Quick Write

Briefly describe the psychodynamic view of abnormal behavior.

According to Freud and his acolytes, where/how does abnormal behavior begin?

THE PSYCHODYNAMIC AND BEHAVIORAL VIEWS OF DEPRESSION

Psychology 4.13

Psychodynamic Approach to Depression

The Psychodynamic

approach focuses on how

unconscious motives drive our

behaviour and experience.

Freud's explanation

of depressionlies in the early

relationship withour parents.

He noticed thesimilarity between depression and grief, e.g. loss ofappetite, extreme sadness, insomnia, withdrawal from society

Freud described depression as “excessive and irrational grief” as a

reaction to loss. This loss could be real or imagined loss of affection from the

parent that the person was most dependent upon.

Freud suggested that actual or

symbolic losses lead us to

re-experience parts of our

childhood (regression), becoming dependent

and clingy.

The greater the experience of loss, the greater the amount of regression as an adult.

This leads to a process called introjection where they direct all their feelings for the loved one towards themselves.

Unresolved feelings of hostility towards parents can be directed

inwards as guilt. Guilt can lead to feelings of unworthiness or suicide.

Introjection

For most mourners, introjection is a temporary state.

For some, grief only gets worse: Social relationships are neglected, feelings of emptiness persist, and sense of loneliness and loss only increases.

Two Extremes of Depressive Patients

Freud and his colleagues speculated that there were two types of people who would be particularly susceptible to depression in the face of loss:

1. Those whose parents failed to nurture them properly.

2. Those whose parents nurtured them excessively.

Feelings of lifelong dependence are likely in either case.

What about those depressed without losing a loved one?

Freud proposed the concept of symbolic or imagined loss (other kinds of events are equated with the loss of a loved one).

EX: Poor course grade as the loss of parents, because they only love the child when excelling academically.

Research that supports Psychodynamic Theory

Rene Spitz (1946)

123 infants were placed in a nursery when separated from their mothers.

19 of the infants became weepy and sad upon separation.

They then withdrew from their surroundings.

Seemingly exhibiting signs of depression.

Bowlby and Harlow & Harlow also seem to demonstrate the importance

of early relationships for healthy emotional development.

Barnes and Prosen, 1985

Suggests that losses suffered early in life may set the stage for later depression.

A depression scale was administered to 1,250 medical patients during their visits to their family physicians.

The patients whose fathers had died during their childhood scored higher on depression.

Do you see any limitations of this model of abnormal behavior?

Limitations of the Psychodynamic Model

-Freud's theory is often criticised as being unscientific it is difficult to observe, operationalize and measure concepts such as actual and symbolic losses, regression.

Limitations of the Psychodynamic Model

It fails to explain what is typically responsible for causing depression.

For example, only some of the children separated from their mothers showed depressive reactions.

Likewise, only about 10% of people who experience loss suffer from depression.

Freud's work has been criticised as he based his work on case studies and it is argued that it is difficult to generalize from case studies.

This focus on early relationships and the unconscious mind could be

somewhat deterministic.

It could also be regarded as reductionist, thinking of depression

solely in terms of instincts.