2.3 Freud argued that the three parts of the personality are in constant conflict, with the id attempting to gain fulfilment of impulses and the superego setting extremely high moral standards. The ego’s function is to balance both these parts to ensure the personality continues to develop healthy. However, unresolved conflicts result in anxiety that can show itself in dreams and defence mechanisms.
2.4 Defence Mechanisms
Over the years from Freud conducting therapy he claimed that he came across what he deemed as ‘defence mechanisms’; these are unconscious strategies to protect the ego from anxiety and guilt. Defence mechanisms are deceptive to both the unconsciousness and consciousness. They prevent individuals from being occupied by temporary threats or disturbances and indeed they can be extremely useful in short-term situations when we face conflict. However, in the long-term relying on defence mechanisms is unhealthy and detrimental to the personality. Defence mechanisms are perhaps one of the most accepted features of the psychoanalytic theory because they are clearly defined and evidence exists that supports the existence of them.
In Freud’s study he came across several mechanisms that he claimed existed in the personality including repression, denial displacement, rationalisation, reaction-formation, identification, sublimation, regression, and projection (see box 2.5 for examples).
2.6 The three levels of the psyche
Freud distinguished three modes of the mind, each of which operates either on the conscious, preconscious or in the unconscious. The conscious is the part of the mind that represents all our thoughts and feelings which we are aware of at a given moment. It is situated in the ego and it’s organised through logic and reason. Its primary function is to avoid danger and to ensure behaviour is socially acceptable. Freud argued that anxiety occurs when the conscious is predominated with impulses that seek to fulfil unconscious desires. Conversely, the preconscious stores thoughts that are not available to us at a given time but are accessible. It acts sort of like a filter, only allowing acceptable unconscious thoughts to enter consciousness and in the process discarding unacceptable wishes. Finally, the unconscious is the largest part of the mind, much of the information stored in it is inaccessible except only through the use of psychoanalytic therapies such as transference and dream analysis. (See appendix 1 for diagram showing the relationship between the three levels of consciousness)
2.7 The development of the personality
Freud believed that children pass through a series of psychosexual stages that immediately begin when the child is born. He proposed that during each stage the libido is directed to a different body part. Each particular stage is subject to problems that have to be overcome to ensure that the personality functions properly later in adulthood. Failure to overcome the problems, however, results in fixation, or affects the development of the stage. Freud argued that fixation results in the individual retaining certain characteristics from the fixated stage later on in adulthood, additionally, in certain cases he claimed that the effects could cause neurosis. Successful handling of the problems in each stage results in a personality in adulthood that is well-balanced and healthy, well; at least that’s what Freud claimed.
Oral Stage (birth to 1):
The id is the dominant feature of the personality and the libido is directed towards the mouth. The child acquires satisfaction from sucking and biting. Fixation in this stage can result in the individual experiencing features in adulthood such as over-eating, excessive use of sarcasm and drug abuse.
Anal Stage (Second year of life):
The child in this stage gains pleasure from the mucous membranes of the rectum. i.e., it gains satisfaction from expelling and withholding faeces. Freud claimed that fixation in this stage as being the cause of behaviours in adulthood such as compulsive cleanliness and parsimonious.
Phallic Stage (3 – 6):
In this stage the libido is directed onto the genitals and feelings become unambiguously sexual. Freud proposed that boys experience Oedipus complex (See Appendix 2), during which, the boy sexually fantasies about intimacy with his mother and he envies his father for being close with her. However, he fears that his father may castrate him for his inappropriate and unacceptable wishes. The Oedipus complex is resolved successful when the boy identifies with his father and looks up to him as a role model. On the other hand, Freud held that girls experience Electra complex, which results in them believing that they have been castrated because they do not possess a penis. This ultimately results in the girl envying the penis, which in turn, leads to her developing a potent relationship with her father. However, like the boys, the girls eventually try to be more like their same sex parent and they use them as role models to look up to. If an individual successfully completes this stage by identifying with the same sex parent, Freud argued that the child develops a gender-role that is attributed to them through life. Furthermore, he believed that the child would adopt their parents’ moral principles which then lead to the development of the superego. However, if the individual fails to successfully complete this stage, Freud argued that they develop a week superego as well as being fixated to their opposite sex parent.
