How successful have the social psychoanalytic and phenomenological perspectives been Essay Example

had multiple personalities or selves.

Borge distinguished between his genuine private identity and his public persona, which he assumed as a writer. According to Winnicott (1970), the authentic self is the former, while the latter is a false self. In his depiction of the self, Goffman (1959) introduced a third element - that of a performer, a spectator, and a character.

According to Hollway (2007), Goffman believed that individuals felt pressured to conform to social norms due to their awareness of how others perceived them. Goffman and other SSP psychologists distinguished between the "I" and "me" of an individual, with the former representing agency and personal emotions while the latter represented structure and social influences. In the first half of the 20th century, it was widely accepted that an individual's identity was heavily influenced by their social environment. However, Allport (1943) introduced a PSP perspective that argued an individual's core desires or ego shaped their behavior and self-presentation. Allport disagreed with SSP researchers' view of the self as fragmented and multiple; he believed that Rogers' (1942) studies provided a more accurate definition of self, which he saw as coherent.

Using psychometrics and experiments, Rogers, a humanistic psychologist, assisted patients in discovering their ego to establish a unified true self that was unaffected by societal pressures. The dichotomies of self were problematic because they provided extreme definitions of self, resulting in a lack of overlap between SSP research findings and PSP experimentation (Wilson and Schafer, 1978). However, in the USA, humanistic psychologists merged their conclusions with phenomenological concepts to transcend the complicated individual-society binary during the second half of the 20th century (Hollway, 2007). This paper will examine

how the phenomenological approach attempted to bridge the gap between the individual and society.

Husserl, the philosopher behind phenomenology, believed that the self was shaped by "being-in-the-world" and the "lifeworld." He suggested that individuals derive meaning from their own experiences and advised psychologists to practice 'epoche' to remain impartial towards the individual's experiences. Husserl advocated for psychologists to focus on rich descriptions of experiences instead of theories and rationalizations, using 'horizontalisation' as a guide to give all descriptions equal value. (Hollway, 2007).

Husserl, similar to Rogers (1942), focused on each individual's subjective and conscious emotions. Nevertheless, Husserl's perspective did not view individuals as isolated from the societal environment. His technique surpassed the duality of individuality and society by demonstrating that a distinctive emotional and experiential individual also engages as a social entity. The phenomenological approach presents an individual as adjacent to others while embodied (Hollway, 2007).

According to Hollway (2007), the phenomenological approach goes beyond the binary of individual and social by examining the conscious experience, which is always shared with others. This approach recognizes that the individual and the social are constantly intertwined. Journalist Asne Seierstad also employs the phenomenological approach to characterize an individual in a social context. In her book, The Bookseller of Kabul (2004), Seierstad uses descriptive passages to convey what it feels like to wear a burka in Afghanistan. Her descriptions align with Husserl's epoche approach, as she directs the reader's attention to the experience of being a woman clad in a burka. Initially, the reader may feel that burka-wearers lack individuality since Seierstad describes them communally as "burka-women" (Seierstad, 2004, pp 89).

The impression conveyed is that the women

have no distinct identity and instead are shaped entirely by their society and culture of origin. It is evident that they conform to the expectations and demands of their society. Goffman (1959) posited that individuals become products of their society as they comply with its norms. Nevertheless, towards the conclusion of the passage, we witness the emergence of an individual from among the group of women wearing burkas.

Upon receiving a name, Shakila is depicted as a woman who, like all "burka-women", possesses distinctive qualities and a unique persona. Shakila’s mischievous grin and boisterous laughter suggest she is a skilled negotiator and even indulges in flirting, as she has always done.

According to Seierstad (2004), the vendor can easily interpret movements of a burka, whether it is waving, nodding, or billowing. The vendor can even flirt using small gestures such as a finger or foot.

At first, the women were perceived as a collective, but eventually an individual emerged from among them. The journalist struggled to differentiate between the burka-clad women, whereas the market vendors could easily discern their temperaments. As the women flirted, it became evident that the personal and societal were interconnected; their experiences were influenced by society. Shakila's flirting and haggling showcased her distinct personality and self-awareness.

