Unconscious motivation is a difficult concept to understand. This is due to the fact that Freudian psychodynamic theories initially lacked any form of empirical evidence. However as time goes on researchers are discovering that some of what Freud was talking about can be tested, such as the unconscious. I still have a hard time trying to grasp these seemingly unrealistic notions of implicit motivation and the Id and Ego.
Of all the Freudian theories my one main interest lies in the interpretation of dreams. As a young girl I purchased a dream dictionary that was heavily based on Freudian interpretations, although I remember even then, dismissing most of the sexual associations and interpreting the way I saw them. Now I have found a website which does the trick. http://www.dreammoods.com/
After reading the section of object relations theory I begin to wonder if psychopathology can all be a direct result of parenting and childhood experiences.
As stated in Reeve (2009) as we are growing up, if we are treated with warm and responsive care, a person develops positive mental models of himself or herself, of significant others and of relationships in general. If a child grows without the feelings of relatedness or is frustrated through cold, rejecting and unresponsive care a person develops maladaptive mental models that leave them vulnerable to psychopathology. This makes me think of the case of the two little boys in England who murdered a toddler. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/20/newsid_2552000/2552185.stm
These two children were bought up in low socio-economic neighbourhoods, with one of the children having an abusive alcoholic mother, who was rarely at home and did not offer any form of relatedness or nurturing. This neglectful treatment leads to the development of extreme maladaptive behaviours.
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