Latency Stage (6 to Puberty):
During the latency stage the libido is submerged and is somewhat inactive. The stage is the time when the ego develops significantly and the individual starts to gain cognitive and social skills.
Puberty Stage (puberty):
Effectively in this stage the libido re-emerges due to hormonal change. The libido is now directed towards the genitals of the opposite sex. The individual develops adult sexual attitudes and feelings. Inadequate completion of the stage can lead to regression later on life.
2.8 Post-Freudians’
Anna Freud:
Anna Freud was the daughter of Sigmund. She came to Britain shortly before World War II, around about the same time her father moved to the Country. While practising psychoanalysis in the UK, she spent most of her time working with adolescents. Anna believed the term “psychoanalysis” could not be functional to any technique that focused attention on the unconscious mind to the exclusion of everything else. She criticised her father for over exaggerating the influence of sexuality in early childhood, and claimed he neglected the importance of it in adolescents. She had a personal view that adolescent hood was a period that involved an increase in the activity of the libido and a time when young individuals experience changed sexual feelings. The intensity of these internal urges, she argued, results in extreme emotional problems as the adolescent tries to handle the resulting impulses and desires.
Melanie Klein:
Melanie Klein was amongst the leading figures In European psychoanalysis. She based herself in the UK in the 1930’s. By trade she was a trained nursery teacher. She implemented much of her psychoanalysis knowledge on the development of preschool children. This led her to develop a therapeutic technique that allowed psychoanalytic principles to be applied on children from 2-6 year old when they play. This became known as play therapy, which in contemporary psychology is the name of a psychoanalytic technique that can be applied on young children to reveal the child’s unconscious thoughts in order to try and help the child deal with emotional difficulties. Klein’s model of play therapy involved the play of simple materials. The child was allowed access freely to the play object while Klein knelt and attended to the context of the play. Frequently she would provide the child with an interpretation of the play, and would encourage transference – that is, encouraging the child to transfer feelings that they have towards their mother onto herself. Klein methods promoted new thoughts amongst psychologists into the development of young children; in addition prominent analysts such as John Bowlby supported her findings.
Erik Erickson:
Anna Freud trained Erik Erickson as a psychoanalyst. Anna who was extremely interested with child analysis greatly influenced his work. In 1933 Erickson left Europe and practiced as a child analyst in the US. In reference to Freud, Erickson contended that he had over emphasized the role of sexuality in the personality and claimed he put little emphasis on social forces in the development of it. He proposed his own psychosocial stages, which he anticipated individuals experience in their lifetime. In contrast to Freud claim that childhood was the most important period for the shaping of the individuals personality in later years, Erickson viewed the stages of development as covering the duration of an individual’s life. His psychosocial theory was marked by a central crisis in each stage; successful management in each stage would develop and maintain a well-balanced personality. For the duration of Erickson’s career as a psychoanalyst he spent a considerable amount of time working with troubled adolescents. His fifth psychosocial stage – “identity vs. role confusion” was he viewed as the most central crisis in an individual’s life received widespread support from psychologists around at that time. In contemporary psychology, Erickson’s work has made significant contributions to the study of developmental psychology.
2.9 Therapies:
Freud held the view that neurotic symptoms were a compromise between the contrasting demands made by ego, the id and the superego. He argued that the consequence and the meaning of these demands showed in dreams and defences such as repression and regression. Moreover, he claimed that most psychoneurotic problems were the result of unresolved unconscious conflicts that were typically acquired from feelings and desires in childhood. Most of which he anticipated were of a sexual or aggressive nature. The role of psychoanalysis was to make these particular unconscious feelings and desires conscious so that the therapist may make a diagnosis of the problem.
2.10 Classical psychoanalysis
In classical free association the patient relaxes on a couch whilst the therapist stays out of sight so that he may remain anonymous as well avoiding any interference with the communication process. By conducting therapy in such a way, psychoanalysts argue that the patient will have no apprehension or be influenced in any way by the therapist’s interpersonal actions. The patient relaxing on the couch allows for a greater flow of ideas, emotional response and thought. During the therapy the patient is encouraged to talk about anything that comes to their mind, no matter how inappropriate or dysfunctional it may be. The patient when responding may frequently encounter ‘blocks’. That is, he or she may stop talking, change direction, or get up from the couch. Freud argued that these could possible reveal resistances (i.e. repression). (Introductory Psychology 1998, respectively) Classical psychoanalysts maintain that the particular associations uncovered from free association reveal important unconscious material.
