Henry
Alexander
Murray
Theory of Personology
Neo-Freudian Theorist
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
“For me, personality is [a] jungle without
boundaries.”
-Henry Murray

Trait Theories/Theorists
◦ These are theories/ists that reject or make
way out of the conception that personality
must be studied in accordance to the
principles of Freudian Psychoanalysis
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
What are traits?
Ψ Traits
are behavior consistent over time.
Ψ They
are theoretical components of an
individual used to explain the person’s
behavioral consistencies.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Therefore…
a trait theorist would not look
into the ‘specifics’ of behavior; rather,
a trait theorist would look into the
collective disposition of the person
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Chapter Outline
Personology Defined…
 Structure

◦ Division of Personology
 Freud’s Provinces of the Mind

Process
◦ Press-Need Pattern; Tension Reduction
◦ Vectors of Personology
◦ Life Themas
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
PERSONOLOGY

Essentially, it is the study of the person
himself.

“No isolated piece of behavior could ever
be understood without taking into
account the fully functioning person.”
-Henry Murray
“Personology is simple in structure but
complex in detail.”
-Henry A. Murray
Divisions of Personology

Freud’s contention of the “Provinces of
the Mind”; but differs in interpretation.
◦ Id
◦ Superego
◦ Ego
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
ID

The repository of all innate impulsive
tendencies.

Provides the energy and the direction of
behavior.
Freud: contains primitive, amoral & lustful
impulses
 Murray: contains socially acceptable
impulses like empathy and love.


Jung’s Shadow Archetype

The strength of Id impulse varies among
individuals.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
SUPEREGO

Freud: Stems out after the child identifies
with his/her parent and acts as the
parental voice.

Murray: The internalization of the culture’s
values and norms by which we come to
judge our behavior and that of others.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Freud:
At the age of 5, the superego is crystallized.
 Murray:
Superego continuously develop throughout
lifetime.

Freud:
The superego is in constant conflict with Id.
 Murray:
Not in constant conflict because the Id
contains not just bad impulses but also
good ones.

Freud:
Gives of guilt and feelings of inferiority
when ego acts contrary to its demands or
unable to meet its standards.

Murray:
Superego thwarts socially unacceptable
impulses thus it determines when, where
and how acceptable ones are expressed
and satisfied.

Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process

While the superego is developing so is the
ego-ideal.
 Represents
what we can
become at our best
(IDEALIZED SELF IMAGE) and
not what we can become if we
do not meet superego’s
standard.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
EGO

Is the rational governor of personality.

Opposes Freud’s contention that the ego
is the slave of id, superego and the reality.

In Murray’s definition, the ego is the one
that organizes behavior coming from the
id impulse whether good or bad.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process

Called as the arbiter of the two
contenders, id and superego and may
favor one over the other.

Can integrate the two dimensions of
personality so that what we want to do
(Id impulse) is in harmony with what the
society expects us to do (superego).
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process

A strong ego can mediate between the
clashes of impulses between id and
superego but conflicts in Murray’s system
can arise when there is a presence of a
weak ego.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Process

Directionality
◦ The study of man’s directional tendencies
holds the key to understanding human
behavior.
◦ Has led to the most complex system of
motivation
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process

Needs
◦ Some state of affairs which, if presents, would
improve the well being of an organism.
◦ Are constructs, or inferred conditions, but
they are considered to be real.
◦ A need involves a physiochemical force in the
brain that directs perceptual and intellectual
abilities.
◦ Internal
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Types of Needs

Primary Needs (Viscerogenic Needs)
 Needs that arise from the internal body state
 Required for survival

Secondary Needs (Psychogenic Needs)
 Needs that arise indirectly from the primary needs
 Has no specific origin in the body
 Concerned with emotional satisfaction
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process

Reactive Needs
 Involves a response to something that is specific in
the environment.
 Are only aroused when the object appears.

Proactive Needs
 Do not depend on the presence of an object
 These are needs that when aroused, do not depend
on the environment.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
 Overt
Needs
◦ Needs that express themselves in
motor behavior.
oCovert Needs
oUsually belonged to the world of fantasy and
dreams.

