The nurse explains to a mental health care technician that a client’s obsessive-compulsive behaviors are related to an unconscious conflict between id impulses and the superego (or conscience). On which of the following theories does the nurse base this statement?
A. Behavioral theory
B. Cognitive theory
C. Interpersonal theory
D. Psychoanalytic theory
Correct Answer: D. Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic is based on Freud’s beliefs regarding the importance of unconscious motivation for behavior and the role of the id and superego in opposition to each other. Psychoanalysis is defined as a set of psychological theories and therapeutic methods which have their origin in the work and theories of Sigmund Freud . The primary assumption of psychoanalysis is the belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories. 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.”
Option A: Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviorists believe that our responses to environmental stimuli shape our actions. According to this school of thought, behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable manner regardless of internal mental states. According to this perspective, only observable behavior should be considered—cognitions, emotions, and moods are far too subjective.
Option B: Cognitive theory is an approach to psychology that attempts to explain human behavior by understanding your thought processes. For example, a therapist is using principles of cognitive theory when they teach you how to identify maladaptive thought patterns and transform them into constructive ones. The assumption of cognitive theory is that thoughts are the primary determinants of emotions and behavior. Information processing is a common description of this mental process. Theorists compare the way the human mind functions to a computer.
Option C: Interpersonal theory emphasizes the importance of various developmental stages—infancy, childhood, the juvenile era, preadolescence, early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood. Like Freud and Jung, Sullivan (1953b) saw personality as an energy system. Energy can exist either as tension (potentiality for action) or as actions themselves (energy transformations). Energy transformations transform tensions into either covert or overt behaviors and are aimed at satisfying needs and reducing anxiety.