Dominant Approaches

Micro Level
Symbolic Interactionism
 Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level
theory that focuses on the relationships
among individuals within a society.
 Communication—the exchange of
meaning through language and symbols—
is believed to be the way in which people
make sense of their social worlds.
 Theorists Herman and Reynolds (1994)
note that this perspective sees people as
being active in shaping the social world
rather than simply being acted upon.
Symbolic Interactionism
 George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) is
considered a founder of symbolic interactionism
though he never published his work on it
(LaRossa and Reitzes 1993).
 Mead’s student, Herbert Blumer, coined the
term “symbolic interactionism” and outlined
these basic premises: humans interact with
things based on meanings ascribed to those
things; the ascribed meaning of things comes
from our interactions with others and society;
the meanings of things are interpreted by a
person when dealing with things in specific
circumstances (Blumer 1969).
Symbolic Interactionism

 If you love books, for example, a

symbolic interactionist might
propose that you learned that books
are good or important in the
interactions you had with family,
friends, school, or church; maybe
your family had a special reading
time each week, getting your library
card was treated as a special event,
or bedtime stories were associated
Symbolic Interactionism
 Socialscientists who apply symbolic-
interactionist thinking look for patterns of
interaction between individuals. Their studies
often involve observation of one-on-one
interactions. For example, while a conflict
theorist studying a political protest might focus
on class difference, a symbolic interactionist
would be more interested in how individuals in
the protesting group interact, as well as the
signs and symbols protesters use to
communicate their message.
Symbolic Interactionism
 Janitorsand supporters strike with signs in
front of MTV network in Santa Monica.The
focus on the importance of symbols in building
a society led sociologists like Erving Goffman
(1922–1982) to develop a technique called
dramaturgical analysis. Goffman used theater
as an analogy for social interaction and
recognized that people’s interactions showed
patterns of cultural “scripts.” Because it can be
unclear what part a person may play in a given
situation, he or she has to improvise his or her
role as the situation unfolds (Goffman 1958).
Symbolic Interactionism

 Studies that use the symbolic

interactionist perspective are more
likely to use qualitative research
methods, such as in-depth interviews
or participant observation, because
they seek to understand the
symbolic worlds in which research
subjects live.
 Constructivism is an extension of
symbolic interaction theory which
proposes that reality is what humans
cognitively construct it to be. We
develop social constructs based on
interactions with others, and those
constructs that last over time are
those that have meanings which are
widely agreed-upon or generally
accepted by most within the society.
 Constructivism is a learning theory
found in psychology which explains
how people might acquire knowledge
and learn. It therefore has direct
application to education. The theory
suggests that humans construct
knowledge and meaning from their
experiences.
 This approach is often used to understand what’s
defined as deviant within a society. There is no absolute
definition of deviance, and different societies have
constructed different meanings for deviance, as well as
associating different behaviors with deviance. One
situation that illustrates this is what you believe you’re
to do if you find a wallet in the street. In the United
States, turning the wallet in to local authorities would
be considered the appropriate action, and to keep the
wallet would be seen as deviant. In contrast, many
Eastern societies would consider it much more
appropriate to keep the wallet and search for the owner
yourself; turning it over to someone else, even the
authorities, would be considered deviant behavior.
There are three overarching
premises that constitute symbolic
interactionism.
 First - Meaning is an important element of human
existence - A Concept that is both subjective and
individualistic, and that people consequently act in
accordance with the meanings they construe.

 Second - People identify and mold their unique symbolic

references through the process of socialization - This
postulation suggests that people are not inherently
equipped with interpretive devices that help navigate
through complex realms of human behavior.

 Third - There is a cultural dimension that intertwines the

symbolic "educational" development. - For Example, in
conversation, the amount of physical space in which we
distance our bodies has culturally symbolic significance
( Rothbaum, Morelli, Pott & Liu-Constant, 2000).
Psychoanalysis
 Saul McLeod, published 2007, updated 2014
 Psychoanalysis was founded by
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud believed
that people could be cured by making
conscious their unconscious thoughts and
motivations, thus gaining insight.
 The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to
release repressed emotions and experiences,
i.e., make the unconscious conscious. It is
only having a cathartic (i.e., healing)
experience can the person be helped and
"cured."
Psychoanalysis
 Psychoanalysis is a type of therapy that aims
to release pent-up or repressed emotions and
memories to lead the client to catharsis, or
healing (McLeod, 2014). In other words, the
goal of psychoanalysis is to bring that which
is at the unconscious or subconscious level up
to consciousness.
 This goal is accomplished through talking to
another person about the big questions, the
things that matter, and diving into the
complexities that lie beneath the simple-
seeming surface.
Sigmund Freud
 Freud was born in Austria but spent most of his
childhood and adult life in Vienna after his family
moved there when he was four years old (Sigmund
Freud Biography, 2017). He entered medical school
and trained to become a neurologist, earning a
medical degree in 1881.
 Soon after his graduation, he set up a private
practice and began treating patients with
psychological disorders. His attention was captured
by a colleague’s intriguing experience with a
patient; the colleague was Dr. Josef Breuer and the
patient was the famous “Anna O.” who suffered
from physical symptoms with no apparent physical
cause. Dr. Breuer found that her symptoms abated
when he helped her recover memories of
traumatic experiences that she had repressed, or
hidden away from her conscious mind.