Murray developed a list of 12 primary
needs and 28 secondary needs.
Primary Needs
n. water
Deficiency need for liquids.
n. sex
Inner tension need, due to secretions.
n. urination
Inner tension need, due to expulsion
pressure.
n. harm avoidance Negative need, due to environmental threat.
Secondary Needs
n. abasement
n. affiliation
n. dominance
n. play
Need to passively submit to others.
Need to behave cooperatively with others.
Need to be in control.
Need to have fun.
Characteristics of a Need

Prepotency

Subsidiation

Need interaction
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Prepotency
More important needs are to be satisfied
first before other needs can operate.
 Ex:
need to study
need to play

need to eat
need of air/oxygen
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Subsidiation
Process wherein one need operates in
the service of another.
 Ex:
Subsidiary
Subsidiary need
n. Affiliation
n. Achievement

n. Rejection
n. Harmavoidance
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Need Interaction

Needs do not operate in complete
isolation from one another

Only two positive needs that interact can
form a good/positive goal.

One negative in interacting needs make
the goal bad or socially unaccepted.
Ex.
need to eat (+) + need to drink (+) =
socially accepted

need to pass (+) + need to cheat (-) =
socially unaccepted
Press
-
Aspects of the environment that are
effective determinants of behavior.
can be termed as “pressure”.
external
press are governed by the pressure of
reality
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Two Kinds of Press

Alpha Press
- Press governed by reality or external
factor in behavior.

Beta Press
- A kind of press that is dependent to the
individual.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Example 1.

A 30 year-old woman is not yet married.
Alpha press:
Her relatives say the she should marry soon.
Beta press:
“They’re mocking me for being single! I’m
not born to be one. They’ll see. I’ll marry a
perfect man.”
Example 2.

A man has just become a father.
Alpha Press:
He needed to look for a job to sustain his
family’s needs.
Beta Press:
“My son must be proud for me in the future.
I must become a president of one company.”
Press-Need Pattern
(Tension-reduction)
• Need and Press are the behavioral units
of personality (actones).
•Produces tension (energy) to create an
action.
•The interaction between a press and a
need produces an OPTIONAL
BEHAVIOR.
Paul Lanic, 2B
Structure and Process
Case 1: A young adult experiences
a press of poverty.
PRESS OF POVERTY
NEED OF FINANCIAL SECURITY
FIND A JOB
BEG FOR ALMS
(OPTIONAL BEHAVIOR)
ROB A BANK
Case 2 (with alpha and beta press):
A professor announces a hard
examination.
PRESS OF EXAMINATION
NEED TO STUDY
(produced from
the alpha press)
STUDY HARD
MAKE REVIEWERS
LITTLE NEED TO
STUDY
(produced from the
beta press)
WILL NOT STUDY
GO TO MALL
Vectors of Personology
Press of failure
Need to study
Proceed forward
Will not study
Fixate
•
•
Direction of the behavior
The direction of the behavior will be
dependent on the life themas.
Thema



