The Psychology of Safety in Western Personality Theories

Psychology of safety in foreign psychological schools: S. Freud on the role of consciousness and the unconscious in behavior regulation, K. Horney on the need for safety, trait theory (G. Allport, R. Cattell), social learning theory (J. Rotter), humanistic psychology on the characteristics of self-actualizing personality formation (A. Maslow, C. Rogers). The problem of safety in the doctrine of the human being (L. S. Vygotsky, S. L. Rubinstein, B. G. Ananiev, and others). The role of activity in personality development. The role of socialization in personality formation. Factors of socialization. Social norms. Stages of socialization.

In Western psychology, the problems of personality and its inner world are examined within various theoretical frameworks.

S. Freud, in his psychoanalytic theory, identifies the following as the main driving forces of behavior: a) libido — sexual drive (a creative force); b) aggression (a destructive force). The social environment imposes restrictions and prohibitions on the operation of a number of instincts, so they are repressed from consciousness into the realm of the unconscious, where they continue to exist in the form of tension, attempting to find resolution by indirect means (the principle of sublimation), discharging into socially acceptable and approved actions. Freud's theory implies that a person injures themselves not by chance, but under the influence of unconscious aggressive tendencies inherent from birth. Accidents are thus generated by the victims themselves and are the product of their unconscious manifestations, functioning as a kind of internal protest by the individual against the social, family, and other restrictions imposed upon them.

Freud's views were further developed by C. G. Jung. In his psychoanalytic theory of archetypes he explains that the individual passes through a life cycle shaped by archetypal structures. An archetype represents structural elements of the human psyche that are hidden in the collective unconscious, common to all of humanity. They are inherited in the same way as the structure of the body is inherited. Adapting to the environment, hostility toward "outsiders," inclusion in groups, initiation into adulthood, seeking a place in the social hierarchy, the alliance of men to resist external aggression, child-rearing, religious rituals, the acceptance of social responsibility, preparation for death — all these programs are set archetypally. They ensure the organism's adaptation to changing external and internal conditions and determine the most probable forms of behavior. Perhaps this can explain the militancy of nations.

The American psychologist K. Horney did not accept Freud's assertion that a child's sexual anatomy dictates a particular direction for further personality development. According to her view, the decisive factor in personality development is the social relationship between the child and the parents. Horney believed that childhood is characterized by two needs: the need for satisfaction and the need for safety (Horney, 1939). Satisfaction covers all the basic biological needs: for food, sleep, and so on. Although Horney attached importance to satisfying the needs required for physical survival, she did not consider them to play the primary role in personality formation. The most important factor in a child's development is the need for safety. Here the fundamental motive is to be loved, wanted, and protected from danger or a hostile world. Horney believed that in satisfying this need for safety, a child is entirely dependent on its parents. If the parents show genuine love and warmth toward the child, this satisfies the child's need for safety, and as a result a healthy personality is most likely to form.

In order to achieve safety in the world, a person uses one of three basic strategies for interacting with other people: moving toward people, moving away from people, and moving against people (Table 1). Each strategy represents an optimization of interpersonal relationships aimed at achieving a sense of safety in the surrounding world. In other words, the function of the strategy is to reduce anxiety and achieve a more or less acceptable life. In addition, each of them is accompanied by a particular underlying orientation in relationships with other people.

Table 1. Strategies of interaction between the individual and other people

Moving toward people: the compliant type. Moving toward people involves a style of interaction characterized by dependence, indecisiveness, and helplessness. According to K. Horney, such a person belongs to the compliant type and is guided by the irrational belief: "If I give in, I will not be hurt." The compliant type needs to be needed, loved, protected, and guided. Such people form relationships with a single aim — to avoid a feeling of loneliness, helplessness, or being unwanted. Behind their amiability may lie a suppressed urge to behave aggressively; although such a person may seem embarrassed in the presence of others and tends to stay in the shadows, this behavior often conceals hostility, anger, and rage.