Dreams are also considered as an important feature of psychoanalysis since one of the fundamental principles of the psychoanalytic theory holds that during sleep the Ego’s is subject to a decrease in it’s defences, thus allowing repressed wishes and thoughts to come forward (‘royal road to the unconscious’, Freud’s assertion) . Freud claimed that dreams may also represent wish fulfilment; which as a result directs the individuals’ particular desires into symbolic symbols. These symbols are projected in a number of ways through displacement, condensation and concrete representation. The purpose of dream analysis was therefore to decode these particular symbols in order for the therapist to gain insightful information into the patient’s emotional state and his/her desires.
The other form of psychoanalysis that Freud and in particular Klein advocated was transference. Essentially in this form of analysis the primary aim is to encourage the patient to transfer thoughts, feeling and emotions onto the therapist. These sensations are characteristically the patient’s feelings towards specific people who are important to them in there life. Perhaps, the most frequently used individual the patient shows his/her feeling for is the parents. Primarily, the intension of transference is to interpret the patient’s emotional responses so that the therapist may inform the patient on what is revealed from its unconscious. However, the analyst does not attempt to offer any advice for the individual; instead he/she is required to find their own solution based on the findings.
2.11 Ego analysis
Psychoanalysts’ theorists such as Horney and Erickson advocated that the strength of the ego in an individual was just as strong as in the id. From their assumption they proposed that ego strength is the reason why individuals’ take such an active role in trying to control their surrounding environment. In ego analyst the role of the therapist is to assist the patient in recognising their ego functions (i.e. conscious aims and capabilities that can control both the id and the environment). Furthermore the therapy attempts to advise the patient on the most effective ways of changing themselves to ensure that they interact with their environment as efficiently as possible.
2.12 Criticisms of the approach
- A fundamentally criticism of the psychoanalytic approach concerns Freud’s sample of individuals who he conducted his work on. Specifically, he was dealing with atypical individuals who were suffering from profound mental problems. A criticism therefore is that there is a risk his findings are out of touch with normal humans.
- His use of the case study method is also criticised because he wrote up his results sometime after he interviewed his patients. This, of course, could mean that there was a chance that his case study reports were inaccurate and selective. Additionally, the case study is considered the least scientific form of research method. (Gross Psychology – Scientific study of mind and behaviour, respectively.)
- The theory because of its subject approach is unable to be falsified.
- Freud has been criticised over his emphasis of biological factors in the development of the personality. His claim that the goal of all human behaviour is to satisfy biological requirements attracted disagreement from other psychodynamics including Carl Jung, Erik Erickson and Alfred Alder. Although they recognized the important of biological factors they believed in the social nature of individuals.
- Research has been conducted to try and explain the effectiveness of psychoanalysis as a therapy, mostly arising over the debate of what is the correct definition of the term “cure” Some have claimed that it achieves what would have expected to occur without therapeutic treatment.
3.0 Behaviourist Approach
The behaviourist approach of psychology argues that individual behaviour is shaped through constant interaction with their environment. Hereditary and physiological factors are considered as being practically non-existent; or rather they assert that they have little influence on the psychological and mental development of an individual. The approach is heavily influenced by the work of the associationists, Pavlov and Thorndike, and early behaviourists such as Watson and Hull. Behaviourists believe that learning is achieved through conditioning, either classical or operant. Since they consider that they know how all behaviour(s) is acquired, they claim that they can manipulate behaviour to do such things such as train people or to remove maladaptive phobias. Additionally, because of their disregard for hereditary factors they believe human feature such as intelligence are acquired through continuous learning. Therefore, as a result, in theoretical terms the behaviourists believe that just about any individual has the potential to be an academic or anything they want really (within reason though!). The study is sometimes referred to as stimulus(s)-response(r) psychology because it is primarily concerned with the stimuli that invoke a behavioural response.
