Psychodynamic Approach To Psychology Essay

In the counseling world today understanding psychodynamic approaches is more crucial than ever in the assessment and treatment of any psychological issue. Psychodynamic approaches such as Individual therapy, analytical therapy and psychoanalysis are similar in many ways but also differ based on the individuals own perception and circumstances. I will discuss the similarities as well difference’s and why these forms of therapy are critical in the assessment and treatment of clients.

However, despite the fact that these approaches look to the conscious mind to explain behaviours, they do bear similarities with the psychodynamic approach. Social learning theorists stress that behaviours are learnt from role models, and claim that they tend to be people that children can relate to (E.g. people of the same sex). Freud would demonstrate similarities in the Oedipus and Electra complexes during the phallic stage, in which children adopt the attitudes and behaviours of their same sex parents. Meanwhile, the psychodynamic approach relates to the cognitive approach, in the way that it studies the human mind extensively, to understand how thoughts and feelings, whether conscious or unconscious, influence outcome behaviours; although Freud sees the mind as influencing types of behaviour more permanently throughout adult life, yet cognitive psychologists see the mind as more malleable with internal processes being shaped at any time, completely changing behavioural responses.

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, psychology is useful in many ways.

Psychology is defined by Merriam-Webster, as the science of mind and behavior. It is a study of how an individual's psyche can be created, developed, altered or destroyed. Carol Gilligan, a Harvard Graduate School professor, for many years has analyzed the psychological theory and development, specifically in a book entitled In A Different Voice.

There are eight theoretical perspectives in contemporary psychology. Any topic in psychology has many approaches that have a variety of perspectives for each that is given. Starting with the biological perspective, it is noted that physiology has played a major role in psychology. The organ systems such as the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, and genetics are greatly emphasized in studying physical bases of human and animal behavior. Neuroscience more specifically studies the nervous system, particularly the brain. The next theoretical perspective is the cognitive perspective, which is a relatively modern approach. It focuses on the important role of mental processes in how people process and remember information, develop language,

Psychology is a discipline that involves monitoring mental processes and behaviour scientifically. Psychologists try to delve into the basic functions of a person and animals cerebral activity. This usually involves studying relationships, emotions, personality and many more areas of a person or animals day to day life. Psychology tends to steer towards finding reasons for a person or animals actions in an attempt to resolve them.

Throughout the course of the first semester we as a Psychology class learned a whole variety of different and varying concepts of Psychology. Chapter one we went over all the different ways psychologists study behaviors and mental processes. Included were the contemporary perspectives, such as behavioral, which focuses on behavior that is observed. Psychodynamic focuses on our fantasies and our hidden motives. Humanistic is all about our free will and conscious choices. Physiological is the relationships between biological processes and behavior. Cognitive perspective is our acquired knowledge, and last but not least is sociocultural, which places great value on the role of cultural and social influences on our behavior.

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

It can also be argued that these contributions paved the path for modern behavioral psychology and more specifically the concept of stimulus-response. This type of psychology focuses on how people behave. Modern behavioral psychologists test this idea that the brain in responsible for behavior and thinking by manipulating situations and studying reactions.

Psychodynamics is an umbrella term, specifically an approach to psychology which highlights personality through unconscious psychological processes. The underlying cause of psychodynamics is to understand why many people act in ways that may not make sense as well as to identify the relationship between unconscious motivation and conscious motivation. The psychodynamic approach is made up of different theories and therapies founded by various psychologists which focus closely on an individual’s unconscious drives, and see how these drives relate to one’s personality. The most prominent psychologists who have contributed to the psychodynamic approach include Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, and Karen Horney. Unlike the behavior approach to psychology which leans towards understanding the science behind behavior and how external factors help stimulate these behaviors, psychodynamics attempts to look into one’s mind and observe how they see the world from their unique point of view. The psychodynamic approach is the most influential approach in the field of psychology because it emphasizes how unconscious forces impact an individual’s present behavior, unlike other approaches to psychology which focus on one’s past behaviors influencing their present behavior.

Experts in the psychological approach to delinquency Believe that most behaviors labeled delinquent seem to be symptomatic of some psychological problem. Psychologist point out that many delinquent youths have poor home lives, conflicts with authority figures, and destructive relationships with neighbors, friends, and teachers. These relationships seem to indicate it’s their personality. (Siegel, Larry J., and Brandon Welsh) Psychodynamic theory, behavioral theory, and cognitive theory are the three psychological perspectives of delinquency.

The four major perspectives of Psychology are: Biological, Learning, Cognitive, and Sociocultural. First, is the biological perspective which relates to bodily events that affect the behavior, feelings, and thoughts. During the biological perspective electrical impulses shoot along the nervous system and hormones flow through the blood stream alerting the internal organs to slow down or speed up. The biological perspective affects the nervous system, hormones, brain chemistry, heredity, and evolutionary influences. A child who has been exposed to abuse may also grow up to abusive which is an example of the biological perspective. Second, is the learning perspective which the environment and experience affect the behavior of humans or animals. The environment either rewards or punish that maintains or discourage behaviors. Behaviors are based on acts and events taking place within the environment. Environmental influences, observations and imitation, beliefs, and values affect the learning perspective. A violent role model can influence a child to behave aggressively is an example of the learning perspective. Third, is the cognitive perspective which is the psychological approach that emphasizes mental process in perception, memory, language, and problem solving. The cognitive perspective shows how thoughts and explanations affect their actions, feelings, and choices. The cognitive approach is one of the strongest forces in psychology. A violent person may be quick to

Psychology can be defined as the systematic study of mental processes, couple with behaviors, and experiences (Kalat, 2011). There are many ways in examining, mental processes and behaviors among people, and therefore psychologist uses different perspectives to understand how human beings, think, act, and behave. Some psychologist uses one perspective to analyze behaviors, and other uses a multidimensional approach. Carter & Seifert (2013) identified 7 major perspectives that are used to study people’s behavior, and mental processes. These perspectives are the biological, evolutionary, psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and the sociocultural perspective.

drives and our childhood experiences, (particularly five years of age). (4) Parental techniques embraced and exacted onto us shape our behaviours as adults. Differences (Psychodynamic vs. Behaviourist approach) A key distinction between the psychodynamic and behaviourist methodology is regarding nature/nurture debate.

“Cognitive theory is focused on the individual's thoughts as the determinate of his or her emotions and behaviors and therefore personality. Many cognitive theorists believe that without these thought processes, we could have no emotions and no behavior and would therefore not function. In other words, thoughts always come before any feeling and before any action.” ("Cognitive theory in," 2004)