Psychodynamic Theory :: Psychology, Freud

The theory our learning team is poring over is the psychodynamic approach or what is sometimes called psychoanalytic approach. The main contributors to Psychodynamic approaches was the founder Sigmund Freud (1859-1939), Anna Freud (1895-1982) gave substantial contribution to the psychodynamics of adolescence and Erik Erickson (1902-1994) called the new Freud but with an emphasis on ego (conscious) forces, termed as psychosocial theory (Craig & Dunn, p 11-13). Psychodynamics is the explanation or interpretation (as of behavior or mental states) in terms of mental or emotional forces or processes (www.merriam-webster.com)Through subject field study, the psychodynamic approach was phraseed by Sigmund Freud. Freud visited Charcots, a science laboratory in Paris investigating people suffering from hysteria. There, Freud began patient case studies (Crain, p. 254). Freud developed 5 stages of human development known as the Oral, Anal, Phallic, latent period and Genital stages. The Oral stage is from the ages of birth to 18 months. This stage engages in oral activities such as sucking. Next the Anal stage begins almost age 18 months to 3 years of age. Freud suggests that during the Anal stage a child focuses on the sport of purging from the rectal atomic number 18a. The Phallic stages, no(prenominal) as the masturbation stage, when a child gets pleasure from focusing on his genital areas usually happens during ages 3 years to 6 years of age. After the Phallic stage come the latent period stages. Latency is when children at the ages of 6 to 12 years old work to develop cognitive and interpersonal skills suppressing sexual interests but those 12 years and senior fall into the Genital stages. During the Genital stage those suppressed sexual interests re-occur and the posit to find gratification dependent on finding a partner (Craig & Dunn, p 12)In addition to Freuds stages of development his best-known impressions are those of the id, ego, and superego (Crai n, p. 268). The id personality called the unconscious is the personality that focuses on maximizing pleasure and minimizing spite through reflexes and drives such as hunger or bladder tensions (Crain, pp. 268-269). The id concept is impulsive, chaotic and unrealistic. Although the id stage stands for the untamed passions it is balanced out by cause and good sense called the ego (Crain, p. 270). The ego evaluates situations comparing them to what has happened in the by and make realistic changes planning for the future. This is what is called secondary process thinking. ego considers the possibilities of the act in question giving the opportunity to make condom and sound choices.