The Superior Personality of Addams According to Psychologists Essay Example for Free

The Superior Personality of Addams According to Psychologists Essay The superiority in Addams’ personality marks her leadership and fame. Famous psychologists such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers, Gordon Allport, John Watson, and Otho Rank have explored theories to explain reasons for these superior characteristics. According to Freud, a person is motivated to do something based on two aspects of the superego. The first is the ego which is the person’s conception of what his/her parents will approve, and the other is the conscience which embodies one’s conception of what should be condemned. In our review of Addams life, we may point out how her father served as a great influence in her actions. Her father, who served as a senator, basically provided the orientation to help other people, or to be of service to others. For Freud, the Electra complex could be at work here. Thus, Freudians would reasonably point out that Addams’ social behavior and achievements could have been dedicated in half towards pleasing father. Also, Addams had difficulty finding the same energy she had about medical school when her father passed away. Thus bereavement also provoked her to find the real meaning of life and her mission in the world. The other half could be dictated by her conscience to do as what the society told her. Raised in values by her father who admired Lincoln, Addams formed a conviction against racism and labor injustice, making her act against them, though it meant condemnation from other people in her society. The ego and the conscience worked together to bring out the leadership qualities that Addams possessed. Another famous psychological point of view to explain why a person excels highly above the rest is that of Carl Rogers’. According to Rogers, people are basically good and healthy. He argued that people’s motives are governed by the force of life or the â€Å"actualizing tendency†. Applying this to the personality of Addams, we may say that even at a young age, Addams always had an inclination to excel and achieve her best. Like a plant which grows up, buds flowers, and bears fruit, Addams was subject to her own natural â€Å"actualizing tendency†. In her biography, we can note that although her father disapproved of her studying and eventually becoming a doctor, Addams still pursued her life goal of being of service to others. Moreover, Rogers would also affirm that it was Addams’ nature to do what she felt best for the society and the world, which motivated her to do what she did. Furthermore, Rogers’ concept of positive self-regard tells us that Addams was provoked to act on the injustices in her society because she believed she could make a difference. Coming from a wealthy family, she knew what she had, which she could share with others. Going back to the time when she saw the outskirts of London, she was able to determine her purpose in life, and she was naturally led to her self-actualization. Likewise, Gordon Allport introduced a theory on psychological maturity. He called this state as a â€Å"well-developed proprium†. According to Allport, a person has achieved this when s/he has â€Å"specific, enduring extensions of self-involvement. † In the community works rendered by Addams, we see how she endured the sacrifices of helping and educating others. Specifically, one of the women who worked at Hull House commented, She is very tired . . . of course she did not let [that] deter her from tearing about. She preached for the Methodists last Sunday, entertained the Colored Women of the National Council (Mrs. Booker T. Washington et al) yesterday and later went to Winnetka . . . she runs over to Mrs. Jones-around to Mrs. Fiellras . . . up to Mrs. Kenyon-off with Mrs. Halderman, down to inquiring strangers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Davis, 1973, p. 82). Another characteristic of a person with well-developed proprium is having â€Å"dependable techniques for warm-relating to others†. This includes a person’s tolerance and sympathy of others. The third characteristic is having â€Å"emotional security† which is very evident in Addams. Fourth is having â€Å"habits of realistic perception†. When Jane saw the Toynbee Hall in London, she deciphered that the root cause of her own society’s dilemma was, â€Å"overaccumulation at one end of society, and destitution at the other† (Bush, 1993, p. 49). Fifth, Allport also identified â€Å"problem-centeredness† as another characteristic. Evidently, Addams possessed this as she responded to the labor problems of the factory workers in her hometown. Sixth is â€Å"self-objectification† which is the ability to reflect on one’s behavior. Although Addams was criticized and identified by the FBI as the most dangerous woman in America during her time, she still fought for peace against all odds. The last characteristic was to have a â€Å"unifying philosophy of life†. By putting up the Hull House, Addams reached out not only to the poor but also to the rich by making them contribute to the House’s projects. Another psychologist who can offer explanation to Addams’ leadership qualities is John Watson, the father of behaviorism. Exploring his theory, we may note that Addams’ personal qualities of being a leader were only her response to the stimuli given to her. Coming from a well-to-do family, Addams was affected by the sufferings she witnessed in her town, and this motivated her to act on the situation. Seeing the problems of the workers and the migrants, she responded to help alleviate their sufferings. Likewise, when America joined the World War I, she mainly reacted on the events happening, and voiced out her opposition with her idealistic regard for peace. While all these theories explain the superior leader in Addams, we may also expound on the theory of Otto Rank to explain another aspect of her personality. Breaking out from Freud, who was his mentor, Otto Rank extended the psychoanalytic theory by delving on myths, legend, and art. In particular, his belief that people can be categorized as â€Å"hero† and â€Å"artist† can be applied to the personality of Addams. In his theory, Rank stated that some people can be categorized as artists. As an artist, this person sees reality as his own image, thus reconstructs it as he would himself. In addition, Rank argued that a true artist needs immortality which he can achieve by identifying with the collective will of his environment. Furthermore, he also emphasized that among artists, there is the productive type—who is also the genius and creative—to which Addams can be categorized. Remember that Addams used the arts to relieve the sufferings of the workers in their town. Being able to teach arts and using it as a medium to attract people of their projects, we can say that the artist prototype was fully evident in Addams. Unlike other artists who worked for division or fame, Addams chose to work for the best of her people. As such, her qualities exemplified the productive type that Rank theorized. The inspiration that Addams offers each of us, especially women, should always be remembered. Her life constituted by breaking free from stereotyping, making both ends meet for the Hull House, opposing views of the majority regarding war, and serving people through her projects and writings, is what all of us should follow if we want to effect changes in our society. Although the explanations offered by theorists regarding her personality may vary, one thing remains constant: life would not be the same without the contributions of Jane Addams.It is through her aspirations and idealism that America learned to recognize more the rights and sufferings of its people. References Addams, Jane. (1960). A Centennial Reader, ed. by E. C. Johnson. New York: Macmillan Addams, Jane. (1910). Twenty Years at Hull-House. New York: Macmillan Boeree, George. (2006). Personality Theories. Retrieved December 21 2007, from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/perscontents. html Bush, Malcolm. (1993). Jane Addams: No Easy Heroine. Free Inquiry, 13 (4), Fall 48-49. Davis, Allen F. (1973). American Heroine: The Life and Legend of Jane Addams. Oxford Press: New York. DeMar Gary. (1988). Behaviorism. In Surviving College Successfully: A Complete Manual for the Rigors of Academic Combat. Wolgemuth Hyatt Publishers, Inc. Retrieved December 22, 2007, from http://forerunner. com/forerunner/X0497_DeMar_-_Behaviorism. html Haberman, Frederick. (1972). In Nobel Lectures, Peace 1926-1950. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company. Retrieved December 22, 2007, from http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio. html Lundblad, Karen Shafer. (1995). Jane Addams and Social Reform: A Role Model for the 1990s. Social Work, 40 (5), September, 661-669