Psychoanalytical Theory
The definition for the psychoanalysis can be expressed by a psychodynamic theory of motivation and personality. Freud's theory is that the issues are developed over sometime; he did not believe that we are born the way we are. Psychoanalysis is known for potential are for mental illness.
Most work on development and attachment has been directly or indirectly influenced by psychoanalytical theory. From a perspective, parental care taking activities such as feeding a child, is essential for the survival of the child, this is a critical attachment formation. The Freudian theory postulate that the infant has an innate need to suck, which involves interaction and modified by actual feeding experiences. The need of oral gratification through sucking and other forms of stimulus of the mouth can result that the infant becoming more attached to the mother's breast, and ultimately to mother herself.
Psychodynamic Perspective
An introduction of the psychoanalytical theory. Sigmund Freud initiated a revolution about thinking about human motivation and personality. Freud emphasis the critical role of the pre-school year and development of personality on the role of instinctual of unconscious motivation was viewed as radical in the early decades of this centaury; this is when his theory was noticed.
According to Freud, development was governed by unconscious drives and instincts. Freud had stressed the role of biological influences and how the biological influences and how did the biological based drives, E.G. sex, aggression and hunger were shaped by encounters of the environment, and mostly with other family members. Freud believed the structure of developing personality consisted the three interrelated parts the, Id, ego, and the superego. The role of these three aspects of personality plays with changes across the development of the infant, who is largely under control of instinctual drives, which gradually becomes more rational and reality- bound. The infant is guided by the id, which is the instinctual component of the personality which operates the pleasure principle is oriented toward maximizing pleasure and satisfying the needs of the personality, that emerges. The ego attempts to gratify needs of the person through appropriate socially constructive mechanisms. The third component of the personality. The superego emerges when a child internalises parental, societal, values, roles and morals. The acceptance, or internalisation results of development of the conscience. Freud believed that development was a discontinuous process that proceeded in a series of discrete stages. In each of the stages, certain biological forces played central role in organising the infant and child how to relate to the world.
In the first phase, oral stage, which covers the first year of life, the infant is preoccupied with the activities, such as eating, sucking and biting with objects, E.G., food, associated with the mouth, which Freud calls the oral zone. Freud assumed that infants derived great enjoyment as well as satisfaction from these oral stage behaviours. In the second, priorities change and the anal stage begins. The infant or the toddler now is involved with the stage activities. At this time, parents are concerned of toilet training. In the third year and approximately until the fifth year, the infants focus shifts again from elimination or retention to the phallic or Oedipal stage: the child's sexual curiosity is aroused with attention drawn to the genitals. Pleasure from stimulation of genitals is discovered. The same time children are aware of their sexual anatomy and mostly of the differences between the sexes, which begins at this stage. Most in this period of time, boys experience the emergences of the Oedipus complex, which does consist the sexual feeling for the mother and jealousy of the father and rivalry with him and gets most attention of the mother. Girls in Electra complex, experience the similar dynamics in relation to their parents but too less severe degree than boys. Freud called the next stage, latency period because he believed that the sexual drives are submerged or latent in this period. It is partly to avoid reminders of sexual feelings that occur during the phallic phase that children avoid relationships with the opposite sex, peers become intensely involved with the same sex peers of a period of time from six years from the age of puberty.
This turning from the family to peer group is associated with acquisition from social skills, which are necessary to function effectively in the social world. The last period the genital stage, sexual desires remerge, but at this time more appropriately directed to opposite sex peers. At earlier stages, onset of biological changes in this case puberty plays a significant role in defining the focus of the particular stage of development.
According to Freud, the ways in each of these stages is managed by the child, which will have a profound impact on the later adult personality. E.G., ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
This turning from the family to peer group is associated with acquisition from social skills, which are necessary to function effectively in the social world. The last period the genital stage, sexual desires remerge, but at this time more appropriately directed to opposite sex peers. At earlier stages, onset of biological changes in this case puberty plays a significant role in defining the focus of the particular stage of development.
According to Freud, the ways in each of these stages is managed by the child, which will have a profound impact on the later adult personality. E.G., infants who have unsatisfied needs for oral stimulation may be more likely to smoke as adults or toddlers who were toilet trained very early may be obsessively concerned with neatness and cleanness. Few of these predictions have in fact been supported, but the general view that the events in infancy and childhood may have a formative impact on later development, which remains in a central issue about nature of development.
Freud was an innovative theorist who constantly revised his theory and his followers have moved toward a decreased emphasis on instinctual forces and an increased emphasis on the effects of social experience.
