Psychodynamic evaluation

Question 1

What are the three strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

• Nature/nurture
• Useful application
• Reflects complexity of human behaviour

Question 2

Explain nature/nurture?

Answer 2

Freud claims adult personality is a result of innate drivers (nature) in the form of the id and childhood experiences (nurture) in the form of psychosexual stages.

Question 3

Explain how the psychodynamic effect is useful?

Answer 3

• Childhood experiences greatly effect adult personality.
• Freud identified psychological illness can be used to explain physical symptoms like paralysis. First to use psychoanalysis to help people overcome psych logical problems.

Question 4

Reflects the complexity of human behaviour?

Answer 4

It is both reductionist and holistic

Therapies look at both symptoms and the cause.

Question 5

What are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 5

• Reductionist
• Determinist
• Cannot be proven wrong

Question 6

Reductionist?

Answer 6

Some parts of the psychodynamic approach are over simplified. For example autism was thought to be because mothers were distant from their child. It ignores genetic factors.

Question 7

Determinist?

Answer 7

As a child all your actions are due to innate forces (libido). As an adult all your actions are because of childhood experiences. This says we have no free will and all actions are predefined.