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Core assumptions and features of psychoanalytic and biological perspectives
Role of environment in child development
Role of environment in child development
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What are the core assumptions and key features of the biological and psychoanalytic perspectives in psychology? In what ways are they similar and how do they differ? Introduction In Psychology, various different explanations of behaviour and the intellect have been presented and debated over the years such as the psychodynamic, behavioral, biological and humanistic approach. The biological approach aims to provide explanation is concerned with how behaviour is affected by physiological systems and mechanisms (Barnes, 2013). This approach assumptions usually explore physiological and evolutionary explanations to behaviour. In opposition to this, the Psychoanalytic approach presents an explanation to psychological occurrence by exploring …show more content…
One of the key themes of the Psychoanalytic approach is to recognise the importance of the unconscious mind and how it relates to behaviour. One of the main assumptions of the Freudian psychoanalytic view is that behaviour depends on 3 components in the brain that are all at different levels of consciousness, The id, the ego and superego. According to the theory of the personality structure, the id is part of the selfish unconscious mind which is present from birth and functions according to the pleasure-pain principle. Moreover, the ego is part of the preconscious, which holds thoughts an individual has the ability to bring to conscious mind. However, the ego is more rational and realistic in comparison to the id. In addition, the super ego regards morals and family values that individual holds (Hiriyappa, …show more content…
One similarity is that both approaches have a focus on instinctual behaviour, for example the biological approaches tends to focus on genes and the psychoanalytical approach also consists around the notion that behaviour comes from an instinctual place in regards to Freud and his studies into the unconscious. Another similarity, is that both approaches are reductionist as they break down complex ideas into simple notions. This is evident as the biological approach simplifies evolution into the break down of genes. Similarly, the psychoanalytic approach reduces the complex ideas surrounding the unconscious into basic parts such as the id, ego and superego. A final similarity between the two approaches is that both explore the influence of family life on behaviour as Freud explored the relations between attachment with parents whilst the biological approach explored the influence of hereditary information passed through
“They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity.” (pg.15). The men in
To begin with we have the psychoanalytic school of psychology. This would include Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. I will begin with Sigmund Freud who was the actual founder of psychoanalysis. Freud was born in1856, in Moravia. Because he was the founder of this school many theories that developed later were often compared to his original theory. In other words, he was under constant criticism and review. Freud’s theories dealt with how the human mind works. He concluded that behavior is determined by powerful inner forces, most of which are buried in the unconscious mind. Thus, the unconscious plays a major role in shaping behavior. People repress these memories because they are unpleasant or unacceptable to society and this in turn can cause personality disturbances, physical illness, or self-destructive behavior. He also concluded that the unconscious is full of memories of events from early childhood and that many childhood memories dealt with sex. Freud also believed the mind was divided into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. He recognized that each person is born with various natural drives that he referred to as instincts, such as the need to satisfy sexual desires and the need to be aggressive. The id is the source of such instincts. For example, the desire for sexual pleasure comes from the id. The ego resolves conflicts between instincts and external reality. For example, it determines socially appropriate ways to obtain physical satisfaction or to express aggression. The superego is a person's conscience. A person's ideas of what is right and wrong, which can be learned from parents, teachers, and other people in authority, become part of the person's superego. He further theorized that all people have some type of conflict among th...
The psychoanalytic perspective grew out of subsequent psychoanalytic theories (1901, 1924, and 1940) following decades of interactions with clients with the use of an innovative procedure developed by Sigmund Freud that required lengthy verbal interactions with patients during which Freud probed deep into their lives. In a nutshell, the psychoanalytic perspective looked to explain personality, motivation, and psychological disorders by focussing 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. The Biological perspective on the other hand looks at the physiological bases of behaviour in humans and animals. It proposes that an organism’s functioning can be described in terms of the bodily structures and biochemical processes that cause behaviour. This paper attempts to examine the similarities and differences between the psychoanalytic perspective and the biological perspective with the key focus on the core assumptions and features of these perspectives as well as their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Psychoanalysis You are trying to suppress your hidden cravings for violence and sex by sublimating your energy into random thoughts, although some unconscious "id" needs are being shown - after all, a carrot is a phallic symbol. In the first part of this paper I shall summarise the concepts of Psychoanalysis and Behaviour theories, as in my view theory in itself is an argument for a concept. Theory is a collection of propositions to illustrate principles of a subject (Oxford Dictionary, 1976). Secondly, this paper explores similarities concerning the theories, eventually leading to a conclusion concerning their significance in today's therapeutic arena. Freud's Psychoanalytic Model:-.
