Psychodynamic Theory Approaches and Proponents

Psychodynamic theory is actually a collection of psychological theories which emphasize the importance of drives and other forces in human functioning, especially unconscious drives. The approach holds that childhood experience is the basis for adult personality and relationships. Psychodynamic theory originated in Freud’s psychoanalytic theories and includes any theories based on his ideas, including those by Anna Freud, Erik Erikson, and Carl Jung. Key Takeaways: Psychodynamic Theory Psychodynamic theory is comprised of a set of psychological theories that arise from the ideas that humans are often driven by unconscious motivations and that adult personality and relationships are often the result of childhood experiences.Psychodynamic theory originated in the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, and includes any theory based on his ideas, including work by Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Erik Erikson. It also includes newer theories like object relations. Origins Between the late 1890s and the 1930s, Sigmund Freud developed a variety of psychological theories based on his experiences with patients during therapy. He called his approach to therapy psychoanalysis and his ideas became popularized through his books, such as The Interpretation of Dreams. In 1909, he and his colleagues traveled to America and gave lectures on psychoanalysis, spreading Freud’s ideas further. In the years that followed, regular meetings were held to discuss psychoanalytic theories and applications. Freud influenced a number of major psychological thinkers, including Carl Jung and Alfred Adler, and his influence continues today. It was Freud who first introduced the term psychodynamics. He observed that his patients exhibited psychological symptoms with no biological basis. Nevertheless, these patients were unable to stop their symptoms despite their conscious efforts. Freud reasoned that if the symptoms couldn’t be prevented by conscious will, they must arise from the unconscious. Therefore, the symptoms were the result of the unconscious will opposing the conscious will, an interplay he dubbed psychodynamics. Psychodynamic theory formed to encompass any theory deriving from Freud’s basic tenets. As a result, the terms psychoanalytic and psychodynamic are often used interchangeably. However, there is an important distinction: the term psychoanalytic only refers to theories developed by Freud, while the term psychodynamic references both Freud’s theories and those that are based on his ideas, including Erik Eriksons psychosocial theory of human development and Jungs concept of archetypes. In fact, so many theories are encompassed by psychodynamic theory, that it is often referred to as an approach or a perspective instead of a theory. Assumptions Despite the psychodynamic perspective’s association with Freud and psychoanalysis, psychodynamic theorists no longer put much stock in some of Freud’s ideas, such as the id, ego, and superego. Today, the approach is centered around a core set of tenets that both arise from and expand upon Freud’s theories. Psychologist Drew Weston outlined five propositions that generally encompass 21st century psychodynamic thinking: First and most importantly, a great deal of mental life is unconscious, meaning people’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations are often unknown to them.Individuals may experience conflicting thoughts and feelings towards a person or situation because mental responses occur independently but in parallel. Such internal conflict can lead to contradictory motivations, necessitating mental compromise.Personality begins to form in early childhood and it continues to be influenced by childhood experiences into adulthood, especially in the formation of social relationships.People’s social interactions are impacted by their mental understanding of themselves, other people, and relationships.Personality development includes learning to regulate sexual and aggressive drives, as well as growing from a socially dependent to an interdependent state in which one can form and maintain functional intimate relationships. While many of these propositions continue to focus on the unconscious, they also are concerned with the formation and understanding of relationships. This arises from one of the major developments in modern psychodynamic theory: object relations. Object relations holds that one’s early relationships set expectations for later ones. Whether they are good or bad, people develop a comfort level with the dynamics of their earliest relationships and are often drawn to relationships that can in some way recreate them. This works well if one’s earliest relationships were healthy but leads to problems if those early relationships were problematic in some way. In addition, no matter what a new relationship is like, an individual will look at a new relationship through the lens of their old relationships. This is called transference and offers a mental shortcut to people attempting to understand a new relationship dynamic. As a result, people make inferences that may or may not be accurate about a new relationship based on  their past experiences. Strengths Psychodynamic theory has several strengths that account for its continued relevance in modern psychological thinking. First, it accounts for the impact of childhood on adult personality and mental health. Second, it explores the innate drives that motivate our behavior. It’s in this way that psychodynamic theory accounts for both sides of the nature/nurture debate. On the one hand, it points to the way the unconscious mental processes people are born with influence their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. On the other, it emphasizes the influence of childhood relationships and experiences on later development.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Weaknesses Despite its strengths, psychodynamic theory has a number of weaknesses, too. First, critics often accuse it of being too deterministic, and therefore, denying that people can exercise conscious free will. In other words, by emphasizing the unconscious and the roots of personality in childhood experience, psychodynamic theory suggests that behavior is pre-determined and ignores the possibility that people have personal agency. Psychodynamic theory is also criticized for being unscientific and unfalsifiable—it is impossible to prove the theory to be false. Many of Freud’s theories were based on single cases observed in therapy and remain difficult to test. For example, there’s no way to empirically research the unconscious mind. Yet, there are some psychodynamic theories that can be studied, which has led to scientific evidence for some of its tenets. Sources Dombeck, Mark. â€Å"Psychodynamic Theories.† MentalHelp.net, 2019. https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/psychodynamic-theories/McLeod, Saul. â€Å"Psychodynamic Approach.† Simply Psychology, 2017. https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychodynamic.html  Weston, Drew. â€Å"The Scientific  Legacy of Sigmund Freud: Toward a Psychodynamically Informed Psychological Science. Psychological Bulletin, vol. 124, no. 3, 1998, pp. 333-371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.3.333Weston, Drew, Glenn O. Gabbard, and Kile M. Ortigo. â€Å"Psychoanalytic Approaches to Personality.† Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research. 3rd ed., edited by Oliver P. John, Richard W. Robins, and Lawrence A. Pervin. The Guilford Press, 2008, pp. 61-113. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-11667-003The Freudian Theory of Personality.†Ã‚  Journal Psyche,  http://journalpsyche.org/the-freudian-theory-of-personality/#more-191

