unit 8 Psychological Perspectives for Health and Social Care

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P1 Explain the principal psychological perspectives

P2 Provide an explanation of the different psychological approaches to health care practice

P3 Provide an explanation of the different psychological approaches to social care practice

M1 assess different psychological approaches to study

M2 compare two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision.

D1 evaluate two psychological approaches to health and Social care service provision.

p1 In this assignment I will explain the principle psychology perspective.

unit 8 psychological perspectives for health and social care

in this assignment I will explain the principal psychological perspectives.

The main psychological perspective

An approach is a perspective that involves certain assumptions about human behaviour, the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for undertaking this study. There may be several different theories within an approach but they all share these common assumptions. Sometimes people wonder why there are so many different psychology perspectives and whether one approach is correct and others wrong. Most psychologists would agree that no one perspective is correct, although in the past in the early days of psychology, the behaviourist would have said their perspective was the only true scientific one.

The psychological perspective is the result of a synthesis of cognitive and behavioral psychology theories. In this tradition of research, three strategies are clear: (1) the adoption of attitude change as the most interesting dependent variable, (2) the modeling of communication (i.e., persuasion) as a special case of behavioral learning theory, and (3) the reliance on experimental social psychology for conceptual and methodological research strategies. The basic communication model proposed by Hovland and Janis (1959) conceived of the communication situation in terms of message content, source identity, type of channel, and setting operating through predispositional factors (situational elements that determine what audience members attend to and how) and internal mediating processes (attention, comprehension, and acceptance) in order to produce observable communication effects (changes in opinion, perception, affect, and action). The challenge of a message was to gain the receiver’s interest, then produce the intended effect with understandable and memorable content. The receiver’s interest, of course, could be affected by external qualities of the subject of communication or sender, as well as internal interests, beliefs, and cognitive processing capacities (Andersen, 1972). Thus, the model retained the linear notion of technical communication theories but adopted a strong emphasis on the effects component of the communication process.

Main psychological perspectives are:

• Behaviourist approach
• Social learning theory
• Psychodynamic perspective
• Biological approaches
• Humanist approach

The behaviourist approach

Behaviourism is an approach to psychology that emerged in the early 20th century as a reaction to the psychoanalytic theory of the time. Psychoanalytic theory often had difficulty making predictions that could be tested using rigorous experimental methods. The behaviourist school of thought maintains that behaviours can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as thoughts and beliefs. Rather than focusing on underlying conflicts, behaviourism focuses on observable, overt behaviours that are learned from the environment.

Its application to the treatment of mental problems is known as behaviour modification. Learning is seen as behaviour change moulded by experience; it is accomplished largely through either classical or operant conditioning.

In the second half of the 20th century, behaviourism was expanded through advances in cognitive theories. While behaviourism and cognitive schools of psychological thought may not agree theoretically, they have complemented each other in practical therapeutic applications like cognitive-behavioural therapy, which has been used widely in the treatment of many different mental disorders, such as phobias, and addiction. Some behaviour therapies employ Skinner’s theories of operant conditioning: by not reinforcing certain behaviours, these behaviours can be extinguished.

Skinner’s radical behaviourism advanced a “triple contingency” model, which explored the links between the environment, behaviour, and the mind. This later gave rise to applied behaviour analysis (ABA), in which operant conditioning techniques are used to reinforce positive behaviours and punish unwanted behaviours.

This approach to treatment has been an effective tool to help children on the autism spectrum, however, it is considered controversial by many who see it as attempting to change or normalise autistic behaviours.

Social learning theory

In social learning theory Albert Bandura (1977) states behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning. Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. Individuals that are observed are called models. In society, children are surrounded by many influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within their peer group and teachers at school. Children pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode their behaviour.  At a later time they may imitate the behaviour they have observed.

They may do this regardless of whether the behaviour is ‘gender appropriate’ or not, but there are a number of processes that make it more likely that a child will reproduce the behaviour that its society deems appropriate for its sex. First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself. Consequently, it is more likely to imitate behaviour modelled by people of the same sex. Second, the people around the child will respond to the behaviour it imitates with either reinforcement or punishment.  If a child imitates a model’s behaviour and the consequences are rewarding, the child is likely to continue performing the behaviour.  If parent sees a little girl consoling her teddy bear and says “what a kind girl you are”, this is rewarding for the child and makes it more likely that she will repeat the behaviour.  Her behaviour has been reinforced. Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative.  If a child wants approval from parents or peers, this approval is an external reinforcement, but feeling happy about being approved of is an internal reinforcement.  A child will behave in a way which it believes will earn approval because it desires approval.  Positive (or negative) reinforcement will have little impact if the reinforcement offered externally does not match with an individual’s needs.  Reinforcement can be positive or negative, but the important factor is that it will usually lead to a change in a person’s behaviour. Third, the child will also take into account of what happens to other people when deciding whether or not to copy someone’s actions.  This is known as vicarious reinforcement. This relates to attachment to specific models that possess qualities seen as rewarding. Children will have a number of models with whom they identify. These may be people in their immediate world, such as parents or older siblings, or could be fantasy characters or people in the media. The motivation to identify with a particular model is that they have a quality which the individual would like to possess.

Psychodynamic perspective

In psychology, a psychodynamic theory is a view that explains personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces, such as unconscious desires and beliefs. In the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud proposed a psychodynamic theory according to which personality consists of the id (responsible for instincts and pleasure-seeking), the superego (which attempts to obey the rules of parents and society), and the ego (which mediates between them according to the demands of reality). Psychodynamic theories commonly hold that childhood experiences shape personality. Such theories are associated with psychoanalysis, a type of therapy that attempts to reveal unconscious thoughts and desires. Not all psychologists accept psychodynamic theories, and critics claim the theories lack supporting scientific data. Other theories of personality include behavioural and humanist theories.

In deliberate contrast to behavioural psychology, psychodynamic psychology ignores the trappings of science and instead focuses on trying to get ‘inside the head‘ of individuals in order to make sense of their relationships, experiences and how they see the world. The psychodynamic approach includes all the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within the person, particularly unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality. Our behaviour and feelings as adults (including psychological problems) are rooted in our childhood experiences.

