Psychodynamic Perspective Essay

827 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sigmund Freud: The Mind / Personality

Psychodynamic Perspective
Sigmund Freud developed one of the first and most influential psychodynamic theories on personality. He used free association in which the patient or client shared any thoughts they had; with this, he concluded one’s personality was based on childhood events and basic drives, such as the need to eat. These basic drives can be found in the unconscious mind, which is the largest part of the mind. Here, unaware thoughts, desires and deeply-hidden memories lie. Above it is the preconscious mind, where information not currently in use but that can be easily accessible can be found. Lastly, is the conscious mind which is made up of thoughts, emotions, and actions one is currently experiencing. In comparing it to an iceberg, …show more content…

Because of its foundations, therapy is based on an unconditional positive regard which is full support of the client by the therapist. Carl Rogers also added to this active listening and Fritz Perls added Gestalt therapy. Another important aspect of the humanistic perspective is the hierarchy of needs that has five levels. Developed by Abraham Maslow, an American psychology who believed self-actualization is needed to feel satisfied and comfortable, the hierarchy of needs states each level must be fulfilled in order to reach the next, starting with physiological needs and ending with self-actualization. This means self-actualization is unattainable by many. For example, for me or my family to reach the top of the pyramid we must first have our physiological needs met, then our safety, love, and self-esteem. But, if one of my family members is missing self-esteem, they cannot reach the top. With the humanistic perspective, this means my family member will not ever feel fully satisfied. This perspective, however, also provides a positive and encouraging type of therapy, meaning if my family members or me is missing something, therapy will take a positive and supporting role and will be able to overcome said challenge. In the end, the humanistic approach can applied to help me or my family members reach

Show More
Related

  • Freud's Theory Of Personality

    2090 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sigmund Freud was first to take notice toward personality. “Like all of us, Sigmund Freud was a product of his times” (Myers 454). Freud took notice to a sequence of repetition within his patients. Freud had a large impact on psychology, history, and literary studies, however his most essential commitment was to focus on the unconscious mind. “In Freud’s view, human personality-including its emotions and striving- arises from a conflict between impulse and restraint-between our aggressive, pleasure- seeking biological urges and our internalized social controls over these urges” (Myers 455). His patients were experiencing a series of free association, which is also known as a state of unconsciousness. Freud explored unconscious with consciousness experience. The thought that individuals presented other reasons other than those they professed in earlier stages in time. “Freud’s

    Read More

  • Psychology Perspective Essay

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ject. To be a psychologist you have to be a good listener and know how to relate to people’s problems as well as other things. Just like every job there are drawbacks, but don’t all jobs have some sort of drawbacks? Being a surgeon you make great money but there’s so much schooling involved and bad hours but in the end you do what you enjoy and all your hard work pays off.

    Read More

  • Racial Dissonance Definition

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    Psychologist Abraham Maslow created the hierarchy of needs, outlining and suggesting what a person need to reach self-actualization and reveal the true potential of themselves. In the model, Maslow propose that a person has to meet basic needs in order to reach the true potential of themselves. Biological/physiological needs, safety needs, love/belonging need, esteem needs according to Maslow is the fundamental frame for reaching the peak of self. The last need to be met on the scale

    Read More

  • Four Theoretical Approaches To Psychology Essay

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), is the founder of the psychodynamic approach. He proposed that human behaviour is influenced by unconscious thoughts, formed in early development and childhood (Gross 2005) and that all behaviour has a cause or reason, meaning the unconscious part of the mind to be constant conflict with the conscious (McLeod 2015). Freud put forward the theory that human consciousness is made up of three parts, the tripartite personality, consisting of the id, ego and super ego (Gross 2005). Freud

    Read More

  • Psychoanalytic vs. Social Cognitive

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Two Psychological Theories of Development

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    The psychodynamic approach lends itself to being a controversial yet highly influential theory in the history of psychology. The theory has become one of the most significant psychological approaches and its originator, Sigmund Freud, has become a major influence in modern psychology. The psychodynamic approach largely focuses on motivation and past experiences which develop and individual’s personality. Freud used the iceberg metaphor to outline the three states of consciousness and argued that only twenty percent of the mind represents the conscious. In addition he theorised that there was a pre-conscious mind which represents general memory. Finally, the unconscious mind which is essentially the reservoir of repressed or hidden experiences and desire.

