Explain how any two psychological approaches could be used to explain the above scenario. Your discussion should include at least one similarity and one difference between the two approaches using relevant details from the scenario to support the information you provide’. The psychodynamic approach can be used to explain the moral conflict on why Alex did not bring up his concerns for Ada. Freud (1923) psychoanalytic theory would explain this as having an internal conflict with his id, ego, and superego. According to Freud the id is based on the selfish principal who seeks instant gratifications of its desires. The superego is based on the moral principal concerned with social acceptable principles and values. The ego is the executive part of the personality involved in planning and rationalisation and is the logical aspect of the mind. (Gross 2005). The moral conflict occurred when Alex did not satisfy the superego, by voicing his concerns. The superego did not reward him with pride but punished him and made him feel guilty for satisfying the id. Alex’s anxiety can be due to repressed memories of a 6 month separation from his mother due to a nervous breakdown when he was a child. According to Freud repression is an example of an ego defence mechanism which are unconscious and used by the ego to protect an individual from anxiety caused by traumatic events. Therefore, repression is where the individual forces distressing memories to the unconscious. Freud (1923)
1. Think of a time in your life when someone you know was having difficulty. Using that example, choose the statement from the list below that seems most true. Then, for the statement you choose, write which perspective or branch from psychology (humanistic, positive, biopsychology, cognitive-behavioral, developmental, or social psychology) is most related. Then write a one-sentence statement that describes this perspective. (5 points)
Burgess does not characterize Alex as just a murderous rapist. To come to terms with his wife's death, he had to believe that it is inhuman to be totally good or totally evil (Burgess ix). In the final chapter, Alex undergoes a moral transformation; "he grows bored with violence and recognizes that human energy is better expended on creation than destruction" (vii). Burgess could not believe that the men who raped his wife were totally evil, so Alex had to redeem himself by living a normal life.
The Freudian Regression theory states that Psychological repression, “is the psychological attempt made by an individual to repel one's own desires and impulses toward pleasurable instincts by excluding the desire from one's consciousness and holding or subduing it in the unconscious”. Sigmund Freud believed that In order to face problems in life, the ego employs defense mechanisms. These mechanisms function unconsciously to keep away unpleasant feelings. Repression was the first defense mechanism that Freud discovered and is thought to be the most important. Repression is one of the unconscious mechanisms employed by the ego to avoid a disturbing thought from being conscious. Normally the thoughts that are repressed are those of guilt. Freud believed that repression could sometimes have two stages which had to do with the aspects of personality “ego” and “super ego” and the individual’s sense of “good” and “bad”. The first stage of Repression which is called “Primary Repression” is realizing and determining what is good and what is bad The Second stage of repression starts to take place when a person notices that acting on some desires could cause anxiety. Repression is seen in “The Story of an Hour” and in “The Yellow Wallpaper” in different ways. We can see that in “The Yellow Wallpaper” Jane is a depressed woman who can’t handle to be alone
In part one of the novel, we witness the ability of free will that Alex possesses and his ability to choose between good and evil through contrast presented by darkness of night and lightness of day. At the beginning of the novel, Alex and his droogs (friends), Pete, Georgie, and Dim are at the Kovova Milkbar, roaming the streets and committing violent acts during night. Alex and his droogs encounter an old man who is drunk and is singing a sentimental song. Alex instantly chooses the path of evil with the free will that he encompasses, and along with his droogs they beat the old man while laughing at his misery. The old man complains about the “stinking world” and says, “It’s a stinking world because it lets the young get on to the old like you done, and there’s no law nor order no more.” (Part 2, Chapter 2, Page 12) At night, Alex uses violence and chooses to beat, rape, and murder innocent people because it shows that he has freedom of choice and has authority and power in society. Alex’s interpretation of darkness and night is, “The night belonged to me and my droogs and all the rest of the nadsats (teenagers), and the starry bourgeois lurked indoors…” (Part 1, Chapter 4, Page 33). In contrast,
Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to achieve through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis of each perspective which consists of the psychodynamic,
Compare the Behaviourist and Psychodynamic approaches to Psychology in terms of theoretical assumptions and methodology.
Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behavior, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective (view) about human behavior, there may be several different theories within an approach, but they all share these common assumptions and principles. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behavior. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to do through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis for each perspective which consist of the psychodynamic, humanist, cognitive and behavioral approaches where I will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each approach separately.
