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.
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
Throughout this first lesson, many modern perspectives were discussed such as Sociocultural and Humanistic perspectives. But as I delved into this first lesson, I was very intrigued by Psychodynamic Psychology. Freud based his theory on the unconscious areas of our behavior, which is how he came up with the term psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is defined as a system of psychotherapeutic theories and association techniques that determine behavior, motivation, drive, conflicts and unresolved issues in the latent unconscious that show up in the manifest consciousness (Psychoanalysis 1.08.5). His theory was on developing yourself and finding out the motivations behind someone's behavior (Exploration of the Science of Psychology 10.1). His theory
There are four theoretical approaches in Psychology. In this essay I will evaluate and analyse the four main approaches which are: Behaviourist, Psychodynamic, Cognitive and Humanistic.
The Psychodynamic Psychology believes that we have innative drives which determine behaviour, however our early experiences shape these drives and our personality develops as a result of conflict resolution occurring in childhood towards adolescence. This approach was founded by Sigmund Freud who was criticised for having placed to much emphasis on sexuality especially in childhood and said about his largely unscientific nature of his research method might be an unreliable theory. He stated that
The psychoanalytic theory of psychology was first introduced by a psychologist named Sigmund Frued in the late nineteenth century. It was a clinical method for treating psychopathology. Sigmund Freud did not believe that human behavior was random, and he pursued to apply scientific principle of cause and effect to the human mind. The psychoanalytic theory states that human behavior is driven by unconscious motives and biological drives. Psychoanalytic theorists, people who study human behavior, don’t believe in free will. What that means is that they believe every motive has a drive behind it and can be altered by experience and other emotions. Psychodynamic psychology consists of the personality
To understand behaviour is very important when it comes to psychology. Behaviour is what makes psychologist understand people. Behaviour is influenced by a variety of different factors (Grieve, Van Deventer, & Mojapelo-Batka, 2005). Some of these factors are within the individual as well as in the environment. People need to be examined by lots of perspectives, or on different levels so that psychologists are able to understand why people behave the way they do (Grieve et al., 2005). Different theories have different perspectives on looking at behaviour, generally known as approaches. This essay will be looking at the following: approaches of neuroscience, psychodynamics, behaviourism, and cognition. To compare the different perspectives of which psychologists use to examine behaviour as well as mental processes.
In the four major theories of personality one of these theories is psychodynamic. Psychodynamic personality theory focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in the development of personality. In Freud’s study, one of the advantages that prove to be present in psychodynamic theory is its ability to recognize there is subconscious and how it has impact on one’s life. As well, it brought the importance that childhood experiences have an effect on an individual’s life. For example, many of Freud’s patients proved this case when discussing the effects of being sexually abused as a child altered their way of living. However, one of the disadvantages of this theory would be its claim that human behavior is pre-determined and individuals do not have free will. For instance, the psychosexual stages that Freud claim that lead to the end result personality of an individual.
The first theories talked about within chapter 4 are the inferiority and superiority complex theories developed by Alfred. The infinity feelings are the source of all human striving, and is normal among us all. It is brought about as soon as we are born, as we must compensate for our lack of size or independence. The greatest example I can give of the inferiority feeling happened two days ago with the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Abdellatif Baka of Algeria won the T13 1500m final on Monday night in a stunning performance that not only set a new Paralympic world record, but stands as the fastest 1500m time recorded by an able-bodied or disabled athlete in Rio over both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Among him was three other runners that finished
Freud’s approach to understanding human behaviour – psychoanalysis – has had a profound effect on psychology. His approach is one of many that share some common assumptions, while differing fundamentally in others. Contemporaries of Freud, such as Jung and Adler were inspired by Freudian theory, but emphasised different issues in human development and experience. Collectively these theories are described as “psychodynamic” because they emphasise the factors that motivate behaviour (i.e. the dynamics of behaviour). They challenged the biomedical view that mental disorders had physical origins. The
This essay will explore and analyse four different theoretical approaches within psychology; the behavioural, psychoanalytic, humanistic and cognitive approaches. Assumptions and theories of each approach will be described and evaluated.
Psychology is the study of human behavior. It is the scientific study of one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) There are seven perspectives that psychology is fit into known as The Theoretical Perspectives. These perspectives include the psychoanalytical approach, the behavioral approach, the humanistic approach, the cognitive approach, the sociocultural approach, the psychological or neuropsychological approach, and finally the evolutionary approach.(Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Our focus for this paper is going to be on three of these perspectives. The first one will be the sociocultural approach, the second will be the humanistic approach, and the last will be the behavioral approach.(Ciccarelli & White, 2015)
Psychology is one of the core studies of the human being, which include investigating of behavior and mental processes. Many processes have to happen before one can even think a single thought. A specific stimulus through sensory organs, nerve interactions, and sorting through the brain are just a few processes that occur. Psychology is one of the most complex areas of study. In this paper, I will identify the major schools of thought and examine their major underlying assumptions as well as identifying the primary biological foundations of psychology in reference to behavior.
The psychodynamic approach originated from the works of Sigmund Freud in his psychoanalysis. However, the mainstream psychodynamic
Initially, Sigmund Freud was the most influential thinker of his days and was known as the father of the Psychoanalytic theory. His theory was developed based on the belief that our behavior is impact by our thoughts and motivation outside of our consciousness. The experience from our childhood can greatly affect our behavior, meaning that our wants and needs can shape the way we behave regardless if we’re not conscious of them. Freud was able to test his theories, based on his observation he established a concept that describe the development as a series of psychological stages. He clarified what occur during each stage and how they can have a long time effect on our behavior we fail to move across these stages properly. Freud’s psychoanalytic personality theory have three main component, the Id, ego and superego which work together to make a complex human behavior.
2. The psychodynamic approach was first stimulated by Sigmund Freud in 1896. He believed that not all thoughts are conscious and all behavior has a cause. He argued that the majority of behaviours are often innate or derive from early childhood experiences. He also argued that consciousness is influenced by subconscious aspirations and thoughts. The approach emphasises the association between subconscious efforts and the subsequent
Psychoanalysis is a school of thought first developed by Sigmeund Freud(1856-1939) one of the most influential psychologists to date. Although Psychoanalysis has been developed over years since Freud’s death mainly by Erik Erikson, there are still key elements which remain the same. Freud’s approach to the human mind mainly focused on the unconscious