The psychodynamic perspective stems from the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud distinguishes between the conscious and the unconscious; our conscious mind is where we are aware of our motivations for behaviour and which we can verbalise explicitly, however this perspective believes that this is only a small part of our psychological make-up. The unconscious mind is where our motivations for behaviour are often complex and related in some way to sex, and largely hidden from our conscious mind and this is believed to be the driving force. In addition, this perspective believes in the concept of a tripartite personality’ the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO, as proposed by Freud. The ID is the first part of the personality to develop, and being the …show more content…
Secondly, that childhood experiences have an effect on our behaviour in later life, as they are very important in shaping our adult personality. This perspective emphasises the role of the unconscious mind, the structure of personality and the influence of childhood experiences have on later life. As this perspective was originally developed by Freud, he believed that all behaviour can be explained in the terms of inner conflicts of the mind. For example, in the case study of Little Hans, Freud argued that little Hans’ phobia of horses was caused by a displaced fear of his father. Freud believed that children go through five psychosexual stages of development known as the oral stage, the anal stage, the phallic stage, the latency stage and the genital stage. In the case study of Little Hans, Freud focused mainly on the phallic stage which Hans’ was inevitably in by being between the ages of three to five. This stage is where sexual identification was established. Freud hypothesised that within this stage the child would experience the ‘Oedipus complex’ which concentrates on a child’s desire to have sexual relations with the parent of the opposite sex; being Little Han’s mother. Another case study that was influenced by the psychodynamic perspective was that of Thigpen and Cleckley who conducted research into multiple personality disorder. They noted that Eve’s inner conflicts and early childhood experiences has led to the development of her multiple
Psychodynamic Approach was first established by Freud in the 1880’s (Reeves 2013). It can be defined as a therapy that distinguishes individuals based upon the collaboration of initiatives and influences within the person, predominantly unconscious, and amongst the diverse forms of their personality (Hough 1994). Hence the counsellor’s aim is to support the client in bringing their unconscious mind into consciousness.
He said child development is described as a series of 'psychosexual stages. Freud outlined these stages as oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Each stage involves the satisfaction of a libidinal desire and can later play a role in adult personality. If a child does not successfully complete a stage, Freud suggested that he or she would develop a fixation that would later influence adult personality and behavior.
Freud’s structural model illustrates that within every individual there is tripartite structure consisting of the Id, Ego and Super Ego.
Apart from the features mentioned above, the core assumption of the psychoanalytic perspective is that a person’s personality depends on childhood experiences. In this psychosexual development theory, Freud assumed that all children go through five stages. These are the oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage and genital stage. He believed that a fixation would occur if a child experienced extreme problems or pleasure. (Eysenck, 1994)
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
I believe that every person develops a unique personality influenced by relationships and experiences established during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. For instance, parents, caregivers, and guardians are responsible to help a child develop a personality through the boundaries that are set, the communication that is established, and the social support received. What we are exposed to as children and throughout our life will influence our behavior and feelings as adults. For example, an abused child is likely to develop an inferiority complex and can acquire a self-concept of inadequacy. Psychodynamic theory focuses on childhood experiences to help understand the client and make sense of their relationships, experiences, and how they
One advantage of Freud’s concept of the ego, id and superego in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour is that it gives a good overall description of development of the human psyche. It recognises the
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).
During this stage pleasure arises from genital stimulation. This is also the stage where children experience the Oedipus or Electra complex (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, 2009; Shaffer et al., 2010). Freud alleged that young boys would have sexual fantasies that included their mothers with accompanying feelings of anger toward their fathers. This was coupled with fears that their fathers would castrate them led to the Oedipus complex (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, 2009). Alternatively, girls may suffer from what is known as the Electra complex. Freud supposed that girls wanted to replace their mother’s place and assume a relationship with their father. This was coupled with penis envy of a brother or father as girl’s wished they could be more like the male figures in their life (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, 2009). If this stage was not resolved in childhood, Freud believed that anxiety from unresolved conflicts with same-sex parent lead to neuroses (Shaffer et al, 2010).
“A trailblazer of modern-day psychology,” Sigmund Freud presented new ways of thinking about human nature, pioneered new techniques of understanding human behavior, and created the most comprehensive theory of personality and psychotherapy ever developed (Himmat, 1997).
Sexuality is further progressed in phase three when children start to discover the differences between genders. At this point, an Oedipus complex develops in boys, and penis envy develops in girls. He uses this term to describe a young boy “seeking the mother’s love while regarding his father as a rival” (Choler 4). Freud believes women
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, is predominantly recognized as one of the most influential and authoritative thinkers of the twentieth century. Freud gave a broad perspective on things involving dreams, religion, and cultural artifacts while still focusing on different states of the mind, such as unconsciousness. Freud also relied on a local sexual repression issue to create theories about human behavior. His theories and ideas of psychoanalysis still have a strong impact on psychology and early childhood education today. Freud’s most important claim is that with psychoanalysis he had invented a new science of the mind, however, remains the subject of copious critical debate and controversy.
Personality is the distinctive and relatively enduring way of thinking, feeling and acting that characterises a person’s responses to life situations. (O’ Brien 2011:103) The three key elements of Freud’s tripartite personality structure are the id, the ego and the superego. These three elements are used in almost every decision a person makes on a day to day basis. The structure is mostly compared to an ice berg with a small bit of the ego being above the water which would be the conscious and the id and the superego being underneath the water and unconscious. The id and the superego are also portrayed as the devil and the angel respectably. According to Zhu, (2012) his theory smashes the rationalistic myth of “human are rational animals” through the reveal and emphasis of ego.
In 1905 Freud proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series of fixed stages. These stages were dived into 5 parts; Freud said personality will be developed by the time one is a teenager. They are called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido known as sexual drives or instincts on a different area of the body. Fixation is part of our sexuality left behind at an earlier sage of psychosexual development.
It is essential to assess human psyche or personality as an identity or the totality of a person, with an approach from Sigmund Freud of psychoanalysis theory, the id, ego and super-ego (McLeod, 2007), which develops at every stages of human’s life, irrespective of age, sex and status. Those three structures motivate a person’s actions, a spontaneous reaction, a voluntary or involuntary action, all these can be termed to what Sigmund