The Psychodynamic Model of Abnormality
The psychodynamic model of abnormality is useful to an extent. However it has many weaknesses.
The psychodynamic model of abnormality was initiated by Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud was very interested in hysteria. This is the manifestation of physical causes. He became convinced that unconscious mental causes were responsible not just abnormality but also normality. Freud developed Psychoanalysis. This is a set of techniques for treating the unconscious causes of mental disorders and built up a psychoanalytic theory of how human personality and abnormality develop from childhood. His
…show more content…
Freud (1923) divided the psyche into three parts. The first being the Id (unconscious mind). This is the largest part and is innate. It is the source our desires. It is selfish and operates on the pleasure principle and only wants the gratification it desires. The second is the Ego (Conscious mind). This is fully formed from around two years of age and develops from the Id. The Ego works on the reality principle and is concerned with keeping our thoughts and actions in step with the real world. The third is the Superego and contains moral values.
Psychoanalysis had a very fixed set of assumptions that later psychodynamic theorists agreed with to different extents. One of the assumptions was the unconscious processes, where many important influences on behaviour come from the unconscious part of the mind, which we have no awareness of. Another assumption is psychodynamic conflict. This is where the different parts of the mind are in a constant struggle with each other and the consequences of the struggle are important in understanding behaviour. Freud also believed that that behaviour is motivated by emotional drives. Particularly sexual and aggressive drives. These drives create psychic energy that builds up if it cannot be released. Development is another of the assumptions, where personality is shaped by relationships,
Freud believed human behavior was not consciously controlled, and credited three parts in the mind to any psychological activity. These are called the unconscious, the preconscious and the conscious. Personality too was given three parts, the id, the super ego and the ego. Freud believed these parts in our mind have their individual parts to play in the way we go about life. He also stated the only way to work through conflicts that arise from our subconscious and unconscious mind is through dream analysis and psychoanalysis. Other key concepts in psychodynamic theory are the psychosexual stages of development, anxiety, defence mechanisms, and free association.
ID, ego and superego. He said you were born with ID which was in your
The psychodynamic approach was proposed by Freud. This approach towards personality is based on the notion of underlying forces such as the id, ego and superego which are either present from birth or develop during childhood shape our behaviour and personality as such. Experiences in childhood are proposed to be the basis of human personality, according to Freud and as such Psychodynamic theory proposes that some undesirable unbalances between the id and superego can create the arising of ego defence mechanisms which explain individual differences in behaviour. Freudian theory has been adapted by neo-Freudians, however while psychodynamic
The psychological positivism theory concentrates on all of the mental aspects of why an individual commits a crime, and associates it with their intelligence, personality, learning, and criminal behaviour. It looks at the determinations, thoughts, intentions and reactions of criminals and all that contributes in the criminal behaviour. Explanations of criminal behaviour were explained by looking at the work of Sigmund Freud (1956-1939). He established the psychoanalytical model in which he believed that a human progresses, early in life. Freud discusses that the human personality has three sets of interacting forces. These include the id, the ego and the superego. These are three components in a human personality that pledge them to behave in the manner they do and make individuals they are. Firstly Freud believes that humans are born with their id. He suggests that the id holds importance for personality. The id allows a new-born to get its desires met by crying. Freud mentions that the id is set on getting pleasure and the id wants whatever feels good despite the circumstances. In addition to this Freud had mentioned the second component of the personality develops. This is known as the ego, it understands feeling and emotions of others and takes them into account. Freud then suggest that the ego meets the needs of the id, at the same time looking at the reality of the condition. Lastly Freud mentions that when a child is five the development of the third personality
To begin, the psychodynamic theory is based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and primarily focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in the development of personality. The psychodynamic theory includes the idea that people have defense mechanisms. Psychological defense mechanisms are ways of dealing with anxiety through unconsciously distorting one’s perception of reality, such as denial and repression. In addition, sexual impulses play a large role in the psychodynamic theory. According to Freud, part of personality is outside of awareness, unconscious. The unconscious has difficulty retrieving material and is well below the surface of awareness. Also, the past is important in the psychodynamic theory. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this theory. For instance, the advantages are: psychodynamic theory recognizes the importance of childhood; other theorists after Freud have revised the approach to be less controversial, and this theory has been
The psychodynamic perspective focuses on the motivation of human behavior by a person’s inner personality through their emotions, childhood experiences, or environmental demands (Hutchison, 2015). As the root of all psychodynamic theories, psychologist Sigmund Freud used his interrelated points of view to develop approaches for human
Sigmund Freud was a well known psychologist whose theories have founded the understanding of the human psyche. Freud’s theory of personality is one of his most known theories. It details that there are three segments of consciousness. The id is desire, immorality and is what drives us to do wrong. The superego exists to counteract and overpower the id, as it is morality, commonly known as our conscious. The ego exists to balance out both extremes and devises a solution to sate each segment. Then there are the defense mechanisms, repression, denial, projection, displacement, regression and sublimation. These are employed by the ego to keep the balance between the id and the superego and to protect the psyche, especially in traumatic times. Last, the Oedipus complex which Freud believed, only exists in children from the ages of 3-5, when they become attracted to
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).
Freud attempted to explain how the unconscious functions by dividing it into three structures, the id, ego, and superego. The id holds our primitive instincts that demand immediate gratification, because it operates on the pleasure principle (McLeod, 2010). Similarly, the ego also seeks pleasure. However, instead of seeking immediate gratification, the ego acts realistically in order to avoid potentially negative consequences that may arise. On the other hand, our superego represents our conscious. It encompasses the morals and values we learn by society and our parents as we go through the stages of
by the brain to other parts of the body are not normal in people with
Freud developed the psychoanalytic theory of personality development, which argued that personality is formed through internal conflicts among three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego. According to this model of the psyche, the id is the set of uncoordinated trends; the super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role; and the ego is the organized, realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego (Wikipedia, 2017).
The Strengths and Limitations of the Biological Model of Abnormality This model uses physical illness as a model for psychological disorder, suggesting that like physical illness, mental illness has an underlying bodily cause. It proposes that genetic, organic or chemical disorders cause metal illnesses which give rise to behavioural and psychological problems. Thus, abnormality has physical causes such as brain dysfunction (neurological), biochemical imbalances, infections or genetics and so can only be cured through medical treatments. Therefore it implies that abnormality results from properly
There are several models of abnormality in use today (Comer, 2009) lists “The Biological Model…”, “The Psychodynamic Model…”, The Behavioral Model…”, The Cognitive Model…”, The Humanistic-Existential Model…”, The Sociocultural Model…” (p.33). The biggest contrasts would be the Biological model, and the other models. Comparing the biological model, and the cognitive model will highlight those differences.
The second perspective is the psychodynamic perspective. The psychodynamic perspective emphasizes how the role of early childhood experiences, the unconscious mind and interpersonal relationships play a part in abnormal behavior. This perspective evolved from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theory which generally contended that psychological disorders are the outcome of anxiety which is produced by unresolved, unconscious conflicts.
At the age of 40 in 1896, Sigmund Freud introduced the world to a new term- psychoanalysis (Gay 1). Psychoanalysis is a method of treating patients with different nervous problems by involving them in dialogues which provide the physician with insight into the individual’s psyche. These dialogues provided the basis for Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, which “attempts to explain personality, motivation, and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, on unconscious motives and conflicts, and on the methods people use to cope with their sexual and aggressive urges” (Weiten 363). Part of this theory involves the structure of the mind. This is a concept that touches