The whole evaluation of the psychodynamic approach

Question 1

Evaluation for the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

• Freud takes a ideographic approach to studying behaviours. This is evident from his case studies, where he had been studying people’s backgrounds to finds out problems for each person. Because of this, it can further give us a unique insight into people’s behaviours which further gives the psychodynamic approach increased validity
• However, Freud had taken a nomothetic approach and used a common idea and generalised this too all of the people. Due to this, behaviour is extremely complex with multiple ideas so there is no cause and effect relationship so they may not being fully replicable
• Freud’s evidence is not being considered as being very scientific due to there being a lack of evidence such as PET scans. Although, There is predictability by the psychosexual stages as it is talking about going through the psychosexual stages and fixations that are seen in some people like being aggressive. As of this, we may be more sure on a cause and effect relationship which is linked to explaining people’s behaviours.

-However, The psychodynamic approach takes an interactionist approach of deterministic vs free will . As of this, there are many ethical issues as behaviour is being controlled by the id. Free will is not predictable when it come to behaviour as of it being hard to study such as the things that we may not then choose to talk about. As of this, both of these approaches make it more complex and may lack reliability due to others choosing not to talk about certain things.