1

Abby Hildebrand
PSYC 129: Theories of Personality
Professor Vajda
April 22, 2010
 2

Through the details of Patrick’s life so far, much is known about the development

of his personality. Depending on the lens through which one sees Patrick, his

development has been healthy and normal. One can make different claims about the

personality of Patrick by using various theorists. The ideas several influential personality

theorists are applied to the life of Patrick throughout the rest of this paper.

Eric Erikson expanded on Freudian theory by extending the stages of

development beyond the first years of life, basing the theory on epigenetic principles and

the idea that each theory’s resolution impacts the next theory. Each of Erikson’s eight

stages has a conflict, and one can end up positively or negatively resolving the conflict.

In the case of Patrick, the first three stages have been resolved positively because they

have allowed for him to positively complete the fourth stage of industriousness versus

inferiority. Patrick emerged with competence as demonstrated by his ability to get his

grades up in private school, as well as through his social ability and athleticism. He was

clearly able to complete tasks industriously as he created moneymaking schemes using

his charm. In his fifth stage, Patrick faced an identity crisis during his first semester of

college. Since he started drinking and partying too much, his grades slipped and his

girlfriend broke up with him. However, he picked up his grades and convinced his

girlfriend he would get back on track. His ability to emerge from his identity crisis with a

cohesive ego identity—that of a future lawyer, husband, and father— shows he has

developed fidelity. The sixth stage of intimacy versus isolation is positively resolved as

well, as Patrick got married, maintains relationships with his family, and has made

connections with his coworkers since he has made partner. Through his work at his

church as an elder, volunteer work with the local school, and role as a loving parent,
 3

Patrick has displayed charity towards the next generation, or generativity, and

successfully resolved stage seven. Speculating stage eight, it seems as though Patrick

could look back on his life as a devoted family man, community leader, and hardworking

lawyer and feel content about all his accomplishments, resulting in wisdom and a positive

resolution.

According to Adler’s theory, since all infants lack control, everyone develops

feelings of inferiority, and Patrick was no exception. Because of the comments Patrick’s

dad made about his older brother, Patrick always felt that he would not be good enough

or that his father would make those same comments about him. To compensate, Patrick

worked hard to excel in sports. His behavior became centered on striving for superiority:

he weight lifted before anyone else, he was captain of a large school’s football team, and

worked his way through law school. This drive for superiority, or perfection, is not so he

could feel better about himself in relation to others, but so he could feel complete.

Erich Fromm thought the basic human dilemma stemmed from the conflict

between freedom and security. The opposition to this conflict, according to Fromm ,

comes in the form of six psychological needs that balance freedom and security. Of

Fromm’s six psychological needs, Patrick meets them all. From an early age, Patrick has

been a socially successful person. From his friends to his wife to his colleagues,

relatedness to others is clearly a need met by Patrick. Transcendence is not so apparent,

but is still met by Patrick. His ability to parent and play with his children, as well as to

succeed as a lawyer, required him to use imagination and reason, which meets this need.

Patrick is deeply connected to his family and his community. He lives next door to his

parents, his children attend the same school as their father, his family are active in their
 4

church, and he met his wife in high school, which all meet the need for rootedness.

Throughout his life, Patrick has developed his athletic, academic, and social abilities

through school and participation in football. He knows who he is, and thus, successfully

met the need to create an identity. After overcoming a rough transition from high school

to college, Patrick worked hard to become a successful lawyer and to start a family, and

through these goals, Patrick created a framework of orientation through which to

organize his life. Lastly, with raising children, working, and participating in his church

and various community activities, Patrick has satisfied his need for excitation and

stimulation.

According to Carl Rodgers, we only believe we are worthy of approval when we

act in accordance with acceptable behaviors and attitudes set fourth others (typically our

parents) and refrain from acting in ways that bring disapproval. These conditions of

worth teach people to engage in and to avoid specific behaviors, regardless of their own

sentiments, which can prevent proper development of the self. In order for Patrick’s

father to accept his sons, he felt they needed to be athletic and competitive just like he

was. This expectation for excellence in sports became a condition of worth for Patrick.

This creates a conditional positive regard, meaning that Patrick can only feel a positive

self-regard if he meets the condition of worth. In Patrick’s case, there were not

detrimental consequences to his father’s condition of worth but he did conform his

behavior to the standards set by his father.

Julian Rotter’s theory is based on the idea that individuals make choices based on

whether our actions will be reinforced or punished. His concept of locus of control seeks

to find the extent to which an individual believes he or she can control the reinforcement
 5

they receive in life—that is, in general, does the individual or the environment exert more

control over life events? All in all, Patrick has an internal locus of control. His self-

motivation leads him to ask his parents to move him back to public school, to work hard

to become a lawyer, and to get his girlfriend back. He questioned whether or not it was

through his own merit he earned an internship, was admitted to law school, and was hired

at his father’s law firm. Besides this doubt, Patrick controlled most of the things that

happened in his life through goal seeking behaviors, and achieved those goals though his

own accord. He did not feel that things happened to him or he was lucky.

After considering Patrick’s life from various viewpoints, it still holds true that

Patrick has a healthy and normal life so far. His successes in all aspects of life are a

tribute to a variety of factors-- his family, his peers, his teachers, his culture, and his

society—in the same way that his personality can be described by a variety of theories.