Contributions of the Psychodynamic Approach
1) Unconscious mental processes can be applied to treat psychological
disorders:
Dream analysis, free association and Freudian slips. The therapy assumes that
we use unconscious ego defence mechanisms, which must be identified in
therapy so that unconscious material can be made conscious.
X: The effectiveness of this therapy has not been demonstrated. Eysenck (1952)
found that only 66% of people recovered after psychoanalysis compared to 70%
who had not had therapy (showed spontaneous remission)
X: The theory lacks rigorous scientific support because the unconscious and
defence mechanisms are largely untestable. This is because they are
metaphysical, making the defence mechanism theory very difficult to test
empirically.
2) Unconscious mental processes have been applied to explain human
violence:
Thanatos is an instinct for self-destruction.
X: Biologically deterministic; negates the personal responsibility that humans
should take for acts of war/violence.
3) Early childhood experiences have been applied to explain criminal
behaviour:
/: Bowlby (1951) suggested that failure to develop an attachment to one’s
mother within the critical period (first 2 years) would suffer maternal
deprivation, which has long-term irreversible consequences such as delinquency
and affectionless psychopathy. He conducted a study of 44 juvenile thieves in
1944, in which 32% exhibited affectionless psychopathy (compared with none of
those in the control group), and 86% of those exhibiting affectionless
psychopathy had experienced maternal deprivation compared with 17% of the
thieves that did not demonstrate affectionless psychopathy.
X: Rutter (1981) argued that there is no cause and effect to Bowlby’s principle;
other important variables must be taken into account, such as the reason for
separation and the way the separation is handled.
X: Rutter suggested that Bowlby had confused deprivation with privation and
that the latter caused delinquency.
4) The tripartite division of personality has been applied to explain
criminal behaviour:
Blackburn (1993) proposed that 3 types of superego may lead to criminal
behaviour. For example, the weak superego occurs due to the absence of the
same-sex parent during the phallic stage of psychosexual development and
consequent lack of identification and internalisation results in the individual
having no concept of right or wrong and thus feels no guilt.
X: According to Freud, the greater fear in boys (of castration) leads to a stronger
superego in males than females – so males should be more moral, but statistics
show that males commit more crime.
X: Many people without a same-sex parent with whom they can identify grow up
to be perfectly law-abiding and refuting Freud’s claim of the weak superego.
1) Unconscious mental processes can be applied to treat psychological
disorders:
Dream analysis, free association and Freudian slips. The therapy assumes that
we use unconscious ego defence mechanisms, which must be identified in
therapy so that unconscious material can be made conscious.
X: The effectiveness of this therapy has not been demonstrated. Eysenck (1952)
found that only 66% of people recovered after psychoanalysis compared to 70%
who had not had therapy (showed spontaneous remission)
X: The theory lacks rigorous scientific support because the unconscious and
defence mechanisms are largely untestable. This is because they are
metaphysical, making the defence mechanism theory very difficult to test
empirically.
2) Unconscious mental processes have been applied to explain human
violence:
Thanatos is an instinct for self-destruction.
X: Biologically deterministic; negates the personal responsibility that humans
should take for acts of war/violence.
3) Early childhood experiences have been applied to explain criminal
behaviour:
/: Bowlby (1951) suggested that failure to develop an attachment to one’s
mother within the critical period (first 2 years) would suffer maternal
deprivation, which has long-term irreversible consequences such as delinquency
and affectionless psychopathy. He conducted a study of 44 juvenile thieves in
1944, in which 32% exhibited affectionless psychopathy (compared with none of
those in the control group), and 86% of those exhibiting affectionless
psychopathy had experienced maternal deprivation compared with 17% of the
thieves that did not demonstrate affectionless psychopathy.
X: Rutter (1981) argued that there is no cause and effect to Bowlby’s principle;
other important variables must be taken into account, such as the reason for
separation and the way the separation is handled.
X: Rutter suggested that Bowlby had confused deprivation with privation and
that the latter caused delinquency.
4) The tripartite division of personality has been applied to explain
criminal behaviour:
Blackburn (1993) proposed that 3 types of superego may lead to criminal
behaviour. For example, the weak superego occurs due to the absence of the
same-sex parent during the phallic stage of psychosexual development and
consequent lack of identification and internalisation results in the individual
having no concept of right or wrong and thus feels no guilt.
X: According to Freud, the greater fear in boys (of castration) leads to a stronger
superego in males than females – so males should be more moral, but statistics
show that males commit more crime.
X: Many people without a same-sex parent with whom they can identify grow up
to be perfectly law-abiding and refuting Freud’s claim of the weak superego.
