Melanie Klein was an Austrian child psychologist, born in Vienna in 1882 (Melanie Klein Hutchinson's Biography Database, 2011). Melanie “pioneered child psychoanalysis and play studies influenced by Sigmund Freud’s studies and theories” (Melanie Klein Hutchinson's Biography Database, 2011). Freud was Klein’s major influence and main reason for pursuing a career and love for psychoanalysis of young children. Melanie wanted to extensively study, expand Freud’s theories, and develop her own theories about the way children develop mentally.
In 1919 she published her first paper referring to her studies on the psychoanalysis of children (Melanie Klein Hutchinson's Biography Database, 2011). Klein would later publish several books and other papers
…show more content…
The logic behind this method was to get the children to be able to express themselves accurately by being comfortable and not pressured to do or say anything. When adults go to a psychologist most of the time they lay on a couch and talk about what they are feeling in order for the psychologists to understand what the patient is feeling. Young children cannot do this therefore, Klein established the play technique so children could be analyzed in the same way as adults (Melanie Klein Trust, 2015). This technique allowed “insight into early development” of young children making way for most of Klein’s later theories and work, which develops a whole new section of child psychoanalysis (Melanie Klein Trust, …show more content…
Her development of the play technique and her other studies involving the improvement of child development were some of the outstanding advantages of her studies as a psychologist. On the other side there is only one major disadvantage that took place before her major breakthroughs. That was her first study of a child was on her own son in which we can recall Feud doing the same, studying his own children. This was the only time Klein studied her own children therefore all of research is not invalid. Klein’s study of her play technique was very beneficial and well thought-out making the study overall a huge success and great study program for many child psychologists to use in the
Early Childhood is marked by a time in children’s lives when they develop “a confident self-image, more effective control over their emotions, new social skills, the foundations of morality, and a clear sense of themselves as boy or girl” (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). According to Erik Erikson, early childhood is a period of “vigorous unfolding,” one where children have a sense of autonomy and a new sense of purposefulness or initiative (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). Play is a means for children to learn about themselves and they begin to adopt the moral and gender-role standards of the society in which they live (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011). A negative outcome of early childhood is the guilt children feel as a result of excessive punishment and criticism by the adults in their lives (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011)....
In this essay I am going to show my understanding of a child's early emotional development based on the psychoanalytical view of child development. I will show how emotional skills gained in the early years can be of a significant relevance to later life. I will show my understanding by illustrating it with the clinical material. Although I am focusing on the psychoanalytical approach to child development I believe that it is beneficial to present also some general background knowledge of child development.
In terms of contribution to service for children in light of the Holocaust, the second law of thermodynamics and the indestructible nature of energy may be applied to the life and work of Anna Freud. Many accounts of Anna Freud’s childhood describe a pastoral childhood in the home of the founder of modern psychoanalysis. According to Young-Bruehl, (1994) Anna Freud was one of six children born to Sigmund and Martha Freud. Young-Bruehl, (1994) Anna was said to have had moderate difficulties as a child in her early school years, until she entered private school. (Edgcumbe, 2000)
Her childhood left her feeling lonely and hostile but she channeled it into something positive, which in turn became legendary. Despite the odds that were against her for simple being a woman, she made major contributions to psychology. She did not accept the norms of Sigmund Freud and challenged many of his notions. She paved the way for many psychologists, especially females or those who wanted to work in feminine psychology. Our reasoning for choosing Karen Horney was due to the fact that we are young women trying to break into the field of psychology as well. We were inspired by her bold effort to oppose Sigmund Freud despite his prestige position in the psychology community and the possible public ridicule that would surface against her. She is one of the very few women psychologists still mentioned today, which gained our respect immediately. However, we believed that she does not get the recognition she deserves, which is why we wanted to introduce her to the class. As we go through our psychology books, she is mentioned in very pages and the authors usually sum up her contributions in a paragraph or two. If we were able to write about Karen Horney and her legacy in psychology in over ten pages, why can’t they? It was a pleasure to research her contributions to psychology and we hope to have covered them in their
...ed with early childhood because he was interested in the age group; he was interested in the theories and seeing how children function. Sigmund Freud is one of the childhood leaders who were considered an exceptional theorist because his ideas about growth and development are thoroughly explained. His ideas were vague but articulate in a way. Sigmund Freud and his theories awaken the mind and they are taught in parenting and early childhood education courses today along with a couple other early childhood leaders. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory has definitely had an influence on the way some of us see children today.
Mahler, M., Pine, F., & Bergman, A. (1975). The psychological birth of the human infant: symbiosis and individuation. New York: Basic Books.
...Fein, G. G. 1981. Pretend play in childhood: An integrative review. Child development, pp. 1095--1118.
This is a counselling method used to help youngsters communicate their inner experiences through using toys and play. Nondirective play therapy is a non-pathologizing technique founded on the belief that youngsters have the internal drive to attain wellness (Petruk, 2009). Play therapy is grounded on the theory that play is a youngster’s language, the toys considered the words a youngster uses to express or show their inner experiences and how they experience and perceive the world. Within a play session, and throughout the course of sessions, themes develop in the youngster’s play, giving the therapist insight into the child’s feelings, thoughts, experiences, and interpretations of their world (Petruk,
Play is such an important part of the learning and growing, especially for children. Children engage in many different types of play, but the play I saw the most when I observe the children of my daycare is sociodramatic play. The book Understanding Dramatic Play by Judith Kase-Polisini defines sociodramatic play as “both players must tacitly or openly agree to act out the same drama” (Kase-Polisini 40). This shows that children play with each other and make their worlds together as equal creators. Children also work together without argument.
Lastly, her thoughts on feminist psychology were not so renowned. In-fact most if not all information regarding Karen was centered around her thoughts on neurosis and psychoanalysis. Although, it may have been hard to believe that Karen was considered one of the most influential women in this particular field. Most if not all of her recognition was centered around her studies of feminist psychology. During her time Karen published 14 papers that would promote her theories on feminist psychology. These theories were sometimes regarded as being better than that of Freud, which was an outstanding accomplishment. In Karen’s research we were able to see how she went against the issues of gender jealousies and stated that it wasn’t penis envy, but
Freud believed that a child’s basic personality is formed by the age of six. However, Dollard and Miller differed on their reasons for thinking so. Instead of focusing on urges and fixations they asked “‘What makes early learning experiences so lasting in their effects?’ Their answer is that childhood is a time of urgent and tearing drives, powerful rewards and punishments and crushing frustrations” (Coon, 1989). Consequently, Dollard and Miller’s theory also considered four developmental situations to be of critical importance.
Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia, a small town in Austro-Hungarian. His parents were Amalia and Jacob Freud. His father was an industrious wool merchant with a happy and witty personality. His mother was a cheerful and vivacious woman. He was one of nine siblings. He was the first-born child of Amali and Jacob; however, two male siblings where from his father’s first marriage. When he was a young boy, his family moved to Vienna where he lived most of his life. At the age of twenty-six, he fell madly in love with Martha Bernays when she was visiting one of his sisters. Shortly thereafter, they married and had six children of their own three boys and three girls. His children describe him as a loving and compassionate man.
Sigmund Freud is one of the most influential people of the twentieth century for exploring the human mind more thoroughly than anyone before his time. His contributions have become embedded within the vocabulary of western society not only influencing psychology, as well as literature, art, and the parenting mechanisms of everyday people. He is the founding father of psychoanalysis which is often known as the talking cure, a method for treating mental illness and a theory which is intended to explain human behavior. He articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression, and he proposed a theory of the minds structure. Freud’s innovative treatment of human actions, dreams, and cultural artifacts has had
The children are put through different learning experiences and tasks, for the professionals to evaluate and observe their different development stages. All this helps to understand the children’s adult characteristics for future life as every child’s play experiences are crucial to their adult life.
While working in her own medical practice she began to be interested in how children develop and learn. She loved children and wanted to help them in any way she could. She saw many children in her job and felt a connection with them. She wanted to help them learn. She believed that children learned the most and developed themselves from what they find in their own environments. This made her interested in seeing how a child’s brain works and learns. She studied psychology and philosophy in 1901. She became a professor of anthropology in Rome in 1904.