Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 1
Running Head: SIGMUND FREUD VERSUS GEORGE KELLY
Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly: Comparison of Psychoanalysis
and Phenomenology in the Case Study of “Niko”
Sarah Student
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 2
Abstract
This paper compares two theoretical approaches in psychology and explains how they may be
applied to personality analysis. The theoretical approaches used are psychoanalysis and
phenomenology, specifically, the theories of Sigmund Freud and George Kelly. While
psychoanalysis concentrates on processes of the unconscious mind in relation to personality,
phenomenology suggests that a person's personality is the result of their conscious thoughts and
feelings. Using a case study of “Niko,” his personality will be examined according to these
theories. By comparing the theories of psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, and phenomenologist,
George Kelly, specific differences between the two approaches to personality become clear.

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 3
Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly: Comparison of Psychoanalysis
and Phenomenology in the Case Study of “Niko”
Introduction
The assumptions of two theorists will be applied to illustrate how personality can be
interpreted differently. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic approach will be compared and
contrasted with George Kelly's phenomenological approach, commonly referred to as personal
construct theory. Using a case study of “Niko,” these theories will be illustrated in the analysis
of his personality.
Personality, according to Freud, is dependent upon the experiences in infancy and early
childhood. Certain personality traits are characteristic to situations and stages in our
development. How we pass through these stages determines whether we will have psychological
issues throughout life. These issues and our thoughts are the results of our unconscious mind.
The mind, Freud suggested, is made up of three parts: the id, ego, and superego. These parts are
in constant turmoil; our solutions to these conflicts result in our overt behaviors. In order for the
mind to function it must have motivation and energy, Freud referred to these phenomena as our
libido.
Kelly focused on an individual's personal experiences, conscious thoughts, and feelings
in explaining personality. A person's individual experiences and cognition's result in what is
called personal constructs. Constructs are our views and ideas about the world. Kelly formed
the personal construct theory. His theory is explained by how a person interprets his or her past
experiences. For example, imagine a person is involved in a terrible car accident as a child. The
child survives but spends several months in a hospital recovering. The way in which this

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 4
situation is interpreted becomes a construct for this individual. This person could determine that
they were very lucky to live and they feel life is very precious, therefore they become very
cautious wearing seatbelts or helmets while riding a bike and they are aware of their
surroundings at all times. This is one possible construct; another may be that this person feels
that they were given a second chance at life, life is short and they want to experience life to the
fullest. They may bungee jump, sky dive, and see life as a big adventure. For every experience
in our life, our interpretations become our constructs through which we live and view life.
Methods
In order to analyze Niko’ s personality, a psychoanalyst needs to acquire information
from childhood. Niko is asked to recall any situations from childhood that come to mind. Freud
called the act of expressing whatever comes to mind as free association. The psychotherapist
focuses on these experiences as being relevant to a patient’s personality. If Niko recalls when
his father moved out of the house and left him crying at the front door, this may indicate why
Niko has resentment toward his father in adulthood. Freud also relies on patients sharing
problems with the therapist in an attempt to relieve the patient from some of their emotional
stress. This is called a “talking cure.” The idea of the talking cure is that when an individual
talks about their problems, such as relationship problems, they feel better afterwards than if they
had not talked about their problems at all. Eventually transference is present in which an
emotional relationship is formed with the therapist. Niko is now comfortable sharing his
thoughts openly and honestly. As more time goes by the relationship becomes stronger and the
patient feels like their therapist is more like a friend who cares about them and their feelings.
Freud was especially concerned with aggression and sexual drive. Sessions with Niko indicate a

