The Psychodynamic Model of Abnormality
The psychodynamic model of abnormality is useful to an extent. However
it has many weaknesses.
The psychodynamic model of abnormality was initiated by Sigmund Freud.
Sigmund Freud was very interested in hysteria. This is the
manifestation of physical causes. He became convinced that unconscious
mental causes were responsible not just abnormality but also
normality. Freud developed Psychoanalysis. This is a set of techniques
for treating the unconscious causes of mental disorders and built up a
psychoanalytic theory of how human personality and abnormality develop
from childhood. His psychoanalytic approach had a great impact on
psychology and psychiatry and was developed by other psychodynamic
theorists.
Psychoanalysis had a very fixed set of assumptions. One of these is
the unconscious processes where many important influences on behaviour
come from a part of the mind we have no awareness of called the
unconscious. Another assumption is psychodynamic conflict. Different
parts of the mind are in constant struggle with each other and the
consequences of this are important in understanding behaviour. Freud
also believed that behaviour is motivated by sexual and aggressive
drives. The drives create psychic energy that builds up and create
tension and anxiety if it cannot be released. Another assumption is
development where personality is shaped by relationships, experiences
and conflict, particularly during childhood.
Freud’s psychoanalysis is probably the most important psychodynamic
theory. His ideas developed a...
... middle of paper ...
...century. It has had a significant effect on a wide
range of disciplines such as anthropology, women’s studies and
theology.
Also, the sharp distinction between abnormality and normality of the
biological model is ignored. Doing this, it has created more sympathy
for people with psychological disorders. Psychoanalysis is more humane
with its focus on talking as opposed to drugs, shock therapy or brain
surgery. It also has the power to enhance our understanding of
ourselves and from the number of people who testify how it has helped
them in their own lives.
In conclusion, the psychodynamic model is useful as it is still being
used today by professional psychiatrists and works with many people.
However, there are a lot of weaknesses to outweigh the positives,
which means that the model can be seriously questioned.
Scientists have been focusing on the impact of genes on behavior and the development of psychological disorders. This research has contributed to the understanding of many disorders, specifically substance-related disorders.
Psychology is a science that is constantly evolving and growing, and that is especially true when the concentration of study is abnormal psychology. There are so many mysteries within abnormal psychology that there are constantly progressing theories. Two of the more familiar theories are the biochemical theory and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Today we will be exploring these two theories, how they compare and how each has contributed to the field of psychology.
Criminals have been linked to many theories. Some are absurd, to others being logical. As a nation, we only make 5% of the world’s population. Yet, we hold 25% of the world 's population of prisoners. Many can be missing a superego from the psychodynamic psychology. Others just grew up with criminals like differential association. To many not seeing themselves at fault, but try to make the act they did less severe than it actually was, like in neutralization theory.
...abnormal , perhaps in twenty years will be classified as normal. This is the main reason what normal psychology and abnormal psychology differ.
Most of us in our lifetimes have committed the act of “malingering”. As children, we just did not want to go to school for fear in being picked on or perhaps we did not want to take that grueling math test. We made up any excuse to not go to school by feigning a sickness. As an adult, you wanted to take off to guarantee a three- day weekend, concocting and citing to your boss that you felt feverish. Unfortunately, in our society, there have even been some selfish people that will fake an illness, such as Breast Cancer, gain money from funding that sympathetic people have ponied up to benefit their personal obligations.
When I think of abnormal behavior, the first thing that comes to mind is one of my aunt’s. She committed suicide when I very young, so early 1970’s. As I got older, inevitably stories of her would arise during holiday get togethers. She was married with three children and in her early thirties, residing in Florida, when she walked out and away from her husband and small children. For over a year, no one knew what happened to her, she made no effort to contact anyone. Eventually, the Salvation Army somewhere in Michigan called my grandmother and they sent her home on a bus. She never returned to her husband or children. The doctors diagnosed her as a paranoid schizophrenic. My mother told me that when she was on her medication she was fine, but once she felt “fine”, she would stop her medication. When the medication left her system, she became anxious and afraid. She once chased my grandmother, who was in her late sixties down the driveway with an ax, because she thought her mother was trying to kill her. After several inpatient stays in mental hospitals, she came back home again and she was doing good. She left my grandmother’s one night while everyone was sleeping, made it approximately fifteen miles away to a lake.
