Valerie Roseman 9432800 Word Count: 793

Psychology 332B, 2000: Assignment 3

Freud

According to Freud, the superego represents the ideals and values of society. It is the internal representation of societal rules and accounts for altruistic behavior. The values of the culture are instilled into children, usually via their parents, by rewarding "appropriate" behavior and punishing "inappropriate" behavior. Once instilled, these values promote positive feelings when doing what is culturally appropriate and negative feelings when doing what is inappropriate (Hergenhahn & Olson, 1999). The superego reflects tendencies that developed to enhance living in social groups. It is often adaptive to conform to norms and standards of a group and to help fellow humans if they are likely to help you in return. In doing so, the individual is engaging in what is culturally "appropriate". Early humans with a developed superego would have been better adapted. If an individual needed help in protecting his territory or family, it would have been to the individual's benefit to respect and follow the established rules of the social group to which he belonged. By conforming in this way and thus following the commands of the superego, the individual would have food, shelter, and protection from predators readily available. Therefore, the superego would have enabled early humans to survive in their

environments and consequently, leave behind more offspring to propagate the species.

However, one can also argue that the characteristics associated with a developed superego (i.e. conforming, altruistic behavior) are not the result of selection but rather, social constructions. The individual learns to act in accordance with societal norms and values in order to avoid punishment and enjoy rewards. In other words, individuals conform to societal rules and engage in altruistic behavior because they fear and want to avoid punishment that would result if they didn't "follow the rules". In fact, these behaviors we attribute to the superego and selection are merely the result of the pressures imposed by society to act in a "proper" way.

From an evolutionary perspective, the idea of fixation seems maladaptive. Fixation occurs when an individual remains preoccupied with issues at a particular stage of development and fails to move on to deal with the challenges of the next stages of development. Psychic energy is fixated at a particular stage thereby decreasing the amount of energy left to deal with problems encountered in later development. In the environment of evolutionary adaptedness, it would seem maladaptive for an adult to remain fixated at an earlier stage of development, when the individual should be dealing with the issues of the genital phase, such as focusing on heterosexual relationships, courting, marriage, and raising a family. If fixated at an earlier stage where narcissism and pleasure-seeking are the primary focus, less energy will be available to deal with present survival issues, such as defense of territory and attainment of food. As a consequence, the individual and his offspring would have less chances of survival. Thus, the behaviors associated with fixation would most likely have been selected out of the human behavioral repertoire.

Adler

Social interest is a predisposition, nurtured by experience, to contribute to society and to be concerned for others (Phares & Chaplin, 1997). It reflects a need to be related to other people and to work for the benefit of others. In the environment of evolutionary adaptedness, the individual would have had to learn that in order to survive, one needs to be affiliated with other people. For instance, if the individual's territory was being attacked by predators, he would quickly realize the value of the help of others. He would see that he would also need to help others in order to receive reciprocal treatment. When he shows concern for others in his in-group, he not only increases the chances of future help from them but also helps to propagate the species. Individuals with a developed social interest would thus be better adapted since they could call upon others for food, defense, and shelter. Survival of the individual and his offspring would thus be maximized.

According to Adler, safeguarding tendencies are maneuvers employed by individuals to indirectly or symbolically achieve superiority or avoid feelings of inferiority, without risking failure. Examples of neurotic safeguarding tendencies include making excuses, avoiding conflict and competition, and devaluing or putting down other people. These tendencies represent maladaptive behaviors since they diminish the person's survival possibilities and undermine attempts to mature and develop. In hunter-gatherer lifestyle, what would have become of the hunter who avoided conflict and competition to attain food or defend his territory? Similarly, what would have become of the individual who chronically made excuses for maladaptive behavior and never made attempts to change it? In short, this person would have had lower chances of survival. Therefore, these tendencies would have been selected out of the human behavioral repertoire.