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 5
significant amount of aggression and anger that is aimed toward his father. Niko’s parents were
divorced when he was 5 years old. His father moved leaving Niko to stay with his mother, older
sister, and younger brother. His father remarried twice, conceiving a child with each wife. Niko
expressed resentment towards his father because the children from his other wives were given
adequate care and attention from his father. Abandonment and betrayal are issues with Niko
because his father has not played an active role in his life. Freud also looked for symbols used in
thoughts and dreams that could explain personality traits. Consistent with the aggressive nature
of Niko the psychotherapist can expect vivid accounts of aggression present in his dreams. In
such a dream Niko recalls being a vampire and terrorizing a city. Niko destroyed buildings and
hurt people. Niko stated that dreams such as his vampire dream are enjoyable because they allow
him to be powerful and have control over people. A psychotherapist may see these dreams
as an outlet for Niko to express anger and aggression without actually being destructive and
hurting people. Niko may enjoy having control over other people’s feelings in an attempt to
compensate for a lack of control in his relationship with his father.
Phenomenologists, on the other hand, dismiss any ideas related to the unconscious mind.
Rather, phenomenology psychologist George Kelly found that personality was largely
dependent upon a person’s constructs, or their ideas about life that come from interpretations of
personal experiences. Examples of some constructs are weak versus strong, good versus bad or
aggressive versus non-aggressive. A method known as the Role Construct Repertory Test is
often used to assess one’s personal construct system. Also known as the REP test, an individual
is asked to think of three people important to him or her. Of the three people, how are two of
them similar but different from the third person? For example, Niko states three people

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 6
important in his life are his sister, his brother, and his girlfriend. He describes his brother and
sister as non-aggressive and non-confrontational; however, he describes his girlfriend as non-
aggressive and non-confrontational. Because the characteristics used to describe these three
people in his life are aggressive and confrontational, some of his personal constructs are
aggressive versus non-aggressive and confrontational versus non- confrontational. Kelly
theorized that constructs such as these reveal how Niko views the world. Constructs that playa
larger role than others are called chronically accessible constructs. These constructs determine
our reactions in certain situations. For Niko the idea of being powerful and intimidating is
chronically accessible; therefore, in every encounter with another person, he ponders who is in
charge and who has more power. In explaining one’s personality Kelly suggests that a therapist
must take into consideration the patient’s experiences throughout life. It is important for the
therapist not to pass judgement and to try to see the experiences through the eyes of the patient.
Niko’ s therapist might try to imagine what it was like having his father leave at an early age and
having to live with his mother who Niko views as emotionally absent and socially unacceptable.
Niko’s Personality
Stages of development are critical for the explanation of personality from a
psychoanalytic standpoint. Freud concluded that from infancy to childhood we pass through
stages of development. Effective maturation in each of these stages will pass one without
psychological damages to the next level. However, if for some reason one cannot overcome
obstacles within a stage, fixation occurs at that stage. Stressful events or feelings result in
regression to that stage. The stages of development are the oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage,
and the genital stage. The oral stage is present from birth to eighteen months. During this stage

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 7
all pleasure is focused orally on the mouth: for example, eating and sucking. At this age we are “
dependent on our parents or caretakers to provide for us. Freud would suggest that in order to
prevent fixations at this stage the caretaker must adequately take care of the infant’s needs, but
not necessarily attend to every cry. This is not always the case, therefore leading to two
extremes that cause an oral fixation. First, an uncaring or unreliable parent may cause the infant
to develop a mistrust of his world. Niko’s mother was fairly young and inexperienced as a
mother. She often seemed more concerned with her personal relationship with Niko’s father
than for Niko’s needs as an infant. There was little consistency in feeding time, and Niko was
left to cry until he wore himself out. For Niko it is evident that fixation occurred at this stage
because of his underlying issues with abandonment and betrayal. He also is very independent
relying only on himself to achieve satisfaction. Any form of betrayal or abandonment from
friends, family or partner would be damning to his character.
Kelly would suggest that Niko’s issues with abandonment and betrayal come from some
of his childhood experiences. Niko views the world as unfair and feels that the only person he
can depend on is himself. Niko’s experiences have taught him that the people he should be ab1e
to count on, such as his family, are not always reliable. Kelly theorized that ideas such as the
world being unfair are just one of the many constructs that determine our outlook on life and our
personality. Niko’s interpretations of his father leaving at a young age have resulted in a
mistrust of people in general. Niko has chosen to approach relationships cautiously attempting
to prevent feelings of betrayal. Kelly explained behavior such as this as constructive
alternativism, meaning that an individual chooses specific constructs throughout their life
experiences. These constructs are continued throughout similar situations just as Niko is

