Assess the merits and limitations of the ideas Sigmund Freud

The first 200 words of this essay...

Selina Mehmi

Assess the merits and limitations of the ideas Sigmund Freud

Freud's ideas came from his belief in the psychodynamic approach. the psychodynamic approach - the belief that there is an inner active mind that interprets events and therefore forms personality, 1"...human motivation is based on biologically-based innate drives..." He developed his theory from studies of hysteria - this was understood to be physical symptoms without a cause. Freud found that talking to patients would relieve these symptoms, and he came to the conclusion that there is more than just the physical, there is an internal force (the mind) which determines behaviour. One of his patients which he studied in this area was Anna O. When her father died she developed physical symptoms for which no cause could be found and therefore it was diagnosed as hysteria. This patient influenced Freud's theories. In this essay I will discuss Freud's psychodynamic theory of personality, the psychosexual stages of development, the positive aspects of the theory and the limitations of the theory. I will also include a personal opinion of the theory as a conclusion.

2According to Freud there are three elements of the mind which develop