Psychodynamic Approach - EVALUATIONS Flashcards
Strength:P
critics claim ideas aren’t scientific - claims are not falsifiable or testable
E
however many of the claims have been supported by scientific, empirical evidence
E
E.g Fisher & Greenberg (1996) summarised 2500 of these studies - concluded the empirical evidence for psychoanalysis was comparable to that for other major approaches in psychology
L
Therefore psychoanalysis can be considered a viable approach in psychology as it is supported by empirical evidence
Strength:P
Psychoanalysis represented a huge shift & advancement in psychological thinking
E
Suggests a new method of collecting data (case studies) & it represented a move away from introspection towards the analysis of spoken material by a trained analyst
E
Led towards the growth of psychological explanations of mutual disorder, and the risk of talking therapies as new treatments. Psychoanalysis - shown to give long-term relief from symptoms - so this has been valuable
L
Therefore allowed the expansion & development of psychology - inc. new methods of treating individuals
Strength:P
Extremely comprehensive
E
As well as a method of explanation & treatment of disorder - it’s been used to understand mans aspect of human behaviour, as well as being a mock of cultural & literacy criticism
E
Giving critics a new way of gaining insight into a range of literacy texts e.g ‘the hidden themes of repression’ and oedipal conflict within ‘hamlet’
L
Therefore allows for greater comprehension of human behaviour within psychology - also allows comprehension in other disciplines such as literature
Criticism:P
Views based on observation of men - views on women were far less developed
E
Freud - ignored extent to which female sexuality differed from male sexuality - ignored about women and their sexual life
E
Led critics - Karen Horney - break away from traditional Freudian theory & found a feminist psychoanalysis. this was beneficial as so many psychoanalytic patients are female
L
Therefore big limitation of Freud’s theory is that it does not generalise well to women & arguably can therefore only be applied to men
Criticism:P
Sue & Sue (2008) argue that psychoanalysis is not relevant in non-western cultures
E
psychoanalysis believes that mental disorder - result of repressed material being ‘locked’ in the unconscious - freeing this material in ‘supportive environment - to dealing with it
E
Non-western cultures may not value insight as much e.g China & Japan - thought to be more beneficial to avoid thoughts which bring distress & people aren’t usually willing to discuss them openly
L
Therefore Freud’s theory can be criticised as it cannot be applied to all cultures
CASE STUDIES - PEEL PARAGRAPH
CASE STUDIES - PEEL PARAGRAPH
P
One limitation - takes a nomothetic approach to explaining behaviour - despite mainly using idiographic approach of investigation
E
Meaning Freud attempts to create general laws of behaviour on the basis of researched carried out with a small number of individuals
E
E.g Freud claimed all children experience the oedipus or electra complex during phallic psychosexual stage - BUT supported this theory with a case study based on one child called Little Hans
L
Therefore questionable as to how well these general laws can be applied to all individuals, when it might be that the case study was an abnormality as only one individual was studied
