Essay on Understanding Human Behaviour
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Added on 2020-06-03
Essay on Understanding Human Behaviour
Added on 2020-06-03
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History Assignment Under unit called(Understanding History)
Freud and PsychohistoryPsychohistory can be defined as the study of sociology and history to make predictionregarding human behaviour. It attempts to combine insights of psychoanalysis and appropriateresearch methodology of social science to acquire brief knowledge about the origin of emotional,social aspects of human behaviour of specific groups and country. Sigmund Freud was anAustrian neurologist and known as one of the renowned psychoanalyst who have explored andderived various theories based on human behaviours. In this essay, the potential and performanceof understanding the human behaviour in the past on the basis of psychohistory will be analysedin accordance with the studies made by Freud. Human behaviours refer to range of every physical, emotional and psychologicalresponses or reactions associated with individual as well as whole human race. Each individualpossesses different kinds of behaviour, which help to describe him or her efficiently1. Somepeople have aggressive kind of behaviour while some possess with calm and serene behaviour.Human behaviour is dynamic in nature and transforms according to the situations or conditionsany particular person faces. Understanding human behaviour is very essential to determine theneed and desire of an individual. It can range from being acceptable to beyond acceptable limitsof human entities. The traits and characteristic varies from person to person and can producedifferent actions or behaviours2. Many psychologists and psychoanalysts derived various theorieswhich help today's managers and organisations to understand the human behaviour in effectiveand efficient way. The behaviour of individuals is influenced by the impact of external andinternal stimulus. Human behaviour is uncertain and it is very difficult to anticipate behavioursof specific person or groups. It is influenced by various factors such as age, genetics, morals,principals, values norms and beliefs. Psychologists classified behaviour of individual in threeparts which are (a) Caused Behaviour, (b) Goal Oriented Behaviour and (c) Motivatedbehaviour. By understanding behaviour, one can efficiently change, predict and direct behavioursof individuals or groups. 1Elms, A.C., 2013. Sigmund Freud, psychohistorian.The Annual of Psychoanalysis, V. 31: Psychoanalysisand History. p.65.2Weir, P.C., 2017. Psychohistory: Readings in the Methods of Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and History:edited by Geoffrey Cocks and Travis L. Crosby, Yale University Press, 1987, 312 pp., $37.50 hardcover,$14.95 paperback.1
For developing efficient human skills, it is very important to understand humanbehaviours. Psychologists describe human behaviour as an unavoidable conflict between drivesand reality. Psychoanalysts focus on understanding how humans behaved in the past. On thebasis of it, they derived various theories such as personality theory, applied behaviour analysis,etc. Various organisations and people that help to understand and predict human behaviours, nowuse these theories. Psychohistory refers to the study of historical phenomena which describes thebehaviours of individuals significantly3. It seeks to understand individual historical people andtheir motivations in history. Many psychologists innovate various tools, techniques and methodto comprehend the nature of human and tries to study their behaviour in effective and efficientway. By studying the past human behaviours, one can predict and direct his future behaviour ineffective and efficient way. Psychohistory can be defined as the process performed for historical research by applyingthe modal of formal psychology.Many of its concepts are derived from the areas that weregenerally avoided by historians and traditional anthropologists as model factors related withhistory of humans. Psychohistory plays an important role in determining the behaviour ofhumans in the past4. Many psychohistorians believe that social behaviours such as crime evolveddue to destructive and devastating behaviour in an individual or a group. Fundamentally, thereare three inter-related areas of psychohistorical study which are (a) The history of childhood, (b)Psychobiography and (c) Group Psychohistory. The history of childhood answers the universalquestions related with the behaviour of children influenced by the internal (family) and externalenvironment (society). Psychobiography seeks to understand the historical people and their motivation inhistory. Group psychohistory deals with the motivations of entire group or nation in history andcurrent affairs. Thus, psychohistory plays an essential role in order to determine the overallpsychology of human beings in the past5. Psychohistorians proposed various motivational andtrait theories that help today's people to understand the factors that influenced human behaviour.Many psychohistorians argued that psychohistory is separate field of study with its own specific3Cordony, B., 2016. History extension discussion starters.Teaching History.50(2). p.53.4Klein, O., Hegarty, P. and Fischhoff, B., 2017. Hindsight 40 years on: An interview with BaruchFischhoff.Memory Studies.10(3). Pp.249-260.5Kilian, H., 2013. Psychohistory, cultural evolution, and the historical significance of self psychology.ArnoldGoldberg (Hg.): The Impact of New Ideas: Progress in Self Psychology. Bd.11. pp.291-301.2
methods, objectives and theories which are different from traditional historical analysis andanthropology. Psychohistorians jotted about transformation in human psyche by analysinghistory. They measure the performance of child behaviour by evaluating parenting techniquesand methods. They believed that without proper parenting a child could develop destructivebehaviour in him. As per the psychohistory theory changing environment will not impact much ifchild has adapted destructive behaviour in him. The theory claimed that it is the responsibility ofparents to guide their children in appropriate way to eliminate the destructive behaviour in them.Freud was the founder and father of psychoanalysis, it is a well-known method that is used forthe treatment of mental illness6. He also derived some theories which can be used to explain thehuman behaviour. According to Freud, psychoanalysis is the concept of talking cure and heencourages his patients discuss freely regarding the symptom they are facing. While, dealing with a patient name Anna O, Freud proposed his first theory regarding thehuman psychology. In this case Anna O is suffering from Hysteria that also without anyappearance of physical cause. With the help of psychoanalysis process, Freud came toconclusion that she is fearing from drinking after a dog drink from her glass. But after thisdiscussion, she became free of paralysis7. Then Freud proposed that physical symptoms are thedisplay of disputes that are deeply repressed. Thus, it was the first revolutionary theory by himregarding the human psyche.In this series, Freud also developed a topographical model for mind. In this case, Freudused the analogy of iceberg to describe the structure and function of mind. This particular modelconsists of three level in which: tip of an iceberg is consciousness, this section of mind consistsof those thought that present focus of our attention. Second comes the surface of the icebergwhich is taken as preconscious section of mind, it consists of all the thoughts that can be easilyretrieved from the mind. Now comes last but not the least, third section called unconscious mindwhich is not visible but plays major role in the human behaviour. It is similar to an iceberg inwhich section below water is not visible8. Freud put stress on importance of unconscious mind6Roth, M.S., 2016. Psychoanalysis and history.Psychoanalytic Psychology,33(S1), p.S19.7Jian-hua, Y. U., 2013. A Brief Review of Research on Social Mentality.Science Economy Society.2. p.031.8Strozier, C.B. and Offer, D. eds., 2013.The leader: psychohistorical essays. Springer Science & BusinessMedia.3
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