442 



PSYCHOLOGY OF STRESS 



complex manner in which the person per- 

 ceives both the inner and the outer world 

 (e.g., in a cold, intellectual manner, or with 

 deep and stirring feelings), how he reacts to 

 it (e.g., by being outgoing or withdra^\Ti, by 

 accepting or rejecting it), what aspects of it 

 have meaning and value for him, and are of 

 primary importance (e.g., people, things, 

 ideas), the nature of his goals, and the ac- 

 tivities which give him basic satisfactions, or 

 a feeling of being lost, misplaced and futile. 

 Numerous approaches have been used to 

 appraise and describe personality or charac- 

 ter structure. Some of the ways of looking 

 at it include the analysis of personality traits 

 and of the things which one values (1), 

 physical and temperamental types (85), cat- 

 egories of dominant needs and emotional 

 demands (64), and the canalization of 

 energies into stable response patterns (63). 

 As for its origin, character structure may be 

 due in part to inherited or native tendencies, 

 but it is certain that it is dependent to a large 

 extent on what things happen to the individ- 

 ual from early childhood on, and how he 

 reacts to them. 



The Development of Identification Patterns 



As the child develops into a socialized 

 individual, a conflict exists between the child 

 and his parents. The child wishes to obey 

 his "instinctual" impulses, whereas the par- 

 ents wish to impose restraints. However, if 

 the child feels sufficiently loved and secure 

 he will come to "internalize," i.e., impose 

 upon himself the wishes and regulations of 

 the parents. In this process, the child yields 

 (or learns to control) part of his own wishes 

 in order to retain the love, approval and 

 acceptance of the parents. In time, he 

 chooses to do what he has been required to do. 

 That is, he "identifies" with the parents 

 and their value systems. 



By thus conforming to authority, the child 

 both retains the love and acceptance of the 

 parents, on which he is dependent for his 

 physical and emotional well-being, and at 

 the same time preserves his "ego" and self- 



respect. The child must also make similar 

 adjustments to brothers, sisters, and play- 

 mates. As a result of internalizing all these 

 social demands and restrictions, the child's 

 character, conscience, ideals, and value sys- , 

 tems are moulded. This process typically I 

 continues up through adolescence to matu- 

 rity, so that the individual's character is 

 influenced by all those upon whom he de- 

 pends for security and approval. As an 

 adult, the individual tends to react to other 

 authority figures (e.g., the boss, family, soci- 

 ety, God, etc.) in a similar manner and for 

 similar reasons and rewards. 



The socialization process does not always 

 proceed smoothly and without mishap. If 

 as a child the individual feels basically re- 

 jected, and finds that he receives nothing 

 for giving up his impulses and wishes, he 

 will tend not to become socialized (e.g., be 

 able to postpone gratifications and assume 

 responsibility for his behavior) or develop 

 a stable character structure (e.g., possess 

 functioning values and goals which are so- 

 cially acceptable); rather, he will tend to 

 reject society and be unwilling to conform 

 to current authorities. Such persons are 

 generally called psychopaths. Or, again, if, 

 as a child, the person resented and hated 

 his father, or was strongly ambivalent to 

 him (i.e., both loving and hating him), these 

 feelings will tend to be re-enacted in his 

 adult relationships with his superiors. In 

 the same manner, reactions to brothers, sis- 

 ters, and playmates are reflected in later 

 life. Thus, the adult's character structure 

 is strongly influenced by the type of persons 

 with whom he identified as a child, and the 

 nature of his reactions to these identification 

 figures (32). 



Identification Patterns, Adult Behavior, and 

 Emotional Stress 



Individuals may reveal peculiarities which 

 drastically interfere with their efficiency and 

 adjustment when placed in a stress-produc- 

 ing situation. Their difficulties do not lie 

 in any lack of skills and abilities, but rather 