Alex, the Faustian hero or more accurately, the anti-hero of A Clockwork Orange - a vicious and degenerate leader of a bunch of criminals, targets the feeble and the innocent. Though foolish, his attentiveness of his malicious disposition shows his ability to understand goodness and reject its relevance. When the social order tries to impose goodness upon Alex, he turns into the victim. (Jackson, 2012). He is this violent and irrational person, until they do the Ludovico technique on him, then he changes completely. Unfortunately is hard to say whether or not he changes for the good, as the experiment makes him physically ill towards violence, but does not change his perspective of being evil. To some extent he is neither evil nor good as is stated by the chaplain in part 2 chapter 3: "You are passing now to a region where you will be beyond the reach of the power of prayer. A terrible terrible thing to consider. And yet, in a sense, in choosing to be deprived of the ability to make an ethical choice, you have in a sense really chosen the good. So I shall like to think.” (Burgess, 2012:105), the priest laments that Alex has gotten to a place where he cannot make a moral decision amid good and evil. He is in essence non-human, and God can't feasibly affect
Notably for his character, Evan experience a variety of traumatic events, events that are only repressed by him and not those around him witnessing the same slights. According to merriam webster, the term repression, also known as dissociative amnesia, is defined as “a mental process by which distressing thoughts, memories, or impulses that may give rise to anxiety are excluded from consciousness and left to operate in the unconsciousness”, simply meaning they are excluded from the conscious memory. In the film, the repressed memories would lead to blackouts at the time of event and holes in the memory after the event. tThe repressed memories included being filmed in a child pornogrpahy, witnessing the death of a woman and newborn, death of
This side story makes the book more realistic to its audience, all the while showing real life
“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” This quote by Sigmund Freud demonstrates the dangers of repressing or bottling up feelings and emotions. His notion of repression is a commonly discussed topic in psychology, as its dangers can be undermined. Though some people are fully capable of living with such repression, not having an outlet when facing difficult emotions can lead to severe mental breakdowns ranging from sorrow to depression. The novel Ordinary People by Judith Guest delves into repression by suggesting, from a Psychoanalytic perspective, that constant repression of the Id psychic zone leads to the formation of multiple layers of dangerous defense mechanisms which can only be controlled by active reversal during regression. Guest’s intended psychoanalytic theme can thus be approached by analyzing it in three separate segments, Conrad’s repression of his Id, Conrad’s defense mechanisms and Conrad’s regression.
Prior to this moment, Alex is released from an experimental rehabilitation treatment to make him incapable of doing wrong. Alex has a solid commitment to the ideals of violence and has aesthetic pleasure he takes in his crimes. The delight he finds in classical music closely relates to the joy he feels during acts of violence and elevates his brutal behaviour. He believes evil represents a natural state for human beings. The State, who seeks to deny him of the decisions to act cruelly, encroaches on his freedom as a person. Thus, in choosing savagery, Alex ultimately affirms his sense of self. He never truly understands his entitlement. At the end of the treatment, he deprives the ability to make moral choices
Alex continually has suspicion over his friends because it is part of his nature to doubt even his group of friends. Alex “played with care, with great care, the greatest, saying, smiling: ‘Good.” (Burgess 57) as he spoke to his friends. He carefully chooses his words when expressing his feeling due to the fact that he always wants to come out looking more powerful and controlled than the people around him. This absence of trust in others causes Alex to have only strained and fake relationships which is another factor that sets him aside from everyone
Repression: shoving thoughts and urges that are unacceptable or distressing into our unconscious. This is what happens to the unacceptable urges of childhood--the ego represses them. Taboo ideas, like incest, would probably never get into consciousness or, if they got there, they'd be quickly repressed. Sometimes dreams or slips of the tongue or attempts at humor reveal our unconscious motives. For example, if a teacher ridiculed you in class, you might dream he/she had a horrible auto accident. Or, trying hard to say something nice to the teacher a few days later, you comment after class, "each of your lectures seems better than the next." Or, if you were unfortunate enough to be asked to introduce your former teacher at a symposium and said, "I'd like to prevent--huh--I mean present Dr.___," some might guess the truth. All these speculations about repressed feelings are just guesses.
. . there's no law nor order no more" pg 14. He takes on a role of authority in a society of anarchy. Although he is impervious to the choice of good, Alex does not remain ignorant to this choice throughout the entire novel. In the beginning, he believes that violence is the only way to prove his control. This then leads to his loss of control through the loss of his ability of choice. Only in the very end Alex finally become a well-rounded character. He realizes that he does not have to choose evil and abuse his position to prove his right of choice. "But where I itty now, O my brothers, is all on my oddy knocky, where you cannot go. Tomorrow is all like sweet flowers? pg 148. Alex now knows that his future is open for his choices to lead him. For good or for evil, it is his right to decide, and this is what truly proves his freedom of choice.