The Basic Concepts of Human Interaction from a Psychological Perspective - Research Paper Example

?The basic concepts of human interaction from a Psychological Perspective There were a few major schools of thought, which were extremely prevalent in the initial years of Psychology. The variety of topics studied by various different psychologists has experienced a tremendous growth since the time of 1960’s. Nowadays, most psychologists recognize their perspective on the basis of a specific school of thought. Although, there are some pure psychoanalysts and behaviourists, most of the psychologists segment their work as per their specialization and perspective. The topics in Psychology can be examined in several different ways. In this paper, the concepts of human interaction will be examined from two perspectives namely: biological and psychodynamic perspective. The behaviour, the context in which the behaviours occurs, the precursors and the consequences of behaviour in terms of social psychology has been comprehensively explained within the matter of these two perspectives. Medical treatment has also been specified where necessitated. Biological Perspective To consider, the topic of psychology, one has to look at the subject of aggression. In order to understand the biological perspective, one has to look at how the brain and nervous system impact aggression. Brain and nervous system can impact aggressive behaviour in widespread ways. There are certain dopamine receptors which can augment the aggressive potential of an individual. Cognitive therapy is believed to be useful in reducing aggression. Psychodynamic Perspective The Psychodynamic perspective pioneered by Sigmund Freud is one of the most important perspectives of psychological with respect to the lay mind and is also one of the most controversial approaches of Psychology. This perspective greatly emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind, innate desires and early childhood experiences to explain human behaviour and also people who are suffering from mental illnesses (Cherry, 2003). The case given below will explain the concept of human interaction from a psychological perspective i.e. psychodynamic approach. Demographics: Name: Katharina Sex: Female Age: 18 years (assumed by Freud) Marital Status: Single Occupation: Katharina resided in an inn on the mountains, which was run by her aunt (Landlady). Later, Freud discovered that the Landlady was actually her biological mother. Location: Near Hohe Tauern situated in the Eastern Alps. Religion: Not mentioned explicitly. Race: Not mentioned explicitly. Case Presentation: Freud made an excursion to the Hohe Tauern in the Eastern Alps, where he came into an encounter with a young girl, Katharina, whom he assumed to be around 18 years of age. She was actually working at the hotel, where he was residing. Her physical appearance spoke well and he did not consider her to be a servant, but placed her as the daughter or the relative of the Landlady, who owned the inn. Katharina deduced that he was a doctor and came up to him complaining about her nerves. She said that she has been overcome with anxiety attacks, owing to an incident 2 years ago, which involved her uncle (husband of the Landlady) in a sexual encounter with another girl, Franziska, who was actually Katharina’s cousin. With some encouragement from Freud, Katharina narrated the entire incident of how she had made the discovery of her uncle engaging in sexual intercourse with her cousin, which had shaken her extremely and had become an indelible part of her memory. But it was not until Katharina telling him about two sets of stories that she had the misfortune of encountering with her uncle, did he finally manage to piece together the cause of her anxiety attacks. She recounted how her uncle had tried to make sexual passes at her prior to the Franziska incident i.e. 2 years ago. Next, she told him yet another incident, where she had found her uncle getting intimate with Franziska. After the narration, Freud asked her whether she had any understanding of what her uncle was doing to both her and her cousin, to which she replied saying no. Freud noticed during the course of his conversation with Katharina that the girl felt remarkably lighter after venting out the ugly details bottled inside her. He therefore formed an appropriate assumption, after maturing and gaining sexual insight, Katharina stumbled across the sexual encounter, which involved her uncle and her cousin. The new enlightenment established his understanding of the cause of Katharina’s anxiety attacks. He made inferences about the two earlier incidents narrated to him and explained the connection to her, to which she agreed. Throughout the entire session with Katharina, Freud merely had to rely on his assumption techniques, which proved to be correct in her case. He knew that in a mountainous setting, it would be difficult for him to use psychoanalytic techniques as opposed to a clinical setting; therefore it would be most appropriate to make timely assumptions on the basis of the information provided to him. Fortunately, it worked and he was able to unravel the cause of her anxiety symptoms. While pouring out the incident to Freud, Katharina also made startling discoveries; she figured the face that used to appear in her head, further exacerbating her anxiety, actually belonged to her uncle. This was because Katharina told her aunt the ugly truth about her uncle, which resulted in a divorce between them. Her uncle gave way to an immense fury towards Katharina and kept threatening her that he would harm her. His face would become enraged when he saw her and this was the face that plagued her incessantly (Buss, 1). Through the information provided to him, Freud deduced that Katharina’s aunt and her family must have been too engrossed in filing for a divorce, due to which Katharina had no one to confide into. The anxiety remained bottled inside her, owing to the immense disgust she felt after the culmination of the sexual encounters, of which one she was the victim and one where she was the witness. All these gave way to her symptoms of anxiety which included, feeling out of breath, head feeling heavy, dreadful buzzing, feeling of giddiness, crushing against the chest and the feeling that her throat has been choked. There was also an extreme hammering in her head. Freud only had the privilege of one meeting with Katharina and did not ever meet her again. Trivia: After a lapse of several years, Freud discovered that Katharina’s aunt and uncle were actually her biological parents. Thus, she underwent sexual advances from her own father. Critical Analysis: The case presented to Freud was not a very complex one. Through some coaxing, he easily managed to garner the information that led him to make the appropriate connections and discover the cause of Katharina’s anxiety attacks. The case didn’t entail his conventional psychoanalytic techniques. It was due to his timely coaxing and assumptions that Katharina confided in him (Behavioural Psychology, 3). It is noted that no details of her uncle getting intimate with her have been provided. It is necessary that Freud should have probed this question, despite her reluctance because it would have provided a fairer idea of how deeply had the trauma and anxiety penetrated Katharina and then taking appropriate measures to counsel her (Mclaud, 1). Had it been presented earlier that the uncle was actually Katharina’s father, the case would have acquired a new dimension altogether and would have been treated as a case of incest. Under this new dimension, Katharina’s anxiety and pain would be considered more profound because undergoing sexual advances from her own father must have been shattering for her. It is unfortunate that this extremely important and lurid detail was discovered much later by Freud. References Cherry, Kendra, Perspectives in Modern Psychology, Published in 2001, http://psychology.about.com/od/psychology101/a/perspectives.htm, Accessed 12th May, 2012 Buss, DM, Human Nature and Culture: An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective, Published in 1991, http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/busslab/pdffiles/Human%20Nature%20and%20Culture.pdf, Accessed 12th May, 2012 Mc Laud, Seol, Social Psychology, Published in 2007, http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.html, Accessed 12th May, 2012 Behavioural Psychology, http://www.sntp.net/behaviorism/behaviorism_main.htm, Accessed 12th May, 2012 Read More