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Psychological Explanation: Freud's Psychodynamic Explanation of…
Psychological Explanation: Freud's Psychodynamic Explanation of Aggression
The Iceberg Theory
(Personality structure)
Preconscious
: material just beneath the surface of awareness.
Unconscious
: difficult to retrieve materials; well below the surface of awareness.
Conscious
: ideas, thoughts and feelings of which we are aware
The Psyche (theory of personality)
The ego
(reality principle)
This is the part of the psyche concerned with reality. It tries to balance out the demands of the id with the constraints of the superego in a way thar is realistically possible.
The superego (morality principle)
This is the moral part of the psyche and ia governed by the need to behave in ways our parents would approve of. When we don't it punishes us with anxiety and guilt.
The id (instincts)
This is the animal part of the psyche and is governed by instinctual drives like food, drink and sex. Its general motive is the satisfaction of these desires. If frustrated it becomes aggressive.
SCOUT
Strengths
Other Explanations
Other scientific explanations exist e.g. the brain, hormones or the limbic system.
Usefulness
Freud's ideas about treating mental health problems provided solution that at the time (late 19c early 20c) were unavailable. E.g. talking therapies were used instead of barbaric treatments.
Supporting Evidence
Freud generated his theory from in-depth case studies (e.g. Little Hans), in which he looked at many aspects of a person's background and mental state.
Weaknesses
Challenging Evidence
The psychodynamic concepts are not measurable and so cannot be rigorously tested. E.g. the unconscious is unreachable by normal means, and the id, ego and superego are abstract concepts.
Testable
Freud's approach does not use the scientific method. Data are qualitative and personal.
Aggression
Freud's psychodynamic explanation of aggression begins with to innate drives that he believed were the motivation for all human behaviour:
. Eros (the life instinct)
. Thanatos (the death instinct)
The energy of Eros (known as libido) is focused on the preservation and enjoyment of life. This instinct has to balance out Thanatos, which is a drive towards death and destruction initially directed towards the self.
Human behaviour is seen as an interaction between these two opposing forces, to prevent us from hurting ourselves; the energy of Thanatos will often be redirected away from the person and towards others, resulting in aggression. However, we know that humans are not uncontrollably aggressive all the time; this is due to something Freud referred to as Catharsis.
.Catharsis is a way of satisfying our urger without resorting to violent impulses by watching violence or taking part in minor aggression such as playing video games or sports.
