Psychoanalytic Social Theory And Harry Sullivan's Interpersonal Theory
Personality Assessment
Written By: Sarah Marsac
Psychology of Personality
Abstract
I chose to do my personality assessment paper on Detective Olivia Benson from the show Law and Order SVU. She has been one of the lead detectives on the show since the first episode aired in 1998. The two personality theories I chose to use to assess Olivia’s personality are Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory, and Harry Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theory. Horney’s theory was built on the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are at the fore front for what is responsible for shaping personality. Sullivan’s theory stated that people develop their personality within a social context. His interpersonal theory emphasizes the importance of various developmental stages. In this paper I will cover most of the key points of both Sullivan’s and Horney’s theories. I will assess Olivia Benson’s personality through the eyes of both Sullivan and Horney, given the information I have …show more content…
I do not know every detail about Olivia’s childhood as the show is based on her life as an adult; however, I can only assume she protected herself by adopting a malevolent attitude. In her biography it states that her mother, Serena, was physically and emotionally abusive to her from a very young age (Wikipedia, nd). Serena controlled Olivia by both physical pain and by saying very hurtful words which in my opinion taught Olivia to withhold her expression for tenderness to protect her own self. There is a statement in the book that Sullivan made that I feel portrays how Olivia feels both about her mother and a lot of the people she deals with in her SVU cases. “Once upon a time everything was lovely, but that was before I had to deal with people” (Feist & Feist,
Written By: Sarah Marsac
Psychology of Personality
Abstract
I chose to do my personality assessment paper on Detective Olivia Benson from the show Law and Order SVU. She has been one of the lead detectives on the show since the first episode aired in 1998. The two personality theories I chose to use to assess Olivia’s personality are Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory, and Harry Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theory. Horney’s theory was built on the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are at the fore front for what is responsible for shaping personality. Sullivan’s theory stated that people develop their personality within a social context. His interpersonal theory emphasizes the importance of various developmental stages. In this paper I will cover most of the key points of both Sullivan’s and Horney’s theories. I will assess Olivia Benson’s personality through the eyes of both Sullivan and Horney, given the information I have …show more content…
I do not know every detail about Olivia’s childhood as the show is based on her life as an adult; however, I can only assume she protected herself by adopting a malevolent attitude. In her biography it states that her mother, Serena, was physically and emotionally abusive to her from a very young age (Wikipedia, nd). Serena controlled Olivia by both physical pain and by saying very hurtful words which in my opinion taught Olivia to withhold her expression for tenderness to protect her own self. There is a statement in the book that Sullivan made that I feel portrays how Olivia feels both about her mother and a lot of the people she deals with in her SVU cases. “Once upon a time everything was lovely, but that was before I had to deal with people” (Feist & Feist,