7. Personal narratives provide personality psychologists with a rich source
of information about an individual ’s sense of identity. Participants are
asked to describe parts of their lives, and these descriptions are coded by
judges. Psychologists find personal narratives especially useful when
examining Erikson ’s notion of generativity. Adults who develop a strong
sense of generativity typically tell life stories that include themes of
communion and learning from tragedy.
8. Among the strengths of the neo-Freudian theories are the contributions
they made to psychoanalytic theory. In addition to correcting some of thelimitations they found in Freud ’s work, many of the theorists introduced
important concepts to the field of psychology. Many later approaches to
personality were no doubt influenced by one or more of these theorists.
Criticisms of the neo-Freudians include their use of biased and question-
able data to support the theories. In addition, critics have charged thatsome of the theories are oversimplified and incomplete.
KEY TERMS
anima/animus (p. 102)
archetypes (p. 102)collective
unconscious (p. 101)
personal
narratives (p. 117)primordial
images (p. 101)
shadow (p. 102)striving for
superiority (p. 98)
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