Freud’s penetrating insights
into clinically rigid personalities bear witness that unconscious conflicts,
some of them arising from childhood experiences, affect human behavior in
lasting ways.
To drive the point home,
Freud develops the notion of the id, ego, and superego. The id represents the
most primitive dimension of the self, derived from primal instincts of sex,
aggression, and pleasure. The superego symbolizes cultural, parental, and
societal norms that seek to tame and civilize the unruly id. The ego, the
reality principle of selfhood, seeks to forge an uneasy but workable peace
between impulses from the id and repression of these impulses by the superego.
To the degree that persons can sublimate the id into more constructive and
socially acceptable behaviors, the ego is strengthened and the superego becomes
less repressive and more proactive in terms of a healthy conscience. “We might
say that the ego stands for reason and good sense while the id stands for the
untamed passions” (Freud, 1933).
Christian
personality theory agrees
with
this overall picture in all but two points. First, it
suggests that the id, or instinctual basis of the self, is not merely biological
and genetic but also spiritual and interpersonal. Thus, while the unconscious
is potentially selfish and self-absorbed, it is also innately concerned with
creativity, social integration, and a human goodness that emerges from the
divine impulses of the soul that also reside within the unconscious.
Second,
the purpose of human life is not limited to the resolution of unconscious
conflicts, but also reflects the calling of Christ within each person to become
a more whole personality, their human nature sharing in Christ’s redemption,
their fulfillment combining self-determination with openness to God’s grace in
life and relationships.
In regard to Freud’s
discovery and elucidation of the ego defense mechanisms—ways that people defend
themselves against actualizing growth by perpetuating rigidly defended
patterns—compass theory offers a rationale for organizing and deriving insight
into these defense mechanisms by interpreting them within the Self Compass
framework.
 |
| Personality Patterns Self Compass |
Denial can be employed from
every compass point. Pleasers and Storytellers (Love compass point) deny that
they live too much through other people. Arguers and Rule-breakers (Assertion
compass point) deny that they are mean-spirited. Loners and Worriers (Weakness
compass point) deny that they actively avoid developing strengths or learning
how to love. Boasters and Controllers deny that they have superiority complexes
that judge others as inferior to them.
Reaction formation involves a
rigid determination to become the opposite of someone or something the person
is rebelling against. Persons stuck on the Love compass point often experienced
someone in their family of origin engaged in angry tirades or dominating others
through intimidation; therefore Pleasers and Storytellers go out of their way
to accommodate others and maintain good will at all cost.
Assertion-stuck
individuals often modeled a parent’s aggressive trend, learning to disdain
anyone who modeled servile submissiveness. Arguers or Rule-breakers develop a reaction formation
against submission by blaming and attacking others to ensure a dominant role.
Weakness-stuck individuals have given up on improving their lot, frequently because
someone stuck in Strength pushed them too hard or criticized them too frequently.
So Worriers and Loners develop a reaction formation against strong and
assertive behaviors by determining not to take risks as a strategy for
maintaining social invisibility.
Boasters and Controllers, stuck on Strength,
have often developed a reaction formation against someone they knew who was pitifully
weak, or a time in life when they felt trapped by overwhelming anxiety; they vow
never again to show weakness by fortifying a self-image of being perfectly in
control.
For more, see:
