copyright © allyn & bacon 2003 andrew t. nilsson, ph.d. eastern connecticut state university...

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003Copyright © Allyn & BaconCopyright © Allyn & Bacon

HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

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Copyright © Allyn & BaconCopyright © Allyn & Bacon

HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT









Andrew T. Nilsson, Ph.D.

Eastern Connecticut State University

Andrew T. Nilsson, Ph.D.

Eastern Connecticut State University

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

STAGE THEORIES

Human development is an orderly, sequential process.

Developmental stages are universal and largely predictable

Early stages must be successfully completed before later stages can be achieved.

COMPETING PERSPECTIVE

Human development is not an orderly, linear process.

Developmental spurts, periods of quiet, and periods of regression often occur.


THINK AND SHAREShakespeare’s Seven Stages of Man

In Act II, Scene VII of “As You Like It,” Shakespeare describes seven stages of human development beginning with the famous line, “All the world’s a stage…”

• Has human development changed since 1599 when Shakespeare probably wrote this play?

•What has stayed the same and what has changed and why?

•How might these lines be different if they were to be written today?


HUMAN NEEDS HAVEN’T CHANGEDMASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

• Self-actualization - Being all one can be

• Achievement, esteem, ego-gratification, feeling good about one's self

• Belonging, social needs, security in social relationships

• Security "I don't have to worry" Good education, job, economic security, security for tomorrow

• Survival - "essential services" food, shelter, clothing - hand to mouth level

SELFACTUALIZATION

ACHIEVEMENT

BELONGING

SECURITY

SURVIVAL

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EVALUATING THEORIES

Evaluate applicability of theory to client situations – is it useful?– Explanatory value – does it help you understand what you

see?– Predictive value – can you use it to predict outcomes?– Application value – does it tell you what to do?

Evaluate the research supporting the theory – is it empirically verifiable?

Evaluate the theory from an ethical perspective. Could it lead to unethical treatment?

Compare the theory with competing theories. Does it fit with other knowledge? Is it the best alternative?


PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)


•Freud earns credit for being among the first to apply the scientific method to the study of human psychology.

•He carefully recorded his work with patients, wrote case studies, and generated hypotheses about human behavior.

•He developed psychoanalysis to both study and help his patients with emotional problems, using techniques such as free association and dream analysis to penetrate beyond the mind’s conscious thoughts.

•Concepts and terminology he developed such as the “unconscious,” “neurosis,” and “defense mechanism” continue to be used today.

SIGMUND FREUD


SIGMUND FREUD’s three part construction of personality

•Id – Home of primitive animalistic energy and subconscious drives such as huger, elimination, and sex. Satisfaction of drives yields pleasure.

•Ego – Driven by reality, begins developing shortly after birth. The conscious, rational aspect of personality which mediates between the demands of the id and the behavioral expectations of the world. The ego exercises reason and sanity, evaluates consequences, and determines a course of action.

•Superego – Develops between ages 3-5 – one’s conscience. An internalized sense of morality learned from one’s parents. Yields guilt when disobeyed. Without superego, a person would be entirely egocentric (thinking only of one’s self), using the ego to satisfy the id. Copyright ©Allyn & Bacon 2003Copyright ©Allyn & Bacon 2003


SIGMUND FREUD’s psychosexual stages of development

•Oral stage – birth to 18 months. Child’s activity centers on feeding, stimulation of the mouth lips and tongue. Newborn has no sense of self or others but process of feeding establishes the child’s first social bond.

•Anal stage – 18 months to age 3. Toilet training and bowel control. Infant learns self-control and begins differentiating self from the rest of the world.

•Phallic (genital) stage – 3 to 6 years. Child becomes aware of his/her genitals.

–Oedipus complex – boy competes father for mother’s love, suffers castration anxiety.

–Electra complex – girl falls sexually in love with father, suffers penis envy (boys have something she lacks).

Resolved by reaction formation: development of socially acceptable behavior or attitudes that are the opposite of one’s unconscious, repressed impulses.


SIGMUND FREUD’s psychosexual stages of development

Latency stage – About age 6 to puberty. Sexual instincts are quiet permitting child to invest energy in socialization and education.

Genital stage – From puberty on. Mature sexuality. Major drives are love and work.

Freud maintained that that most of the psychological difficulties experienced by adults result from unresolved childhood conflicts. Through psychoanalysis repressed childhood memories and fantasies could be uncovered and resolved.


SIGMUND FREUD’s defense mechanisms

Defense mechanisms are unconscious means used by the ego to defend itself against demands made by the id, and the unrealistic expectations of the superego.

Denial – Persistent rejection of intolerable reality. Refusal to face facts. Unconscious – person convinces self; genuinely believes facts are not true. Characteristic of substance abusers.

Repression – A deep form of denial where unpleasant memories are pushed into the unconscious and completely forgotten to the conscious mind. “Lost memory syndrome”

Displacement – Unconsciously shifting unacceptable feelings about one person or situation onto another. Shifting anger toward one’s boss onto one’s spouse.

Rationalization – Unconsciously using reason to justify unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or behavior. The fox and the grapes.

Projection – Unconsciously attributing you own unacceptable ideas/urges to others.


CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF FREUDIAN THEORY

Evaluate the supporting research. On what evidence is Freudian theory based?– Freud’s experience was largely limited to troubled, wealthy Viennese

women. He never worked with children.– There is no empirical evidence supporting many of his theoretical

constructs– Lacking empirical verification, many of his theories are not clearly

defined or explained. For example, if you can’t pinpoint the location and the exact nature of the id, ego, and superego, how clearly can you describe their functioning?

Explanatory value– Stages of psychosexual development, defense mechanisms were derived

from observation so describe, though fall short of explaining, what we see.

Application value– The effectiveness of psychoanalysis has not been convincingly

demonstrated.

Competing theories– Biological perspectives promise better explanatory value. Copyright ©Allyn & Bacon 2003Copyright ©Allyn & Bacon 2003


USEFUL WEB SITES

The Library of Congress web site for its recent exhibition on Freud places Freud in his historical context and provides information about the cases on which Freud based his theory.

lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/freud

A web search for “sigmund freud” reveals many relevant sites. One of the most comprehensive is:

www.freudfile.org

copyright © allyn & bacon 2003 andrew t. nilsson, ph.d. eastern connecticut state university...

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