Models of the Mind
 Perhaps the most impactful idea put forth by
Freud was his model of the human mind. His
model divides the mind into three layers, or
regions:
 Conscious: this is where our current thoughts,
feelings, and focus live.
 Preconscious (sometimes called the
subconscious): this is the home of everything
we can recall or retrieve from our memory.
 Unconscious: at the deepest level resides a
repository of the processes that drive our
behavior, including primitive and instinctual
desires (McLeod, 2013).
Models of the Mind
 Id: the id operates entirely at an unconscious level
and focuses solely on basic, instinctual drives and
desires. According to Freud, two biological instincts
make up the id:
a. Eros, or the instinct to survive that drives us to
engage in life-sustaining activities.
b. Thanatos, or the death instinct that drives
destructive, aggressive, and violent behavior.
 Ego: the ego acts as both a conduit for and a
check on the id, working to meet the id’s needs in
a socially appropriate way. It is the most tied to
reality and begins developing in infancy.
 Superego: the superego is the portion of the mind
in which morality and higher principles reside,
Models of the Mind
The 5 Psychosexual Stages of Development

 First Stage: Oral – the child seeks pleasure

from the mouth (e.g., sucking).
 Second Stage: Anal – the child seeks pleasure
from the anus (e.g., withholding and expelling
feces).
 Third Stage: Phallic – the child seeks pleasure
from the penis or clitoris (e.g., masturbation).
 Fourth Stage: Latent – the child has little or no
sexual motivation.
 Fifth Stage: Genital – the child seeks pleasure
from the penis or vagina (e.g., sexual
intercourse; McLeod, 2013).
 Freud hypothesized that an
individual must successfully
complete each stage to become a
psychologically healthy adult with a
fully formed ego and superego;
otherwise, individuals may become
stuck or “fixated” in a particular
stage, causing emotional and
behavioral problems in adulthood
(McLeod, 2013).
 Defense Mechanisms
 Freud believed these three pieces of the mind are in constant conflict, as the primary goal is different for each piece.
Sometimes, when the conflict is too much for a person to handle, his or her ego may engage in one or many defense
mechanisms to protect the individual.
 These defense mechanisms include:
 Repression: unconscious mechanism in which the ego pushes disturbing or
threatening thoughts out of consciousness.
 Denial: the ego blocks upsetting or overwhelming experiences from
awareness, causing the individual to refuse to acknowledge or believe what
is happening.
 Projection: the ego’s attempt to solve discomfort by attributing the
individual’s unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and motives to another person.
 Displacement: a mechanism by which the individual can satisfy an impulse
by acting on a substitute object or person in a socially unacceptable way
(e.g., releasing frustration directed toward your boss on your spouse instead).
 Regression: a defense mechanism in which the individual moves backward
in development in order to cope with stress (e.g., an overwhelmed adult
acting like a child).
 Sublimation: similar to displacement, this defense mechanism involves
satisfying an impulse by acting on a substitute, but in a socially acceptable
way (e.g., channeling energy into work or a constructive hobby; McLeod,
2013).
Psychoanalysis
Assumptions
 Psychoanalytic psychologists see
psychological problems as rooted in the
unconscious mind.
 Manifest symptoms are caused by latent
(hidden) disturbances.
 Typical causes include unresolved issues
during development or repressed trauma.
 Treatment focuses on bringing the
repressed conflict to consciousness,
where the client can deal with it.
 How can we understand the unconscious mind?
 Remember, psychoanalysis is a therapy as well
as a theory. Psychoanalysis is commonly used to
treat depression and anxiety disorders.
 In psychoanalysis (therapy) Freud would have a
patient lie on a couch to relax, and he would sit
behind them taking notes while they told him
about their dreams and childhood memories.
Psychoanalysis would be a lengthy process,
involving many sessions with the psychoanalyst.
How can we understand the unconscious mind?

 Remember, psychoanalysis is a
therapy as well as a theory.
Psychoanalysis is commonly used to
treat depression and anxiety disorders.
 In psychoanalysis (therapy) Freud
would have a patient lie on a couch to
relax, and he would sit behind them
taking notes while they told him about
their dreams and childhood memories.
Psychoanalysis would be a lengthy
 Due to the nature of
defense mechanisms and the
inaccessibility of the deterministic
forces operating in the unconscious,
psychoanalysis in its classic form is a
lengthy process often involving 2 to
5 sessions per week for several
years.
 Thisapproach assumes that the reduction
of symptoms alone is relatively
inconsequential as if the underlying
conflict is not resolved, more neurotic
symptoms will simply be substituted. The
analyst typically is a 'blank screen,'
disclosing very little about themselves in
order that the client can use the space in
the relationship to work on their
unconscious without interference from
outside.
 The psychoanalyst uses various
techniques as encouragement for
the client to develop insights into
their behavior and the meanings of
symptoms, including ink blots,
parapraxes, free association,
interpretation (including dream
analysis), resistance analysis and
transference analysis.
Clinical Applications

 Clinical Applications
 Depression