the combination of the need and the
press or the total picture of the person’s
functioning.
is the core of personality in personology.
Life themas are certain values which
form a kind of “supercontrol” to the
Paul Lanic, 2B
individual.
Structure and Process
DEVELOPMENT OF
PERSONALITY
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
•Murray divided childhood into five stages.
•Each stage leaves its mark on our personality in the form
of an unconscious “COMPLEX” that directs our later
development.
•Complex: A normal pattern of childhood development
that influences the adult personality and is completely
unconscious.
•It only becomes abnormal when they are manifested in
an extreme manner or when a person becomes fixated at
that stage.
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
1.The Claustral Stage
• The fetus in the womb is secure, serene and dependent, conditions we
may all occasionally wish to reinstate.
• Residuals of the uterine or prenatal experience of the
individual.
a. Simple claustral complex
• Desires to be in a small, warm, dark place that is safe and secluded.
• Tends to be dependent on others, passive and oriented toward safe,
familiar behaviors that worked in the past.
• Need for passivity, harmavoidance, seclusion and succorance
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
b. Insupport claustral complex
• Centers on feelings of insecurity and helplessness
• Fears open spaces, falling, drowning, fires, earthquakes or any situation
involving novelty and change.
c. Egression or anti-claustral complex
• Based on a need to escape from restraining womblike conditions.
• Includes fear of suffocation and confinement
• Manifests itself in a preference for open spaces, fresh air, travel,
movement,
change and novelty.
• Strong need for autonomy
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
2.The Oral Stage
• Represent derivatives of early feeding experiences.
a. Oral succorance complex
• Features a combination of mouth activities, passive tendencies, and the need
to be supported and protected.
• Behavioral manifestations include sucking, kissing, compulsive eating,
drinking, and a hunger for affection, sympathy, protection, and love.
• Need for passivity and succorance.
b. Oral aggression complex
• Combines oral and aggressive behaviors, including biting, spitting,
shouting, and verbal aggression such as sarcasm.
• Strong aggressive needs and a need for harmavoidance
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
c. Oral rejection complex
• Includes vomiting, being picky about food, eating little, fearing oral
contamination (such as from kissing)
• Desires seclusion, and avoiding dependence on others
• Need for seclusion and autonomy
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
3.The Anal Stage
• Derived from events associated with the act of defecating and bowel
training
• There is a preoccupation with defecation, anal humor, and feces-like
material such as dirt, mud, plaster, and clay.
a. Anal rejection complex
• A person with this complex may be dirty and disorganized.
• Need for autonomy and anal sexuality.
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
b. Anal retention complex
• Manifested in accumulating, saving, and collecting things, and in
cleanliness, neatness, and orderliness.
• Need for autonomy and to retain possessions and a strong need for
order and cleanliness.
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
4.The Urethral Stage
• Associated with excessive ambition, a distorted sense of
self-esteem,
exhibitionism, bedwetting, sexual cravings, and self-love.
• Sometimes called the “Icarus Complex”
• Displays such qualities as a craving for immortality and
strong narcissism.
• Persons with this complex aim too high and their dreams are
shattered by failure.
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
5.The Genital/Castration Stage
• Murray disagreed with Freud’s contention that fear of castration is the
core of anxiety in adult males. He interpreted the castration complex in
narrower and more literal fashion as a boy’s fantasy that his penis
might be cut off. Murray believed such a fear grows out of childhood
masturbation and the parental punishment that may have accompanied
it.
Aira Lorraine P. Fabellon 2P2
Growth and Development
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
•
needs in conflict produce tension
•
a tension-free state is a source of distress.
•
prepotency – unsatisfied need such as
pain, hunger, and thirst will become the
greatest urgency. Thus, directs the whole of
personality.
•
Fixations in complexes are abnormal.
The CHANGE of PERSONOLOGY
The OSS Assessment Program
 Situational tests
 Their behavior in these tests was closely
observed.
 Projective tests
During the World War II years (1941–1945),
Murray directed this assessment program for
the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a
forerunner of the CIA. His goal was to select
people to serve as spies and saboteurs,
operating behind enemy lines in hazardous
situations.
The CHANGE of PERSONOLOGY
The Thematic Apperception Test
 The TAT consists of a set of
ambiguous pictures depicting simple
scenes.
 A projective and subjective test
 Used for assessing unconscious
thoughts, feelings, and fears.
The HUMAN NATURE of PERSONOLOGY
• FREE WILL OVER Determinism
• RATIONALITY OVER Irrationality
• UNIQUENESS OVER Universality
• OPTIMISM OVER Pessimism
• CAUSALITY OVER Teleology
• PROACTIVE AND REACTIVE
• HOMEOSTASIS OVER Hetereostasis
• SITUATIONAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL
The CRITIQUE of PERSONOLOGY
 generates research – moderate
falsifiability – low
 guides action – moderate
 parsimony – low
 organizes data – low
 internally consistent – low