...Psychodynamic Personality Theories “An individual's self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life” (Brothers, 2011, p. 1). Several psychologists have studied personality over the years, and with this research theories are applied. Theories have strengths and weaknesses and assist those who pursue further research regarding personality. Psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theories provide for a better understanding of the human personality and human nature. Sigmund Freud began the revolution of research and developed the first modern theory of personality. Freud’s research became a test if the future and led many others to develop their own theories some of which were empirical and some philosophical speculation. * Freud is well known for the twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis, which are sex and aggression. Freud revised his concept of personality several times because he believed that a theory should be followed up with observation. Freud based his theory on his own dreams as well as encounters with patients. The psychoanalytic theory and dynamics of personality supported the idea that “motivation is derived from psychical and physical energy that springs from their basic drives” (Feist, J., & Feist, G., 2009, p. 2). Freud used the concept of motivation to explain the driving forces that...
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...*Picture from Psychotherapy (2004)Personality: Psychodynamic Theories BrochureMaria Lydda GabrielPSY 405April 6, 2015Angela Snelling | | | What is Personality?“Although no single definition is acceptable to all personality theorists, we can say that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior” (Feist & Roberts, 2013, p. 4). | | | | | | | | Psychodynamic TheoriesFreud’s Theory * There are three provinces of the mind: A. The id * The id’s sole function is to seek pleasure without regard for what is proper and just, hence, serving the pleasure. Has no contact with reality, yet it strives to constantly reduce tension by satisfying basic desires (Feist & Roberts, 2013). B. The ego * Is governed by the reality principle. It is the only province of the mind in contact with reality. * When the ego becomes anxious, it uses repression and other defense mechanisms to defend itself against this anxiety (Feist & Roberts, 2013). C. The superego * Represents the moral and ideal aspects of personality and is guided by the moralistic and idealistic principles. * Acts to control sexual and aggressive impulses through the process of repression. * It strives blindly and unrealistically toward perfection. | | | | | * Freud’s theory helped us understand the harmony and disharmony that happens in our mind. It also helped to explain...
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...Psychodynamic Approach Carl Jung had a unique personality theory. When we compare it to Freud, they each thought that consciousness and unconsciousness had an effect on the mind. Jung created eight types of personalities that were then divided into four categories of functions. The foundation comes from Jung’s introversion and extroversion experiences. Erik Erikson developed his theories from an observational predetermined order. Unlike Freud he did not focus on sexual development but on children’s socialization skills and how they impact the child. Erikson has eight stages and each one has two results. If you were to complete every stage successfully it was seen as a healthy personality. If one did not complete each stage successfully then it is said that you have an unhealthy personality. Sigmund Freud studied the psychosexual model. Freud said that this stage starts in early childhood and goes through adulthood. As we are exposed to the environment a child forms an ego, which is seen as one of the strongest characteristics of a personality Psychodynamic Theories Brochure There have been many different theories throughout the years. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to explaining individual behavior. This brochure will summarize psychodynamic theories and how they influence our lives. Theorists include Sullivan, Freud, Adler, Jung, Horney, Klein, Fromm and Erikson. All eight of these theorists mentioned have very unique personalities and life...
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...Scott Johnson 1/28/2013 Psychodynamic theory is defined as the study of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior. It is primarily the dynamic relations between our conscious and unconscious motivation. Sigmund Freud is noted as the Father of psychodynamic theories. Our unconscious processes shape who we are and what our personality is. Freud’s structure of personality is your Id, Ego and Super ego. Id is our basic want to need, an “I want it now” idea. It’s our unconscious instincts. Ego keeps us in reality, it is more of a research idea. It is the mediator between the ego and super ego. It manages our personality and our decision making. Super ego is what’s right vs. what’s wrong. It is our individual moral values. The psychodynamic theory is the interactions and battle of id, ego and super ego. A focus of psychodynamics is the forces that are in conflict in our subconscious that form our personality and behavior. Our conscious layer is thoughts and feelings we are fully aware of. Preconscious is info that is just beneath our awareness. Unconscious layer includes feelings we are not aware of but greatly influence our behavior. Defense mechanisms are largely unconscious reactions that protect us from painful emotions such as anxiety or guilt. I think this is the more interesting part of the psychodynamic theory. Defense Mechanisms include repression, denial, rationalization, displacement, projection, regression and reaction formation. For example, one of my friends...
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...Psychodynamic & Humanistic/Existential Approaches Psychodynamic & Existential/Humanistic Theories Psychodynamic and existential/humanistic theories vary greatly in their approach, dynamic, and assumptions. The succeeding compares and contrasts the two theoretical approaches paying attention to the assumptions presented by each approach, motives for behavior, and whether the approach is deterministic or not. To gain more perspective into each approach it is essential to learn about the different theories and theorists that developed and contributed to each. The key psychodynamic theorists presented include Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Melanie Klein, Karen Horney, and Harry Stack-Sullivan. On the other side, the theorists that contributed to the existential/humanistic approach include Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May. Psychodynamic Theorists and Theories The founder of the psychodynamic approach to personality and psychoanalysis was Sigmund Freud. Freud’s views were focused mainly on sex and aggression as the basis for human motivation (Feist & Feist, 2009). According to Freud there are three distinct parts of human personality; the id, the ego and the super ego. And also three levels of consciousness; unconscious, preconscious and conscious. The two sets of three coincide with the id being part of the unconscious, the ego a part of both pre-consciousness and consciousness and the super ego also a part of the unconscious. A general assumption...
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...Brief Psychodynamic Therapy This paper deals with my preference for Brief Time Limited Treatment vs. open ended treatment vs. open-ended or extended treatment. If I were to enter counseling I would prefer this treatment because it deals with the presenting problem quickly and would not require me to continue to come back and stay in treatment for an extended period of time. I am a person who prefers to deal with the problem head on and not draw it out through continue discussion of my family background and how this effects me today. I feel that this type of treatment promotes mindfulness and keeping me focused on what is pertinent in my life. However, the obvious limitations of this type of therapy would be that in the future I would not be able to engage in counseling again without changing therapist. I would have to start again perhaps, with a new therapist with whom I have no rapport and who is not familiar with my case. Open-Ended treatment would allow me to discontinue treatment when necessary such as during a latent period in my life. When a life crisis arises again I could start back up with a therapist who would understand my case and history without having to repeat these details again. Limitations with this type of therapy would be that there is no formal set goal of termination. I feel that this is so necessary as I have experience so many clients who are dependent on their case managers and clinicians to make most decisions in their life. Extended therapy...
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...Evaluating Psychodynamic psychotherapy Posted March 10, 2006 by Yousif Al Saif • Updated March 13, 2006 Sigmund Freud is one of the founding fathers of modern psychology. He started his work in psychiatry after finishing his medical training in Vienna. He was taught in Paris by one of the most influential psychiatrist in his time Charcot. Charcot tackled hysteria by using hypnosis as a treatment technique. Freud, however, thought that hypnosis is not an effective treatment approach to hysteria and decided to pursue another approach. He later adopted a method of treatment called "free association" where the client says whatever comes to his/her mind and used the resulting stream of strong conscious emotions as a helpful way to his patients (McLeod, 1998). Freud also used dream analysis as a way to enter the subconscious and unveil the suppressed thoughts and memories of patients (Freud, 1900). He also noted key psychotherapeutic phenomenons such as the client-therapist’s “transference” and “counter-transference” and the client’s “resistance”. Freud theories went through considerable modification by the neo-Freudians such as Carl Jung, Otto Rank, and Alfred Adler. Now some psychotherapists base their work broadly on Freud’s work but mainly on neo-Freudians which is called the psychodynamic approach to psychotherapy. The psychodynamic approach gives great importance to childhood experiences and believes that the client’s psychological problems are a direct result of these experiences...
