Sullivan’s Interpersonal Model of Personality Development

Sullivan’s Interpersonal Model of Personality Development

Prepared by Pamela D. Gabriel

Biography of Harry Stack Sullivan

•born in the small farming town of Norwich, New York on February 21, 1892

•sole surviving child of poor Irish Catholic parents

•his mother, Ella, was 32 when she married Timothy and 39 when Harry was born

•he was pampered and protected by his mother as an only child

•he has never developed a close relationship with his father until after his mother’s death and he became a prominent physician

•when he was 8 ½ years old, he formed a close friendship with a 13-year-old boy from a neighboring farm

•that chum was Clarence Bellinger•they had much in common socially

and intellectually•both were retarded socially but

advanced intellectually; both later became psychiatrists and neither ever married

•his mother, Ella, was 32 when she married Timothy and 39 when Harry was born

•he was pampered and protected by his mother as an only child

•he has never developed a close relationship with his father until after his mother’s death and he became a prominent physician

•six years after becoming a physician, and with no training in psychiatry, he gained a position at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. as a psychiatrist

•his ability to work with schizophrenic patients won him a reputation as a therapeutic wizard

•he died alone in Paris, France on January 14, 1949 at the age of 56

Tensions

Sullivan saw personality as an energy system, with energy existing either as tension (potentiality for action) or as energy transformations (the actions themselves). He further divided tensions into needs and anxiety.

2 Types:

1. Needs- can relate either to the general well-being of a person or to specific zones, such as the mouth or genitals. General needs can be either physiological, such as food or oxygen, or they can be interpersonal, such as tenderness and intimacy.

2. Anxiety- is disjunctive and calls for no consistent actions for its relief. Sullivan called anxiety as the chief disruptive force in healthy interpersonal relations. A complete absence of anxiety and other tensions is called euphoria.

Dynamisms

Sullivan used the term dynamism to refer to a typical pattern of behavior. Dynamisms may relate either to specific zones of the body or to tensions.

A. Malevolence- is the disjunctive dynamism of evil and hatred. It is defined by Sullivan as a feeling of living among one's enemies. Those children who become malevolent have much difficulty giving and receiving tenderness or being intimate with other people.

B. Intimacy- is the conjunctive dynamism marked by a close personal relationship between two people of equal status. Intimacy facilitates interpersonal development while decreasing both anxiety and loneliness.

C. Lust- is an isolating dynamism. That is, lust is a self-centered need that can be satisfied in the absence of an intimate interpersonal relationship. In other words, although intimacy presupposes tenderness or love, lust is based solely on sexual gratification and requires no other person for its satisfaction.

D. Self-System- is the most inclusive of all dynamisms that protects us against anxiety and maintains our interpersonal security. The self-system is a conjunctive dynamism, but because its primary job is to protect the self from anxiety, it tends to stifle personality change. Experiences that are inconsistent with our self-system threaten our security and necessitate our use of security operations, which consist of behaviors designed to reduce interpersonal tensions.

Personifications

Sullivan believed that people acquire certain images of self and others throughout the developmental stages, and he referred to these subjective perceptions as personifications.

A. Bad-Mother, Good-Mother- grows out of infants' experiences with a nipple that does not satisfy their hunger needs. All infants experience the bad-mother personification, even though their real mothers love and nurture them. Later, infants acquire a good-mother personification as they become mature enough to recognize the tender and cooperative behavior of their mothering one.

B. Me Personifications- is acquired during infancy, and has three "me" personifications: (1) the bad-me, which grows from experiences of punishment and disapproval, (2) the good-me, who results from experiences with reward and approval, and (3) the not-me, which allows a person to dissociate or selectively inattend the experiences related to anxiety.

C. Eidetic Personifications- is based on one of Sullivan's most interesting observations—people often create imaginary traits that they project onto others. Included in these eidetic personifications are the imaginary playmates that preschool-aged children often have. These imaginary friends enable children to have a safe, secure relationship with another person, even though that person is imaginary.