All behaviour has a cause (usually unconscious), even slips of the tongue. Therefore all behaviour is determined. Personality is made up of three parts, the id, ego and super-ego. Behaviour is motivated by two instinctual drives: Eros (the sex drive & life instinct) and Thanatos (the aggressive drive & death instinct). Both these drives come from the “id”. Parts of the unconscious mind are in constant conflict with the conscious part of the mind (the ego). This conflict creates anxiety, which could be dealt with by the ego’s use of defence mechanisms. Personality is shaped as the drives are modified by different conflicts at different times in childhood.

Biological approach

The biological approach believes us to be as a consequence of our genetics and physiology. It is the only approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviours from a biological and thus physical point of view. Therefore, all that is psychological is first physiological. All thoughts, feeling & behaviour ultimately have a biological cause. A biological perspective is relevant to the study of psychology in three ways:

1. Comparative method: different species of animal can be studied and compared. This can help in the search to understand human behaviour.
2. Physiology: how the nervous system and hormones work, how the brain functions, how changes in structure and/or function can affect behaviour. For example, we could ask how prescribed drugs to treat depression affect behaviour through their interaction with the nervous system.
3. Investigation of inheritance: what an animal inherits from its parents, mechanisms of inheritance (genetics). For example, we might want to know whether high intelligence is inherited from one generation to the next.

Each of these biological aspects, the comparative, the physiological and the genetic, can help explain human behaviour.

Twin studies provide geneticists with a kind of natural experiment in which the behavioural likeness of identical twins can be compared with the resemblance of dizygotic twins (whose genetic relatedness is 0.5). In other words, if heredity affects a given trait or behaviour, then identical twins should show a greater similarity for that trait compared to fraternal twins. Research using twin studies looks for the degree of concordance (or similarity) between identical and fraternal (i.e. non-identical) twins. Twins are concordant for a trait if both or neither of the twins exhibits the trait. Twins are said to be disconcordant for a trait if one shows it and the other does not. identical twins have the same genetic make-up, and fraternal twins have just 50 per cent of genes in common. Thus, if concordance rates (which can range from 0 to 100) are significantly higher for identical twins than for fraternal twins, then this is evidence that genetics play an important role in the expression of that particular behaviour.

Humanistic approach

Humanistic psychology, also often referred to as humanism, emerged during the 1950s as a reaction to the psychoanalysis and behaviourism that dominated psychology at the time. Psychoanalysis was focused on understanding the unconscious motivations that drive behaviour while behaviourism studied the conditioning processes that produce behaviour. Humanist thinkers felt that both psychoanalysis and behaviourism were too pessimistic, either focusing on the most tragic of emotions or failing to take into account the role of personal choice.

Humanistic psychology was instead focused on each individual’s potential and stressed the importance of growth and self-actualization. During the late 1950s, Abraham Maslow and other psychologists held meetings to discuss the development of a professional organization devoted to a more humanist approach to psychology. They agreed that topics such as self-actualization, creativity, and individuality, and related topics were the central themes of this new approach. In 1961, they officially established the American Association for Humanistic Psychology. The fundamental belief of humanistic psychology is that people are innately good and that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency.

Humanism also suggests that people possess personal agency and that they are motivated to use this free will to pursue things that will help them achieve their full potential as human beings. This need for fulfilment and personal growth is a key motivator of all behaviour. People are continually looking for new ways to grow, to become better, to learn new things, and to experience psychological growth and self-actualization. The humanist movement had an enormous influence on the course of psychology and contributed new ways of thinking about mental health. It offered a new approach to understand human behaviours and motivations and led to the development of new techniques and approaches to psychotherapy. Some of the major ideas and concepts that emerged as a result of the humanist movement include an emphasis on things such as:

• Self-concept
• Hierarchy of needs

M1 assess different psychological approaches to study

In this assignment I will be discussing the strengths and weakness of each psychological perspective.

Strengths and weaknesses of the behaviourist approach

The strengths of the behaviourist approach are that behaviourism is based upon observable behaviours, so it is easier to quantify and collect data and information when conducting research. Since research and experiment is a very powerful tool in providing explanations and clear evidences about a certain phenomenon, early theorists and proponents of behaviourism took pride in initiating the studies of observable behaviours rather than those that cannot be observed and measured.

Effective therapeutic techniques such as intensive behavioral intervention, behavior analysis, token economies and discrete trial training are all rooted in behaviorism. These approaches are often very useful in changing maladaptive or harmful behaviors in both children and adults. Much has been said about the values of reinforcements like rewards, punishments, Premack principle and others when it comes to facilitating learning. In conclusion, when these techniques are properly used and considered, it will aid in learning things. Otherwise, it will be counter-productive.

Another strength of the approach is that it is scientific, for example, Pavlov’s work was used to create objective and therefore scientific approach to psychology. The approach aims to study behaviour that is observable and directly measurable. This is done because thoughts and opinions are operationalised, so that it is possible to analyse and compare behaviours.

The weaknesses of the behaviourist approach are that there is much emphasis on nurture as it focuses on how the environment affects and shapes behaviour. This means that the role of nature is ignored, as behaviourists usually ignore that genetic-make up could have an impact on the way in which we behave. Many internal factors govern behaviour; one example of this is the role of motivation and emotion are not taken into account in the behaviourist approach.

The behaviourist approach has had many successful applications in the real work (particularly in the treatment of mental disorders). Pavlov’s work into Classical condition has been applied to aversion therapy in order to help those with addictions. It has also contributed to systematic desensitisation to help people who suffer from phobias.

Although this approach has been deemed as overly deterministic, as it suggests behaviours are learnt through associations made with environmental stimuli and/or the response that we get (reinforcement). This view states that the environment controls our behaviour and that it’s not our conscious thought and processes that governs behaviour.

Many critics argue that behaviourism is a one-dimensional approach to understanding human behaviour and that behavioural theories do not account for free will and internal influences such as moods, thoughts and feelings. As my professor told us, behaviourism tends to be “superficial” or shallow in explaining behaviour and learning. It only considers what is observable and measurable, well in fact there are various unseen aspects of an individual that are very vital in his or her personalities and learning capabilities.

Strengths and weaknesses of the social learning theory

The social learning theory has many strengths but one of its key strengths is the fact that Bandura verified the first concept. His findings were that children do copy aggression; this was confirmed in his case study of 1961. This study revolved around vicarious reinforcement as he would have a child watch an adult bash and play aggressively with the Bobo Doll/inflatable doll. Afterwards the child would also repeat the same thing he/she had been shown as long as the role model was not punished for his/her actions.

Another strength of the Social Learning Theory was that many acts of aggression or tragedies (e.g. School shootings, murders, homicide, suicide etc…) were linked to violent and gruesome television shows (Most Shocking, Burn Notice, Castle, CSI NY etc…) and video games (e.g. Call of Duty 1-8, Grand Theft Auto 1-5, Ninja Gained Sigma, Demon Souls etc…). This links back to all three concepts of the theory. Because the first concept states that it is learnt from watching others in other words violent acts can be learnt from these video games and T.V shows. The second concept states that it an internal mental state, in other words it’s at the back of our mind but we never really consciously think about it. So we may pick up some things from T.V shows and video games but may never actually think about it until something is triggered. Lastly the third concept states that the persons’ behaviour is not changed even if something new is learnt. This may be a common trait between all tragedies that happen in school as most people that commit a crime still act the same way the night before.

Another one of the great strengths of SLT is that it combines several important models of learning. It is clearly behaviourist in that it advocates that children are motivated to imitate behaviour if that behaviour is seen as resulting in praise or some other kind of reward. It is cognitive in that this learning process goes from imitation to mastery–a point is reached where the model is no longer necessary, and the child can then go her own way. Using certain insights from these other general models makes SLT attractive as a educational theory.

Although the Social Learning Theory also has several weaknesses, one of these weaknesses is that it cannot explain why some children watch these violent T.V shows and play these games yet they never copy it. This is one weakness as many people today are exposed to all sorts of violence yet there isn’t a problem of mass terrorism everywhere around the globe each day. One other problem is that there are some people or children who are naturally aggressive even if they play violent games or watch gruesome T.V shows. This clearly defies the concepts of Social Learning Theory as it states that violence or any other behaviour can only be learnt through either experience or watching another person experiences it.

Another weakness of this theory is that it does not stress the child’s actual cognitive development. While there are some cognitive insights in SLT, this is not stressed. A child is seen as a sponge, absorbing information through modelling. The actual child’s contribution to how such models are absorbed, processed and worked out through time is not present to any great extent in the theory. Modelling is a theory based on imitation via observation. It does not stress what happens later–innovation. While the initial blueprint for activity is seen in the model (the expert who is observed) can easily be visualised, there seems to be no model for innovation. Innovation is too abstract to be modelled.

Strengths and weaknesses of the psychodynamic perspective

The strength of the psychodynamic approach is that they focused on the effects that childhood experiences have on the developing personality. This is strength because Freud was the first psychologist to realise the importance of childhood. It also led to other psychologists including Piaget developing theories on childhood. An example of this is the Little Hans case study. Hans had a fear of castration which led to him having a phobia of horses. Another strength is that it takes both nature and nurture into account. This is strength because it emphasises the importance of both. An example of this is that Freud’s assumption of childhood experiences focused on nurture whereas the ID, Ego and Super-ego focused on nature.

A strength of the Psychodynamic Approach is that it is the first approach to try and attempt to explain mental illness in psychological terms and has had an enormous influence on the understand and treatment of mental disorders.

One of the weaknesses of the Psychodynamic Approach is that most of Freud’s is based on findings of case studies, single individual where cases are often unique and there are problems with generalization.

Another weakness of the Psychodynamic Approach is that Freud did not take into account cultural variations. Most of his research was done on white, middle class people. Every class and culture of people have differ ways and values, so his findings cannot be generalized to all cultures.

Another weakness of the psychodynamic approach which I found out is that it is unfalsifiable. This is a weakness because the assumptions cannot be scientifically measured or proved wrong. An example of this is the idea of the mind being split into three parts. It is also deterministic. This is a weakness because it suggests that behaviour is pre-determined and people do not have free will. An example of this is the psychosexual stages.

Strengths and weaknesses of the biological approaches

One of the strength of the biological approach is that it is very scientific. This is strength because the experiments used are measurable, objective and can be repeated to test for reliability. Also, the researcher has more control over the variables which is evident in Selye’s study of rats which led to him developing the theory of General Adaptation Syndrome. Another strength of the biological approach is that it is deterministic. This is a strength because it increases the likelihood of being able to treat people with abnormal behaviour and provides explanations about the causes of behaviour. This understanding can then be used to improve people’s lives.

Another great strength of the approach is that it has made a positive contribution to the understanding of human behaviours and disorders. This is a strength because it means society has benefited in that those with psychological disorders can be diagnosed more easily and treated more effectively. This means a higher quality of life can be given to those with psychological disorders. For example, a strong link between lower levels of serotonin and the occurrence of reactive unipolar depression. It is supported by the effective use of Prozac, an antidepressant that encourages the production of serotonin. As a result, the symptoms of depression were reported to be reduced. Therefore, this is known as strength because it helps the sufferers of depression alleviate their symptoms and lead a happier life.

One weakness of the biological approach is that it focuses too much on the ‘nature’ side of the nature/nurture debate. It argues that behaviour is caused by hormones, neurotransmitters and genetics. One theory is that schizophrenia is genetic; however, twin studies show that it is not completely genetic and the environment has a part to play.

One weakness of the biological approach is that it is nomothetic. This is a weakness because it develops theories about disorders and generalises them to apply to everyone. It does not take into account the view that humans are unique. An example of this is that General Adaptation Syndrome assumes that everyone responds in the same way to stress but does not take into account that some people have more support than others.

The other weakness of this approach is also reductionist as our behaviour is explained by physical things and there is no room to study the impact of the environment on our behaviour. For example, if a patient lost his wife and mother within a week of each other and became depressed, this approach would deal with the depression without looking at the context (more than likely with drugs). It could be argued that the depression is the symptom and that therefore the individual needs counselling and a support network, rather than drugs.

Not all treatments are as scientific, for example, there is no certainty how electric charge treatment (ETC) works, and several drugs have become available first as a treatment for something else before people notice that it helps mental illnesses. The fact that a drug works on one patient, and not on the next, means that the approach is far from being conclusive. Some of these drugs have very bad side effects, which can lead to further problems such as addiction or dependency. It’s reductionist, because it ignores the other approached. It ignores the role of environmental factors and those such as experiences and feelings. Cause & effect can’t always be determined, e.g. does a disorder cause higher levels or a neurotransmitter, or do high levels of a neurotransmitter cause a disorder?.

The use made of animals in experiments is concerning, both scientifically and ethically. Scientifically because a number of Psychologists argue that there are vast differences between people and animals (e.g. use of language and social complexity). Ethically because the experiments often result in the death of the animal as the brain, or the effect of a chemical or something similar is being studied. There is also the issue of the greater the animal is like people (better scientifically), the greater the problem that occurs during experimentation (worse ethically).

This approach has little room for free will due to the belief that our behaviour is determined by our physical features such as chemicals in our bodies and genes. Therefore, people are regarded as robots that live their lives through a programme which is written in their genes.

The biological approach exaggerates the importance of genetic factors in determining behaviour while minimising the importance of environmental factors.

Biological explanations are more appropriate for some kinds of behaviour (such as vision) than other kinds where higher-order thinking is involved (e.g., emotion; reasoning). However, even vision involves some higher-order mental activity. Therefore, biological explanations on their own are usually inadequate.

Researchers within the biological approach use several different methods. Some researchers use physiological measures to increase our understanding of human behaviour.

Strengths and weaknesses of the humanistic approaches

One of the major strengths attributed to Humanistic theory is the idea that the subject is fully accountable and in control of their actions. This is in stark contrast to the notions behind psychoanalysis. Leading from this assumption is the notion that humanistic theories promote the idea of being human, self-fulfilment and realistic and observable goals that can be obtained. A final strength to Humanistic theory is the idea that from a clinical perspective it offers an open space in which a patent can express any feeling of thought without being led down a path to revisit traumatic events which they may not feel comfortable discussing.

Like every theory, some people find the humanistic approach to be valid while others see it for the numerous inherent flaws. Some of the strengths of this theory include the focus on both the positive nature of humankind and the free will associated with change.  Unlike Freud’s theory and the biological approach, which focus on determinism or our lack of power over ourselves, Maslow and others see the individual as very powerful.

A second positive aspect of humanistic theory is the ease in which many of its aspects fit well with other approaches. Many therapists have adopted a humanistic undertone in their work with clients.  While they may argue humanistic theory does not go far enough, they see the benefit of the core components in helping people change.

Finally, most have seen the benefits of humanism carry over into different professions. If you take a health class, you are likely to discuss Maslow’s hierarchy.  If you study economic or business, you will also focus on moving upward in our lives in order to be more aware of who we are and where we fit in with the world.  The same holds true with other professions, including literature, criminology, and history, among others, as the basics of humanistic thought strike an undertone in all of what is considered human.

One of the major weaknesses with Humanistic theories is lack of empirical evidence to support its claims. Academics such as Maslow have been widely criticized in this respect in terms of an absence of scientific empirical evidence. A further and related criticism of Humanistic theories is their inability and unsuitability to be used within a metaphysical arena. While Freud and contemporary Freudians managed to move towards ethics and morality through the same criticism of lack of empirical evidence, Humanistic theories have yet to encroach on the metaphysical subject area. A final criticism of Humanistic theories is that many professionals view this discipline as motivated by the cold realities of psychoanalysis and is a discipline which is based on the resistance of the unconscious; furthermore the discipline has seemed to be in decline in recent history.

With the good, always comes the bad, and this theory is no different. The biggest weakness of humanistic thought appears to centre around its lack of concrete treatment approaches aimed at specific issues.  With the basic concept behind the theory being free will, it is difficult to both develop a treatment technique and study the effectiveness of this technique.

Secondly, there are those who believe humanistic theory falls short in its ability to help those with more sever personality or mental health pathology. While it may show positive benefits for a minor issue, using the approach of Roger’s to treat schizophrenia would seem ludicrous. Finally, humanistic theory makes some generalizations about human nature that are not widely accepted as complete.

Are people basically good or are their some individuals who are not capable of this? Can we adequately argue that everyone follows the same levels as Maslow explained, or are these levels, and even what they stand for, be determined by the individual?  Why do some people seem to make negative choices even when positive solutions are staring them in the face?  These questions plague humanistic thought and the difficulty in researching the theory does not provide any freedom.

Despite these problems, humanistic theory has been incorporated into many differing views on psychotherapy and human change. Many argue now that a humanistic undertone in treatment provides a nice foundation for change.  While it may not be sufficient, it may still be necessary for a significant personality change to occur.

Conclusion

p2 Explain different psychological approaches to health and social care practice

I did explained the two different physiological perspective to study.

In this assignment explain different psychological approaches to social care practice and explanation of the different psychological approaches to health care practice

The behaviourist approach

The main assumptions of the behaviourist approach are that:

-All our behaviour consists of responses to stimuli.

-Our behaviour is learned from our environment

-Our behaviour is determined by reinforcement (positive or negative) of the things we do

-Psychology should only focus on observable behaviour rather than the mind (which cannot be directly observed or studied)

-Animals and humans learn I similar ways, therefore, it is appropriate to generalise animal findings to humans.

The behaviourist approach states that all our behaviour is determined and shaped by the environment. If a behaviour has a positive consequence, it is likely to be repeated. If it has a negative consequence, it is unlikely to be repeated.

Historically, the most significant distinction between versions of behaviorism is that between Watson’s original classical behaviorism, and forms of behaviorism later inspired by his work, known collectively as neobehaviorism.

Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist’s total scheme of investigation.

How it is used in a health and social care setting

The behaviorist perspective consists of two components of the conditioning theory- classical conditioning; which claims behaviour is learnt as a result of association. Frequent alcohol consumption would consequently be performed, as individuals would associate positive aspects of their life with alcohol, thus they would continue the consumption. Such associations could be made with laughter and enjoyment, despite the fact that this may not be directly as a conclusion on the alcohol intake; maybe the atmosphere in which alcohol is consumed. An additional association may be having greater confidence when intoxicated and for adolescents having a sense of maturity and operant conditioning, which explains behaviour in terms of reinforcement. For instance, if an adolescent had an alcoholic beverage, and consequently is more socially accepted by his/her peer group, then this may positively reinforce the adolescent to consume alcohol on a differing occasion. Additionally, a positive reinforcer could possibly be having good time when consuming alcohol, and so desiring to endure this on a additional instances.

The behaviourist approach is used in a health and social care setting to do similar things as the health care services. The main aim of this is to change and shape the individual’s behaviour to understand that there is a way in overcoming the difficult behaviour. Within a health and social care setting like a school for behavioural problems with the operant conditioning of the behaviourist approach can be used. As when the child behaves they can be resulted with a reward, therefore they will be conditioned to behaving in a certain manner.

The behaviourism approach is based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment. Rules and regulations are placed in education systems to allow the children a standard outline of a basic routine. The school routine can also be considered as being a classical conditioning. As the child is conditioned, as the school routine is imprinted in them and what is required of them during a school day.

The social learning theory

One of the most influential learning theories, the Social Learning Theory was formulated by Albert Bandura. However, the theory strongly implies that there are types of learning wherein direct reinforcement is not the casual mechanism, rather, the so called social element can result to the development of new learning among individuals. Social Learning Theory has been useful in explaining how people can learn new things and develop new behaviors by observing other people. It is to assume, therefore, that Social Learning Theory is concerned on observational learning process among people.

Observational learning – The Social Learning Theory says that people can learn by watching other people perform the behavior. Observational learning explains the nature of children to learn behaviors by watching the behavior of the people around them. Bandura included an adult who is tasked to act aggressively toward a Bobo Doll while the children observe him.

After his studies, Bandura was able to determine 3 basic models of observational learning, which include:

• A live model, which includes an actual person performing a behaviour.
• A verbal instruction model, which involves telling of details and descriptions of a behaviour
• A symbolic model, which includes either a real of fictional character demonstrating the behaviour via movies, books,television,radio,online media and other media sources

How is it used in a health and social care setting

The social learning theory, a system of learning most commonly associated with behaviourist Albert Bandura, is most commonly applied in educational settings. People can also apply this theory, which argues that people learn from each other through observation and socialisation, to their small business. Through the use of this theory, people may be able to effectively guide employee behaviour and promote the business-building behaviours that the workers must adapt to make their small business a successful one.

There are 4 steps which every workforce have to follow in a working environment. These are:

Step 1

Model behaviour for employees – The first step in teaching a behavior in the social learning theory is modeling that behavior. Instead of simply telling employees what they want them to do, leaders should physically model the behavior, acting out the process they hope those under them will follow. By seeing the behavior modeled, employees can develop a more defined understanding of what the behavior entails and experience more success in carrying out the behavior in question.

Step 2

Encourage the employees to imitate your behaviors – After modeling, leaders should verbally encourage behavior imitation. They can do this in two ways. First, they can directly tell the employee that they want him to do as he saw modeled. Secondly, they can reward employees who follow the modeled behavior in a public fashion, allowing other workers to see that this behavior is the one that they want all workers to adopt.

Step 3

Observe the employee as they carry out their behaviour – Leaders should keep a continual eye on workers, making sure that they are following the procedures they modeled. If the employees are found not to be following these procedures, the leader should step in and correct the employee’s behavior, encouraging him to adapt his behavior.

Step 4

Establish consequences for behaviour deviation – When employees fail to follow the behaviors that the leaders are trying to endorse, there must be consequences for doing so. These consequences may involve simple verbal correction or be as severe as formal sanctions.

The psychodynamic perspective

The term psychodynamic perspective refers to the theories and therapies developed by Sigmund Freud and supported by his followers. In addition to Freud, others who researched and practiced the psychodynamic approach, based on Freudian principles, include Adler, Erikson, and Jung.

The basis of the psychodynamic perspective is to understand what is going on in the mind of an individual or ‘’to get in the head’’ of a patient to see what is going on in the unconscious part of the mind. This will provide insight into how the patient views his relationships, experiences and the world and how that affects their preferences, behaviors and drives and therefore personality.

Some examples of assumptions that drive the psychodynamic approach are:

• The unconscious is one of the most powerful affects on behavior and emotion.
• No behavior is without cause and is therefore determined.
• Childhood experiences greatly affect emotions and behavior as adults
• The id, ego and super-ego make up personality
• The drives behind behavior are a) the lift instinct and sex drive and b) death instinct and aggressive drive.
• Various conflicts throughout childhood development shape overall personality

The psychodynamic perspective asserts that in childhood certain incidents may occur that produce behaviors in adulthood. As children, defense mechanisms are utilized, then as adults behaviors manifest as a result.

How is it used in a health and social care setting

The unconscious mind

The unconscious mind is part of the brain that stores represses memories that have been forgotten or stored away so that they are not brought to the surface to be remembered as they may be unpleasant.

Freud believed that the unconscious mind is very important as it determines someone’s behaviour. This is called the dynamic unconscious. Behaviour is changed through the unconscious mind because when a bad memory has been stored away and not resurfaced because of the pain it entails it makes someone unconsciously, for example more anxious, erratic and possible scared of certain situations. The unconscious mind has been restricted to potentially harmful memories that might be stored or stirring their bad memories of bad experiences that influence our conscious behaviour even though we are unaware of their impact. Because of this, behaviour is different and changed in someone and the unconscious mind is unaware of it which in conclusion makes the person unable to change their behaviour.

Early experiences

Early experiences in a person’s life are incredibly important for their behavior and lifestyle in future life.

According to Freud, much of a child’s personality is completely established by the age of five. If this is indeed the case, those who have experienced deprived or abusive childhoods might never adjust or develop normally.’

Therefore the experiences children have before there five can often determine how they develop through childhood into adulthood.

However everyone is different and can learn to change their life if they have come from a deprived background to ensure a greater future for themselves and their family. However with other people that have experienced bad early experiences then they can often not recover

The biological approaches

Psychologists from the biological approach assume that behaviour and experiences are caused by activity in the nervous system of the body. The things that people think and feel, say and do are caused, one way or another by electrochemical events occurring within and between the neurones that make up their nervous system, particular those in the brain. Many bio psychologists also agree that because the development of the brain is determined by the genes a person inherits, that behaviour may be influenced by genetic factors. Furthermore, because the genes we inherit are the result of evolution, many bio psychologists think that behavioural and psychological characteristics may have evolutionary explanations.

Biological psychologists explain behaviour by trying to relate it to the functioning of the brain and nervous system. The brain can be subdivided into many different areas and structures. Bio psychological explanations often focus on which brain areas are responsible for which types of thinking or behaviour and how they connect with other functions and brain areas. For example, bio psychologists believe that language in humans is governed by two areas of the cerebral cortex,Broca’s area which controls the production of speech and Wernick’s area which controls the comprehension of speech. These ‘speech centres’ are connected to a variety of other brain areas including those involved in thinking and in auditory working memory.

Other bio psychologists focus more on the role of genetic influences in particular types of behaviour. For example, it is widely believed by bio psychologists that schizophrenia, a psychological disorder involving a range of symptoms including hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking and speech, is at least partly the result of inheriting a faulty gene or genes. These genes are thought to influence the development of the nervous system, making it vulnerable to malfunctioning in certain ways that produce the symptoms of the disorder.

How is it used in a health and social care setting

Development norms

Gesell developed an assessment scale to enable judgments to be made about whether a child’s behaviour and understanding matches that of their chronological age (how old the child is). This scale enables the child’s scores to be compared against their scores at an earlier age to determine whether development is proceeding satisfactorily. It also enables a skilled and trained assessor to identify developmental problems that may emerge for an individual, thus allowing for early and appropriate intervention. There are three overlapping points at which development can be measured

• Between 2 and a half years up to age 6
• Between 4 and 6 years old
• Between 6 and 9 years old

At each age there is a variety of tests which assess different aspects of development. One test administered at around the age of 4 consists of comprehension questions

Understanding genetic predisposition to certain illnesses

While it is far from easy to determine the extent to which genetic inheritance influences behaviour, there is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that genes have a role in behaviour. One example is infantile autism, a rare (but seemingly increasing) disorder which affects about one child in 2000. While there are psychological explanations for autism (for example, see Bruno Bettleheim, 1967) these have not been satisfactorily investigated and research on the contribution of genetic influences in this disorder is more convincing. The disorder of schizophrenia similarly shows a genetic link, though not as strong as in autism. For monozygotic twins there has been found to be a 50 per cent concordance rate, while this is only 15 per cent for dizygotic twins. or move on from what they had to deal with in their childhood.

The biological approaches

Psychologists from the biological approach assume that behaviour and experiences are caused by activity in the nervous system of the body. The things that people think and feel, say and do are caused, one way or another by electrochemical events occurring within and between the neurones that make up their nervous system, particular those in the brain. Many bio psychologists also agree that because the development of the brain is determined by the genes a person inherits, that behaviour may be influenced by genetic factors. Furthermore, because the genes we inherit are the result of evolution, many bio psychologists think that behavioural and psychological characteristics may have evolutionary explanations.

Biological psychologists explain behaviour by trying to relate it to the functioning of the brain and nervous system. The brain can be subdivided into many different areas and structures. Bio psychological explanations often focus on which brain areas are responsible for which types of thinking or behaviour and how they connect with other functions and brain areas. For example, bio psychologists believe that language in humans is governed by two areas of the cerebral cortex,Broca’s area which controls the production of speech and Wernick’s area which controls the comprehension of speech. These ‘speech centres’ are connected to a variety of other brain areas including those involved in thinking and in auditory working memory.

Other bio psychologists focus more on the role of genetic influences in particular types of behaviour. For example, it is widely believed by bio psychologists that schizophrenia, a psychological disorder involving a range of symptoms including hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking and speech, is at least partly the result of inheriting a faulty gene or genes. These genes are thought to influence the development of the nervous system, making it vulnerable to malfunctioning in certain ways that produce the symptoms of the disorder.

How is it used in a health and social care setting

Development norms

Gesell developed an assessment scale to enable judgments to be made about whether a child’s behaviour and understanding matches that of their chronological age (how old the child is). This scale enables the child’s scores to be compared against their scores at an earlier age to determine whether development is proceeding satisfactorily. It also enables a skilled and trained assessor to identify developmental problems that may emerge for an individual, thus allowing for early and appropriate intervention. There are three overlapping points at which development can be measured

• Between 2 and a half years up to age 6
• Between 4 and 6 years old
• Between 6 and 9 years old

At each age there is a variety of tests which assess different aspects of development. One test administered at around the age of 4 consists of comprehension questions

Understanding genetic predisposition to certain illnesses

While it is far from easy to determine the extent to which genetic inheritance influences behaviour, there is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that genes have a role in behaviour. One example is infantile autism, a rare (but seemingly increasing) disorder which affects about one child in 2000. While there are psychological explanations for autism (for example, see Bruno Bettleheim, 1967) these have not been satisfactorily investigated and research on the contribution of genetic influences in this disorder is more convincing. The disorder of schizophrenia similarly shows a genetic link, though not as strong as in autism. For monozygotic twins there has been found to be a 50 per cent concordance rate, while this is only 15 per cent for dizygotic twins.

The humanistic approach

The humanistic perspective is an approach to psychology that emphasizes empathy and stresses the good in human behavior. In politics and social theory, this approach calls for human rights and equality. In counseling and therapy, this approach allows an psychologist to focus on ways to help improve an individual’s self-image or self-actualization – the things that make them feel worthwhile.

Humanistic psychologists start from the assumption that every person has their own unique way of perceiving and understanding the world and that the things they do only make sense in this light. Consequently, the kinds of questions they ask about people differ from those asked by

psychologists from other approaches. Whereas other approaches take an objective view of people, in essence asking about them, ‘what is this person like?’ humanistic psychologists’ priority is understanding people’s subjectivity, asking ‘what is it like to be this person?’ As a result, they

reject the objective scientific method as a way of studying people. Humanistic psychologists explicitly endorse the idea that people have free will and are capable of choosing their own actions (although they may not always realize this). They also take the view that all people have a tendency towards growth and the fulfillment of their potential. Much of their research has focused on how people can be helped to fulfill their potential and lead more contented lives.

Humanistic psychologists favour research methods that will allow them to understand other people’s subjectivity. Consequently, they avoid methods that study people objectively, including experimentation and non-participant observation. They generally think that reducing people’s

experience to numbers robs it of its richness and meaning, so they also avoid quantitative approaches. Therefore, qualitative methods are preferred, particularly unstructured interviewing as it allows access to other people’s views and experiences without imposing on them the

researcher’s ideas about what is important. Where observation is used it is likely to be participant observation, with the researcher taking part in what they are studying in order to understand how the participants perceive it.

How is it used in a health and social care setting

Humanism, the ideology that sparked the Renaissance, places a high value on human beings, human culture and the human experience.

Today, humanism in health care reminds us that illness and recovery, living and dying, are an integral part of the whole human experience. Every person throughout the health system – caregiver and patient alike – is first and foremost a human being.

