Critically evaluate the statement “The psychodynamic perspective offers a satisfactory explanation o
Uploaded by trillianmcmillan on Jul 30, 2002
The psychodynamic perspective was the basis on which all psychological perspectives spawned from. However, the fact that other psychological perspectives were created after (or as reactions to) the psychodynamic perspective demonstrates that it is flawed, possibly in more way than one. Although this perspective offers an explanation for many things that confound people even today, its explanations are not always satisfactory to the human mind. In the instances where its theories are satisfactory to human logic and perception, they are most often theories that are unable to be proven.
Many of the early explanations attempting to explain behavioral phenomena were based upon assumptions made by Freud. For example, Freud believed that man is not a rational being, that humans are driven by instincts and drives, that women are inferior, and that “anatomy is destiny.” He further developed these ideas into psychosexual stages of behavioral development upon these assumptions. He believed that every human being followed the same pattern as they matured, but that they only had the ability to change until they reached puberty. From this, he developed five psychosexual stages, and a list of cause and effect problems that can go wrong in them. For example, a problem occurring in the oral stage can result in people smoking later on in life. A problem in the anal stage can result in an anal retentive personality (i.e. he or she will tend to be especially clean, perfectionistic, dictatorial, very stubborn, and stingy). These problems are what he said were the cause of bizarre behaviors. However, none of these can be proved by scientific means, and many of the assumptions and the psychosexual stages are rejected in today’s society (such as the notion that women are inferior, and that people have no ability to change after a certain time in their life).
Erickson, believing in many of the same basic assumptions that Freud did, but not believing that all human behavior revolved around the issue of sex, created a psychosocial aspect within the psychodynamic perspective. He believed, like Freud, that humans went through stages in their lives, which always followed the same progression. He also believed, like Freud, that problems occurring during any of these stages, or not successfully completing a stage, would result in how that person would behave throughout life. Unlike Freud, however, Erickson’s stages begin at birth and continue throughout a person’s life. They also deal with many of the...