Freud’s Impact on Modern-Day Psychology Essay

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Abstract

Psychology is a wide field of science, which deals with the study of human mental functions and the diseases related to these functions. The paper explores Sigmund Freud’s impact on modern-day psychology beginning with its definition, history of its revolution from Plato’s time in ancient Greece to the modern-day cognitive and neuroscientific time. Freud’s time is a period of psychoanalysis and behaviorism models of psychology whose opponents developed a humanistic approach, followed by several other models such as existentialism and ultimately focusing on mental processes in cognitivism. The paper goes on to explore research techniques used in psychology, its critics, as well as the ethics that regulate the psychological practice.

Introduction

Background information

Psychological research is conducted by two main categories of scientists: behavioral and social scientists. Research in the field of psychology involves studies in social sciences, humanities and natural sciences. Attention, motivation and behavior are part of psychological research. In some cases, for those involved in extensive research, the unconscious mind is also considered. This paper will attempt to explore the philosophy on psychology relative to Freud’s impact on modern-day psychology (Green & Groff, 2003, p. 121).

Psychologists employ empirical methods in determining the causal and correctional approaches to most psychological problems such as mental diseases and emotional challenges among other challenges. Most practitioners work in institutions such as schools, hospitals, prisons and rehabilitation centers where they offer services such as assessments, counseling, and clinical solutions to people with psychological challenges (American Psychiatric Association, 2003, p. 67). In some cases, these professionals work in industrial settings and research organizations where they deal with human development activities. It is also quite imperative to note that a number of psychologists are involved in sports development, where they help in human capacity development (Green & Groff, 2003, p. 121).

Psychological study dates back to ancient times and the civilizations of countries like Greece, Persia, and Egypt. Some of the psychological writings that traced to this period include those by such Greek philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, and Thales. Another physiologist, whose works reflected psychology as early as 1802, was Pierre Cabanis, from France. He argued that both the soul and sensibility were properties allied to the nervous system. In 1879, another psychologist, known as Wilhelm Wundt, developed the first psychological laboratory with the aim of structuralizing mental processes. Another structuralist called Titchener (Moore & Fine, 1968, p. 78) shared his sentiments. During this time, another line of psychology, functionalism, opposed to structuralism arose. Its main contributor was an American philosopher known as William James. This set for further studies on psychology using his 1890 book on principles of psychology. Other psychologists such as Dewey and Carr shared the same sentiments as James. In addition, during the 1800s, Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist performed experiments on memory and discovered curves on forgetting and learning. Another psychologist from Russia, known as Ivan Pavlov worked on classical conditioning (Windholz, 1997, pp. 941-946). He achieved this when he was researching the digestive system in dogs.

However, it is worth noting that Sigmund Freud and the followers of his theories made a significant contribution to the development of modern-day psychology. According to Wintle (2009), Freud is one of the undisputed psychologists of the twentieth century considering his contribution to psychological thoughts. Further contributions in this field came through in the 1950s when the cognitive models took shape. This went through to develop into behaviorism and psychodynamics (Freud, 1900, p. 45).

The theories and concepts in modern-day psychology

Psychoanalysis

This line of thought was advanced by Freud, through late 1800 until he died in 1939. He used this theory of psychoanalysis to provide solutions and treatments for people suffering from emotional grief. His contributions in this area led to the free association since his line tackled fields related to the unconscious mind, repression as well as sexuality, considered a taboo during this period. His influence on Jung led to the progress of in-depth psychology (Moore & Fine, 1968, p. 78). The study went on to develop throughout the 1900s with Feud’s daughter rising to be among psychoanalysts. These theories, as usual, had critics such as Skinner and Popper among others (Popper, 1963, pp. 33-39). They instead believed that psychoanalysis was less efficient and empirical. Other critics such as Eysenck went on to argue that Freud’s methods are not experimentally feasible. Psychoanalysis in the 21st century is rare as most universities especially those based in America geared towards experimental science. Scholars working on the new field of neuro-psychoanalysis however, still agreed with his ideas. It is obvious that Freud made a major breakthrough in the development of this new field and was quite pivotal in the evolution of psychology as a whole (Freud, 1900, p. 45). As noted from his theory of the unconscious mind, Freud was more concerned about the predetermining factors that caused slips of the tongue and dreams as opposed to earlier writings, which related the factors to some supernatural forces that do not exist (Winer & Anderson, 2001). Freud’s technique is important to modern-day psychology in trying to root for factors that cause various psychological challenges. A psychologist needs to get closer to the patient and make necessary observations that can be useful in countering the patient’s problems. The inclusion of this theory in contemporary writings has helped a lot in replacing the system of beliefs that have been in existence for a long time thereby revolutionizing modern-day psychology.