Humanistic health professionals care about their patients as much as they care for them. They understand that compassion can be a powerful catalyst for healing. Humanism in healthcare recalls us to ourselves as human beings and members of society. It is a great privilege – and a great responsibility. This means that, to succeed in this field, you need more than keen skills, a sharp mind and a steady hand. The best health professionals have heart, not just brains. They have “the human touch.”

Today’s health professions schools are looking for well-rounded, firmly grounded and genuinely humane individuals. They want a diverse student body, as varied as the patients they will serve, who know how to listen to, respect and care about other people. They are seeking applicants with a calling to the health care field, who will make a commitment to helping the underserved.

What health professions schools are striving to do is build a strong and vibrant workforce – filled with dedicated health professionals who are able to put the care in health care.

The health professions can pay high salaries, and there’s nothing wrong with considering compensation levels when you’re exploring the career of your dreams. However, the best health professionals are those who understand that it is not just about the money, that there are intangible as well as tangible rewards in working in health care. At its core, health care is about helping people in need. If health care professionals don’t place a high personal value on helping others, this may not be the field for them. The essence of health care is human service.

M2 compare two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision.

In this assignment I will be comparing two different psychological approaches to health and social care provision.

How the behaviourist approach is compared to health and social care

The behaviourist perspective consists of two components of the conditioning theory- classical conditioning; which claims behaviour is learnt as a result of association. Frequent alcohol consumption would consequently be performed, as individuals would associate positive aspects of their life with alcohol, thus they would continue the consumption. Such associations could be made with laughter and enjoyment, despite the fact that this may not be directly as a conclusion on the alcohol intake; maybe the atmosphere in which alcohol is consumed. An additional association may be having greater confidence when intoxicated and for adolescents having a sense of maturity; and operant conditioning, which explains behaviour in terms of reinforcement. For instance, if an adolescent had an alcoholic beverage, and consequently is more socially accepted by his/her peer group, then this may positively reinforce the adolescent to consume alcohol on a differing occasion. Additionally, a positive reinforcer could possibly be having good time when consuming alcohol, and so desiring to endure this on a additional instances. In spite of this, these specific reinforcers also have the capability to be detrimental, as when an individual consumes alcohol; they have a tendency to disregard other anxieties, and subsequently are reinforced to consume alcohol to neglect problems.

A behaviourist Psychologist can begin with the individual with alcoholism by assessing the types and degrees of problems the individual has experienced. The results of the assessment can offer initial guidance to the alcoholic concerning the treatment they require and aid the motivation of the drinker to receive this essential treatment, aversion therapy for example. Alcoholism is a behaviour which can be conquered using this method. In this case an aversive response to the alcohol is necessitated, rather than a congenial one. Alcohol is frequently paired with an emetic drug (which induces vomiting); this is with the purpose of the service user associating the alcohol with this. Alcohol rehabilitation aversion therapy is effective as it targets signals for those memories with an aversive response. Environmental stimuli- such as the senses (taste, smell, sight etc) and the location generally introduce impending pleasures to the brain when in conjunction to alcohol consumption. These stimuli are used with a medically supervised stimulus to create an aversion, or an unpleasant motor response such as nausea and as a result it becomes a conditioned response.

The behaviourist approach is used in a social care setting to do similar things as the health care services. The main aim is to change and shape the individual’s behaviour to understand that there is a way in overcoming the difficult behaviour. Within a social care setting like a school for behavioural problems the operant conditioning of the behaviourist approach can be used. As when the child behaves they can be resulted with a reward. This will have a chain reaction and the child will then follow the classical conditioning and will begin to associate positive behaviour with reward, therefore they will be conditioned to behaving in a certain manner.

The behaviourism approach is based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment. Rules and regulations are placed in education systems to allow the children a standard outline of a basic routine. The school routine can also be considered as being a classical conditioning. As the child is conditioned, as the school routine is imprinted in them and what is required of them during a school day.

Classical and operant conditioning are useful to be utilised in a social care setting as, positive (a reward is given or received in payment for good behaviour) and negative (a punishment- an alteration in an individual’s environment that occurs after a given behaviour or response which reduces the likelihood of that behaviour occurring again in the future) reinforcement can have a beneficial impact on an individual’s behaviour.

How the psychodynamic approach is compared to health and social care

In groups such as alcohol addicts and habitual symptomatic excessive drinkers, the excessive drinking is symptomatic of underlying psychological or social pathology. Conversely, in other groups after numerous years of excessive drinking or “loss of control”, this phenomenon does not develop. The group with the loss of control is designated as “alcohol addicts.” There is no intention to deny that the non-addictive alcoholic is a sick individual; but his ailment is not the excessive drinking, but rather the psychological or social difficulties from which alcohol intoxication gives temporary surcease. The reasons for drinking to excess can be found in the thought processes of the mind. Hypnotherapy techniques alter the process away from desiring to consume alcohol excessively to requiring just a moderate amount and enabling an individual to remain in control.

Hypnotherapy can also aid individuals to identify their reasons for excessive alcohol intake. The issues behind excessive drinking may not always be obvious to the individual but the methods used in hypnosis can explore the subconscious part of their mind where hidden thoughts and behaviour reside. Drinking can also be habitual and again, the subconscious is where habits are formed. For numerous individual with drink problems, their reasons can be traced to lack of confidence or poor self-esteem. We are all aware how our inhibitions disappear after the consumption of alcohol, but for an individual, who is socially shy or becomes anxious in social situations, alcohol can alleviate their anxieties and having an alcoholic drink becomes a coping mechanism and may conclude to an addiction that needs ever increasing amounts.

According to psychodynamic theorists, both rational and irrational behaviours arise from fundamental psychological forces. The significance of the term “dynamic” in the psychodynamic approach to phobias rests upon the fact that these underlying psychological forces within an individual can be both contradictory, in addition to complimentary to one another. When an individual is anxious they frequently have fears regarding events that have happened previously or may happen in the future, about things they have engaged in or may do, and about whether their environment is a safe or unsafe place. Shyness is a common category of mild fear – if it is minor, it may not be significantly impactful on an individuals life. Numerous individuals get apprehensive prior to meeting new people but find that, once they are with them, they have the ability to control their nerves and even enjoy the situation. A phobia is also a fear. Individuals have fears concerning such things as heights, spiders and the dark, but for the majority of individuals, they fail to be so influential that they avoid certain aspects of their everyday lives. A fear takes the role of a phobia when the aspects of an individual’s daily routine is impacted, as a result of this; a social phobia, for instance. A social phobia introduces anxiety to an individual when they are in the presence of others, as they have a tendency to apprehend that they are critical of them, or they may humiliate themselves. Ultimately, this can become so detrimental that the individual suffering avoids any interaction with others and prevents social situations completely.

