A study of Freud’s concept of personality

This paper problematises the existence of a Freudian theory of personality. We start with Freud’s questioning of the value of the concept of personality. We carry out a comparative analysis between the Freudian conception of personality conveyed in personality manuals and Freud’s contributions in this regard. Chapter I deals with the contextualisation of the problem in question within the field of psychology. This delimits our object of study. It presents the main contributions of the classic Gordon Wil Allport, who is considered to have laid the first foundations for the study of individuality. His Traits Theory of personality strongly influenced the development of personality theories. Chapter II reviews the main Freudian conceptions capable of supporting the discussion on personality. Here the theoretical parameters are established for the subsequent analysis of personality theory manuals. Chapter III analyses two manuals, comparing the conceptions they convey on the concept of personality with Freud’s contributions on the subject.