learning theory:
3.1 Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is based on the principle of associative learning. The theory proposes that behaviour is involuntary and that it occurs automatically when an appropriate stimulus is presented. Classical conditioning presumption holds that an individual learns behaviour towards a particular stimulus because of its association with something else. Much of the theory is based on the work of Pavlov, a physiologist who was studying salivary reflex in dogs. In his study he observed that dogs not only salivate at the sight and smell of food (‘natural response’), but also at the sight of the food container. Through several assortments of experiments he demonstrated that he could use a variety of stimulus to achieve the salivating effect (using ‘unnatural stimuli’ of course). Examples he used to demonstrate this included ringing a bell every time he was about to issue or had issued the dog food. Again, this caused the dog to form an association with the unnatural stimuli (see Appendix 3 for diagram showing his work). In his work he concluded the following:
- If the conditioned stimulus continued to be shown but without the food, the salivating response would deteriorate and would no longer happen.
- The conditioned response may re-emerge after extinction when the appropriate stimulus is used, however, the effect of the spontaneous recovery would be considerable weaker.
- The dog would salivate to particular sounds that were similar to the bell (known as generalisation).
- If, however, two different bells were used but only one at the same time as the food, the dog would learn to discriminate against them thus only associating with the bell that was presented with the food.
In the experiments the response invoked without the use of any other associations is known as the unconditional response (UCR), the response produced when there is an association used is called a conditional response (CR). The food, which, of course, is the original stimulus, is known as the unconditional stimulus (UCS). Conversely, the association used to produce the CR is known as the conditional stimulus (CS).
3.2 Classical conditioning accounting for phobias:
The principles of classical conditioning have been claimed by behaviourists such as Watson as being the pretext for individuals developing phobias. Indeed, the belief was backed up by empirical evidence that was obtained by conducting experiments on babies and adults. An example of this is evident in the case of little Albert, when he was nine month old he was shown various stimuli including a white rabbit, a monkey, and a hammer that struck a bar that was behind his head. As one would image, the only stimuli that invoked an UCR of fear was the hammer being struck behind his head. However, when Albert became eleven months old the UCS (the hammer being struck against the metal bar) was presented at the same time as the natural stimuli. After the process was carried out several times the natural stimuli used began to produce a CR of fear without the use of the original UCS. In effect, the principle of classical conditioning is quite probably the most supported theory that attempts to explain why individuals develop phobias.
3.3 Classical conditioning in the media:
The ideologies behind classical conditioning can be seen evidently in television adverts. Advertising firms use the principles of it to promote positive attitudes amongst their consumers’, an example being would include particular adverts that use celebrities to promote their product. The presence of the celebrity encourages the consumers of the target market to feel that the product is successful and worthy. The principles of the theory can also be seen in films such as Halloween, where the directors used the infamous tune at the time when the killer Michael Myers was killing. Thereafter, once the audience forms an association between the song and the killer, they are subject to produce a CR at the sound of the tune.
3.4 Operant conditioning:
Operate conditioning proposes that behaviour is voluntary rather than reflex. Much of the view’s foundations developed from Thorndike’s ‘Law of Effect’, which holds that behaviour that results from pleasurable consequences is likely to be repeated in the future under the same circumstances, whilst behaviour that has no pleasant consequences declines. Fundamentally, Thorndike conducted his research on cats, testing their learning when they were put in ‘puzzle boxes’. Typically, when using the cats, he locked them in the box with the purpose to monitor them trying to escape. For example, in one experiment through trial and error, one of the cats escaped by pressing a lever by accident. Several more experiments were carried using the same cat, during which, Thorndike noticed that the time it took for the cat to press the lever was considerably less than before it had had learned the desired behaviour. The time it took the cat to escape was , of course, a measurement of its learning speed. In terms of explaining this using his ‘Law of Effect’ theory he claimed that the reward (freedom) was responsible for stamping in the appropriate response (pressing the lever to escape).
Whilst Thorndike was influential in terms of the foundations of the approach, another behaviourist, namely, Skinner was perhaps the most significant individual behind the theory of operant conditioning. Skinner when conducting his experiments preferred using rats as his sample. Specifically, he developed a small box that contained a food dispenser and a form of lever. He then placed the rats in the box until they eventually came across the lever by chance. On touching the lever by chance, a food pellet was issued to the rat. Accordingly, he then left the rats to continue to experiment in the box until they realised that producing the behaviour approximations required to press the lever results in a food pellet being released. His behaviour shaping worked extremely well and he even demonstrated on pigeons complex behaviours such as getting them to play table tennis. The reward in operant condition that is responsible for shaping a particular behaviour is known as a reinforcer, and indeed, in Skinner’s experiments the rewards were positive reinforcers.