Behaviorism

Psychology is a science that studies people’s abilities to make choices. It tries to explain whether the human choice is out of a free will or it is pre-determined. This forms the basis of the ideas of free will and determinism in human behavior. It is worth noting that the will must be there in order for an individual to make a choice and that this will is determined by the immediate conditions whereby the person involved must go through considerable deliberation of the situation before making a choice in one direction or the other. Behaviorism is a model that focuses on observable behaviors, it was common in the 1950s and went through several psychologists among which included, including its founder Watson, Thorndike, Hull, Tolman as well as Skinner. Its main concern is with environmental effects on behaviors and tries to undermine behavioral dependence on internal factors or free will. Most of these experiments involve animals with classical conditioning dominating their focus. From there, they were able to explore and establish a relationship between determinism and positivism. They argued that scientific scrutiny is related to observable factors more than the mind; consequently, it is difficult to interpret the mind scientifically except studying human behavior. Through this, Skinner and his colleagues who shared his sentiments analyzed covert and overt to establish the relationships between behavior and environment. They did this by relating organisms’ behavior to interact with the environment. What was quite interesting was their rejection of explanations related to consciousness or mind. This has provided a pathway for research on cognitive models (Skinner, 1974, p. 87).

Humanism

This model is also referred to as Humanistic psychology. Developed in the 1950s, it was meant to counter psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Its aim was to study a person as a whole and not in parts like the other models. In doing this, it used intersubjectivity, self-actualization as well as phenomenology, among others. It can easily be differentiated from other models due to its prominence in evaluating subject meaning, issues surrounding growth and by rejecting determinism. Maslow first developed the model and Rogers among other scholars who also developed other models related to human needs and client-based therapies. According to Maslow, human beings possess needs in a hierarchy. It, therefore, followed that they had to start by fulfilling basic needs before moving to other secondary or higher-order needs. This involves physiological needs such as water and food and secondary needs such as love and self-actualization among others. These later paved way for the scientific exploration of humanistic themes (Wozniak, 1999, p. 1).

Existentialism

German and Danish psychologists known as Heidegger and Kierkegaard respectively founded this model. In this model of psychology, they used existential therapy, which took shape between the 1950s and 60s. It differs from the other models, although it draws close to the Humanistic model since it concurs with their neutral observation on human nature as well as an optimistic assessment on anxiety. They stress humanistic themes, which include death, meaning and free will, among others. Austrian existential psychiatrist Frankl explored therapeutic powers, and eventually developed logotherapy and later had other contributors in Binswanger and Kelly.

Cognitivism

This model involves studies on the brain relative to people’s thoughts, perceptions, memory and the ability to learn. Chomsky, who ignited this by criticizing notions of stimulus and response, proposed by the behavioral model, brought about the model. He argued that behavioral concepts were inadequate as they could only apply to humans in a superficial way. Cognitive theory strengthens the postulation of the innate facility. This was concerned more with personal observations rather than stimulus. Bandura, one of the proponents of the cognitive model argued that even a child could have his own contributions regarding the behaviors of a perceptive matter (Bandura, 1973, p. 13).

Sherrington and Hebb successfully explored the connection between structure and tasks of the brain, in the process of relating it to psychological phenomena. This was done with the help of computer technology as well as artificial processing and greatly promoted the development of cognitive psychology. Instead of elements like unconscious mind and contingency-shaped behaviors proposed by psychoanalysts and behaviorists respectively, cognitive psychology brought about implicit memory as well as subliminal processing, synthesized to compromise the fundamentals of cognitive-behavioral therapy that was developed by American psychiatrist and psychologist Beck and Ellis respectively. This field worked alongside several disciplines like neuroscience among others, forming cognitive science, which is pivotal in trying to root for the causes of mental disorders (Bandura, 1973, p. 13).

