Who Provides the Better Approach to Human Behaviour, Freud or Skinner
Why do we behave the way we do? Is our environment responsible for shaping our personalities? Does childhood influence who we are? These are all questions that have intrigued philosophers and society in general for centuries. ‘There are many experts that share and dispute the answers to these questions, but there are two in particular that have contributed greatly in finding explanations’ (Crux, 2006); Sigmund Freud and Burrhus Frederick Skinner. This essay will compare Freud’s and Skinner’s approach towards human behaviour, highlighting the main ideas and focus of their theories and subsequently coming to an informative decision as to who provides the better approach. This is achieved by pinpointing criticisms that hinder their reasoning, practicality and efficiency.
‘Psychodynamic theories embrace all the diverse theories descended from the work of Sigmund Freud, which focuses on unconscious mental forces and asserts the idea that behaviour is caused by internal, mental mechanisms’ (Weiten, 2001, p. 488). Freud’s (1901, 1924, 1940) psychoanalytic theory grew out of his decades of interactions with his clients in psychoanalysis. Freud’s psychoanalytic approach seeks to explain behaviour, motivation and mental disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, on unconscious motives and conflicts, and on the methods people use to cope with their sexual and aggressive urges (Weiten, 2001).
Freud identified three components of personality structure: the id, the ego and the superego. He saw a person’s behaviour as the result of interactions between these three components. ‘The id is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle’ (Weiten, 2001, p.488). The id is entirely centered on your needs and wants, and it drives you to fulfill those desires at whatever cost. The ego is the ‘decision making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle’ (Weiten, 2001,
‘Psychodynamic theories embrace all the diverse theories descended from the work of Sigmund Freud, which focuses on unconscious mental forces and asserts the idea that behaviour is caused by internal, mental mechanisms’ (Weiten, 2001, p. 488). Freud’s (1901, 1924, 1940) psychoanalytic theory grew out of his decades of interactions with his clients in psychoanalysis. Freud’s psychoanalytic approach seeks to explain behaviour, motivation and mental disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, on unconscious motives and conflicts, and on the methods people use to cope with their sexual and aggressive urges (Weiten, 2001).
Freud identified three components of personality structure: the id, the ego and the superego. He saw a person’s behaviour as the result of interactions between these three components. ‘The id is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle’ (Weiten, 2001, p.488). The id is entirely centered on your needs and wants, and it drives you to fulfill those desires at whatever cost. The ego is the ‘decision making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle’ (Weiten, 2001,