As with classical conditioning, generalisations, discrimination and extinction can be used in operant processes. In terms of generalisations, a cat, for example, if trained to press a point in a box, might press a point in the box that looks relatively similar. Discrimination may be shown when the cat learns to discriminate between the two points through determining which one emits the reward. If the cat then received no reward for the pressing the point extinction will occur, that is, the desire behaviour will diminish.
3.5 Skinner’s findings when using reinforcement:
Skinner found that the schedules of reinforcement he used had a significant affect on the learning that occurred. Primarily, he used two main kinds of reinforcements, continuous (issuing a reward every time the animal displayed the desired behaviour) and partial reinforcement (only issuing the reward sometimes). He split up the partial reinforcement into segments that included fixed interval, variable interval, fixed ratio and variable ration. In fixed intervals, the animal was reinforced after regular time intervals, provided it pressed the lever at once during the experiment. In variable intervals, the time when skinner issued the reinforcement was varied and changed from time to time. In fixed ratio, the animal was reinforced after it demonstrated the desired behaviour the same number of times required according to Skinner fixed ratio. Lastly, in variable ratio the animal was rewarded after it showed the desired behaviour several times, although skinner frequently would change the number of times the animal was required to exhibit the behaviour before reinforcements would be issued.
Skinner recorded that continuous learning had the quickest affect on shaping the desires behaviour whilst partial learning produced learning that lasted considerably longer without the use of a reinforcer.
3.6 Types of reinforcement:
Positive reinforcements: This was first identified by Thorndike in is his ‘Law of Effect’ theory. The view holds that a response is made more likely when it follows a desirably stimulus (positive reinforcer).
Negative reinforcements: This is used to remove or avoid something that is unpleasant. For example, skinner inserted a machine that gave an electric shock unless the rat pressed a button to switch it off. He showed that if a light is flashed immediately before the shock is given, the rat learned to press the lever as a response ensuring that they received no shock. Negative reinforcement results in the desires behaviour being strengthened in somewhat the same way as in positive reinforcing.
Punishment: The ideologies behind punishment advocate that the process of it makes undesirable behaviours less unlikely to be repeated. Principally, after the undesirable behaviour is shown, an undesirable stimulus is presented. Skinner, however, believed that punishment was unfeasible for controlling behaviour because it only suppresses undesirable behaviour without reinforcing desirable behaviour.
3.7 Secondary reinforcement:
Certain stimuli known as secondary reinforcers become associated with reinforcement because of their connection with primary reinforcers such as water or food. Skinner showed this when he found that the rats would press the lever in response to the clicking noise heard when the food pellet was issued, moreover, they did it on occasions when food was not presented. The principles behind secondary reinforcers have proved to be extremely useful in numerous practical situations. A prime example would be in the circus, where using secondary reinforcers such as clicking noises are useful because attempting to issue an animal a contiguity reward after each act would certainly be impractical.
3.8 How does conditioning apply to human beings?
The individuals behind the theories of conditioning viewed animals as very much similar to humans, and they argued that the findings were representative in relation to humans. Specifically, while the behaviourists conducted a relatively large amount of experiments on animals reinforcing mostly similar behaviours, they contented that humans learn there behaviours as a result of constant interactions with their environment.
Therapies:
3.9 Programmed learning:
Skinner implemented the principles of operant conditioning to the formal learning situation. His system of programme learning was effective. It involved written self-teaching modules. The material to be studied was broken down into a large number of small-segmented frames. The student then was advised to work through the frames in sequence and was required to respond at the end of each segmented frame. Accurate responses received reinforcement in the form of immediate feedback and, if correct the student advanced on to the next segmented frame.