    Read More

  • Humanistic Psychology In Good Will Hunting

    1872 Words  | 4 Pages

    Humanistic psychology relies on client centred therapy and the idea that each individual has the potential to achieve a position in their psyche named self actualisation. Humanistic psychology differs from psychodynamic theory in that it is optimistic about the human psyche and does not view conflict as inevitable. Humanistic psychology assumes people attach meaning to their unique perspectives on the world and that behaviour is strongly influenced by this. Carl Rogers defined the healthy personality as being one that had congruence between the perceived self and the experienced self and that the individual in question experienced unconditional positive regard from their parent or guardian. He defined an unhealthy personality as being one which lacked these components. Abraham Maslow alternatively suggested a hierarchy for which a person’s healthy personality could be measured by stages of psychological and physical needs (see diagram 2). He suggested that, for a person to achieve self actualisation and become a fully functioning person, they must first satisfy all the needs of each level in the pyramid before moving onto the next

    Read More

  • Psychodynamic Therapy Essay

    1588 Words  | 4 Pages

    Psychodynamic therapy, focuses on unconscious mind and how past experiences, inner thoughts, fears, and emotions The main goal of psychodynamic therapy is for clients to be self-aware of the past and how it effects who they are in the present. This type of therapy focuses on the underlying problems and emotions that influenced the client’s behavior. (Psych Central, 2016)

    Read More

  • Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs And Ethics Analysis

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unlike many of his colleagues at the time who were focusing on psychopathology, or what is wrong with individuals, he focused on how individuals are motivated to fulfill their potential and what needs govern their respective behaviors (McLeod)). Maslow developed the hierarchy over time, adjusting from a rigid structure where needs must be met before being able to achieve a higher level, to where the individuals can experience and behave in ways across the hierarchy multiple times daily depending on their needs. The hierarchy is comprised of 5 levels; Physiological, Safety and Security, Love and Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. The bottom two levels are considered basic needs, or deficiency needs because once the needs are met they cease to be a driving factor, unlike psychological needs. Loving and Belonging and Esteem needs are considered psychological needs, and are different from basic needs because they don’t stem from a lack of something, but rather the desire to grow. Maslow theorizes that individual’s decisions and behavior are determined based on their current level of needs, and the ideal level to achieve full potential culminates in self-actualization; however, operating on this level cannot be achieved until the preceding levels of needs have been

    Read More

  • Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Through a Freudian Lens

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sigmund Freud’s theories on the construction of the mind are simple, but fundamentally changed the field of psychology. He proposed, among other things, that the human mind is composed of three parts: the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The preconscious consists of information, such as a telephone number, that is “accessible to consciousness without emotional resistance” (Schellenberg 21). In Freud’s estimation, the unconscious is the most important area of the mind. The information stored within it has “very strong resistances” to becoming conscious (Freud 32). Residing in the unconscious is the id, which “contains everything…that is present at birth… – above all, therefore, the instincts which originate from somatic organization” (14). From birth, all action is instinctual, from the id. The id recognizes and entertains no desires but its own and is impatient to have its needs met. This phase lasts until a part of the id changes “under the influence of the real external world” (14). This changed portion b...

    Read More

  • Humanistic Approach Essay

    1778 Words  | 4 Pages

    He thought that there had to be more to humans than simply rewards, punishments, and subconscious urges according to behaviorists and psychoanalysts. Maslow introduced humanistic psychology as an area to focus on the potential of people to become all that they can be. Other psychologists helped develop different elements of humanistic psychology, but Maslow is largely considered to be the father of the humanist movement in psychology. He steadfastly believed that people are motivated to reach certain needs. When one need is accomplished, a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on. At the top of this hierarchy Maslow believed was the possibility of self-actualization; every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. This was, however, seen as a rare achievement only reached by very few people since according to his theory; all lower-level needs had to be met before self-actualization could take place. Unfortunately, advancement is often disrupted by failure to meet the lower level needs. Life experiences may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy. According to Maslow, only one in a hundred people achieve full self-actualization due to our society rewarding

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Maslow And Rogers

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    The hierarchy of needs and person-centered theory share humanistic psychology’s approach toward the person. In the Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs, humans satisfy

    Read More

  • Abraham Maslow Case Study

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist, who was considered to be the father of human psychology. Abraham Maslow said that basic physical needs must be met before people can realize their full potential in life. He developed the theory of human motivation now known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, some human needs were more powerful than others. Hierarchy of needs that he argued provides a model for understanding the need for human relations in the classroom. Needs lower on the pyramid, such as physical and safety needs, must be met before an individual will consider higher-level needs. This five-stage model can be divided into deficiency needs and growth needs. The first four levels are often referred to as deficiency needs, D-needs.

    Read More

  • Psychoanalytic Theory

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hamlet And The Unconscious Mind Essay

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freud’s theory as previously stated is made up of three parts; the pre-conscious, the conscious and the unconscious. The conscious mind includes all things that we are aware of and it is this that allows us to think and talk rationally, within the conscious is memory, however, as memory is not always in a state of consciousness, but rather has the ability to be brought into our consciousness, Freud referred to this as the pre-conscious. Our feelings, motives and decisions are strongly influenced by our past experiences and memories of this, stored in the pre-conscious and instincts from the unconscious. The preconscious mind is the part of the mind that represents ordinary memory. While we are not consciously aware of this information at any given time, we can retrieve it and pull it into consciousness when needed.

    Read More

More about Psychodynamic Perspective Essay

Open Document