Discuss the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Three Main Theories Covered in This Module.

Dr Sigmud Freud (1856-1939), is the founder of the psychodynamic approach. Dr Sigmud Freud believed that childhood experiences and unconscious thoughts had an effect on people’s behaviour.

ID, ego and superego. He said you were born with ID which was in your

a common criticism of this approach is that it does not address the possible role of biological factors in human behaviour. And also that it leaves no room for the free will of an individual.

Between the 1920s and the 1950s the behaviourist approach was often primarily used. Behaviourists thought that psychology should be viewed as scientific, therefore theories within the approach consisted of controlled observations and measurements of behaviour which resulted in quantitative data, sometimes through the process of experiments. Within this perspective there is no room for free will, as all behaviour and thoughts are determined by the environment (Don, K. 2015), this is also the case from the biological aspect as they

Psychodynamic theories of Sigmund Freud focus on how a child’s instinctual mind interacts with his or her social environment and the important people in it to produce many characteristics and behaviors. There are the structure of the mind and the structure of personality.

Can a humanistic model of counselling be integrated with a cognitive (or cognitive – behavioural) one? Discuss with reference to Rogers and either Beck or Egan.

Most evidence for theories is taken from Freud’s case studies, e.g. Little Hans. This case study was only based on one person in detail. Little Hans case study was carried out via mail contact with his father, only meeting Hans after the case was published which many would argue is not reliable. Freud got his results from talking sessions known as “free association” with patients which he wrote as case studies. Some patients in question are often small numbers of middle-aged Jewish women from Vienna that suffered comparable issues, which are biased samples, this makes the generalization to the wider population challenging. (Gross, 2015). Re-examinations of Freud’s theories propose that he occasionally distorted his patient’s cases to fit with his theory, e.g. being Dora and Ratman, both separate case studies both claimed he misrepresented facts and was unsuccessful in curing them. The theories are also greatly criticized by the humanist approach for being sexist against women. (Sulloway, 1991).

As the Behaviourist approach differs so greatly in comparison to the Psychodynamic approach, people have mixed opinions on both approaches. As no one can ever fully understand the complexity of the human mind, neither the behaviourist nor psychodynamic approach will ever be completely correct. As both approaches vary, we can conclude they have both been successful and incorrect in many cases. Psychologists have studied the mind for decades and these approaches give us a foundation in understanding the human

The psychodynamic perspective was originally theorised by Sigmund Freud. Psychodynamic theory suggests that much of human motivation, action, and thought, are governed by unconscious mental processes. These processes can conflict with one another causing compromises between the contending motives. Freud argued that these mental processes and motivations are determined by two biological drives: aggression and sex. These drives, Freud suggests, are internal states of tension that augment in pressure until satisfied (Burton et al., 2009).

The psychodynamic approach founded by Sigmund Freud was a lot of our behavior, is determined by unconscious thoughts, memories. Freud developed the first complete theory of mind and is the founder of a series of techniques called psychoanalysis. This aims to explore the unconscious mind by using techniques, such as free association, dream interpretation etc. and then and be used treat abnormal behavior. Psychodynamic psychology ignores the aspects of science and instead focuses on trying to get inside the head of individuals to make logic of their relationships, experiences and how they see the world. (McLeod, 2007). Freud’s theories

Although, psychodynamic therapy seems legitimate when it states in depth that a person’s actions are based off his or her subconscious mind, a person’s free will or attitude towards change is always a factor. The psychodynamic therapy focuses on the patient’s past childhood experiences to discover the cause; yet, ultimately, the therapy will not discover the solution. Next, according to Scott M. Bea, PsyD, a Clinical associate, the biggest disadvantage of psychodynamic therapy is it “may be misapplied to patients whose symptoms are not based in unconscious conflict. It relies on hypothetical constructs that have not been evaluated empirically in systematic and controlled studies” (121). In addition, is it likely to even be able to scientifically and logically study conceptions such as the unconscious mind? As has been noted, Freud's theories are subjective and arbitrary; therefore, a clear disadvantage to psychodynamic therapy is the unscientific data and it’s impossible to test in the approach to human behavior through the unconscious mind. Clearly, in the midst of research, Freud grabbed hold of a genius idea which, in turn, created other therapies, but, unfortunately, lacked the diverse evidence for full proof.

This essay is to describe Sigmund Freud’s and Carl Rogers’ differing concepts of human psychology concerning determinism. Freud is known to be a determinist. This means that he believes that humans don’t have free will, that there are forces beyond the individuals control which control their actions and underlying reasons behind behaviours. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/determinism-causal/). Rogers is known as a non-determinist. This is the belief that humans have free will, that they control their own behaviours, desires and are not bound by laws (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/free-will?q=free+will). However a new idea which mostly stems from the cognitive approach has been created called “Soft – Determinism.” This is the idea that people have a degree of free will. That our behaviours and desires are mostly determined however we can choose specific ways to act in particular situations.

Freud’s theory is that dreaming is meaningful, unlike the activation synthesis theory. He believed that the mind had three sections, represented in a shape of an iceberg; the conscious, the subconscious and the unconscious. The conscious is the tip of the iceberg above the water involves everything we are aware of right now such as our thoughts. The

The psychodynamic theory has its own perspective, thus ranging us with numerous experimental findings and studies. According to Freud, the psychodynamic theory has developed from the psychosexual stages of an individual; in terms of normal development, at which, is a start at birth and throughout his adulthood. There are multiple factors structuring of human personality; and therefore, Freud had introduced us his theory in achieving it from the state of the unawareness. Ermann also focused on the same idea, indeed he presented his psychoanalytical research in an article titled, "You touched my heart": Modes of memory and psychoanalytic technique. His concentration was upon the procedural state of the mind as well as referring back to the

 Freud was believed to have worked with troubled adults in developing this theory, rather