3.10 Behavioural Modifications – Therapeutic:
Techniques based on conditioning processes are usually referred to as behavioural therapies. Behavioural modification is one example. This therapy is used to manipulate or change unwanted behaviour. Its main component is based on operant conditioning - that is behaviour has favourable consequences. The required behaviour is split into small sequences. Each sequence accomplished by the client is immediately rewarded, however, as the therapy goes on, more and more of the desired behaviour is required before there is a reward issued. The process uses behaviour shaping through reinforcing successive approximations to the requested response. Another behavioural therapy is the token economy. Fundamentally what happens is the psychologist or therapist issues tokens in exchange for desirable or acceptable behaviours and these tokens can be exchanged for reinforcements such as sweets. There is psychological research suggesting that a well-organised token economy supports desired behaviours. However, questions and debates have arisen over weather the effects are due to reinforcement or other variables. In addition psychologists have also questioned its long-term effectiveness in a real world situation.
3.11 Systematic Desensitization:
This technique is commonly used to treat phobic disorders. In this therapy, a patient who had an irrational fear for example, would initially be taught to relax. As the therapy progresses the patient would be introduced to the feared object in a step-by-step sequence until the patient could tolerate the actual content of the object without experiencing anxiety. Aversion therapy is an additional technique which is primarily mainly used to treat unwanted behaviours.
2.12 Biofeedback:
This is a technique, which works under the basic principles of operant conditioning. Individuals are trained to control physiological processes such as blood pressure and heart rate. Typically a patient is connected to a physiological measurement machine such as a heart rate monitor. They are then trained to relax, and are asked to consciously reduce the bodily function been measured. When they reduce the specific physiological function to a particular level a bell sounds and they are urged to try and maintain that level.
2.13 Criticisms of the approach
- The approach fails to take into consideration hereditary and physiological factors in individuals.
- The approach advocates environmental determinism, which proposed that human beings have no free-will because they are subject to their environment.
- The theories of conditioning cannot account for internal cognitive behaviours such as in the case of emotion and creative behaviours.
- Its use of experimentation on animals and then suggesting the findings apply to humans has been profoundly criticised.
4.0 Humanistic Approach
Essentially for a considerable long period, psychoanalysts dominated psychology, with their emphasis on individual behaviour being largely through the unconscious mind, and the behaviourists who viewed individual behaviour as mainly the result of their environment. However, during the middle of the twentieth century, the humanistic approach appeared which provided a view of human’s being free and generous individuals with the potential for growth and fulfilment. Moreover, the approach advocated the study of the subjective human experience (case study was preferred method as a result).
The main proponent of the humanistic approach was Carl Rodgers. Rodgers was a qualified clinical psychology and like Freud, developed most of his work while working with emotionally unstable individuals. He claimed many psychological problems develop from what he calls the “would/should” dilemma. This is referred to a conflict between what individual feel they should do (should) and what they feel is best for them (would). For example an individual may feel it is important for him to get on with some work at his office, but should spend more time with his mum. The discomfort resulting from the would/should dilemma results in anxiety.
Rodgers theory of the human personality started from the argument that individuals are good, unique, and have a basic need for positive regard – that is to be respected and accepted by others. Rodgers contended that all people are born with actualising tendency, a motive that forces us to develop into maturity as well as gaining health. Central to his theory is the concept of the perceived self, that is, the individuals’ view of themselves, developed through their life experiences. He claimed the perceived self has an affect on one’s perception of the world and one’s behaviour. He also proposed that there is another aspect of self, the ideal self – one’s perception of how he/she would like to be. Thus a man might perceive himself as a successful well-liked psychologist but with drawbacks as a husband. His ideal self might persist that he be as successful as possible in both being respected and a good husband. Rodgers claimed that once the perceived self and ideal self become compatible the individual can expect to experience good mental health. It is when a serious disparity occurred that psychological problems develop.
4.1 Client-centred therapy:
During his work, Rodgers developed a form of therapy that he called client-centred therapy, where the clients have the enthusiasm and motivation to help themselves. The facilitator (therapist in other therapies) attempts to create a warm, accepting environment. In contrast to other psychological therapies, the facilitator is not an expert and the therapy is nondirective. The purpose of the therapy is help clients explain their thoughts on particular problems and from their thoughts, helping them gain further insights into them. The greater understanding helps the clients understand their own strengths and limitations and usually achieves increased self-esteem. The key principal in the therapy is that the clients’ gain more control of their problems and that they find satisfactory solutions to them. Rodgers and other humanistic psychologists often use group therapy. They believe this allows individuals to express their problems to others, and they advocate the insights and advice they receive from others helps them to understand how they are perceived.
Rodgers and one of his top proponents, Abraham Maslow, claimed that self-awareness and the ability to come to terms with oneself as the adequate ingredients for a healthy psychological mental state. They both saw humans as being determined to accomplish their maximum potential – to fulfil the most amount of personal growth available within their individual limitations. However, while Rodgers was continually emphasising the significance of self-concept, Maslow was extremely interested in the motives that drive individuals. Maslow contended that there were two types of motivation –
1. Deficiency motivation – The importance to decrease physiological tensions such as hunger and thirst.
2. Growth motivation – The importance of satisfaction requirements such as the need to be loved and esteemed.
Maslow from his study produced a hierarchy of needs which he claimed were innate. The needs are the bottom of the hierarchy need to be fulfilled in order for the needs further up to be satisfied.
4.3 Therapies:
4.5 Logotherapy:
Victor Frankl was born in Vienna in 1905. His personal theories were greatly influenced by Freud’s assumptions about mental illnesses. During the Second World War he was exposed to the threat of Nazi Germany and spent three years suffering in a concentration camp, an experience that had a philosophical effect on his later theory. He published a book in 1992 entitled “mans search for meaning”, promoting the development of a theoretical framework which he called Logotherapy. Fundamentally Logotherapy supports many of the humanistic assumptions. In relation to Rodgers who claimed individuals have the freedom to manipulate their own life, Frankl accepted the view but also contributed the view that there are certain circumstances when the freedom is limited. He believed that when he was in the concentration camp other individual’s imprisoned had a choice in their attitudes towards the experience. In addition he also believed the definition of a given experience could only be determined by person having the particular experience. In order to understand an individual’s behaviour it is necessary to understand the meaning recognized to that individual. Frankl theory was primarily based on his view that the foremost purpose in life was to find meaning in a world that appears to be meaningless. Meaning, of course, referring to an individual’s understanding of immediate experiences and the attitude that he takes towards the experience. In Logotherapy Frankl explained that its purpose was to help patients become fully conscious of there own responsibilities. The therapist does not judge the patient, but attempts to help them discover their personal values. This is very much like Rodgers client-centred therapy, however the key difference is to do with Rodgers belief that all individuals are good and health beings.
Frankl proposed three ways in which meaning in life can be discovered.
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1. Through achievement
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2. Through a inspiring experience
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3. The type of attitude the individual adopts when faced with an unavoidable dilemma such as terminal illness.
4.6 Criticisms of the approach
▪ Like the psychodynamic approach, the terminological jargon associated with the approach is not easily defined, which, as a result is difficult to verify. The statistics used to support the theories have come from interviews and case studied, which unlike experiments, lack falsifiability.
▪ The differences between the humanistic theories are difficult to assess. In addition there is some disagreement between prominent humanistic advocators
- The client-centred therapy developed by Rodgers has came under widespread criticisms, mainly because the therapy is claimed to only work with individuals who are motivated and willing to seek help, therefore it is unlikely to work with patients who have serious mental problems. .
5.0 Which approach?
Due to the complexity and various perspectives of the approaches available, one might be asking but what approach? For that reason it should be noticed that psychologists feel free to choose from what ever approach they feel as a relevant to particular situations. For example, if a clinical psychologist is working with an individual who is suffering from a phobia, he may rely on the behavioural aspect to account for the development of it and then use the principles of it to alleviate the phobia. Similarly, a counsellor psychologist may feel that the humanistic approach is the best available to treat some one with low self-esteem.
6.0 Conclusion
Psychology was a branch of philosophy before it broke away into a separate subject over the last century. In the initial stages of the discipline there were several schools that endeavoured to explain psychological phenomena. These schools, however, disappeared but their influence is evident in contemporary psychological approaches. Contemporary approaches offer various perspectives that attempt to explain psychological phenomena, although very much similar to the previous schools, they are not as subjective and are less directive. The psychodynamic approach contends that early childhood has a significant influence on an individual in adulthood; moreover, the approach believes that unconscious forces are the cause of human behaviour. On the other hand, the behavioural approach believes individuals are subject to environmental influences. Primarily, they believe learning occurs through conditioning, either, classical or operant. The humanistic approach conversely, asserts that individuals have free will and that they have the power to influence their mental state and life.
