Good Example Of Essay On Theoretical Eclecticism

There is a significant variation in the main personality theories. For example, Freud's psychodynamic theory is divided into five phases of personality development: oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. Freud's personality construct also consists of the id, ego, and superego. Psychometric theories, on the other hand, attempt to measure personality traits (McLeod, 2014, internet). For instance, Eysenck's Personality Theory rests on the measurement of three personality dimensions, such as extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. Cattell's 16PF Trait Theory measured far more personality traits than Eysenck's, whereas Allport believed that a person was born with a personality type that was, in turn, shaped by his environmental influences (McLeod, 2014, internet).
Despite the number of personality theories, they do not agree on any one thing. Freud's psychodynamic theories stand out as the most iconoclastic. The other theories attempt to be more scientific, but they are not really very empirical or objective. Depending on whether a clinician approaches psychoanalysis as a behaviorist or a psychodynamicist depends largely on his professional biases (Lazarus & Beutler, 1993, p. 381). Indeed, different personality theorists are at a large disagreement about many different aspects of personality development, and the proper way to measure personality traits. There is no consensus among these theorists.
Moreover, there is little science that backs up the notion that personality traits are inherited, based on twin studies of identical and non-identical twins (McLeod, 2014, internet). There is simply too much bias among personality researchers and a lack of scientific understanding about personality development to forge a unified theoretical framework. No one theory coincides with any other theory, and this creates problems in a clinical sense (Lazarus & Beutler, 1993, p. 382). While Lazarus & Beutler clearly advocate an eclectic approach, personality theory is such a hodge-podge of disparate ideas and biases about personality traits and development that this course of action does not seem wise.

References

Lazarus, A.A., & Beutler, L.E., (1993). On technical eclecticism. Journal of Counseling & Development, 71:4, pp. 381-385. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/docs/david- kaplan%27s-files/lazarus-a-beutler-l-.pdf?sfvrsn=0
McLeod, S., (2014). Theories of Personality. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/personality-theories.html