In contrast to Freud, whose stage theory of Erikson, one of Freud's most influential disciples. The contrast to Freud, whose stage theory covers only the years of adolescence, Erikson stages encompass the full life span. Erikson more devoted much more attention to cultural in contrast to biological, influences in development. Erikson's theory is organised around the basic personal and social tasks that need to be solved at each stage of development rather than around ways of dealing with instinctual needs.
The first stage, the challenge of acquiring a sense of basic trust versus mistrust is the main task. For infants, who are highly dependant organisms the central corn is "Is the world to be trusted?" through their parents' handling of infants' basic sense of trust in the environment is determined. The next stage, phase of autonomy is determined. The next stage, phase of autonomy versus shame and doubt, children deal with their emerging sense of autonomy but remain concerned and worried about their continuing dependency on adults and their inability to live up to adults demands and expectations. At the age to three to five years, the stage of initiative versus guilt, children struggle with learning to take responsibility and master their environment, but often at the price of offending their loved parents. Just as Freud's theory, rivalry with the same- sex parent occurs, but resolves itself by an increased orientation to other social partners such as peers. Industry versus inferiority is the next stage, which is from six to twelve years. Again as Freud's latency phase, children become increasingly oriented to peers mostly, of intellectual, social and physical skills. It is also a period of contrast social comparison whereby children evaluate their skills in relation to their peers.
The result is sometimes a feeling of inferiority to others. In adolescence the stage of identity versus role of confusion ensues, and the main focus is the search for the stable definition of the self. Unlike Freud, who emphasis the childhood stages of development, Erikson has three additional stages of development that cover the adult years. In the young adulthood, the tasks are to form intimate relationship with the adult. Hence the name stage is intimacy versus isolation. This stage is followed by the stage of generatively versus stagnation, where the focus is on the bearing and rearing of children. This period, the provision of clear guidelines and assistance of the next generation is a central concern.
Stagnation is out growth of failing of failing to achieve this goal. Ego integrity versus despair is the final stage in Erikson's eight ages of man. Reflection on one's past accomplishments and failures organises this last phase of life.
Psychodynamics theories have helped shape many of the concerns of modern child psychology, including the impact of the early experiences on later behaviour, the role of the family is socialisation and particularly most through Erikson's work the impact of culture on children's development. Until recently few modern researchers were actively testing these theories and their importance was largely historical influence.
Evaluation
This topic on psychoanalysis, I found interesting, because it deals with hidden meanings, dreams, operates within the 'unconscious', importance of one's early experiences and symbolism. This is a definition of what psychoanalysis can be. We would also say that it is a definition of psychodynamic theory of motivation and personality development, as well as potential cure for mental illness.
The mental illness can be expressed by the 'unconscious' are:
* Headaches
* Paralysis
* Blindness
* Other physical symptoms dreams
* Slips of the tongue
* Jokes
* Hypnosis
Freud studied the unconscious involving 'free association' and 'dream analysis'.
From the psychoanalytical perspective we have studied:
* The idea of psychoanalysis was developed by Freud, at the end of the last centaury. By the technique of 'free association'. Freud was able to uncover memories of his patients ' childhoods he used these as a basis for his theory of development.
* Freud described adult personality as having three parts: id, ego and superego. The ego had to keep the balance between the two parts.
* Freud described adult personality was not 'pre-set' at birth, it developed over a period of time. And the opinion we were born with two instinctual urges of biological drives our behaviour. They are called libido, which energy we put into living, survival, reproduction and well-being. Death wish, way, which we deal with unpleasant emotions, E.G., guilt anger, denial. Etc.
* Freud stated that children went through three stages in the first five years: the oral stage, anal stage and the phallic stage. Each stage could have lasting effects on adult personality.
* The theory operates around thoughts, ideas, and memories. Etc, which operates on three levels: -
* Conscious
* Pre conscious
* Unconscious
These three levels of personality can be pictured on an iceberg.
This is a summary of Freud's theory we have studied.
The strengths of Freud's theory on psychoanalysis are that he has helped us appreciate his views on how childhood can influence personality development. I agree with Freud's theory, I think that childhood has a great impact on how you end up being as a person. I believe that childhood is an important stage of life and people should make most of it and should make it a happy one. I think this because then people turn out to be who they are today and if they don't have a happy childhood, I think they tend to be depressed in their adult life in some sort of stage, they could also be aggressive or have lack of confidence. I believe that people turn out very negative when they don't have a happy life stage, then again this is my opinion and not everyone has to agree with me but I do believe that Freud's theory on a child can be influenced.