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 8
untrusting of all people.
The next stage of fixation can occur in the anal stage. This stage ranges from eighteen
months to about three years of age. During this stage of development children are learning self-
control and obedience. If parents exert too much control at this stage, or not enough control,
fixation will occur. For example, if parents are controlling and strict and become angry when the
child cries or disobeys, a person may develop characteristics such as obsessiveness,
compulsiveness, or submission to authority. If parents allow their children to do what they want
when they want a fixation may also occur where characteristics may include a person with little
or no self-control, and defiance of authority. Niko also expresses a fixation at this stage. Niko’s
parents were still married at this stage; however, they were preoccupied with the problems in the
marriage. Obedience and respect toward authority were not properly taught. Niko shows
characteristics of anal personality especially in his defiant attitude toward authority. He has little
respect for authority. He feels control by taking it away from others.
One of Niko’s constructs is a lack of respect for authority. Niko views people in
positions of authority as controlling and unfair. According to Kelly’s personal construct theory
Niko could have viewed authority figures as people who keep him safe or are looking out for his
best interest. However, Niko has interpreted authority figures differently. From his experience,
he has viewed his teachers, policemen, and parents as people who try to control his actions, and
make his life more difficult. For instance, if Niko were to be pulled over in a traffic stop, he
would not think of the policeman as enforcing the speed limit or keeping the roads safe, he
would immediately believe that the policeman is targeting him as a troublemaker and wanting to
harass him. This idea that all authority figures are terrible people cause Niko to talk

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 9
disrespectfully and behave negatively around people in authority over him. Kelly’s personal
construct theory is consistent with Niko’ s defiant attitude toward authority
The third stage described by Freud is the phallic stage. At about three to five years of
age, children realize that boys and girls are different. In this stage both boys and girls understand
that their sex organs are different. Freud claimed that boys fear castration from their fathers in a
fight for their mother’s attention and love. Attempting to lessen this fear, the boy identifies with
his father and adopts his characteristics. Psychological themes in this stage are sexuality, love
fear and jealousy. Morality is also developed at this stage. A personality that is considered
phallic would be fixated at this point expressing personality traits such as sexual promiscuity or
asexual tendencies. This stage also contributes to expression in masculinity and femininity.
Somewhere Niko experienced fixation at this stage. Fixation is suggested due to characteristics
of jealousy and over expression of masculinity. Niko has been in a serious relationship for four
years. A recurring problem in this relationship is jealousy. He feels his girlfriend is flirtatious
and too friendly toward others. Jealousy occurs because his girlfriend gives attention to others
that Niko feels only he deserves. A psychotherapist may explain Niko’ s masculinity and
aggressiveness as a means to compensate for the lack of a male figure in childhood. Since Niko
did not have a paternal role model. He could not sufficiently experience castration anxiety.
Therefore, adequate development at this stage could not be reached. Morals are put into context
by taking on the values of the same sex parent. In his case dad was absent suggesting that morals
were not sufficiently taught.
Just as Niko’ s constructs have resulted in issues with abandonment, betrayal, and defiant
attitudes toward authority, he also has a construct for jealousy and aggressiveness. Niko’s

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Sigmund Freud versus George Kelly 10
experiences with these issues involve his father’s relationship with his other family, and a lack of
presence in Niko’s life. Niko’s father chose to be active in his other children’s lives but not in
Niko’s. Niko also experienced his mother spending time with her boyfriends instead of him and
his siblings. Niko interpreted this as his loved ones ignoring his presence and enjoying the
presence of other people. Niko craved for attention in his childhood and now he seeks attention
from his girlfriend. When she is attentive to other males, Niko becomes jealous. Kelly would
also suggest that Niko has a construct for aggressiveness. Niko expresses his anger verbally and
sometimes physically, punches walls, slamming objects down etc. From Niko’s experiences with
anger, he has interpreted aggressiveness as away to make his feelings known and releasing
tension that has built up. Kelly’s theory states that Niko has chosen to be aggressive instead of
passive in expressing anger.
In the final stage of Freud’s personality theory we reach maturity. This stage is called the
genital stage. This stage is not like the others. Shortly after puberty we should reach a mature
understanding about sexuality and about life. As for Niko, he experienced fixations at other
stages therefore not allowing him to reach this stage.
Diagnosis and Therapy/Behavior Change
Personality analysis of Niko has exposed some obvious issues in which Niko may benefit
in resolving. Both the psychoanalytic and phenomenological theories agree that Niko expresses
aggression, defiance toward authority, and jealousy. Other characteristics of Niko’ s are issues
with abandonment, trust and betrayal. Each of these causes unneeded stress and ultimately lead
to problems in future relationships and also in his physical health. Each theorist has different
techniques in behavior modification just as they do in explaining behavior itself.

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Document Outline

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