Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Psychodynamic Perspective

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Psychoanalysis; Psychodynamic theory

Definition

The psychodynamic perspective encompasses a number of theories that explain both normal and pathological personality development in terms of the dynamics of the mind. Such dynamics include motivational factors, affects, unconscious mental processes, conflict, and defense mechanisms. Psychodynamic theories also typically emphasize the importance of childhood experiences and object relations for understanding personality development. While most commonly associated with Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the psychodynamic perspective also extends to several post-Freudian schools including object relations theory and neuropsychoanalysis.

Introduction

The term psychodynamicitself generally refers to both the mind’s mental “forces” and the psychological conflict that can arise between them. Such forces include drives and impulses, wishes, affects, as well as various mental agencies. Psychological conflict may arise due to anxiety...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Boag, S. (2012). Freudian repression, the unconscious, and the dynamics of inhibition. London: Karnac.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boag, S. (2017). Metapsychology and the foundations of psychoanalysis: Attachment, neuropsychoanalysis, and integration. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowins, B. (2004). Psychological defense mechanisms: A new perspective. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 64, 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1: Attachment. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52, 664–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carhart-Harris, R., & Friston, K. (2010). The default-mode, ego functions, and free energy: A neurobiological account of Freudian ideas. Brain, 133, 1265–1283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Friston, K. J. (2012). Free-energy and Freud: An update. In A. Fotopoulou, D. Pfaff, & M. Conway (Eds.), From the couch to the lab: Trends in psychodynamic neuroscience (pp. 219–229). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, P. (2000). Defense mechanisms in psychology today: Further processes for adaptation. American Psychologist, 55, 637–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairbairn, W. R. D. (1952). Psychoanalytic studies of the personality. London: Tavistock.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fayek, A. (2005). The centrality of the system Ucs. In the theory of psychoanalysis: The nonrepressed unconscious. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 22, 524–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fonagy, P. (1999). Memory and therapeutic action. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 80, 215–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1900). The interpretation of dreams. S. E., 4–5. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. S. E., 7. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1910a). Five lectures on psycho-analysis. S. E., 11: 9–55. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1910b). “Wild” psycho-analysis. S. E., 11: 221–227. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S (1912). The dynamics of transference. S. E., 12: 97–108 London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1912–1913). Totem and Taboo. S. E., 13. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1913). The claims of psycho-analysis to scientific interest. S. E., 13:163–190. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1914). Some reflections on schoolboy psychology. S. E., 13: 241–244. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1915a). Instincts and their vicissitudes. S. E., 14: 109–140. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1915b). Repression. S. E., 14: 141–158. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1915c). The unconscious. S. E., 14: 159–215. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1915d). Observations on transference-love (Further recommendations on the technique of psycho-analysis III). S. E., 12: 157–174. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1916–1917). Introductory lectures on psycho-analysis. S. E., 15–16. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1923a). Two encyclopaedia articles. S. E., 18: 233–260. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1923b). The Ego and the Id. S. E., 19: 1–66. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1933). New introductory lectures on psycho-analysis. S. E., 22. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, A. (1936). The ego and the mechanisms of defence. London: The Hogarth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1940). An outline of psycho-analysis. S. E., 23: 1–138. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins, J. (2016). Free energy and virtual reality in neuroscience and psychoanalysis: A complexity theory of dreaming and mental disorder. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, B. P. (1993). Repression: The evolution of a psycho-analytic concept from the 1890’s to the 1990’s. Journal of the American psycho-analytic Association, 41, 63–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogden, T. H. (1983). The concept of internal object relations. International Journal of Psycho-analysis, 64, 227–241.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Solms, M. (2013). Freud’s “primary process” versus Hobson’s “Protoconsciousness”. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 49, 201–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solms, M., & Panksepp, J. (2012). The “id” knows more than the “ego” admits: Neuropsychoanalytic and primal consciousness perspectives on the interface between affective and cognitive neuroscience. Brain Science, 2, 147–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solms, M., & Turnbull, O. (2002). The brain and the inner world: An introduction to the neuroscience of subjective experience. New York: Other Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solms, M., & Turnbull, O. H. (2011). What is neuropsychoanalysis? Neuropsychoanalysis, 13, 133–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, J. S., & Panksepp, J. (2012). An evolutionary framework to understand foraging, wanting, and desire: The neuropsychology of the SEEKING system. Neuropsychoanalysis, 14, 5–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

    Simon Boag

Authors
  1. Simon Boag
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simon Boag .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Boag, S. (2018). Psychodynamic Perspective. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1415-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1415-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation