Discuss the Assumptions of the Psychodynamic Approach (12 Marks)

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The psychodynamic approach assumes that adult behaviour reflects complex dynamic interactions between the conscious and unconscious mind, which are present from birth. Freud, the founder of this approach, believed that our behaviour is powerfully affected by the processes within our conscious mind and psychological disorders in adulthood, are due to problems with we have encountered in our childhood, that have not been solved. Freud purposed that personality is made up of three parts. These parts are the id, superego and ego. He also suggested that our personality is shaped in different times of our childhood, which is known as the psychosexual development. He also believes that the id and superego, within the unconscious mind, are in constant conflict with the ego, the conscious mind and when these are not balance, abnormal behaviour occurs. Firstly Freud purposed that human personality is made up of three interacting elements which are broken into the conscious and unconscious mind. The ego makes up the conscious mind, this is developed during childhood and regulates with our environment. It operates the reality principle, as it balances the demands of the id and the superego. The second element is the id, which makes up the unconscious mind. Freud believes that all humans are born with this instinctual energy, which can be broken into the libido and aggression. This is the pleasure principle and the id constantly tries to gratify these instincts. The final component of the unconscious mind is the superego. This is the morality principle. It develops in later childhood through the process of identification with both parent and this leads to internalisation of moral rules and social norms. If the ego fails to balance the demands of both the superego and id, the conflicts can lead to psychological disorders. The ego tries to maintain the balance between the id and
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