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Psychodynamic Perspective in Psychology

By Lauren Lee

Email: laurenteal713@gmail.com

Irvine Valley College

Introduction to Psychology

Professor Ivette Merced

June 23, 2021

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Lauren Lee

Professor Merced

Introduction to Psychology 

23 June 2021

Psychodynamic Perspective in Psychology

Out of all the perspectives in psychology, the perspective that intrigues me the most is the

Psychodynamic Perspective. This perspective was originated by Sigmund Freud, an Austrian

neurologist who was interested in patients suffering from neurosis and hysteria. In studying his

patients, Freud theorized that their mental afflictions arose from the “unconscious mind,” which

was a “repository of feelings and urges of which we have no awareness,” and in order to solve

his patients’ problems, he would have to access their unconscious mind. Freud developed the

psychoanalytic theory, which according to the Psychology 2e textbook, “focuses on the role of a

person’s unconscious, as well as early childhood experiences, this particular perspective

[dominating] clinical psychology for several decades” (Psychology 11). Developed from Freud’s

psychoanalytic perspective was the psychodynamic perspective, which refers to the theories,

ideas, and approaches covered by both Freud and his followers, some of them contradicting

Freud’s original thoughts, while the psychoanalytic perspective normally refers to just the

original theories and psychological approaches of Freud. A few of the other psychologists

associated with the psychodynamic perspective are Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney, Erik

Erikson, Anna Freud, and Melanie Klein.

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who was Freud’s protégé, however, in 1913 he broke

away from Freud due to their conflicting concepts. He believed that Freud’s psychoanalytic

theory of the unconscious was incomplete and overly pessimistic, and instead, Jung proposed a
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deeper and transpersonal form of unconscious called the “collective unconscious.” Alfred Adler

was an Austrian psychologist whose theory is called Individual Psychology, and as the first

president of the Vienna Psychoanalytical Society, he was part of Freud’s inner circle of

colleagues. He also had contradicting beliefs against Freud’s theories, because he believed that

instead of people being driven by sexual and aggressive urges, they are driven by feelings of

inferiority in childhood, and similarly to Jung, he also believed that Freud’s theory was

incomplete because he believed people should be studied as a whole. Karen Horney was German

psychoanalyst who disagreed with Freud’s concept of “penis envy,” in which girls become

envious of penises at a young age, countering this concept with the theory that men experience

“womb envy,” and that men are actually envious of the ability to bear children. In general, both

psychodynamic and psychoanalytic theories acknowledge the importance of unconscious

psychological processes and childhood experiences, but the psychodynamic perspective

generally demphasizes sex and gives more importance to the influence of social environment.

According to psychology teacher Saul McLeod, psychodynamic theory states that events

in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality, and that those

events can remain in the unconscious, causing problems in our adulthood. This theory views

behavior as being caused entirely by unconscious factors over which people have no control. The

personality is shaped as the drives are altered by different conflicts at different times in

childhood, or during psychosexual development, and it is made up of three parts: the id, ego, and

super-ego. The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality which consists of all

the inherited components of personality present at birth, including the sex instinct and the

agressive instinct. The ego is the decision-making component of personality and mediates

between the unrealistic id and the reality of the world. The superego incorporates the values and
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morals of society which are learned from one’s parents and other people. There is a conflict

between the parts of the unconscious mind, those parts being the id and superego, with the

conscious part of the mind, the ego, creating anxiety, which could be dealt with by ego’s use of

defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that are unconsciously

used to protect a person from anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings.

Some of the methodologies or techniques associated with psychodynamics are case

studies, dream analysis, free association, projective tests, and slips of the tongue. Case studies

focus on one individual or just a few individuals, allowing for a lot of insight into a case. Freud

argued that the analysis of dreams gave insight into the unconscious, because the conscious mind

is “less vigilant” when people are asleep, resulting in repressed thoughts coming to the surface in

the dream. Free association is a practice in psychoanalytic therapy in which a patient talks of

whatever comes into their mind. This practice involves the therapist offering a word or idea, to

which the patient responds with the first word that comes to mind, the goal being that parts of

repressed memories will emerge from this process. The Rorschach inkblots are known as a

projective test in which a patient projects information from their unconscious mind to interpret

the inkblot. Freud believed that slips of the tongue provide an insight into the unconscious mind,

because there are no accidents and every behavior is significant, including those slips.

I personally agree with the psychodynamic perspective of psychology more than the other

perspectives. Although it does have limitations in that it does not consider biological or genetic

factors which contribute to mental health problems, it is also shown in studies that certain family

environments may lower or increase the risk of developing mental disorders with a genetic

connection. For example, in a study in 2004 by Pekka Tienari and his colleagues, it was shown

that adoptees whose biological mothers had schizophrenia, or high genetic risk, were most likely
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to develop schizophrenia if they were raised in disturbed home environments. I believe that the

focus on unconscious and early childhood experiences is important in the study of psychology

because there is nothing one can do about their genetic predisposition to mental illness, but they

may be able to unravel their mental problems by gaining access to their feelings of which they

are unaware. Also, I believe that this perspective displays an element of humanization, because it

shows empathy towards people suffering from mental illness by not only attributing their

condition to biology, but also acknowledging the underlying reasons for their illness.

Additionally, I agree with the way psychoanalysis utilizes the practice of a patient talking about

their experiences and selves, and the personability between a patient and the person treating that

patient. Sometimes, I like to review my past or current actions, thoughts, or feelings, and when

doing so I often make connections between those aspects of my life with the experiences of my

childhood. Even though I am not a psychologist, I can find a logical chain of events in my past

that helps to explain the way I am today, so I believe that is why I am drawn to the

psychodynamic perspective most of all.

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References

Ackerman, Courtney E. “What is Psychodynamic Therapy? 5 Tools & Techniques.” Positive

Psychology. Last modified 2021. Accessed June 23, 2021.

https://positivepsychology.com/psychodynamic-therapy/

Brown, Gene. “What is the Difference Between Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic?”

Difference Between. Last modified 2020. Accessed June 23, 2021.

http://www.differencebetween.net/science/psychology/what-is-the-difference-between-

psychodynamic-and-psychoanalytic/.

Jenkins, William J., Marilyn D. Lovett, and Rose M. Spielman. Psychology 2e.

Houston: OpenStax, 2020.

McLeod, Saul. “The Psychodynamic Approach.” Simply Psychology. Last modified 2020.

Accessed June 23, 2021. https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychodynamic.html.