Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Early childhood of Malcolm X
Malcolm was the seventh born in a family of eight children. He had a difficult childhood that was brought about by tragic events happening to his parents. He lost his father after a tragic road accident and his mother was hospitalized in a mental hospital when he was barely 12 years of age (Malcom, 2007). Malcolm blamed the white racists for his father’s death. Most of his childhood was spent under foster care. In his early life, he was accused of robbery and jailed for six years (Malcom, 2007). After his release, he changed his last name to Malcolm. He got back to school and emerged the top of his class in Junior High School. The school described him as a smart and focused student who wanted to become a lawyer. However, his childhood dreams were shattered when his favorite teacher told him that those dreams were too unrealistic for a black man (Malcolm, 2007).
Interpersonal Orientation
Conventional psychoanalytic biological orientation lays more emphasis on culture and interpersonal relationships (Horney, 2013). It further explains that anxiety brought about by any form of insecurity during childhood is very fundamental in character development. A child therefore develops ways of coping through these in three dimensions; can move towards people, against people or away from the people (Horney, 2013). In this regard, it is clear that Malcolm’s childhood was one that was filled with insecurities on racism. He lived in a society that was defined along racial affiliations. Inequality was prominent at the time and a black student, however smart was not guaranteed a place in the society. It was for this reason he lost interest in school and began doing odd jobs at a young age.
Any hidden conflicts in the heart are usually prominent among the psychoanalytic practitioners through these three dimensions. It is defined as basic mechanisms of survival in a difficult and complex situation (George & West, 2012). The type of defense that is evident in Malcolm is withdrawing from the people. This behavior enhances his sense of worth. The reason why he chooses this defense mechanism is to make him believe that he is an intellectual overseer of everything (George & West, 2012). He has grown into a society that has shown no equal love and appreciation. The society made him and his people believe that they were smaller than the rest of everyone. Hence he employs this behavior to express his originality and authenticity and effectively raise his self worth (Horney, 2013).
Malcolm’s character has shown a society that was gender biased. He was a male chauvinist. That period did not offer women any significant roles in the society. Their roles were limited to performing household duties and taking care of children. At a young age Malcolm’s mother had a mental problem and was hospitalized (Malcolm, 2007). Later in his older years when talking about his parents, he identified his mother with religiosity and hysteria. He however identified his father with masculinity traits such as strength and toughness. Further, he described his father as a role model and attributed his destiny to his father’s death. That clearly displays a stereotyped society on extreme gender disparity. He believed that women were the weaker sex in the society that depended on men for protection. He valued his mother for essentially fulfilling her feminine roles of motherhood and housewife.
Attachment style
The most prevailing attachment throughout Malcolm’s life was the unresolved attachment. This is an attachment that represents a breakdown in the care giving process during childhood (George, 2012). His childhood contained no clear representational strategy of achieving love, support and care. He lacked protection and security the basic needs of any child. He was a smart student that had faith in his favorite teacher. He wanted to be a lawyer and was working hard to achieve that dream (Malcom, 2007). That teacher, ‘the protective’ figure failed him. All his works, therefore, were aimed at creating equality and averting the oppressive, racist segregation culture that was prominent. He had unresolved childhood dreams of making justice a universal right for everyone after his father was ran over by a car. All these unfortunate ordeals created a character that was determined to resolve all issues that made him feel incomplete.
Individual Personality
The first aspect of individual personality is the psychoanalytic personality. It is mainly the unconscious mind with three different key areas. The id is the pleasure part hidden in the unconscious mind that contains desires and wants. Superego exists both in the unconscious and conscious mind. It judges, one from making mistakes or making foolish decisions. The last part of the psychoanalytic personality is the ego. This part exists in the conscious mind and it represents one’s reputation (Horney, 2013).
Neo-analytic involves three parts of the psyche. The first is the conscious ego that involves the perceptions of other people. This area is important to any individual as it is aware of decisions making processes. The second area is the personal unconscious. This is the part of the unconscious that one is unaware of. Lastly is the collective unconscious that contains all the universal memories of all mankind (Horney, 2013).
Biological personality is naturally contained in the DNA. This cannot be changed or altered in any sense. Individuals are born with their own unique personality traits. These traits cannot be influenced by the environment rather they are behavioral genomics. There are four basic prominent aspects in this regard; the level of one’s activity, the stability of a person’s emotions, the rate of socializing and finally the level of aggression. These aspects are unique in all individuals and they vary from one individual to the next.
References
George, C., & West, L. (2012). The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System, Attachment Theory and Assessment in Adults. New York : The Guilford Press
Horney K. (2013).Our inner conflicts: A constructive theory of neurosis. London. Digital Printing.
Malcolm, L. (2007). Autobiography of Malcolm X. London. Penguin Publishers.