Essay on Marie Antoinette Praised Princess to Condemned...

Marie Antoinette was an Austrian princess born in Vienne, Austria. Her birth name was Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna, but many just called her Marie Antoinette. Her mother, Maria Therese, was the head of state. Maria Therese had all the power and for that reason was a little firm with her children. Her husband, Marie’s father, Francis I was just a figure with not much else. His position is much like the first lady they have in the United States. Marie was the fifteenth child of Maria and Francis. Marie was also the youngest of the daughters and was both doted upon and ignored. She was given everything she wanted and her education was left alone because her mother assumed that Marie being the youngest and with so many before her, Marie†¦show more content†¦Marie Antoinette moved to France, leaving behind a blissful childhood and entered an unhappy marriage. Her husband, Louis 16th, was described as timid and quiet. Marie was described as loud, graceful, and charismatic, all things that scared Louis 16th. She scared him so that he did not consummate the marriage for seven years. This, according to experts, turned Marie to the rich, glamorous life of the French court. The French court was, at the time, described as a fairy tale. Marie had always loved music and excelled in dance and here, she shows it. She both hosted and attended hundreds of balls. She spent lavishly on dresses and such finery and soon became the trend setter for France and many women spend as much if not more trying to keep up with her. Marie made a few friends with whom she spent a lot of time and money with. They spend as much as they desired without thinking of the consequences and often were told to remember their budget. They, of course, spent no more than anyone else in their position and that, experts believe, is why they were not shot down to begin with. It was to be expected to â€Å"keep up with the Jones†. The peasants grew weary as they watched their beloved que en spend needlessly as they suffered. France was already in debt and her spending more could only hurt their position. France’s depression was rooted before Marie and Louis took the throne. It all started

Homelessness Free Essays

Three major biological factors related to becoming or being homeless are stress, achievement motivation, and mental illness. According to Mark Krause and Daniel Sorts (2012), stress is â€Å"a psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when perceived demands exceed existing resources to meet those demands,† (p. 597). We will write a custom essay sample on Homelessness or any similar topic only for you Order Now Stress physically prepares the body to take on a fight or flight’ response to these high demands, and constantly choosing the flight’ response may be a characteristic off person who has ended up homeless. On its own, stress has he ability to greatly hurt a person’s ability to perform well, but it is how one copes with stress that may lead to him or her living on the streets. We have probably all experimented with both positive and negative coping mechanisms when faced with a stressful situation. Positive responses to stress would include optimism, resilience, post-traumatic growth, biofeedback, and meditation (Krause Sorts, 2012, p. 608). Negative coping techniques, when used routinely, can be the downfall of a person. Negative affectively plays a big role in this, and refers to â€Å"the tendency to respond to robbers with a pattern of anxiety, hostility, anger, guilt, or nervousness,† (Krause Sorts, 2012, p. 610). These responses can overpower a person’s life and leave them hopeless to accomplish anything, as well as lead them to physical issues, and therefore are a large part of what may leave a person living on the streets. The tendency to choose negative or positive responses is partially ingrained in a person’s biological makeup, however, and it is not necessary in their power to choose one or the other. Less Parrot disturbances in brain chemistry are a large factor in anxiety 1993, p. 68). Those who are prone to react poorly to stressful situations are the people who will let those situations drive them to accomplish nothing, lose everything, and end up with no place to go. Issues with motivation may be another cause of homelessness. Sorts and Krause (2012) define achievement motivation as â€Å"the drive to perform at high levels and to accomplish significant goals,† (p. 422). Many factors may lead to a lack of this motivation, making homelessness more likely. Furthermore, there are different types of motivation, and one way to contrast these datives is to compare the goals individuals may have in mind. Approach goals consist of an â€Å"enjoyable and pleasant incentive† one may be reaching for, while avoidance goals consist of trying to avoid â€Å"unpleasant outcomes,† (Sorts Krause, 2012, p. 22). Issues with parents growing up are one example of what may lead too lack of motivation and a large amount of avoidance goals. If they were raised being constantly discouraged by their parents or guardians, it may become ingrained in their minds that they will never be enough. If they believe that they will truly never e able to accomplish anything worthwhile, they may stop trying in order to avo id failure. Less Parrot suggests that depression may be another leading cause too lack of motivation. One of the major effects of depression is a lack of involvement in anything that once greatly interested the person, and evolves into a lack of motivation to do anything (Parrot, 1993, p. 87). These problems with motivation not only contribute to the reasons homeless people end up on the street, but also why they stay there. According to a survey taken by the U. S. Conference of Mayors, mental illness is the third largest cause of homelessness for single adults (2009, Para. 1). If a person has a serious enough mental illness, many essential aspects of daily life become impossible to carry out. They may be unable to take care of themselves at all, let alone manage a house or a Job. Besides being unable to take care of themselves, they may not let others take care of them. A mental illness can hinder â€Å"forming or maintaining stable relationships,† (2009, Para. 3). A person with such an illness will push away caregivers, friends and families that could be the only thing peeping them from being left on the streets. Someone who is mentally ill has lost their grip on reality, and therefore has a difficult time living in the real world. As a result of this, they would be unable to maintain a career or a normal family life. These factors, along with the general stress of living with a mental disorder, are the reasons many more mentally ill people are found living on the streets than those who are mentally stable. Stress, achievement motivation, and mental illness as shown throughout this essay have had profound impact on many people. How to cite Homelessness, Papers

