psychodynamic - evaluation

Question 1

It has explanatory power

Answer 1

• Although Freud’s theory is controversial and often bizarre, it has had huge influence on Western psychology
• It has been used to explain a wide range of behaviours (moral and mental disorders) and drew attention to the influence of
  childhood on adult personality
• Had a positive impact on psychology

Question 2

It has practical applications - psychoanalysis

Answer 2

• Freud introduced psychoanalysis as a new form of therapy = designed to access the unconscious mind using a range of techniques such as dream analysis
• Psychoanalysis is most suitable for individuals suffering from mild neurosis (e.g. depression) but has been criticised as inappropriate for people with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia

Question 3

It recognises both nature and nurture

Answer 3

• it proposes that we are driven by innate, biological instincts (nature) but the way they are expressed is shaped by our social environment (nurture)

Question 4

Freud’s case study of Little Hans has been criticised

Answer 4

• Freud’s ideas = small number of case studies → It is not possible to make universal claims about human nature based on such a limited sample
• Freud’s observations were detailed and carefully recorded
• highly subjective, and it is unlikely that any other researcher would have drawn the same conclusion
• researcher bias since Freud interpreted the data in a way that supported his theory
• lacked scientific rigour

Question 5

It includes a lot of untestable concepts

Answer 5

• Karl Popper argued that the theory is not falsifiable - if people behave in the way predicted by the theory it is viewed as support, if they don’t it is argued that they are using defence mechanisms
• Many of Freud’s concepts occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult to test = used case studies
• This is why the psychodynamic theory has the status of
  pseudoscience (‘fake’ science) rather than real science

Question 6

It is based on psychic determinism

Answer 6

• The psychodynamic approach explains all behaviour as
  determined by unconscious conflicts that are rooted in childhood
• Even something as apparently random as a ‘slip of the tongue’ is driven by unconscious forces and has deep symbolic meaning
• This is an extreme determinist stance and suggests that free will may have no influence on behaviour