Psychodynamic Theories (Similarities and Differences) PDF

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Christine Ken Mae N. Marcellana

PSYCH 21 - A

Psychodynamic Theories : Similarities and Differences

1. Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory - Psychoanalysis is considered as the most interesting, controversial and famous of all personality theories. This is because Freud believed that people are motivated primarily by drives of which they have little or no awareness. These drives include sex and aggression which are considered as the twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis. - Freud believed that all human behaviors have a cause. Nothing happened simply by chance- not even an accident. Freud believed that minor mistakes like slips of the tongue are also manifestations of unconscious motives. He likewise indicated that through humor a person can express his aggressiveness or sexual desires without fear of retaliation by either the ego or the superego. - Psychoanalytic theory also places big emphasis on the influence of childhood experiences to the personality of man. - Although Sigmund Freud contributed a great deal to the field of psychology through his psychoanalytic theory of personality, his work did not go without scrutiny. Many criticized his theories for being overly focused on sexuality; over the years since his work, many other theorists have adapted and built on his ideas to form new theories of personality. These theorists, referred to as Neo-Freudians, generally agreed with Freud that childhood experiences are important, but they lessened his emphasis on sex and sexuality. Instead of taking a strictly biological approach to the development of personality (as Freud did in his focus on individual evolutionary drives ), they focused more holistically on how the social environment and culture influence personality development.

2. Alfred Adler: Individual Psychology - The term individual psychology was used by Adler to stress his belief that each person is an integrated whole, striving to attain future goals and attempting to find meaning in life while working harmoniously with others. It presents an optimistic view of people while resting heavily on the notion of social interest, that is, a feeling of oneness with all humankind. - Adler argued that people may become largely aware of their deepest impulses and fictional finalism and, with conscious intent, create their own personalities and lifestyles that will achieve their highest goals. - Adler proposed the concept of the inferiority complex, which describes a person’s feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to the standards of others or of society. He also believed in the importance of social connections, seeing childhood development as emerging through social development rather than via the sexual stages outlined by Freud. From these ideas, Adler identified three fundamental social tasks

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that all of us must experience: occupational tasks (careers), societal tasks (friendship), and love tasks (finding an intimate partner for a long-term relationship). In the end, Adler’s position was almost the complete antithesis of Freud’s which emphasized that our behaviour is largely determined by forces of which we are unaware

3. Carl Jung: Analytical Psychology - Analytic psychology rests on the assumption that occult phenomena can and do influence the lives of everyone. Jung believed that each of us is motivated not only by repressed experiences but also by certain emotionally toned experiences inherited from our ancestors. - According to Jung, the human personality is imbedded in the past, present and future; it consists of conscious and unconscious elements, masculine and feminine traits, rational and irrational impulses, spiritualistic and animalistic tendencies and tendency to bring all these contradicting behavior into harmony with each other. Selfactualization is achieved when such harmony exists. But self-actualization must be sought. It does not happen automatically. Jung also emphasized that religion is a major vehicle in the journey towards self-actualization. - Carl Jung followed in Adler’s footsteps by developing a theory of personality called analytical psychology. One of Jung’s major contributions was his idea of the collective unconscious, which he deemed a “universal” version of Freud’s personal unconscious, holding mental patterns, or memory traces, that are common to all of us (Jung, 1928). These ancestral memories, which Jung called archetypes, are represented by universal themes as expressed through various cultures’ literature and art, as well as people’s dreams. Jung also proposed the concept of the persona, referring to a kind of “mask” that we adopt based on both our conscious experiences and our collective unconscious. Jung believed this persona served as a compromise between who we really are (our true self) and what society expects us to be; we hide those parts of ourselves that are not aligned with society’s expectations behind this mask.

4. Klein: Object Relations Theory - Melanie Klein was an influential psychoanalyst, inspired by the work of Sigmund Freud. She developed the object relations theory, which explores how we develop our psyche in relation to important objects around us. Klein's theory emphasized the idea of objects, which are related to human contact during infancy. - Object relations theory is a variation of psychoanalytic theory, which places less emphasis on biological based drives (such as the id) and more importance on consistent patterns of interpersonal relationships. For example, stressing the intimacy and nurturing of the mother. - Many personality theorists have accepted some of Freud's basic assumptions while rejecting others. One approach to extending psychoanalytic theory has been the object relations theories of Melanie Klein and others. Unlike Jung and Adler, who came to

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reject Freud's ideas, Klein tried to validate Freud's theories. In essence, Klein extended Freud's developmental stages downward to the first 4 to 6 months after birth. She contends that his suggested time frame is flawed, with the superego present from birth, and the oedipal complex occurring in the first year of life. Freud’s concept of life and death forces (Eros and Thanatos) as primal human drives heavily color Klein’s thoughts. Her theory focuses primarily on development within the first year of life, however emphasizes that these continue to develop throughout life.

5. Karen Horney: Psychoanalytic Social Theory - The psychoanalytic social theory of Karen Horney was built on the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality. People who do not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during childhood develop basic hostility toward their parents and, as a consequence, suffer from basic anxiety. Horney theorized that people combat basic anxiety by adopting one of three fundamental styles of relating to others: (1) moving toward people, (2) moving against people, or (3) moving away from people. Normal individuals may use any of these modes of relating to other people, but neurotics are compelled to rigidly rely on only one. - Although Horney’s writings are concerned mostly with the neurotic personality, many of her ideas can also be applied to normal individuals. This part looks at Horney’s basic theory of neurosis, compares her ideas to those of Freud, examines her views on feminine psychology, and briefly discusses her ideas on psychotherapy. - Horney was one of the first women trained as a Freudian psychoanalyst. Horney’s theories focused on “unconscious anxiety,” which she believed stemmed from early childhood experiences of unmet needs, loneliness, and/or isolation. She theorized three styles of coping that children adopt in relation to anxiety: moving toward people, moving away from people, and moving against people. - Horney was also influential in the advancement of feminism within the field of psychodynamics. Freud has been widely critiqued for his almost exclusive focus on men and for what some perceive as a condescension toward women; for example, Horney disagreed with the Freudian idea that girls have “penis envy” and are jealous of male biological features. According to Horney, any jealousy is most likely due to the greater privileges that males are often given, meaning that the differences between men’s and women’s personalities are due to the dynamics of culture rather than biology. She further suggested that men have “womb envy” because they cannot give birth.

6. Erich Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis - He developed a theory of personality that emphasizes the influence of sociobiological factors, history, economics, and class structure. His humanistic psychoanalysis

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assumes that humanity’s separation from the natural world has produced feelings of loneliness and isolation, a condition called basic anxiety. According to Fromm, individual personality can be understood only in the light of human history. “The discussion of the human situation must precede that of personality, psychology must be based on an anthropologic-philosophical concept of human existence”. Trained in Freudian psychoanalysis and influenced by Karl Marx, Karen Horney, and other socially oriented theorists, Fromm developed a theory of personality that emphasizes the influence of socio- biological factors, history, economics, and class structure. His humanistic psychoanalysis assumes that humanity’s separation from the natural world has produced feelings of loneliness and isolation, a condition called basic anxiety. His humanistic psychoanalysis looks at people from a historical and cultural perspective rather than a strictly psychological one. It is more concerned with those characteristics common to a culture. Fromm’s theory is a rather unique blend of Freud and Marx. Freud emphasized the unconscious, biological drives, repression, and so on. Marx, on the other hand, saw people as determined by their society, and most especially by their economic systems.

7. Harry Stack Sullivan: Interpersonal Theory - Harry Stack Sullivan, the first American to construct a comprehensive personality theory, believed that people develop their personality within a social context. Without other people, Sullivan contended, humans would have no personality. “A personality can never be isolated from the complex of interpersonal relations in which the person lives and has his being”. - Sullivan insisted that knowledge of human personality can be gained only through the scientific study of interpersonal relations. His interpersonal theory emphasizes the importance of various developmental stages- infancy, childhood, juvenile era, preadolescence, early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood. - In many ways, Sullivan’s theory is dramatically different from Freud. In fact, some writers prefer to place Sullivan’s theory in a category other than psychoanalytic approach. His rejection of many Freud’s concepts and his emphasis on the interpersonal nature of personality places Sullivan’s approach somewhere between that of the psychoanalysis and that of the social learning theorists.

8. Erik Erikson: Post Freudian-Theory - Erikson regarded his post-Freudian theory as an extension of psychoanalysis. Same with Freud, Erikson also believed that childhood experiences shape our personality later in life but the latter holds that personality is still flexible throughout the adult years. He states that failure at an early stage jeopardizes a full development at a later

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stage but fulfillment in any one stage does not automatically guarantee success. Each stage of specific psychosocial struggle contributes to the formation of personality. Erik Erikson is influential for having proposed the psychosocial theory of development, which suggests that an individual’s personality develops throughout the lifespan based on a series of social relationships—a departure from Freud’s more biology-oriented view. In his psychosocial theory, Erikson emphasized the social relationships that are important at each stage of personality development, in contrast to Freud’s emphasis on sex. The theory was termed ego psychology since Erikson held that ego is a positive force that creates a self-identity, a sense of “I.” As the center of our personality, our ego helps us adapt to the various conflicts and crises of life and keeps us from losing our individuality to the leveling forces of society....