The aim of this essay is to analyse four theoretical approaches to psychology, including psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive and behavioural. Analysing each approach in detail and identifying key features the approach uses to explain human behaviour. This essay will also analyse how successful each approach is in it methods, evidence gathering techniques and analyse how it can be applied to giving reasons for particular human behaviours. As well as analysing each approaches failings in it theories, methods and evidence gathering techniques.
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, was the principle proponent of the psychoanalytic personality theory. Psychoanalytic personality theory is tells us that the majority of human behavior is motivated by the unconscious, a part of the personality that contains the memories, knowledge, beliefs, feelings urges, drives, and instincts that the individual is unaware, and that only a small part of our psychological makeup is actually derived from the conscious experience. The problem is our unconscious mind disguises the meaning of the material it contains. As such, the psychoanalytic personality theory is ver...
The biological approach emphasizes physical and biological bases of behaviour. It looks at how brain functions influence different behaviours and personality. The study of nervous system has played a major role in the development of biological approach to psychology. On the other hand, the psychoanalytic approach explains personality, motivation and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, unconscious motives and conflicts. This essay attempts to explain biological and psychoanalytic approaches to psychology with focus on their core assumptions, key features, similarities and differences.
To begin, one of the most famous and influential thinkers from the last century is known as Sigmund Freud and he is also the father of Psychoanalytic Theory. He has comes to believe that our behavior is influenced by our thoughts and motivation outside of our consciousness. All that we experience during our
The biological approach to psychology makes the assumption that all behaviours are associated with changes in the brain function and that psychopathology will be caused by a disorder within the brain, neuroanatomy. Many biological psychologists tend to assume that most behaviours, normal and disordered, involve an inherited component from the biological parents. In theory this suggests that all behaviours can be related to changes in brain activity.
Sigmund Freud is best known for his development and use of psychoanalysis. The theory of psychoanalysis focuses on the concept of how our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and emotions play an active role in our daily lives. The id, ego, and superego are the three mental zones that encompass our psyche. Each zone has a specific function: The id functions on the pleasure principle; the ego on the protection of the individual; and the superego on protection of society. The degree of which each zone has been developed can be broken down and then analyzed. These three zones can be visualized by imagining a pie cut into three slices.
Psychodynamic approach studies unconscious activities in the mind to elaborate on human thoughts, feelings and behaviour (Bernistein, 2013). Freud was able to treat clients by making them recall negative aspects of their past through psychoanalytic techniques such as free association, dream interpretation and transference (Wollheim, 2008).
The longevity of success using psychoanalysis becomes a testimony to Freud’s in-depth study of the human mind. His forty plus years of work in the field were spent on the development of the main principles of psychoanalysis along with the techniques and methods used by the analyst. His work was furthered by his daughter and later adopted then adapted by Erikson. What seemed so revolutionary in the 1890’s and beyond has now become widely accepted by most all schools of psychological thought and its study.
Personality is an individual’s characteristic pattern of feeling, thinking and acting. Psychodynamic theories of personality view human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts (Myers & Dewall, pg# 572, 2015). These theories focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences. Psychodynamic theories are descended from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, which is his ideology of personality and the associated treatment techniques. Psychoanalysis attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. This theory also includes the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions. He proposed that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality. Freud’s historically significant psychoanalytic theory became part of the human cultural legacy.
For Freud, psychosexual theory occurs when personality arises, as it tries to resolve conflicts between unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses and the societal demands to suppress these impulses. In general, psychoanalytic theorists are permeated with notions of human development, and how the child changes during the course of his maturation, in an explicit and implicit perspective. Unconscious and Conscious In terms of the unconscious and conscious, Freud situates these conceptions in a topographic model of the mind. He divided it into two systems, called the unconscious and the preconscious.
The psychoanalytic perspective is one psychological theory that revolves around the unconscious mind. This perspective emphasizes that personality development is largely unconscious, hidden, and unknown. Sigmund Freud, the most influential figure of the psychoanalytic theory, emphasized that personality develops through unconscious forces, biologically based drives of aggression and sex, and unavoidable conflicts in early childhood. The psychoanalytic theory of personality dictates that behavior stems from the experiences that are left in the unconscious mind. Freud created the