reflection
In this section of the paper, review the self-reflection you wrote in Week One of this class and describe how and in what ways your views have or have not changed. Analyze your Week One self-assessment using the concepts that you have included in your integrative theory and describe how your theory explains your personality. This section will be approximately one page.

Provide a brief conclusion that summarizes the ideas presented in your integrative theory of personality. This section will not feature a heading and it will be approximately two to four paragraphs.

Allport, G. W. (1968). The person in psychology: Selected essays. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

The Integrative Personality Theory paper:

  • Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length (not including the title page and references page) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
  • Must include a separate title page with the following:
    • Title of paper
    • Student’s name
    • Course name and number
    • Instructor’s name
    • Date submitted
  • Must use at least eight scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
  • Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
  • Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing CenterRunning head: INTEGRATIVE PERSONALITY THEORY 1

    INTEGRATIVE PERSONALITY THEORY 5

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Integrative Personality Theory

    Luziane Perez

    PSY 330

    Prof. Elizabeth Krewson

    January 29, 2018

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Integrative Personality Theory

     

    Personality is the traits that make an individual unique, these traits justify the behavior of a person. Some personality traits are possessed by one person making them unique. There are several theories of personality. The theories of personality entail different concepts, such as psychodynamic model concept, self-psychology model concept, etc. In this paper, I will look at seven major concepts of personality: Psychodynamic, Neurobiological, Behavioral, Cognitive, Interpersonal, Trait, and the Self-Psychology Model Concepts. There are billions of people with unique personalities in the world therefore we have billions of different personalities and although many of them might seem alike. The main question in this paper is “How is personality formed?” this paper will explain the different ways personality can be formed.

     

    Included Concepts

     

    Psychodynamic Model

    Psychodynamic model is Freud’s psychoanalysis that human behavior is dictated by the Unconscious, subconscious and/or conscious. Psychodynamic means the interrelation of the unconscious and conscious mental and emotional forces that determine personality and motivation.

    Internal forces called instincts motivate human behavior. These instincts are also called drives, there are two major instincts. Life and death instincts, life instincts are the ones where one seeks pleasure and/or intent to satisfy basic needs. Death instincts are the unconscious desires to die.

    The psychodynamic model is focused more in the unconscious forces that determine behavior. There are several assumptions of the psychodynamic model. Assumption number one is when behavior is influenced by the unconscious mind. Assumption two is there are different levels of consciousness: conscious (what we are aware of), preconscious (if we pay attention we can be conscious of this) and unconscious (inaccessible). Assumption three is ego defense mechanism, the ego protects itself from unconscious thoughts. Assumption four is the early childhood experiences and relationships, the events in childhood shape an individual’s personality. Also, relationships with parents create a template for adult relationships.

     

     

    Neurobiological Model

     

    Han Selye is known for his work on the effect stress has on the human body. He was the first to observe the effects stress has in the human “One of the problems in those that have suffered severe, childhood abuse is that the brain’s turn-off switch for the stress response is disabled.”[Men13]

    High levels of cortisol can cause epigenetic changes. The consequences of these traumatic changes cause a person to experience depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among other personality disorders. Humans are not built to live in high levels of stress therefore our physical and mental health are damaged when exposed to high stressors.

    This model shows that in order to determine the mental health of a patient we must look at the body as a whole as well. The medical field needs to treat the mind and vice-versa mental health providers need to treat and acknowledge the body health as well.

     

    Healthy and Unhealthy Personalities

    A healthy person is one who shows normal behavior such as eating, emotional sensitivity and talking while an unhealthy personality is one of a person who lacks all of these. In terms of psychology a person who scores high in neuroticism is a person with an unhealthy personality. In my opinion a person with a high ego tends to have a healthier personality than one with a low ego, my explanation to this conclusion is because people with a high ego tend to interact with other more often than those with a low ego.

     

     

    Heredity, the Environment, and Epigenetics

    Through epigenetics psychologists and psychiatrists can learn how to treat a patient’s disorder. The study called “The Great Rat Mother Switcheroo” (Webster, 2013) is a study where a rat mother’s affection levels towards their rat babies can affect their DNA, this process is called epigenetics. I find this study incredibly amazing because the first stages of an infant’s life are extremely important to the point where neglecting can change a person’s DNA.

    The rat babies of high-licking mothers showed to be less stressed than those with low-licking mothers. Some might have asked that it might have been a hereditary factor therefore in the study researchers decided to put high-licking mother’s babies with low-licking mothers and vice-versa. As expected the results showed those with low-licking foster mothers were more stressed later in life than those with high-licking foster mothers.

     

    Assessment and Measurement

    What are the primary ways of assessing and measuring used in some of the concepts that you have chosen to include? This section is not due until the final submission.

     

    Self-Reflection

    This class has definitely helped me alter my views (as if they were not already altered) on other people. I used to think that other people’s behavior was influenced by their environment and maybe personality had little to do with it. Now I understand that a person’s behavior is influenced by their DNA, environment and specially their personality traits.

    This class has helped with making me understand

     

     

     

    References

     

     

    Lecci, L. (2015).  Personality . San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

     

    Anderson, J. (2017). An Interview With Henry A. Murray on His Meeting With Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalytic Psychology, Vol. 34, No. 3, 322–331.

     

    Hurley, D. (May 2013). Trait vs. Fate. Discover, pp. Vol. 34 Issue 4, p48-55. 8p.