Psychodynamic Theories Of Personality

Psychodynamic Theory Part 1: Psychodynamic theory is a view that explains personality in the terms of unconscious and conscious forces, such as beliefs and unconscious desires. Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century proposed a psychodynamic theory according to which personality consists of the ID. The ID is responsible for instincts and pleasure-seeking. He also proposed the idea of the superego which attempts to obey the rules of society and parents. The superego is split into two parts, conscience and the ego ideal. The conscience tells what is right and wrong, it forces the ego to control the id and it directs the individual into morally acceptable and responsible behaviors, which could not be pleasureable. Lastly the Ego which mediates
Goals of this therapy are a client’s self-awareness and the understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior. The goal of psychodynamic therapy are a client’s self-awareness and the understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior. The approach of this theory will enable the client in a therapy setting to examine unresolved conflicts and symptoms that arise from dysfunctional relationships and manifest themselves in the need and the desire to abuse substances and other criminal behaviors. It is by far one of the oldest modern therapies/theories. It is extremely developed and multi-faced theory of human development and interaction (Haggerty, 2010). Because of the extensive research there is on this theory, how old this theory is, and the validity of this theory/therapy, this theory is a more useful/valuable to preventing, approaching and evaluating crime. Having Bowlby’s work correlating with this theory shows how much more extensive it can get because of how close attachment theory correlates. Basically, attachment theory as stated previously is the emotional bond to another person. Attachment as Bowlby stated is a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Lac, 2012). Developing a bond in your early years of life with your caregivers (especially your mother) has a huge
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