Evaluation

• Real-world application - point

  One strength of the psychodynamic approach is that it introduced the idea of psychotherapy as opposed to physical treatments
• Real-world application - evidence

  Freud brought to the world a new form of therapy - psychoanalysis. This was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically, his techniques were designed to access the unconscious by using dream analysis for example
• Real-world application - explain/link back

  Psychoanalysis claims to help patients by bringing their repressed emotions into their conscious mind to be dealt with, and it is the forerunner to many modern day talking therapies such as counselling. This shows the value of the psychodynamic approach in creating a new approach to treatment.
• Untestable concepts - point

  One limitation of the psychodynamic approach is that many of Freud's concepts are untestable.
• Untestable concepts - evidence


  The Philosopher of Science - Karl Popper - argued that the approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification. It is not open to empirical testing and the possibility of being disproven
• Untestable concepts - explain/link back


  Many of Freud's concepts such as the Id and the Oedipus complex are said to occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult, if not impossible, to test. Furthermore, his ideas were based on the subjective case studies of individuals such as Little Hans. this makes it difficult to generalise and make universal claims about human behaviours. Therfore, this suaggest Freud's theory was pseudoscientific rather than established fact.
• Explanatory power - point 


  Another strength of Freud's theory is its ability to explain human behaviour.
• Explanatory power - explain


  Freud's theory is controversial in many ways, and often bizarre, but it has nevertheless had a huge influence on psychology. Alongside behaviourism, the psychodynamic approach remained a key force in psychology for the first half of the 20th century and has been used to explain a wide range of phenomena.
• Explanatory power - evidence


  This includes personality development, the origins of psychological disorders and moral development. The approach is also significant in drawing a connection between experiences in childhood and later development.
• Explanatory power - counterpoint

  However, Freud's theory can be considered a problem as it is so influential, but takes a very androcentric view. This is because his views on women at the time were less developed than his views on men. This shows in his theories, such as the oedipus complex, where he solely focused on men. This means that his ideas cannot be generalised to women which is a problem as they are still used today.