M01 Discussion Board PDF

Preview

Summary

This is the week one discussion board submission that I received an A on. I hope this can help guide you in the right direction....

Description

After reading the scenario, I have selected two of the seven psychological perspectives that I believe a psychologist might use to approach John’s situation, the behavioral and psychodynamic perspective. The behavioral approach focuses on observable behavior responses and the environment that determines said responses (King, 2019, p. 9). The behavioral approach can be used to analyze John’s actions in this scenario. John began drinking and bullying as a result of his home environment. With minimal adult supervision and the lack of a father figure in his life John’s actions have turned into unhealthy and unsafe behaviors. The psychodynamic approach, founded by Sigmund Freud, focuses on one’s unconscious thought and the relation they have to biological drives (King, 2019, p. 10). The psychodynamic approach can be used to address John’s childhood memories and experiences. According to King, practitioners that use this approach believe that aggressive impulses can be found deep within the unconscious mind and can influence the way one thinks, feels, and behaves (2019, p. 10). Therefore, John’s id and superego could be the reason he is displaying aggressive behavior by bullying kids at school and experiencing low self-esteem. Freud’s theory consists of the id, ego, and superego. The id is the part of our unconscious mind that influences the impulsive urges of our personality from the day we are born (McLeod, 2019). The ego is the decision-making aspect of our minds, it referees the unrealistic id and the outside world (McLeod, 2019). Lastly, the superego controls the impulsive urges of the id and utilizes the ego to form moralistic goals, it emerges by age five (McLeod, 2019). John is 15-years-old and his father hasn’t been around in the last ten years. Therefore, his father became absent when his superego was developing. The superego is meant to suppress our desire to preform unacceptable behaviors. A person with a weak superego could be considered a delinquent due to their lack of the ability to filter their irrational thoughts and action. In comparison the behavioral approach and the psychodynamic approach have some differences and similarities. The behavioral perspective focuses on learned behaviors as a result of positive or negative reinforcement. While the psychodynamic approach focuses on thoughts and actions being controlled by the unconscious mind (PSYCHademia, 2016, 3:19). With the behavioral approach you can see John drinking alcohol and bullying his classmates, however you cannot see what he is thinking or feeling that is influencing those decisions. With the psychodynamic approach you can use Freud’s psychoanalysis technique to discuss John’s childhood memories, feelings, and thoughts to address how he thoughts and feelings that are leading him to turn to alcohol. The two perspectives are similar based on the idea of minimal freewill. The two approaches believe that humans don’t have full control of their behaviors. Both of these perspectives can work well together to help John because both can address the cause and effect of John’s thoughts and behavior with factors that can be observed and well as unobservable factors. A psychologist using the behavioral perspective may believe that John’s actions are a result of a lack of discipline from a parental figure. A psychologist using the psychodynamic perspective may believe that John is experiencing a fear of abandonment, allowing his unconscious mind to control his thoughts and actions. I believe that it is a combination of both. John’s situation was caused by the lack of parental intervention and childhood trauma. Freud believed that early relationships with parents shape one’s personality (King, 2019, p. 10). His relationship with his parents has a large impact on who John is today. His father is not a part of his life and his mother works to often to provide him with the relationship that he needs. A psychologist might try to resolve John’s situation with regular therapy sessions that can later include his mother when he is

comfortable. According to the behavioral perspective, humans are more likely to do things that result in a positive outcome and less likely to do things that produce a negative outcome (PSYCHademia, 2016, 2:00). Therefore, John’s mother could also help him by establishing consequences for unacceptable behavior and rewarding his positive behavior. If John’s mother can provide a supportive and stable environment for him to grow in and more one-on-one time with him, it will not only improve their relationship, but it will also make him feel more safe and secure within himself and his masculinity. References: King L. A., (2019). Experience psychology (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. McLeod, S. A. (2019, Sept 25). Id, ego and superego. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html PSYCHademia. (2016, August 9). Psychology’s Modern Perspectives: PSYCHademia [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcKtNYs0lpQ&feature=youtu.be...