Psychoanalysis is a theory that explores personality traits on the conscious and unconscious level. According to TheFreeDictionary.com, “Psychoanalysis is the most intensive form of an approach to treatment called psychodynamic therapy. Psychodynamic refers to a view of human personality that results from interactions between conscious and unconscious factors. The purpose of all forms of psychodynamic treatment is to bring unconscious mental material and processes into full consciousness so that the patient can gain more control over his or her life” (Psychoanalytic Treatment). Sigmund Freud is the founder of the Psychoanalysis Theory. He had many followers. One of those followers was Jung. As time went on, Jung’s perspective on personality
Freud believed that we are dominated by biological needs, especially sexual, that must be controlled if we are to become civilized human beings. In his view, our perpetual struggle to tame these impulses leads to the emotional conflicts that shape our personality. According to his Psychoanalytic Theory, personality is shaped by an ongoing conflict between peoples primary drives, particularly sex and aggression and the social pressures of civilized society. Also early childhood experience plays a major role in molding personality.
To begin, one of the most famous and influential thinkers from the last century is known as Sigmund Freud and he is also the father of Psychoanalytic Theory. He has comes to believe that our behavior is influenced by our thoughts and motivation outside of our consciousness. All that we experience during our
Originating through the work of Sigmund Freud, the psychodynamic perspective view is underlined as an unconscious psychological process that deals with childhood experiences that were interpret as a crucial setting in shaping out the adult personality. Moreover, the psychodynamic approach includes all the theories in psychology that view human function on emphasizes of the interaction of drives and forces in a person that’s particularly unconscious, and between different structures of the personality. In addition, the field of Psychodynamic under lies core assumptions of psychodynamic theories that are classified as simple and unique towards the framework of the psychodynamic field that no other theories of personality can approve these three
The driving force behind this theory is that all experiences are internalized and influence the ongoing actions of every individual. The relationship between unconscious and conscious drives is vital to understand, because this is what motivates behavior according to Freud. This theory is a social construction, just as all theories are, of Freud’s own experiences. It is important to understand this, and to take the good with the
The psychodynamic theory encompasses both Freud and Erikson. Freud believed the three components of personality were the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is responsible for all needs and urges, while the superego for ideals and moral. The ego moderates between the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. However, Erikson believed that personality progressed through a series of stages, with certain conflicts arising at each stage. Success in any stage depended upon successfully overcoming these conflicts. The advantage to psychodynamic is that it encompasses the individual, meaning that the theory looks at personality from childhood all the way into adulthood. The disadvantages of this theory are that it cannot be tested validly. Therefore,
Psychopathology is what goes wrong with the mind. It is distress related to mental processes and statistical deviations from the norm. Psychopathology is what clinicians treat and researchers research (quoted in Frances & Widiger, 2012). Psychopathology has many possible definitions because it does not exist in a vacuum—the context affects the definition. Common themes in possible definitions include distress, dysfunction, disability, and dyscontrol, but none of these quite capture the whole picture (Frances & Widiger, 2012). What if a person is not distressed, but their behavior is clearly maladaptive, for example someone with antisocial personality disorder who manipulates others to achieve their goals? Is this person not pathological? Of
Freud originally attempted to explain the workings of the mind in terms of physiology and neurology ...(but)... quite early on in his treatment of patients with neurological disorders, Freud realised that symptoms which had no organic or bodily basis could imitate the real thing and that they were as real for the patient as if they had been neurologically caused. So he began to search for psychological explanations of these symptoms and ways of treating them.
Personality is an individual’s characteristic pattern of feeling, thinking and acting. Psychodynamic theories of personality view human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts (Myers & Dewall, pg# 572, 2015). These theories focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences. Psychodynamic theories are descended from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, which is his ideology of personality and the associated treatment techniques. Psychoanalysis attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. This theory also includes the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions. He proposed that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality. Freud’s historically significant psychoanalytic theory became part of the human cultural legacy.