•when he was 8 ½ years old, he formed a close friendship with a 13-year-old boy from a neighboring farm

•that chum was Clarence Bellinger•they had much in common socially and

intellectually•both were retarded socially but

advanced intellectually; both later became psychiatrists and neither ever married

•six years after becoming a physician, and with no training in psychiatry, he gained a position at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. as a psychiatrist

•his ability to work with schizophrenic patients won him a reputation as a therapeutic wizard

•he died alone in Paris, France on January 14, 1949 at the age of 56

Tensions

Sullivan saw personality as an energy system, with energy existing either as tension (potentiality for action) or as energy transformations (the actions themselves). He further divided tensions into needs and anxiety.

2 Types:

1. Needs- can relate either to the general well-being of a person or to specific zones, such as the mouth or genitals. General needs can be either physiological, such as food or oxygen, or they can be interpersonal, such as tenderness and intimacy.

2. Anxiety- is disjunctive and calls for no consistent actions for its relief. Sullivan called anxiety as the chief disruptive force in healthy interpersonal relations. A complete absence of anxiety and other tensions is called euphoria.

Dynamisms

Sullivan used the term dynamism to refer to a typical pattern of behavior. Dynamisms may relate either to specific zones of the body or to tensions.

A. Malevolence- is the disjunctive dynamism of evil and hatred. It is defined by Sullivan as a feeling of living among one's enemies. Those children who become malevolent have much difficulty giving and receiving tenderness or being intimate with other people.

B. Intimacy- is the conjunctive dynamism marked by a close personal relationship between two people of equal status. Intimacy facilitates interpersonal development while decreasing both anxiety and loneliness.

C. Lust- is an isolating dynamism. That is, lust is a self-centered need that can be satisfied in the absence of an intimate interpersonal relationship. In other words, although intimacy presupposes tenderness or love, lust is based solely on sexual gratification and requires no other person for its satisfaction.

D. Self-System- is the most inclusive of all dynamisms that protects us against anxiety and maintains our interpersonal security. The self-system is a conjunctive dynamism, but because its primary job is to protect the self from anxiety, it tends to stifle personality change. Experiences that are inconsistent with our self-system threaten our security and necessitate our use of security operations, which consist of behaviors designed to reduce interpersonal tensions.

PersonificationsSullivan believed that people acquire

certain images of self and others throughout the developmental stages, and he referred to these subjective perceptions as personifications.

A. Bad-Mother, Good-Mother- grows out of infants' experiences with a nipple that does not satisfy their hunger needs. All infants experience the bad-mother personification, even though their real mothers love and nurture them. Later, infants acquire a good-mother personification as they become mature enough to recognize the tender and cooperative behavior of their mothering one.

B. Me Personifications- is acquired during infancy, and has three "me" personifications: (1) the bad-me, which grows from experiences of punishment and disapproval, (2) the good-me, who results from experiences with reward and approval, and (3) the not-me, which allows a person to dissociate or selectively inattend the experiences related to anxiety.

C. Eidetic Personifications- is based on one of Sullivan's most interesting observations—people often create imaginary traits that they project onto others. Included in these eidetic personifications are the imaginary playmates that preschool-aged children often have. These imaginary friends enable children to have a safe, secure relationship with another person, even though that person is imaginary.

STAGE AGE DESCRIPTION

1. Infancy Birth to 1½ yrs Infant learns to rely on caregivers to meet needs & desires

2. Childhood 1½ to 6 yrs Child begins learning to delay immediate gratification of needs & desires

3. Juvenile 6 to 9 yrs Child forms fulfilling peer relationships

4. Preadolescence 9 to 12 yrs Child relates successfully to same-sex peers

5. Early Adolescence 12 to 14 yrs Adolescent learns to be independent & formsrelationships with members of opposite sex

6. Late Adolescence 14 to 21 yrs Person establishes an intimate, long-lasting relationship with someone of the opposite sex

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg• Lawrence Kohlberg (October

25, 1927 – January 19, 1987) was a Jewish Americanpsychologist 

• born in Bronxville, New York, who served as a professor at the University of Chicago, as well as Harvard University. Having specialized in research on moral education and reasoning, he is best known for his theory of stages of moral development. A close follower of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, Kohlberg's work reflected and extended his predecessor's ideas, at the same time creating a new field within psychology: "moral development

LEVEL AND STAGE DESCRIPTION

LEVEL I: Pre-conventional Authority figures are obeyed.

