In psychology, psychodynamic theory is an approach that describes personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces. These forces may include unconscious beliefs or desires. Sigmund Freud proposed the argument in the 20^th century. According to the theory, personality is made up of three factors, the id, superego, and the ego. The id is responsible for pleasure seeking and instincts, and the superego attempts to obey the guidelines given by the parents and the society and the ego create a linkage between the two factors according to the real demands.  Psychodynamic theories hold childhood experiences shape that personality. Psychodynamic approaches are deep-rooted within psychoanalysis; a type of therapy that reveals unconscious desires and thoughts.  Despite the psychodynamics theories explaining the character in terms of conscious and unconsciousness, not all the psychologists accept these theories. Some theorists claim that psychodynamic theories lack scientific support. The review, therefore, focuses on the key principles of the theory, the key figures, and the positive and negative aspects of the theory.

The fundamental principles of the theory are as follows; the 1^st principle is that the mind is divided into different parts that relate to one another out of immediate awareness. In this case, the psychodynamic theorists believe that emotions, memories, information, and knowledge are held outside conscious awareness.  Freud proposed that the human mind is made up of three sections, the first section the conscious; this is the part that can be easily accessed. The second part is the preconscious; this is the part that is below the awareness (Borden, 28). The last section is the unconscious; according to Freud, this is the most fantastic part of the human mind. Freud stated that psyche si gnificantly affects different people, and failure to realize the effect of psyche may result in psychological disorder.  The 2^nd principle is that individuals are driven by three forces of psychic energy that directs personality, and these forces are the id, superego and the ego. The id; people are born with this, and it resides in the unconscious section. Freud believed that the id drives instinctive pleasure behaviors such as destruction or sex. Superego; Freud believed that this is a moral center that develops in individuals. It mainly grows as a result of life experiences such as learning moral values in school, church, family or the society at large. Ego; Freud believed that this balances between the two other components; it balances between what the id wants and what the superego suggests (Borden, 47). The 3^rd principle is that individuals are born with innate energy that promotes certain behaviors, as a way of seeking pleasure. As people develop, they pass through five psychosexual stages, oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. It is in these stages that individuals learn how to direct their psychic energy towards health outlets. The 4^th principle is that as people develop, they sometimes have drives and impulses that do not match the superego moral direction. Here, individuals can sometimes develop some defensive mechanism such as sublimation, regression, and repression as a way of alleviating anxiety. And the 5^th principle is that unacceptable motivations or unwanted feelings cause psychological distress if an individual is not aware.

The key figures in psychodynamic theories are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erickson, and Alfred Adler. Sigmund explained the structural model of personality. Here, he described the three parts of the human character (id, superego, and ego) as we have just seen above. Eric Erickson explained the theory of psychosocial development. Here, he described the various stages of life that a person must go through to become successful in the future. The 1^st stage is the ability to trust others, and the 2^nd stage is developing an autonomy. The 3^rd stage is asserting himself/herself by planning and leading activities, the 4^th stage is nurturing pride and confidence, the 6^th stage is becoming pessimistic or optimistic on the things occurring around. The 7^th stage is becoming productive, and the last stage is ego integrity in late adulthood which brings positive personality (Carducci, 68). Alfred Adler explained inferiority and birth order. Here, he described that everyone is born inferior and helpless, and this is what pushes people to strive to become superior.

The positive aspects of the psychodynamic theory are as follows; past event influence current behavior. It is true the childhood aspects change the current practice of people. For example, when a child is experiencing an alcoholic parent, he/she may end up becoming an alcoholic in the future. The other positive aspect is that recognition of subconscious impacts behavior (Shedler, 98). For example, some individuals feel sad and lonely when they have not yet taken breakfast but experience otherwise after taking breakfast. The psychodynamic theory here shows that unconscious can have effects on the behavior. The other positive aspect is that people always reconsider psychotherapy. Individuals who have gone under psychotherapy healing always come back to seek more and feel better.

The negative aspects of psychodynamics theory are as follows; the approach ignores biological components. Although there is psychological evidence about addiction, we can’t ignore the fact that there are some biological components involved in the situation. The approach is, therefore, failing to regard these components included. The aspect is that it is hard for people to consider this approach. Proving that subconscious impacts behavior and thoughts is difficult. The other negative aspect is that the psychodynamic approach is unfalsifiable because the assumptions cannot be scientifically measured.

Work cited

Borden, William. Contemporary psychodynamic theory and practice. Lyceum Books, 2009.

Carducci, Bernardo J. The psychology of personality: Viewpoints, research, and applications. John       Wiley & Sons, 2009.

Shedler, Jonathan. “The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy.” American psychologist 65.2        (2010): 98.