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Psychodynamic Approach - Coggle Diagram
Psychodynamic Approach
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About;
Assumptions;
- Behaviour is determined by unconscious mental processes.
- Early childhood experiences are important in the development of adult personality.
- Childhood development, up to teenage years, takes place through psychosexual stages.
Definition; Psyche = the human mind, soul or spirit. Dynamic = a system that is always changing.
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Evaluation;
Little Hans;
- Saw a traumatic event and developed a fear of horses.
- Started having dreams and saying weird things.
- His father would send Freud letters containing what Hans said, Freud said he was in the Phallic stage of development.
His case supported the Oedipus complex
Yet is very controversial, as it is only generalisable to boys.
Explanatory power;
- Freud's theories are bizarre and controversial.
- Yet they had a huge impact on psychology at the time.
- Psychodynamic theory has been used to explain personality development, criminal behaviour and gender.
- Draws links between experiences in childhood and later development.
Case study method;
- Freud's theory was based on the intensive study of single individuals that were often in therapy (eg; Little Hans).
- His notes were detailed and carefully recorded yet critics suggest that it is impossible to make universal claims about human behaviour based on such a small sample, of people who were psychologically abnormal.
- Interpretations were highly subjective, therefore less scientific.
Psychic determinism;
- Freud believed there was no such thing as an accident, even things like slips of the tongue, he saw these as a true reflection of the unconscious.
- Any free will is an illusion (which can negatively impact mental health).
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