Psychology is a broad subject covering the study of human behavior and the reasons behind different thought processes. In the course of the study, there are different perspectives of psychology in regard to various personalities among humans. Most interesting is perhaps the psychodynamic perspective that borrows from Sigmund Freud’s teachings. This particular perspective is the most appealing in the understanding of the concept of personality. It has a profound emphasis on the unconscious psychological processes such as fears and wishes that people are not fully aware of. Moreover, the theory is credited for the assertion that childhood experiences have a huge impact on adult personality. Although some aspects of the theory attract controversy and continue to face empirical scrutiny, the perspective influences a diverse collection of areas of psychology (Brown & Starkey, 2010).

Although the psychodynamic perspective of psychology faces opposition especially regarding the outdated theories proposed by Freud, it still has a strong case. Part of the reason why the perspective is most appealing regards its applicability in modern psychology and life. The fact that childhood experiences have an influence on adult personality is very practical and portrays a high level of truth and accuracy. Indeed, different studies conducted over different periods of time have confirmed that experiences in one’s childhood affect their future adult personality (Brown & Starkey, 2010). For instance, a child who is sexually abused has a high likelihood of turning out to be a bully in the future. Further, no student or scientist of psychology can ignore the psychodynamic perspective as it plays an important role today. The application of this model in today’s’ dynamic world is evident in such disciplines as neuroscience, sociology and developmental psychology.

The psychodynamic perspective of psychology has its share of weaknesses and strengths. However, the strengths of the theory are well detailed in the different attributes of the psyche as discussed by Freud. The primacy of the unconscious is one of the strongest properties of the perspective. It contends that most of the psychological processes in humans occur away from conscious awareness. In this regard, a majority of the activities that take place in the psyche take place in an unconscious fashion (Brown & Starkey, 2010). Indeed this has been confirmed through research such that mental activities of feelings, memories and motives are inaccessible to consciousness. The second property of regards the critical importance of childhood experiences and forms another strong point for the perspective. The theory is particularly insistent on the huge role played by childhood events in shaping adult personality. Such tendencies have been confirmed through research where experiences such as the loss of parents affect a child’s future personality.

The psychodynamic perspective has its fair share of weaknesses owing form some of its properties. One of the biggest weakness stems for the theory’s assumption that humans do not have free will as proposed by Freud. Indeed, the psychosexual stages as discussed in the theory are deterministic and show a clear example of this fact. By suggesting that humans have no free will, the theory posits that people have no influence on their personality aside from their childhood experiences (Brown & Starkey, 2010). This cannot be farther from the truth as research has shown that other attributes including the psychological processes affect and influence human personality. In fact, most psychologists agree on the fact that emotions, responses and thoughts do not arise randomly.

References

Brown, A. D. & Starkey, K. (2010). Organizational identity and learning: A psychodynamic perspective. Academy of management review, 25(1), 102-120

 
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