Moving away from people: the detached type. Moving away from people as a strategy for optimizing interpersonal relationships is found in individuals who adhere to the defensive stance: "I don't care." Such people, whom Horney classifies as the detached type, are guided by the mistaken belief: "If I withdraw, I will be fine." People of the detached type are characterized by the attitude: "Never get too involved," whether it concerns a romantic relationship, work, or leisure. As a result, they lose genuine interest in people and grow accustomed to superficial pleasures — they simply move through life dispassionately. This strategy is characterized by a striving for solitude, independence, and self-sufficiency.

Moving against people: the hostile type. Moving against people is a style of behavior characterized by domination, hostility, and exploitation. A person of the hostile type acts on the illusory belief: "I have power, no one will touch me." The hostile type holds the view that all other people are aggressive and that life is a struggle against everyone. Therefore, they approach any situation or relationship from the position: "What will I get out of this?" regardless of whether it concerns money, prestige, contacts, or ideas. Horney noted that the hostile type is capable of acting tactfully and amicably, but their behavior is ultimately always aimed at gaining control and power over others. Everything is directed toward enhancing their own prestige and status or satisfying personal ambitions. Thus, this strategy expresses a need to exploit others and to gain public recognition and admiration.

From Horney's theory it can be concluded that a person's present behavior is shaped by social influences experienced in childhood. Moreover, love and warmth in parents' treatment of a child contribute to the formation of a healthy personality, while their lack or absence gives rise to hostility and basic anxiety in the child, which leads to the formation of neurosis in the adult.

Representatives of trait theory, G. Allport and R. Cattell, believed that people differ from one another in the set and degree of development of individual, independent traits. A description of the whole personality can be obtained through testing or observation. For example, Cattell's method of personality assessment is based on a sixteen-factor analysis: reserved — outgoing; abstract — concrete-thinking; emotionally unstable — emotionally stable; submissive — dominant, and so on. The limitations of trait theory are evident: first, the set of traits depends on the quality of the source material; second, the totality of factors is not confined to sixteen — in some studies their number has reached as high as two hundred. This raises the question: "How many traits are necessary and sufficient to describe a personality?" Knowledge of traits alone does not make it possible to predict a person's behavior, since behavior depends not only on internal factors but also on external ones (situation, conditions, tasks).

The theory of social learning belongs to the behaviorist orientation in twentieth-century American psychology. The main psychological characteristic of personality in this theory is an act or series of acts. The essence of the theory is that a person's behavior and social actions are significantly influenced by other people: their support or disapproval. The main mechanism by which a person acquires new forms of behavior is conditioned-reflex learning of behavioral patterns through observing other people. The task of psychology is to determine the corresponding stimulus from the reaction, and to predict a specific reaction from the stimulus. Later, E. Thorndike specified that there must be positive or negative reinforcement between stimulus and reaction. By changing the stimulus and the reinforcement, one can program a person for the required behavior. However, this theory too does not give a complete answer to the complex question: "What, then, influences the formation of a safety-oriented personality type?" — although this point cannot be ignored.

Humanistic psychology describes personality on the basis of present life experience, from the standpoint of the meaning of life, values, and life goals. Representatives of this theory — A. Maslow, C. Rogers, and others — hold that every person possesses a striving for self-improvement. A person determines for themselves the meaning of life, its goals and values, and is the supreme expert and ultimate judge. The "self-image," which forms as a result of life experience, influences the perception of the surrounding world, other people, and the evaluation of one's own behavior. A person with a positive "self-concept" sees the world differently than one with a negative self-concept. The degree of satisfaction with one's life and the measure of happiness depend on the alignment of the "real self" and the "ideal self." The basic human need is self-actualization, that is, the striving for self-improvement and self-expression. In these respects, the humanistic theory of personality is most closely aligned with theories developed in Russian psychology.

• Archetype (from Greek archetypos — the most ancient image) — a way of organizing the psyche by means of forms passed down from generation to generation.