(Birth to 9 years) Misbehavior is viewed in terms of damage done.

Stage 1: Punishment & obedienceorientation A deed is perceived as “wrong” if one is punished; the activity is “right” if one is not punished.

Stage 2: Instrumental-relativistorientation “Right” is defined as that which is acceptable to & approved by the self.When actions satisfy one’s needs, they are “right.”

LEVEL II: Conventional Cordial interpersonal relationships are maintained.

(9-13 years) Approval of others is sought through one’s actions.

Stage 3: Interpersonal concordance Authority is respected.

Stage 4: Law and order orientation Individual feels “duty bound” to maintain social order.Behavior is “right” when it conforms to the rules.

LEVEL III: Post-conventional Individual understands the morality of having democratically established laws.

(13+ years)

Stage 5: Social contract orientation It is “wrong” to violate others’ rights.

Stage 6: Universal ethics orientation The person understands the principles of human rights & personal conscience.Person believes that trust is basis for relationships.

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Theory

Erik Erikson • Erik Erikson was born June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany. His father, a Danish man, abandoned the family before he was born. His young, Jewish mother later married a physician, Dr. Theodor Homberger.

• His interest in identity developed early based upon his own experiences in school. At his temple school, the other children teased him for being Nordic because he was tall, blonde and blue-eyed. At grammar school, he was rejected because of his Jewish background.

Career:After spending some time traveling throughout Europe, Erik Erikson studied psychoanalysis from Anna Freud and earned a certificate from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. Erikson moved to the United States in 1933 and was offered a teaching position at Harvard Medical School. In addition to this, he also had a private practice in child psychoanalysis. Later, he held teaching positions at University of California at Berkeley, Yale, San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, Austen Riggs Center, and Center for Advanced Studies of the Behavioral Sciences.He published a number of books on his theories and research, including Childhood and Society and The Life Cycle Completed. His book Gandhi's Truth was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and a national Book Award.

STAGE AGE CENTRAL TASK

(+) RESOLUTION

(-) RESOLUTION

1. Infancy Birth-18 mos Trust vs Mistrust Learn to trust others

Mistrust, withdrawal, estrangement

2. Early childhood 1½ to 3 y/o Autonomy vs Shame & doubt

Self control w/o loss of self esteemAbility of cooperate & express oneself

Compulsive, self-restraint or compliance.Willfulness & defiance.

3. Late childhood 3 to 5 y/o Initiative vs guilt Learns to become assertiveAbility to evaluate one’s own behavior

Lack of self-confidence.Pessimism, fear of wrongdoing.Over-control & over-restriction.

4. School Age 6 to 12 y/o Industry vs Inferiority

Learns to create, develop & manipulate.Develop sense of competence & perseverance.

Loss of hope, sense of being mediocre.Withdrawal from school & peers.

5. Adolescence 12–20 y/o Identity vs role confusion

Coherent sense of self.Plans to actualize one’s abilities

Feelings of confusion, indecisiveness, & possible anti-social behavior.

6. Young Adulthood

18-25 y/o Intimacy vs isolation

Intimate relationship with another person.Commitment to work and relationships.

Impersonal relationships.Avoidance of relationship, career or lifestyle commitments.

7. Adulthood 25-65 y/o Generativity vs stagnation

Creativity,productivity, concern for others.

Self-indulgence, self-concern, lack of interests & commitments.

8. Maturity 65 y/o to death Integrity vs despair

Acceptance of worth & uniqueness of one’s own life.Acceptance of death.

Sense of loss,contempt for others.