How the ego quiets as it grows: Ego development, growth stories, and eudaimonic personality development.

Author(s):  
Jack J. Bauer
1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold P. Blum

Bridging concepts of aggression, affect, and attitude, hate emerges during the process of separation-individuation concurrent with ego development and persisting intrapsychic conflict and fantasy. Rage precedes hate developmentally, though later the two are amalgamated both developmentally and clinically. Hate is the negative pole of ambivalence and is a component of all self- and object representations and object relationships. When excessive and unmodulated, hate interferes with object relations and personality development. Paradoxically, hate may also subserve adaptation and personality organization. Transference hate is often a greater problem for the psychoanalyst or psychotherapist than is transference love. Transference hate threatens the analyst's narcissism and neutrality and tests the analyst's tolerance and patience. The patient's intense hate is often experienced as a direct assault on the analytic relationship and the analytic process. Countertransference hate and the need to defend against it are of great clinical importance. Because it runs counter to analytic ideals and values, the analyst's hatred of the patient may be denied, minimized, rationalized, enacted, or vicariously gratified and may occasion great resistance to analytic self-scrutiny. Countertransference hate is often an unrecognized determinant in cases of analytic and therapeutic impasse. A classic contribution by D.W. Winnicott to the recognition and elucidation of countertransference hate is reevaluated.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Pourhosein ◽  
Shahin Mohammadi-Zarghan ◽  
Mehrnoosh Soufiabadi ◽  
Mohammad Atari

The theory of ego development presents a comprehensive framework to understand personality development throughout the stages of life. In this developmental theory, the ego is considered a cognitive-based structure and the primary synthesizing and regulating agent in personality development. Art appreciation and aesthetic judgment are considered to have personality correlates and developmental aspects. The current study aimed to examine the association between ego development and aesthetic judgment styles in adults. We recruited 202 adults from a community sample in Tehran, Iran. The age of participants in this study ranged from 18 to 64 (M = 29.5, SD = 8.9). Consistent with our hypotheses, results indicated that concrete aesthetic judgment was negatively associated with ego development. Moreover, analytical and emotional aesthetic judgment styles were positively correlated with ego development. In conclusion, individuals who scored higher in ego development tended to use more advanced aesthetic judgment styles when exposed to art.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Ishanov ◽  
E.N. Osin ◽  
V.Yu. Kostenko

The paper focuses on the associations between personality development and qualitative characteristics of experiences in solitude. The authors review recent studies of solitude and discuss the differences between solitude and loneliness. A mixed-methods empirical study of solitude experiences using an online sample (N=204) is presented. The respondents reported the quantity of time they typically spend in solitude and described their subjective experiences and typical activities during this time. They also completed Multidimensional Inventory of Loneliness Experience (MILE), Existence Scale (ES), and Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT). Ego development measured by WUSCT showed weak positive associations with positive solitude (MILE), self-transcendence (ES), the prevalence of positive emotions in solitude, and a higher variety of activities in solitude (particularly, meditation, creative activities, physical activity), based on content analysis. The findings indicate that individuals at advanced ego development stages are less likely to suffer from loneliness when alone, but to accept the situations of solitude, endorse them, and use them in creative ways. The findings explain the individual differences in the experiences associated with solitude and are discussed in the context of existential and cultural-historical approach.


Author(s):  
David Ephraim

Abstract. A history of complex trauma or exposure to multiple traumatic events of an interpersonal nature, such as abuse, neglect, and/or major attachment disruptions, is unfortunately common in youth referred for psychological assessment. The way these adolescents approach the Rorschach task and thematic contents they provide often reflect how such experiences have deeply affected their personality development. This article proposes a shift in perspective in the interpretation of protocols of adolescents who suffered complex trauma with reference to two aspects: (a) the diagnostic relevance of avoidant or emotionally constricted Rorschach protocols that may otherwise appear of little use, and (b) the importance of danger-related thematic contents reflecting the youth’s sense of threat, harm, and vulnerability. Regarding this last aspect, the article reintroduces the Preoccupation with Danger Index ( DI). Two cases are presented to illustrate the approach.


2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula M. Staudinger ◽  
Ute Kunzmann

Abstract. Does personality stay stable after young adulthood or is there continued change throughout middle and later adulthood? For decades, this question has caused heated debate. Over the last couple of years, a consensus has emerged based on recent cross-cultural as well as longitudinal evidence. This consensus confirms that indeed there is personality change in middle and later adulthood. Many authors have labeled this change personality maturation or growth. In somewhat simplified terms the observed pattern is as follows: neuroticism declines, conscientiousness and agreeableness increase. At the same time it has been argued that this pattern of personality change is the result of coping with the developmental tasks of adulthood and, thus, increased adjustment. We would like to examine this practice of equating developmental adjustment with growth and ask how to define personality growth. To answer this question, we consult theories of personality development as well as lifespan theory.


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