The psychodynamic approach to phobias actually manages the unconscious and past experiences to analyse and estimate present behavioural approaches. For instance, the professional can consider the case of an individual who without any reason becomes terribly horrified when coming in close contact with a particular situation or object. In this period, the psychodynamic theorist encourages the individual to speak about their childhood experiences and the type of relationship the individual shared with his relatives and acquaintances; which may be an unpleasant experience if the past has played a significant role in damaging the individual’s psychological equilibrium.

In order to treat phobias a psychodynamic theorist takes the aid of cognitive behavioural therapy. In this particular therapy, the service user is gradually exposed to fearful situations and thus why it predominantly is implemented to treat anxiety disorders. This specific treatment type is suitable for adults, adolescents and children.

The psychodynamic approach to phobias includes two of the most distinguished approaches including desensitisation and flooding. Methodical desensitisation is a slow and gradual procedure in which an individual is introduced to trivial apprehensive, to severe apprehensive circumstances ultimately concluding in the phobia being eradicated.

Conclusion

I did Compare two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision.

D1 Evaluate two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision.

Introduction

In this assignment I will be evaluating the psychodynamic approach and behaviourist approach to health and social care service provision.

Behaviourist approach

One of the greatest strengths of the behaviourist approach is that it focuses merely on behaviour which can be observed and manipulated under laboratory conditions, as the environment is highly controlled, collecting objective quantitative data. The association with alcohol consumption can be documented with ease, for example. Carrying out scientific investigations proposes that the research is extremely repeatable due to the controlled systematic manner of the analyses. This is the strength of the perspective, as using scientific methods gives added status to psychology. In addition, the principles of behaviourism have been tested mainly on animals. Such findings may not apply totally to human behaviour, which is much more complex. This ethnologist (the study of animal behaviour) argues it is a weakness because it ignores innate biological factors.

The behaviourist approach concentrates on the present, rather than exploring an individual’s thought processes, innate biases and in turn views individual in a very mechanistic manner; reducing complicated processes to simple stimulus-response behaviours. This may be considered a weakness as a more applicable explanation may have been disregarded. However, it may also regarded an advantage as many individuals are oblivious of the occurrences which have concluded in their abnormal behaviours, and also abandoning the undesirable behaviour may hold greater importance, in comparison to comprehending the causes of the behaviour.

Conversely, if an approach fails to treat the underlying causes of the behaviour, it is probable the behaviour will return subsequent to the treatment the individual receives, for instance, Systematic Desensitisation and aversion therapy.

In spite of the behaviourist perspective having convenient and beneficial implications for treatment, these treatments have the ability to create ethical issues. As with the example stated above, the service user would have to experience a traumatic period of nausea, due to method of aversion therapy, which may conclude in ethical queries, for instance, such treatments being used with the absence of consent of the service user.

These aspects which are disregarded by the behaviourist theory are highlighted in additional approaches, for example in terms of alcohol consumption; the behaviourist approach ignores the fact that alcohol is a drug, which would obviously have physical effects on the human body, whereas, this would be the main principal to the biological approach.

Psychodynamic approach

The psychodynamic approach, developed by Freud, emphasizes the interplay of unconscious psychological processes in determining human thought, feelings, and behaviour. The basis of this approach is that psychological factors play a major role in determining behaviour and shaping personality. Freud divided the human psyche into three; the ID, ego and superego. He said you were born with ID which was in your unconscious and it comprised of selfishness and lack of awareness. The other two parts; the ego and superego were said to be in your conscious. The ego was comprised of awareness and consciousness and the superego of definite conscious where you begin caring about others.

Freud believed that personality develops in psychosexual stages; in each stage a part of the body becomes the child’s main source of pleasure. Failure to resolve conflicts at any stage can cause fixation, an unconscious preoccupation with the pleasure area associated with that stage. Personality characteristics are a reflection of each person’s fixation. The oral stage occurs during the first year of life because the mouth is the centre of pleasure. Babies obtain gratification through sucking and biting. As adults, when you bite your nails, comfort eat, etc, you are regressing to the oral stage. The anal stage occurs during the second year when toilet training begins. The ego evolves during this stage as the child vacillates between id impulses and parental demands. It focuses on potty training and the expulsion and retention of faeces. Excessive retention means the child is likely to have been potty trained too early and in adult years will lead to being excessively tidy. The phallic stage emerges at three and lasts until age five. The boy experiences the Oedipus complex; he sexually desires his mother and wants to kill his father out of jealousy. The girl develops penis envy and begins to hate her mother for not providing a penis. The girl then transfers her love to her father, which is known as the Electra complex. Also in this stage the child gets gratification through genitals. After age five, the latency period ensues, during which sexual impulses lie dormant and the child turns away from anything sexually related. During the genital stage, which begins at adolescence and lasts until death, sexual desires reappear and boys and girls begin to get more involved with the opposite sex.

Freud also developed one of the most influential personality theories ever proposed; his ideas shaped Western thinking from medicine to religion. Psychodynamic therapies introduced the use of personality assessments, including projective tests. Although the theory is bizarre, it does make a lot of sense when put together. It considers the unconscious and also considers your past, not just the present (your childhood and traumas). However, much of the theory has a sexual basis, where a number of behaviours may have a more rational, non-sexual explanation. In the oral stage, for example, babies may just be chewing because they are hungry or teething. Freud’s psyche has no physical ID, ego or superego, they are all hypothetical constructs. In the theory Freud also suggests that abnormal behaviour is as a result of the parents.

Conclusion

I think that Freud’s psychodynamic approach does make sense, although it may be explained in other ways, and does explain a lot about a person’s personality and habits and why they have these certain traits. Even though Freud was known as being a bit too over the top and eccentric with his ideas and theories, they do make great sense and are of great use to finding out about a certain person’s personality and why they are like the way they are. It can be useful in further research.