Psychoanalytic and Phenomenological Explanations of...

Individuals personalities and overall quality of living are significantly influenced by several interrelated sources ranging from ones upbringing and quality of relationships to their own feelings of self-esteem and worth. Though this may seem relatively easy and un-complex, countless people today are engaged in persistent antisocial, criminal behavior, and seem unable to find an alternative, legal, means of living. While many have tried to explain such behavior through various theories, the causes of criminal activity remain to be satisfactorily clarified. Essentially, antisocial criminal activity has two aspects to it. Antisocial behavior is that in which one shuns society and others, while criminal activity is the act of†¦show more content†¦First there is the conscious, which consists of the things people are constantly aware of. Next is the preconscious, which stores information that can be triggered into consciousness. Then exists the unconscious, where the insti ncts and information that people are unaware of exist. The majority of ones actions are controlled by the unconscious with little influence by the conscious. Problems arise when the conscious and unconscious mind are in conflict. As a result, anxiety occurs, and, as Freud said, people focus on releasing this tension through the use of defense mechanisms (Pervin, Cervone, John, 2005). All of the above mentioned facets of the psychoanalytic theory will help provide an explanation as to why people engage in antisocial criminal behavior. Clearly, according to the psychoanalytic theory, most of ones behavior is motivated by unconscious influences and one of the key goals in life is to avoid pain and anxiety. In order to accomplish this, humans employ the use of defense mechanisms. The main defense mechanism in psychoanalytic theory is repression, which is where a thought or feeling that will lead to tension and anxiety is kept out of ones consciousness (Pervin et al, 2005). Therefore, feelings such as hostility and sexual frustration may be repressed into the unconscious. However, the theory emphasizes the motivated unconscious, which means that even though a thought or feelingShow MoreRelatedOcd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment131367 Words   |  526 Pagesobsessive–compulsive disorders (OCD). The possibility that a greater emphasis on cognitive factors might enhance a behavioral account of OCD can be traced back to Carr (1974), McFall and Wollersheim (1979), Rachman and Hodgson (1980), and Salkovskis (1985) . Behavior therapy in the form of exposure and response prevention (ERP), which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, proved to be a highly effective treatment for many forms of OCD. Behavioral research on obsessions and compulsions offered new insights into the