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...Outline and evaluate psychological explanations of depression: at least two Psychodynamic theories: * Outline : * Fixation at the oral stage (over or under gratification at the oral stage) results in dependency on caregiver and on other people. The dependant personality makes the constantly seek love and approval of others. * if the needs are not met the anger turns inwards ( later in life events like death, relationship break-up, job loss results in regression to the oral stage) results in depression. * Freud explained how, when a loved one is lost there is first a mourning period and then, after a while, life returns to normal. For some people however, the mourning period never seems to come to an end, they continue to exist in a state of permanent melancholia (depression). * Bibring psychodynamic theory states that depression is due to poor parenting. The child develops low self-esteem in contrast to the ideal self because the parents expect perfection on the child and can be critical. Evaluation: * This theory shows that early childhood experiences can affect vulnerability to depression, in later life the effects of early childhood experiences is supported by bowlby where the child attachment whether secure or insecure can affect later life relationship. * Freud’s theory is a good theory and is linked to the theory of Bowlby, insecure parent attachment. * Freud’s theory lacks falsifiability, because it cannot be operationalized and is based...
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...Psychodynamic Theories Jayme Terrigno PSY/405 October 6, 2014 Patti Tolar Psychodynamic Theories According to "Good Therapy" (2014), “The psychological interpretation of mental and emotional processes—is rooted in traditional psychoanalysis and draws from object relations, ego psychology, and self psychology” (para. 1). Psychodynamic theories draw most of their information from the idea of the unconscious, especially in the development of early childhood. This paper will describe personality, discuss the mail tenets of the theories presented, discuss how each theory applies to personality and behavior, and discusses the strengths and limitations of each theory. The degree to which individual humans vary from one another, both physically and psychologically, is quite astonishing and somewhat unique among species (Feist, Feist, & Roberts 2013). Personality id the physical characteristics of a person and how it reflects toward others. Personality is the thoughts and feelings that each person holds and shows to others. It is collection of a person, but these pieces of each person tend to remain the unchanged through the years. Psychodynamic theory was developed by a Sigmund Freud, a well-known theorist, and in his own words, scientist. Sigmund Freud began to combine philosophical speculations with a primitive scientific method. As a neurologist trained in science, Freud began to listen to his patients to find out what...
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...Jung was a follower of Freud and his theory held some similar traits. This theory includes the conscious, the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. Carl Jung believed we are motivated by images passed down by our ancestors as well as our repressed experiences. The things we inherited from our ancestors he named the collective unconscious. His theory is full of past events and future expectations. Images we inherit from our ancestors are called archetypes. Personal unconscious holds repressed thoughts of one individual. Consciousness is a very small piece of personality. Jung believed personality comes from mostly unconscious. Just like Freud, Jung’s theory is hard to prove or disprove. Jung was a follower of Freud and his theory held some similar traits. This theory includes the conscious, the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. Carl Jung believed we are motivated by images passed down by our ancestors as well as our repressed experiences. The things we inherited from our ancestors he named the collective unconscious. His theory is full of past events and future expectations. Images we inherit from our ancestors are called archetypes. Personal unconscious holds repressed thoughts of one individual. Consciousness is a very small piece of personality. Jung believed personality comes from mostly unconscious. Just like Freud, Jung’s theory is hard to prove or disprove. Carl Jung- Analytical Psychology Carl Jung- Analytical Psychology Adler-Individual...
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...Answer any five of the following questions. 2. What is the General Adaptation Syndrome, explain with an example. Scientist Hans Selye (1907-1982) introduced the General Adaptation Syndrome model in 1936 showing in three phases what the alleged effects of stress has on the body. In his work, Selye - 'the father of stress research,' developed the theory that stress is a major cause of disease because chronic stress causes long-term chemical changes. He observed that the body would respond to any external biological source of stress with a predictable biological pattern in an attempt to restore the body’s internal homeostasis. This initial hormonal reaction is your fight or flight stress response - and its purpose is for handling stress very quickly! The process of the body’s struggle to maintain balance is what Selye termed, the General Adaptation Syndrome. Pressures, tensions, and other stressors can greatly influence your normal metabolism. Selye determined that there is a limited supply of adaptive energy to deal with stress. That amount declines with continuous exposure. Going through a series of steps, your body consistently works to regain stability. With the general adaptation syndrome, a human’s adaptive response to stress has three distinct phases: ALARM STAGE - Your first reaction to stress recognizes there’s a danger and prepares to deal with the threat, a.k.a. the fight or flight response. Activation of the HPA axis, the nervous system (SNS) and the adrenal glands...
