Psychology explores human behavior and the human mental process figuring ways to improve the thinking and attitude of an individual’s existence. Sometimes, different techniques are used and tried to properly resolve the problem within the multitude of possible behavioral issues. Moreover, Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, developed many theories, psychodynamic therapy, for clinically treating people with mental health problems through their unconscious mind; Then, Sigmund Freud’s theories or therapy, rather, diverged into other types of therapies such as Biological Psychology or Cognitive Psychology. No doubt, there are various perspectives, both strong and weak, in the field of Psychology using different techniques on different types of behavior to search for the accurate answer.
To begin, the psychodynamic approach to aiding human behavior appears to have many advantages and sounds like a great idea; however, the psychodynamic therapy has its weakness’. For example, Freud commits a hasty generalization to the world in his evidence; a large portion of the evidence for the psychodynamic theories is taken from Freud's case studies, but the case studies are created through the detailed study of one person and his patients who were mostly middle aged women from Vienna (McLeod). Because the case study is particular to a certain person and it’s difficult to control variables such a memory or relationship, the data is held unreliable. In other words, Freud’s studies are extremely biased, and it is impossible to create theories off of a few subjective cases. With the biased factor in mind:
the psychodynamic approach says an individual’s behavior is a direct result of his or her subconscious mind which is greatly impact...
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...here are amplitudes of advantages and disadvantages regarding the different types of therapies, in reality, it is about which therapy accommodates the individual best.
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Psychodynamic approaches often come under a lot of criticism as they fail to be explicit about the underlying bases of the theory. Cognitive theories are not very comfortable with explaining emotions and behavioural theories have difficulty explaining the mechanisms of improvements.
The psychodynamics theory which was introduced by Freud to understand the human mind and psyche, reached a new level in the continuous analysis from therapists. Psychodynamics originally has been explained as a study of various psychological forces that affect human behavior which is related to early experiences. It specifically discusses the connection between the conscious and subconscious motivations. The theory was further analyzed and developed by Melanie Klein, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler. Based on the theory, the psychodynamic therapy evolved to help patients through psychoanalysis. With time other therapies like individual, group and family therapy evolved to offer treatment by understanding the present day complexities in more detail. The main aim of the therapy is self –awareness through identifying the various influences of many past events in life. The therapies are continuously evolving since it was introduced by Freud to help in solving a variety of psychological disorders within people.
In Psychology, various different explanations of behaviour and the intellect have been presented and debated over the years such as the psychodynamic, behavioral, biological and humanistic approach. The biological approach aims to provide explanation is concerned with how behaviour is affected by physiological systems and mechanisms (Barnes, 2013). This approach assumptions usually explore physiological and evolutionary explanations to behaviour. In opposition to this, the Psychoanalytic approach presents an explanation to psychological occurrence by exploring
Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.
Sigmund Freud, a physiologist, health physician, psychologist and husband of psychoanalysis, is ordinarily appreciated as one of the most influential and commanding thinkers of the twentieth century. Freud’s most meaningful and frequently reiterated allegation, that with psychoanalysis he had invented a novel science of the mind, however, this still remains the focus of much severe controversy and controversy.
The psychodynamic approach lends itself to being a controversial yet highly influential theory in the history of psychology. The theory has become one of the most significant psychological approaches and its originator, Sigmund Freud, has become a major influence in modern psychology. The psychodynamic approach largely focuses on motivation and past experiences which develop and individual’s personality. Freud used the iceberg metaphor to outline the three states of consciousness and argued that only twenty percent of the mind represents the conscious. In addition he theorised that there was a pre-conscious mind which represents general memory. Finally, the unconscious mind which is essentially the reservoir of repressed or hidden experiences and desire.
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, was the principle proponent of the psychoanalytic personality theory. Psychoanalytic personality theory is tells us that the majority of human behavior is motivated by the unconscious, a part of the personality that contains the memories, knowledge, beliefs, feelings urges, drives, and instincts that the individual is unaware, and that only a small part of our psychological makeup is actually derived from the conscious experience. The problem is our unconscious mind disguises the meaning of the material it contains. As such, the psychoanalytic personality theory is ver...
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
There have been many theorist in psychology such as Erik Erickson, Gordon Allport, and Raymond Cattell, among others. They have all made significant contributions to psychology and understanding human behavior. However, two theorist have distinguished themselves over the rest of them. Sigmund Freud is known as the father of psychoanalysis. He developed numerous theories to facilitate the understanding of the different stages humans go through. As well as Freud, Karen Horney also created her own theories. Her theories were relatively similar to Freud’s, however, they also have their differences. It is essential to have general knowledge of their background and to understand both of their theories before we begin contrasting them.
The term psychology has many meanings to different people, even to those who work within the psychological field. The word psychology derives from two Greek roots; 'psyche' refers to 'soul' or 'mind' and logo refers to 'the study of'. A more update definition of the word psychology can be found from Atkinson, et al (1991) “The scientific study of behaviours and mental processes.” However on Google Definitions the definition of psychology is “the mental characteristics and attitudes of a person” [accessed 16 September 2011], which gives somewhat of a contradiction. In this assignment I will be outlining and evaluating four key psychological perspectives. The psychological perspectives I have chosen are the behavioural approach, biological approach, cognitive approach and the psychodynamic approach.
By its nature, psychodynamic approach recognises that experiences in childhood have an influence throughout our lives without the person being aware of it. It provides an important framework for judging one 's personality and behaviour. For example, the reason for a person committing a murder may be the fact that his violent father has always physically-punished him since childhood. Though, behavioural approach argues most of the human behaviour is mechanical, and one 's personality is simply the product of stimuli and responses. Therefore, the psychodynamic approach acknowledges everyone can suffer mental illnesses and conflicts without their
Science “… assumes that the universe is, as its name implies, a vast single system in which the basic rules are everywhere the same” (Rutherford & Ahlgren, 1990). This quote implies that for a subject to be considered a science, all of its concepts must be of similar origin. For the case of Psychology, this is not true; however, Psychology is, in fact, a mature paradigmatic science which consists of one paradigm and resulted in a revolutionary change. Psychology consists of many different schools of thought which supports the notion, previously mentioned, that reinforces that it is not a very mature science. Behaviorism, Gestalt, Psychoanalysis and Functionalism are the schools of thought of Psychology. Each of these schools of thought demonstrates multidimensional perceptions by which displays the emergent and transformed way of thinking over the years. The schools of thought not only governs the belief of Psychologists but it also exhibits the lack of one absolute way of looking or solving something. Psychology consists of several branches of theories and concepts which leads to complexities, unlike Biology and Chemistry which have one consistent solution. Psychology, nevertheless, has a paradigm: Behaviorism. Cognitive Psychology stems from Behaviorism, which lead to a revolutionary change. The evidence displayed throughout this paper will support this proposition.
Psychology is concerned with the assessment, diagnosis, counseling and treatment of people concerning mental health. The three theories discussed above have thus focused on providing great contribution regarding the increased knowledge to the solving mental health problems. Psychoanalysis has explored several thoughts and has unearthed the aspect of unconscious mind; there is the theory of behaviorism that gives explanation on the reasons as to why people behave in a certain manner and finally the humanistic theory that is critical in explaining the nature of human beings in the
The first theory Psychodynamic theory presented by Sigmund Freud, is based on how a person’s self-awareness and understanding of the past on present behavior. Psychody...
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.