Personality Psychology - Sojourner Truth
ANALYSIS OF THE PERSONALITY OF
SOJOURNER TRUTH, ACTIVIST,
BASED ON NEO-ANALYTIC ASPECTS
By Ung Hai Hoon
Sojourner Truth (c.1797 – 26 November 1883)
Sojourner Truth dedicated her life to fighting slavery, and advocating equal rights for women. She first began speaking in 1827, giving personal testimony of the evils and cruelty of slavery; and later as a staunch supporter of suffrage, also advocated for equal rights for women. At the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, she delivered her speech “Ain’t I a Woman” which is now revered among classic text of feminism. She lived her life in the water-shed years of American abolition of slavery and became a leader and recognized as an icon for equality of rights and freedom.
At birth, Truth was named Isabella and was a slave for the first twenty-eight years of her life because she was a child born by slaves. In 1826, Truth began life as a free woman; but only after eighteen years – in 1843 at the age of forty-six years, she rename herself, “Sojourner Truth is my name, because from this day I will walk in the light of His truth.” (p.77). The moment of naming herself marked Truth’s cognitive freedom from her enslaved past.
Neo-Analytic Approach to Personality
The neo-analytic approach to personality asseverate that the individual’s sense of self as the core of personality; holding that the self “struggles to cope with emotions and drives on the inside and the demands of others on the outside” (Friedman & Schustack, 2011); that human nature is positive and goal-oriented; that society and culture shapes
personality; and that development continues throughout lifespan. For the analysis of Sojourner Truth’s personality, the concepts of neo-analytical theorist Alfred Adler are selected for the purpose.
Adler’s Concept of Humanity
Feist & Feist (2006) described Adler’s concept of humanity as that people are self-determinant, and their unique personalities are shaped by how they interpret
SOJOURNER TRUTH, ACTIVIST,
BASED ON NEO-ANALYTIC ASPECTS
By Ung Hai Hoon
Sojourner Truth (c.1797 – 26 November 1883)
Sojourner Truth dedicated her life to fighting slavery, and advocating equal rights for women. She first began speaking in 1827, giving personal testimony of the evils and cruelty of slavery; and later as a staunch supporter of suffrage, also advocated for equal rights for women. At the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, she delivered her speech “Ain’t I a Woman” which is now revered among classic text of feminism. She lived her life in the water-shed years of American abolition of slavery and became a leader and recognized as an icon for equality of rights and freedom.
At birth, Truth was named Isabella and was a slave for the first twenty-eight years of her life because she was a child born by slaves. In 1826, Truth began life as a free woman; but only after eighteen years – in 1843 at the age of forty-six years, she rename herself, “Sojourner Truth is my name, because from this day I will walk in the light of His truth.” (p.77). The moment of naming herself marked Truth’s cognitive freedom from her enslaved past.
Neo-Analytic Approach to Personality
The neo-analytic approach to personality asseverate that the individual’s sense of self as the core of personality; holding that the self “struggles to cope with emotions and drives on the inside and the demands of others on the outside” (Friedman & Schustack, 2011); that human nature is positive and goal-oriented; that society and culture shapes
personality; and that development continues throughout lifespan. For the analysis of Sojourner Truth’s personality, the concepts of neo-analytical theorist Alfred Adler are selected for the purpose.
Adler’s Concept of Humanity
Feist & Feist (2006) described Adler’s concept of humanity as that people are self-determinant, and their unique personalities are shaped by how they interpret
References: Feist, J., & Feist, G.J. (2006). Theories of Personality (6th ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill Asia. Friedman, H.S., & Schustack, M.W. (2011). Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Hergenhahn, B.R. (2009). An Introduction to the History of Psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA.: Wadsworth Liebert, R., Liebert, L. (1998). Liebert & Liebert; Spiegler’s Personality Strategies and Issues (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA.: Brooks/Cole. McKissack, P.C.,& McKissack, F.(1992). Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? New York: Scholastic.