Psychodynamic Theories
Annie Hou IB psychology Psychodynamic Theories What is it to be human through the lens of psychodynamics? Most psychodynamic came in the idea from the development of a early life of childhood, which are in some part of the unconscious. Evolutionists have recognized that evolutionary psychoanalysis have a big gap between psychoanalytic theory and the extrospective biological and social sciences. As for their methods, they observed more closely in perspective's contributions and it become very important in psychodynamic theory to the study of psychology. For psychodynamic considerations there are four main topics. Reductionism, falsifiability, universality and retrospective accounts and fallible memories. As Reductionism is the idea to explain the behaviors of human reducing the way of explaning the psyche function of psychodynamic. It is often in literary psychobiographies, which explains the behavior of some famous person but it cant hurt anyone, except it might ruin the persons reputation on the subject. Fasifiability it's " theory that is impossible to disconfirm in principle is not a scientific theory, which you can't prove it." (Tavis & Wade, 2000) This made many of the psychologist theories being disconfirmed, so they only depends on the popularity of their proponents than on their content. Universality is what involved with everyone. An example, "if a gay man goes
abnormal psychology/depression
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY PSY 03 WORD COUNT ,730 MAXINE JACKSON APRIL 2008 What is abnormal or normal? Abnormal literally means 'away from the normal'. Although it does not state what normal is. What is meant by normal differs over time and across cultures; it depends, to a certain extent on circumstances. Is something normal because the majority are doing it? During the Second World War thousands of innocent people were murdered in the name of Adolf Hitler. The Nazi's became the majority; however this does not make their behaviour normal. One way to decide what behaviour is normal is to consider how usual it is. In that case then, behaviour that is less common is abnormal. Society has standards to which they expect people to conform, this reflects on how people behave. These standards are classed as normal. Anyone who violates society standards is then abnormal. All societies are different and they expect different behaviour, because of this it is impossible to give a universal meaning of the word abnormal. It is difficult to class a person as abnormal or indeed normal, because of the differences in people to begin with. "A statistical norm is to do with a way of being, a quality or representation that is expressed or understood by many individuals. In other words, it is called average. High intelligence is as abnormal as low intelligence." J Cullberg (2006:09) Not
Psychodynamic approach
Approaches question Psychodynamic approach Henry is a man who often finds it difficult to distinguish between reality and fantasy. For example, he believes that he is better than anyone else at the job he does, and that rapid promotion will inevitably follow when other people realise it too. However, few of his colleagues believe this and they feel that Henry is not really facing up to the realities of his everyday life. How might this be explained? (a) Describe how two approaches might try to explain Henry's difficulty in distinguishing reality from fantasy. (6 marks + 6 marks) The psychodynamic approach states that unconscious urges are revealed in symbolic form. Thus, the unconscious mind 'leaks' into consciousness by means of irrational behaviour, in Henry's case he unconsciously desires a promotion, but because he consciously knows he may not get one, or others work at a higher standard and may be receiving one before himself he behaves irrationally. The irrational behaviour comes in the form of his illogical confident thoughts that everyone isn't as good as him at his job and he thinks that it is due to other people's foolishness that he has not yet been promoted, therefore, not placing any of the blame upon himself. Another explanation offered by the psychodynamic approach comes from Freud's ideas on the structure of the personality, which is made through
Manic Depression.
MANIC DEPRESSION Bipolar disorder causes a person to have mood swings between extreme mania and deep depression; however, there are ways to regulate these fluctuations. Many famous artists and writers have experienced bipolar disorder throughout their lives because of unrelieved stress pertaining to their careers. Those included in that are Ernest Hemingway, Amedeo Modigliani, and Robin Williams. Researchers have found that the main cause for this disease has genetic influence. Treatment may include antidepressants and/or psychotherapy, although many patients enjoy the extreme highs and forgo treatment. In North America alone, about one percent of people experience bipolar disorder during their lives. In comparison, at least eight percent of people experience serious depression during their lives. Bipolar disorder affects men and women about equally and is somewhat more common in wealthier classes (Sommers 5-6). At least fifteen percent of people with bipolar disorder commit suicide. Bipolar disorder usually begins in a person's late teens or twenties. Men usually experience mania as the first mood episode, whereas women typically experience depression first. Episodes of mania and depression usually last from several weeks to several months. On average, people with untreated bipolar disorder experience four episodes of mania or depression over any ten-year period
The Psychodynamic Perspective
THE PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE The psychodynamic perspective believes that our personality and behaviour are 'determined', this means that they are driven by our experiences in childhood. The term 'psychodynamic' denotes the active forces within the personality that motivate behaviour and the inner causes of behaviour. Much of our behaviour is determined by unconscious thoughts, wishes and memories. What we are consciously aware of at any one time represents the tip of an iceberg. Most of our thoughts and ideas are not accessible at that moment (pre conscious) or are totally inaccessible (unconscious). The original psychodynamic theories have been developed from Sigmund Freud's ideas. He proposed that any unpleasant memories, desires or instincts are pushed deep into the unconscious so they don't make us anxious. This is known as repression. Freud also believed that the best way of finding out the contents of the unconscious mind was through dream analysis. Freud proposed that the mind is made up of three parts. Id, the instinct part of our personality, present at birth it is full of drives and desires, the id wants 'instant satisfaction'. Ego, the regulator, controls the id by making it take control of reality and what is possible in the real world. Then the superego, the voice of conscience which develops as a result of childhood interactions with parents. The
Outline and Evaluate the Psychodynamic Approach to Psychopathology
Outline and Evaluate the psychodynamic approach to psychopathy The psychodynamic approach believes that mental disorders have psychological, not physical causes and underlying psychological conflicts of which they are unaware. Freud's psychodynamic approach states that mental illnesses are the result of unresolved childhood conflicts. These conflicts occur between the id which is present at birth and seeks immediate gratification by operating with the "pleasure" principle, the ego, which develops after around one year as a consequence of experiencing reality and is therefore rational. Lastly, the superego develops after around 3-6 years and is the sense of right and wrong and strives for the idea behaviour. The conflict occurs because they each represent different motives and this conflict causes the individual to experience anxiety. In order to relieve this anxiety, ego defences such as repression (moving unpleasant thoughts into the unconscious), projection (blaming someone else for something a child can not deal with) and regression (behaving like a child) are used. However, if overused, these defences can cause disturbed behaviour. Early experiences can also cause mental disorders because in childhood, the ego is not developed enough to be able to deal with traumas, such as the death of a parent, leading to a repression of the associated emotions. Later in life, further
Depression. There are several approaches to depression, two of which are psychological and biological.
