Personality is made up of characteristics patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique. In addition to this personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life. Explanation for personality focus on a variety of influences ranging from genetic explanations for personality traits to the role of the environment and experiences in shaping an individual’s personality for example the environment play a role in the development and expression of personality including such things as parenting and culture. The study of personality is one of the major topics of interest within psychology. Numerous personality theories exist and most of the major ones fall into one of four major perspectives namely psychoanalytic, behavioral, and phenomenological and bio physiological perspectives. Each of these perspectives on personality attempts to describe different patterns in personality, including how these patterns form and how people differ on an individual level.
Psychoanalytic perspective
The psychoanalytic perspective of personality emphasizes the importance of early childhood experiences and the unconscious mind. This perspective on personality was created by psychiatrist Sigmund Freud who believed that things hidden in the unconscious could be revealed in a number of different ways, including through dreams, free association, and slips of the tongue. Sigmund Freud described the personality as an iceberg. He divided the iceberg into conscious mind were the ice floated above the water and the unconscious mind were the ice was beneath the water as shown in the diagram below.
The ego is the conscious mind, the realistic part that meditates desires of the id and superego. It operates on the reality principle to satisfy the Id desires in a way that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. The ego mediates among the demands of the id, superego and ego.it comprises of sensation and experiences apparent to the individual. It is a small limited aspect of personality which is conscious briefly yet can be quickly submerged into the unconscious mind.
The Id consists of reservoir of unconscious psychic energy and strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. It operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.
While the superego act as a moral conscience. This is part of the personality that presents internalized ideals. It provided standard for judgment and future aspirations
