The field of psychology is a large field. In that field of study, there are many different ways of viewing things, and among those points of view, or approaches, is the behavioral approach and the psychoanalytic, or psychodynamic, approach. As would be expected, each approach focuses and interprets psychology differently. Behaviorists tend to focus more on the changes in behavior in relation to a person’s environment, whereas people of the psychoanalytic field tend to focus more on seeing human functioning based on the interaction of drives and forces “within the person, particularly unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality” (McLeod, 2007). As can be seen, these two branches of psychology focus on different parts
Freud was one of the most influential people of the twentieth century and his enduring legacy has influenced not only psychology, but art, literature and even the way people bring up their children (McLeod, 2013). But, being a well-known psychologist does not come easy. Freud built his reputation by founding the psychodynamic approach. Josef Breuer, one of the psychologists whom Freud works alongside, had a patient whom he was treating: Anna O. Breuer succeeded in treating Anna by helping her to recall forgotten memories of traumatic events. When Breuer and Freud talked about Anna O., Freud came up with an idea that he was going to pursue for the rest of his life: the different levels of the mind ("Sigmund Freud on Anna," n.d.). In the book Studies of Hysteria, Breuer and Freud stated and explained their theory for hysteria: “Every hysteria is the result of a traumatic experience, one that cannot be integrated into the person 's understanding of the world” ("Studies on Hysteria," 2013). In this case, Freud first introduced the idea that “physical symptoms are often the surface manifestations of deeply repressed conflicts.” After publishing this, Sigmund Freud was named the “father of psychodynamics”. Freud founded the psychodynamic view of psychology, and for that reason he is such a famous person in the world because not only psychologists know who he is and what he
The fact that it focuses on the way people react to a certain environment is interesting. After learning and testing Thorndike’s Law of Effect (yes, I tested the Law of Effect on my dog), it was fascinating to see the experiment play out, regardless of the results. An experiment that could be done for this field of study is testing the response of humans after receiving a promotion. For the experiment, the promotion will be a fifty thousand dollar raise and a week more of vacation and will be asked to fill out a survey where he/she ranks people by his/her aesthetics. The hypothesis for this is that after receiving the said promotion the subjects will be more willing to give a higher ranking to all the people on the survey. The control group will not receive the promotion, but will still be asked to complete the survey, whereas the experimental group will receive the promotion followed by being asked to complete the
Sigmund Freud first theorized the psychosexual theory after studying a patients mental health. The theory states that a human develops from underlying unconscious motives in order to achieve sensual satisfaction.
Sigmund Freud believed that he “occupies a special place in the history of psychoanalysis and marks a turning point, it was with it that analysis took the step from being a psychotherapeutic procedure to being in depth-psychology” (Jones). Psychoanalysis is a theory or therapy to decode the puzzle of neurotic disorders like hysteria. During the therapy sessions, the patients would talk about their dreams. Freud would analyze not only the manifest content (what the dreamer remembers) of the dreams, but the disguise that caused the repressions of the idea. During our dreams, the decision making part of personality’s defenses are lowered allowing some of the repressed material to become more aware in a distorted form. He distinguished between
The psychoanalytic perspective grew out of subsequent psychoanalytic theories (1901, 1924, and 1940) following decades of interactions with clients with the use of an innovative procedure developed by Sigmund Freud that required lengthy verbal interactions with patients during which Freud probed deep into their lives. In a nutshell, the psychoanalytic perspective looked to explain personality, motivation, and psychological disorders by focussing on the influence of early childhood experiences, on unconscious motives and conflicts, and on the methods people use to cope with their sexual and aggressive urges. The Biological perspective on the other hand looks at the physiological bases of behaviour in humans and animals. It proposes that an organism’s functioning can be described in terms of the bodily structures and biochemical processes that cause behaviour. This paper attempts to examine the similarities and differences between the psychoanalytic perspective and the biological perspective with the key focus on the core assumptions and features of these perspectives as well as their individual strengths and weaknesses.
The theory of psychoanalysis, founded by Freud, asserted that people could be cured by “…making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations…”, therefore gaining insight into their behavior and state of being (CITE). The aim of psychoanalytic therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences, because Freud believed that psychological problems are rooted in the unconscious mind. In certain cases, individuals would have manifested symptoms caused by “…latent…”, or hidden disturbances (CITE). Typical causes could include unresolved issues during development or as a result of repressed trauma. Those who practice psychoanalysis believe that only with a cathartic experience can be the person be helped and therefore cured. In other words, , Freud’s treatment focused on bringing the repressed conflict to consciousness, where the patent then could wo...
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...
Freud also was a medical doctor that specialized in the treatment of nervous disorder also known as neuroses. His main focus was that of psychoanalysis. He was also the first person to map out the entire subconscious geography of the human psych. Through his studies, he concluded that disordered thinking was the result of fears experienced in childhood. These disorders can range from hysteria, anxiety, depression, and obsession. Through his studies, he argued that neurotic behaviors had to be treated by bringing childhood experiences to the surface and confront them.
Westen, D. (1998). The scientific legacy of Sigmund Freud: toward a psychodynamically informed psychological science. Psychological Bulletin, 124(3), 333.
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
The thought process that drives the psychodynamic theory is that our histories greatly influence the people we turn out to be. The psychodynamic theory emphasizes the importance that relationships, especially those developed in the early stages of life, have on our development. This theory is also motivated by the assumption that our emotions or states of mind are the driving forces behind our actions (Dean, 2002). This theory focuses on childhood trauma, and how this can influence the way a person acts for the rest of his or her life. Freud was the first practitioner to make the parallel between internal and external factors. He realized that people
Sigmund Freud created strong theories in science and medicine that are still being studied today. Freud was a neurologist who proposed many distinctive theories in psychiatry, all based upon the method of psychoanalysis. Some of his key concepts include the ego/superego/id, free association, trauma/fantasy, dream interpretation, and jokes and the unconscious. “Freud remained a determinist throughout his life, believing that all vital phenomena, including psychological phenomena like thoughts, feelings and phantasies, are rigidly determined by the principle of cause and effect” (Storr, 1989, p. 2). Through the discussion of those central concepts, Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis becomes clear as to how he construed human character.
The biological approach assumes that all behaviours have a physiological basis and certain behavioural characteristics can be transmitted genetically from one generation to another (W.E. Glassman 2009). The behaviour has a physical cause in the same way as physical illness. The causes of abnormal behaviour can be explained by understanding nervous system and the endocrine system. The psychoanalytic approach assumes that human behaviour and feelings as adults are determined by
Ellen is a thirty-nine year old women currently in the throws of a midlife crisis. She claims to be seeking therapy due to general unhappiness and dissatisfaction with her life. Ranging from psychosomatic conditions to crying over trivial matters Ellen is not happy with her current situation. She was recommended by her doctor to a psychotherapist. Created by Sigmund Freud, the origins of psychotherapy stem from the belief that there are certain forces that cause human behavior, feelings, emotions and their ability to relate to early life experiences.
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.
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.
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.