Introduction to Sociology Australian Family Lifestyle

Question: Discuss about theIntroduction to Sociologyfor Australian Familys Lifestyle. Answer: Change in Australian Familys Lifestyle in the Upcoming Time and the Social Factors Contributing for Such a Change It has been critically observed that the lifestyle of the Australian families over a period of time have changed and have been changing. The lifestyle has been observed to be changed with the concept of family as such a concept was no longer depicted by the traditional nuclear family of Mother, Father and two children (Kinnear, 2002). As a result, Families in Australia were now came to be in all shapes and sizes such as intermingled, comprehensive, one mother, one father or with two mothers and two fathers. It has also been observed that in todays world the upcoming generation or the youngsters do not want to get married as a result only a few were seen to be getting married. On the other hand when people make their mind to get married then they would get married much later. As a result of such a decision of different individuals it has been observed that the divorce rate has become stable. Although, with the changing time and lifestyle it has been seen that people have few children and there has been an increase in the number of intermingled and step-families (AMP, 2013). But, a question of what all constitutes a family have still seen to be unanswered till now. So, it was the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) which defines the meaning of what all constitutes a family. It affirms that a family could be defined as an association of two or more individuals, one of whom would have to be aged 15 years and over, who live together and were affirmed to be connected by blood, wedding, adoption, and step relationship (Hayes et al. ,2010). So, it was in the year 1980 since when the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) began researching about the Australian families and Australian society as it has undergone massive modifications. There have been a number of major changes over the period of the nineteenth century, together with the developments in family make-up, different kind of families, matrimonial status, birth rates, parental service and learning. It was affirmed to be a mesmerizing picture of the changing nature of the lifestyle of the Australian Families over the turn of the millennium (Australian Government, 2017). Therefore, it was seen over the past quarter of a century that the Family households have been waning, as it included round about 77 % of all families in 1986 which reduced to 72 % in 2011. So, it could be stated that as the population ages, single individual households have affirmed to be enlarged on the other hand, the group households had continued to be comparatively constant (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). In spite of the efforts which were made by the sociologists in order to define the concept of family, it was observed that there was no particular meaning of this indispensable element of the civilization (McDonald, 2017). In response to the exterior and interior factors familys lifestyle changes over time. Social and financial situations like wars, migration, technical growths, and varying cultural principles, could influence the size and nature of families. Correspondingly, targets in the lives of individual family members like the birth of a child, separation, or the death of a family member, could modify the composition of a family and its inner dynamics (Coontz, 2007). The concept of the family as people understand currently was a comparatively new trend. Social historian Philippe Aris states that until the 18th century the concept of family appears to be a detached part of parents and children. From being the centre of social relationships, the family now became more remote and independent, which centers on care for the children away from servants and friends. The current nuclear family of the 1950s classically included father the breadwinner, mother the housewife and their children. Mothers were happy to bake, seam, and care for her children and husband. The Growth of the contraceptive pill with its prospective to grant females an extraordinary control over their fruitfulness and sexuality made an easier access to abortion. Also, the beginning of the 1976 Family Law Act, made divorce simple by not entailing liability to be recognized, and superior chances for females to be well-informed and enter into the paid personnel. As they also were challenged with normative principles which were linked with such family issues (The Age, 2003). As a result, some more innovative ways of philosophy about verbal communication meant ideas such as the concept of family and its authoritarian associations which were deconstructed, no longer observed as ordinary but were created by humanity (The Social Issues Research Centre, 2008). More recently, the innovative reproductive skills have also confronted customary beliefs of the family. It was now achievable for children to have a inherent mother, a gestational mother and a lawful guardian. Notions of paternity become problematic when frozen sperm are used posthumously. Changes in the economy during the past 30 years have resulted in numerous separate tendencies such as wedding, separation, all of which have inferences for the family. Australia's birth rate of 1.7 children per female was below inhabitants substitution level, though some specialists recommend the circumstances were stern rather than significant (Parliament of Australia, 2017). Many young individuals currently impede their exit from the family home, and therefore the beginning of sovereignty and maturity, while they absolute tertiary studies. Even when people leave home, there was a model of recurring to its relieve at distances, such as when a association breaks up or when monetary support was desirable. Ageing population of Australia and the tendency towards sterility make it likely to many elderly individuals who were without admission to customary basis of family bear would depend gradually more on administration and community resources. Apprehensions have been articulated about the capacity of the society to grant such a level of concern. In spite of such momentous changes in upcoming years, the chief roles of the family such as development of children, monetary support, and socializing the youth as it has not changed essentially. So, it could be concluded at the end that massive social changes over the last decades have concluded in the families of 2013 as they were looking dissimilar to those in the 20th century. No longer was it predictable that young females and males would marry in their late teens in a sacred ritual and have 3 or 4 children at home. Presently, the distinctive trail for creation of family was for youngsters to persist with education until their early teens. Also, to travel and work full time then marrying in a civil ceremony in their late twenties. But Modern family planning was regarded as where having children could be postponed, and while it was more usual for the females to be the chief caretaker, the majority of females would quickly return to the job at least on a part-time basis. So, it could be concluded that the number of step-families and merged families has augmented as an effect of divorce and having a new established relationships, although they may visage more anxiety and were usually not as well off monetarily as integral families. But by increasing levels of education among females who were breadwinner households were much more common like almost a quarter of join houses. By providing the gigantic changes which have occurred over the past century people could only initiate to imagine how families would evolve, modify and expand in the coming years. References AMP. (2013) Modern Family: The changing shape of Australian families. [Online] AMP. Available from: file:///C:/Users/win/Downloads/AMP.NATSEM%2034%20Income%20and%20Wealth%20Report%20-%20Modern%20Family.pdf [Accessed on 1/2/17] Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006) Population Characteristics: 20th century: beginning and end. [Online] Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/DB7193812E1EFC92CA2570EC000E215A?opendocument [Accessed on 1/2/17] Australian Government. (2017) The changing face of early Australia. [Online] Australian Government. Available from: https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/changing-face-of-early-australia [Accessed on 1/2/17] Coontz, S. (2007) The Family Revolution. [Online] Greater Good. Available from: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_family_revolution [Accessed on 1/2/17] Hayes, A., Weston, R., Qu, L., and Gray, M. (2010) Families then and now: 1980-2010. [Online] Australian Institute of Family Studies. Available from: https://aifs.gov.au/publications/families-then-and-now-1980-2010 [Accessed on 1/2/17] Kinnear, P. (2002) New Families for Changing Times. [Online] The Australia Institute. Available from: https://www.tai.org.au/sites/defualt/files/DP47_8.pdf [Accessed on 1/2/17] McDonald, P. (2017) Families and cultural diversity in Australia. [Online] Australian Institute if Family Studies. Available from: https://aifs.gov.au/publications/families-and-cultural-diversity-australia/2-australian-families-values-and-behaviour [Accessed on 1/2/17] Parliament of Australia. (2017) Attitudes towards adoption. [Online] Parliament of Australia. Available from: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2010-13/commcontribformerforcedadoption/report/c02 [Accessed on 1/2/17] The Age. (2003) Family: it's all relative. [Online] The Age. Available from: https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/26/1046064096428.html [Accessed on 1/2/17] The Social Issues Research Centre. (2008) Childhood and family life: Socio-demographic changes. [Online] The Social Issues Research Centre. Available from: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Appendix-G_SIRC-report.pdf [Accessed on 1/2/17]