Psychological Fields – clinical psychology

Psychology incorporates several disciplines and fields, these include, Biological psychology, which studies cognition, among other elements using animal models, bio-psychological which relates to understanding consciousness and behavior, clinical psychology, which studies applications of the subject to its use in preventing, understanding and mitigating psychological dysfunction such as mental disorders (Bandura, 1973, p. 13). Clinical psychology has been subject to extensive studies since the end of World War 2. Unfortunately, the root cause of mental illnesses is yet to be discovered. Some scientists document that a combination of environmental and physical conditions can be attributed to incidences of mental illnesses. When a person’s ability to develop sound relationships with others, adapt or handle difficult situations adequately or conduct his/her activities is compromised, the person is said to be having a mental disorder (Thompson, 2006). The causes of these disorders range from biological factors such as imbalances in neurotransmitters to genetic factors and other external stressors. This current research has enabled clinical psychologists to come up with a number of therapies to help in the treatment of such disorders. According to the American Psychiatrist Association (2003), an understanding of the causes of mental illnesses guides the doctors towards the right treatment.

Research Methods

Psychology is a science. Science is there to give answers to questions concerning nature through observations and theories. Scientific methods have been employed in psychological research thereby enabling the generation of desirable results. The research methods start by creating relationships between two related or unrelated variables better known as hypotheses. In order for a hypothesis to exist, a theory must be in existence, which attempts to explain a situation of its own occurrence. After the collection of sufficient data, it is analyzed in order to test the significance of the hypothesis. Psychological research is done through deductions, abductions and inductions; this is usually because it draws ideas from other disciplines to understand a phenomenon. Most research follows scientific standards and includes quantitative and qualitative research, the former involves experiments designed to test hypotheses while the latter involves interviews and interpretations (Skinner, 1974, p. 87). The research must be reliable and valid. The validity of the research is dependent on its results meeting the anticipated targets and being accurate. On the other hand, the research study is said to be reliable if two scientists can use the same method at different times and come up with the same results (that is) it should be consistent.

During psychological studies, there are different ways of generating analyzable data. These include correctional methods, experimental methods, naturalistic observations, and finally case studies. In order to accomplish sound psychological results, the data collection methods and statistical methods are carefully chosen to avoid mistakes or unnecessary disturbance since most experiments involve human subjects.

Criticism

Several philosophers have come out to criticize psychology while comparing it to other sciences like physics and chemistry. Such critics include philosophers like Kuhn. Other reasons for its criticism as a science were that, it involves the use of surveys in its research and the fact that elements like personality and emotion, among others, cannot be measured. These among other factors have led to its widespread criticism (Popper, 1963, pp. 33-39).

Practice and Ethics

Several observers of psychological practice have asserted that there is a gap between its application and the scientific theory involved, and thus it is quite difficult to note scientific competence in psychological practice. Ethical standards regarding psychology have evolved over the years and currently do not allow the use of animals unless the harm inflicted is less than its benefits for research. Since most human subjects in psychological studies are emotionally challenged, it is important for a scientist to explore alternative means of interviewing or cross-examining these subjects in a manner that does not provoke emotions. Consideration of methods such as cinema therapy is advisable, especially when dealing with delicate subjects such as drug addicts.

Conclusion

Psychology is wide, and it encompasses several disciplines. Its development through the ancient age met with criticism and evolution from the initial psychoanalysis, through behaviorism, humanistic approach, to the modern cognitive models. This highlights the long processes and involvements pioneers like Freud, Plato, Aristotle, Maslow, among others underwent amidst criticism, sometimes criticizing among themselves to develop a workable psychological science. Psychology has numerous applications among which include, prevention of mental dysfunctions in clinical psychology, understanding human and animal mental processes as well as developing human capacity, among others. Psychology is therefore essential in our life, as it helps us develop a better understanding of our behaviors and mental processes and functions.

Reference List

  1. American Psychiatric Association (2003). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
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  3. Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  4. Freud, S. (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams, IV and V (2nd Ed.). New York: Hogarth Press.
  5. Green, C. D. & Groff, P. R. (2003). Early psychological thought: Ancient accounts of mind and soul. Westport: Connecticut: Praeger.
  6. Popper, K. (1963). Conjectures and Refutations. London: Routledge
  7. Moore, B. E. & Fine B. D. (1968). A Glossary of Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts. American Psychoanalytic Association, p. 78.
  8. Skinner, B.F. (1974). About Behaviorism. New York: Random House.
  9. Thompson, M. L. (2006). Health and Medical Issues Today: Mental Illness. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc.
  10. Windholz, G. (1997). Ivan P. Pavlov: An overview of his life and psychological work. American Psychologist, 52: 941-946.
  11. Wozniak, R. H. (1999). Introduction to memory: Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885/1913). Classics in the history of psychology.
  12. Wintle, J. (2009). The Concise New Makers of Modern Culture. New York: Routledge.
  13. Winer, J.A. & Anderson, J.W. (2001). Sigmund Freud and His Impact on the Modern World. Chicago, IL: the Analytic Press.
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