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...also something people can share and relate to with one another. According to Allport, “Personality is about what is unique to the individual, but it is also about what is shared across people” (Allport, 1962). Although there are several approaches to the personality analysis, this paper will specifically focus on the psychodynamic, humanistic and existential approaches. This paper will compare and contrast these theories, explore the characteristics that accompany these theories, and explain the interpersonal relational aspects associated with these particular theories. Psychodynamic Theory The theory of psychodynamics is the basic study of all psychological abilities that place an influence on human behavior (Feist & Feist, 2009). This may especially include the compelling relationships among the motivation of the conscious and unconscious, which were the ideas of Sigmund Freud. Although Freud established the ideas of “psychodynamics” to explain the mind flow of the libido, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Melanie Klein should also be accredited for laying the foundation for the psychodynamic theory (Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., 2011). The ideas behind psychodynamics are often divided into two sections. The first is the interaction of emotional forces, which is the correlation between the emotional and motivational impulses that have an effect on one’s mental stability, and behavior, particularly on a subconscious...
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...Literature and Topic Review for Environmental Influences on Personality Name Institution Literature and Topic Review for Environmental Influences on Personality 1.0 Introduction What makes an individual unique is their personality. A person’s personality refers to his mental features that differentiate this person from other people. Personality comprises of all patterns of emotions and thought that cause human beings to say things and to do them in particular ways. Personality signifies the most critical parts for a person’s psychological life. To this end, personality is, therefore, organized and dynamic set of characteristics that a person possesses (Lewis, 2001). These unique features influence a person’s motivations, behaviors and his or her cognitions in various situations. Personality is psychological, though biological processes also influence our behaviors. Our thoughts, social interactions, behavior, close relationships and feeling all influence our personality. The environment influences our personality (Myers, 2004). Anything that affects a person except his or her genes is the environment. Many external factors help in shaping our personality. These external factors include the people around us and the places that we live. Our friends, family, daily experiences, and all the people whom we interact with influence our personality. However, every person has a personality that is unique to them (Simanowitz...
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...Psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic Psychodynamic theory is the psychology of mental or emotional forces and processes that develop in early childhood, and how they affect a person’s behavior later on. Maybe, as a young child, Roberto was always very reserved, and didn’t socialize a lot with other people his age. Because of this, Roberto is very introverted now. In the psychoanalytic theory, dreams, an analysis of resistance and transference, and free interpretation are used to study unconscious thoughts, anxieties, and internal conflicts. Perhaps Roberto has bad dreams about being embarrassed in a social setting, or wants to speak up and be more outgoing, but he has internal conflicts about whether or not it is a good idea to do so, and stops himself....
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...Analyze Psychodynamic Theories The psychodynamic approach “views schizophrenia as the result of the disintegration of the ego. It is the ego’s job to keep control of the id’s impulses and strike a compromise between the demands of the id and the moral restrictions of the superego” (Sammons). According to the Freud, “some types of abnormal upbringing (particularly if there is a cold, rejecting ‘schizogonic’ mother) can result in a weak and fragile ego, whose ability to contain the id’s desires is limited” (Sammons) This can lead to the ego being ‘broken apart’ by its attempt to contain the id, leaving the id in control of the psyche. If the ego is broken apart, the person can lose contact with reality and would not distinguish themselves from others and fantasies. They would not be distinguishing reality from fantasy. Some disorder of childhood consists of learning disorders, ADHD, and conduct disorder. With learning disorders, they are helped by identifying the issue and coming up with techniques that can help the problem at hand. Children are encouraged to devise new technique that can help them address the problem. The psychodynamic theory has proven to be effective in many cases. The textbook states that the psychodynamic theory tries to rule out the symptoms of a child before diagnosing the child with ADHD. Psychodynamic theorist will notice that the symptoms will occur in response to overwhelming events. Psychodynamic theorists focus on trying to find the source of distress...
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