Psychology Assignment: Depression Depression is a type of mood disorder affecting a person's emotional state of mind. Unipolar disorder classifies depression under a DSM-IVR system where a person will be diagnosed if they shows signs of intense sadness or apathy alongside four other symptoms which include difficulties sleeping, fluctuations in energy levels, feelings of guilt and inferiority. It's crucial that these symptoms are clearly causing distress and consistently present for two weeks or more. It is important to identify and characterise depression in order to diagnose and treat the disorder. There are several approaches to depression, two of which are psychological and biological. The first psychological approach is the psychodynamic theory pioneered by Freud. His explanation of depression stems from relationships in early childhood, also focusing on the power of the unconscious and how this force propels our behaviour. Freud observed similar symptoms between grief and depression thus reaching the conclusion that depression is an extreme reaction to loss, whether real or imagined. It is this perceived loss and the failure to acquire an effective way of dealing with such a loss early on that increases the likelihood of becoming depressed when faced with another perceived radical loss. There is an emphasis on unresolved feelings of hostility when loss has been
The Psychodynamic Approach.
The Psychodynamic Approach The first man who began to study the Psychodynamic Approach was Sigmund Freud. When you talk about the Psychodynamic approach you can consider it as focusing on the role of internal process in shaping personality. As Robinson (1979) stated, concerns about motivation are always linked together with the psychology of personality. According to this, psychoanalysis is both a theory of motivation and a theory of personality. However, who was this Freud and what did he do to be this famous? Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was born in Moravia in the Czech Public. He lived in a middle class family and was the eldest of eight children. He studied in Vienna and most of his life he spent in this town. Later on he became a doctor and during that time he learned about hysteria disorders and techniques of hypnosis. These two were to play a big role in his career. Soon he became more specialized in neurological disorders and became a leading figure in the area. Freud became famous for his writings on psychoanalysis. In 1919 he granted the title of professor at the University of Vienna. Later on in his life he underwent a series of surgeries for cancer in the jaw. He died in London in 1939 at an age of eighty-three. Freud has become one of the most famous psychologists of all time. One of Freud's most fundamental assumptions, Physic determinism, was partially based
The Psychodynamic Perspective.
The Psychodynamic Perspective. One of the key beliefs of the psychodynamic approach is that our adult personality and behaviour are determined by our childhood experiences. Sigmund Freud chiefly initiated this approach. Although Freud continually revised many of his theories, three of them remained constant. These were; firstly, that a vast majority (about 6/7) of the mind is unconscious and contains our instincts, drives and repressed memories. The only ways to discover the contents of the unconscious mind are dream analysis, word association and hypnosis. Secondly, that the mind is made up of three parts, the ID, the EGO and the SUPEREGO. The ID works on the pleasure principle. It contains the psychic energy of all our drives, instincts and repressed memories; it requires immediate satisfaction without any regard for reality. It was referred to by Freud as, 'a cauldron of seething excitations' (cited in Hill 2001, pg 73). The EGO works on the reality principle. It aims to fulfil the ID's desires whilst keeping them in line with what is possible in the real world. The SUPEREGO pressures the EGO to keep the ID in line with moral ideology. It sets ideals and consists of the conscience, which makes us feel things such as pride and guilt. To enable the EGO to deal with the demands of the ID and SUPEREGO, it uses a number of defence mechanisms. Some of these are
Outline and Evaluate the Biological, Psychodynamic and Cognitive Explanations of Abnormality
Outline and Evaluate the Biological, Psychodynamic and Cognitive Explanations of Abnormality The models of abnormality are theories that attempt to explain the cause of a psychological disturbance. Each model has a contrasting view which will mould further research and treatment approaches accordingly. All the models relate to the brain; however some psychologists believe that a disorder must originate from psychological causes, whilst others believe the disorder to be based on neuroanatomy and biochemicals (biological causes). Three of these main explanations are the biological, psychodynamic and cognitive approaches; each with its own treatment solutions, and strengths and limitations. The biological model is a theory most widely supported by medically trained psychiatrists. The belief is that a psychological disorder must stem from the biology of the brain; either the neuroanatomy (the anatomical organization of the nervous system) or the biochemistry (the chemical processes of the brain). In this way the disorder is treated like any other physical illness. For example, a patient presenting with severe chest pains and shortness of breath would be classified as having a cardiovascular problem, the underlying cause of the pains would be a blockage in the coronary artery preventing a sufficient oxygen supply to the heart, the treatment would be a coronary bypass, and the