Freud developed psychoanalysis as a therapeutic technique- free association, hypnosis and dream analysis. I have opinions of free association it is interesting and actually can help the person mentally, by expressing his/her views maybe about their past E.G., bad memories of childhood and that's why they are scared of a certain thing. I believe that this is a good method of expressing, but it is actually just talking to someone who is close to you, but in this case you are talking to a professional, a psychologist. The free association method, Freud discovered that the patients had similar kinds of memories of their childhood, from these memories, he developed the theory of child development and this is when he described three main stages from childhood.
Freud gave us terms to talk about the personality and also a model of the personality explains three elements. The three instincts are id, ego, and superego. I believe that these aspects of the personality are true to an extent. Freud believed that each element had a principle, which I do agree with because everything that your personality consists with a principle. Freud explained each element has an issue E.G., id has a primitive irrational part of personality concerned with self-survival and pleasure. I think that this is true to an extent of the mind and personality, but I believe that the personality consists a lot of different issues; I am not saying that it is not right of these three elements to have our structure of the personality but I believe there are more elements to our personality. Freud's theory on personality has been described and parted to three parts and deals into further issues and can be talked and expressed in a lot of detail. The model of the personality consists of the map of the map of the mind. The model of the mind can be expressed as an iceberg. E.G., at the top is conscious, at sea level is pre conscious and unconscious is at the bottom of the iceberg. I agree with Freud's theory of the map of the human mind, because he describes each level with a comparison, E.G., a metaphor of each level to the iceberg. For example, 'The tip' of the iceberg consists of what we are aware of any moment of time. I mean of a comparison or a metaphor, Freud is saying that we are conscious we are at the top of the ice berg, E.G., surviving we are not drowned at the bottom of the sea where we are at the unconscious level.
The weakness of Freud's theory was that the observations that he carried out observed mainly middle class women. This gives a thought that these women wanted comfort from the opposite sex or that they were quite rich and had enough to make a fuss and that Freud had time for middle class women, it just gives you a feeling what he could be like towards these women.
Another weakness of Freud's theory was when he developed a stage theory of a child development - only ever studied one child 'little Hans'. The study of a small child called 'little Hans' showed how Freud's theory could be applied to child problems.
Freud would explain Hans phobia that he would actually been afraid of his father as the ones in particular is white horse who is described closely to his father.
It could be that he's generally afraid of horses he's tiny and a horse can be daunting. Freud's only study that he looked at Oedipus complex happening.
Freud probably only studied one child probably because, he could of thought that children would not be analysed because maybe he came across normal children and thought they do not need psychological help, until one day he discovered 'little Hans'. Freud did develop child development in psychosexual stages but did not study children.
Freud could have been also more involved with adults and their instincts, personality and their model of their mind.
Freud's theory is in so much detail and complex it is very difficult to test the theory and at the same time to prove it. The theory can be a conspiracy but it is also difficult to say that and can be criticising and to be critical to the theory, you can only criticise, if you have been studying it for a long period of time.
I can say clearly though that I have enjoyed studying the psychoanalytical perspective on Freud's theory, it has developed my mind intellectually and psychologically. I found it interesting and I think this is the most precise and interesting theory I came across so far.
What the following definitions that have been mentioned but have not been told the meaning are: -
* Dream analysis-"a dream is a (disguised fulfilment of a suppressed or repressed) wish"- " Royal road to the unconscious". Dreams have a manifest content -(helps to protect the unconscious ego from the significance of the dream). What we actually dream- using symbols. Latent content what the dream means -(what is going in unconscious mind. Dream to try and interrupt what they mean.
* Defence mechanisms- tries to limit the damage that is done, which the demands maybe made by the instincts and the parts of the personality are too much. However at times conflict occurs. These are: -
* Repression - push back into the unconscious.
* Rationalisation- justifies our actions to ourselves.
* Projection- put our feelings onto someone else.
* Displacement-take it out on the inappropriate person.
* Regression- going back- person distressed.
* Sublimation- channel energies into something else.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mavis, Hetherington, E. and Ross Parke, D. (1993) Child psychology, Mc Graw hill, Inc, Publishers limited, Cheltenham.
Cullis, Tracy, etal...(1999) Psychology for you, Stanley Thrones, Publishers limited, Cheltenham.
Hayes, Nicky (1993) A first course in psychology, Nelson, Publishers limited, Cheltenham.
