Nervous Disorders And Character by McKENZIE John G

Author:McKENZIE, John G,. [John G McKenzie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781136325397
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Lecture 4

The Nature, Origin and Resolution of Conflicts

WE have heard a good deal about personality-disorders, maladaptations, symptoms, and character-formations; now we must turn and learn something about the nature and origin of the conflicts which manifest themselves in these aberrations. Every failure to reach a mature and stable personality begins in some kind of conflict.

We may define psychological conflict as the presence in the mind of two or more dynamic tendencies striving simultaneously for incompatible goals. We may have a strong tendency to submit to authority, and at the same time just as strong a tendency to hate and rebel against the same authority. We may have a strong tendency to keep the respect of our fellows and at the same time have a tendency to indulge in behaviour which is anti-social. If we have a hard rigorous moral ideal and at the same time strong impulses which have never been integrated with the rest of the personality, we shall experience conflict. If our sex impulses have never been integrated with a love-sentiment, and yet loyalty to marriage ideals is demanded by our conscience, the promiscuous impulses must be repressed or so rationalized as to be disguised; in either case there will be conflict and a sense of insecurity; probably guilt-feelings.

What we have to note is that psychological conflict is always interior; that is, it is a conflict within the mind. The tendencies in conflict have always incompatible goals. The reaction to this conflict produces the personality-disorders; if there is any attempt to repress the conflicting tendencies, neurotic symptoms appear and the trouble begins. It should be noted also, however, that so long as the conflicts are kept in consciousness there can be no neurotic symptoms; there will be temptations, it may be irritability, probably a tendency to "moods", a sense of moral weakness and need. On the other hand, like St. Paul, we may be able to say: "When I am weak then am I strong." At the same moment that I am conscious of these conflicting tendencies I may be conscious of power to deal with them. It is in the repression of the conflicts that trouble originates. Repression is a form of control; instead of facing the conflicts and attempting to integrate the offending behaviour-tendencies with sentiments, the mind dissociates them, and they work outside the control of consciousness.

All our conflicts begin early in childhood. As Dr. Rivers1 put it: " Childhood is one long struggle between individual instinctive tendencies and the social traditions and ideals of society." The child has to be taught regular habits of eating, sleeping and cleanliness; it has to learn to be mannerly, courteous, and to express behaviour-tendencies, its emotions and its ideas according to the cultural standards of the society into which it is born. It has to learn obedience to authority and to conform to conditions without which there could be no community at all.

The satisfaction of any of our physiological drives brings pleasure as we can see from an infant enjoying its bottle.

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