According to my interpretation, the use of a burka serves as an example that demeans the concept of an individual-society dualism. Society pushed for the wearing of a burka, yet the true nature of the person transcended conformity and prevailed despite societal expectations. This revealed both the individual and societal aspects. Consequently, the agency and structure combined to make dualisms concerning the self insignificant. There are other instances

where a phenomenological approach has revealed a transcendent relationship between the individual and society. The Ashworths (2003) employed Husserl's phenomenological method to examine the existence of a woman with Alzheimer's disease in her everyday life.

In their research, Ashworth and Ashworth characterized the concept of self as an individual existing within a social context, where individuals relate to others. Their study aimed to comprehend the perspective of an individual with Alzheimer's disease, and documented the subject's depictions of her encounters. The woman's portrayal of her late spouse implied a continued connection, indicating that during moments of enjoyment, she felt her husband was also sharing in the pleasure - much like when he was alive (Ashworth and Ashworth 2003).

According to Ashworth and Ashworth (2003), the woman with Alzheimer's was not just a member of a group but an individual with unique desires and emotions who deserved respect. Despite some inaccuracies in the descriptions of her experiences, she continued to have conscious experiences in her own lifeworld. However, she also shared her experiences with her deceased husband, highlighting the coextensive mediation between the individual and society in the phenomenological approach. This approach successfully defined the self as an embodied self living in a social world. These two phenomenological approaches overcome the individual-social dualism by presenting the self as an individual with lived experiences that align with social interactions.

According to Hollway (2007), every individual derives a unique significance from their experiences, but these experiences always have a social aspect. Though social psychoanalysis had a distinct approach towards comprehending the self, it aimed at reducing the duality between the individual and society. This research methodology surpassed Husserl's

description of conscious experience to explore the unperceived self and unravel its mysteries. This paper aims to exhibit how this ideology negates the individual-society dualism and how social psychology is presenting an intelligent interpretation of the self in contemporary times. Social psychoanalysis hypothesizes that the unconscious serves as the origin of the self, and our deepest desires and motivations stem from this realm. The dynamic unconscious influences others, thereby integrating individual and social elements concurrently (Hollway, 2007).

The clinical work of Melanie Klein led to the development of initial psychoanalytic perspectives. According to Klein (1988), the self and the external social world are closely linked, as individuals utilize intersubjective means to cope with personal anxiety. Klein also believed that the involvement of others was always present in the unconscious. Psychoanalyst Winnicott (1971) suggested that proper recognition and response to a baby's gestures is crucial in the development of a genuine sense of self.

Philips (1988) posited that failing to validate an infant's conduct may lead to the formation of a distorted self-concept, prompting compliance with parental wishes rather than exploration of individual inclinations. Acknowledging a child's desires is crucial in enabling them to discern their own needs. This highlights the importance of early identity formation, which can be influenced positively or negatively by societal reactions to behavior.

The passage proposes that rather than a division between individuals and society, the two are interconnected. According to social psychoanalysis, the unconscious desires of an individual are always considered within a social framework. Psychotherapeutic research is employed to understand agency in relation to structure (Hollway, 2007). Social psychoanalysis reconciles the dichotomy between individual and society by analyzing case studies

that transcend the agency-structure binary. For instance, Turp (2004) utilized a psychoanalytic approach to interpret baby Esther's bodily expressions. Over two years, Turp observed Esther and discovered that she was able to effectively convey her emotions nonverbally.

According to Hollway (2007), Turp's study revealed Esther's unselfconscious self through her actions of smiling and rubbing her nose against her father's cheek. Through psychoanalytical methods, her sense of self-worth and belief could be deduced. It can be inferred that Esther had a secure self-identity owing to her father's positive and empathetic response to her movements. This supports Philip's (1988) notion that babies develop their desires when their parents acknowledge and respond to their needs. This psychoanalytic observation signifies that every individual possesses unique desires and interpretations of their experiences that stem from social interactions. Additionally, Hollway and Jefferson (2005) interviewed Vince to investigate his reasons for ceasing work.

Using qualitative methods, information was gathered through an interview with Vince. Hollway (2007) applied social psychoanalytic techniques to interpret what was said and unsaid, uncovering the internal, unconscious world of Vince's psyche. Through the use of free association, it was discovered that Vince developed depression due to work related stress. Despite consciously desiring to work, his unconscious dynamic desires to leave his demanding job were expressed through panic attacks and depression, making him unfit for work. This case study highlights how individual unconscious anxiety can interfere with conscious desires, as Vince wanted to work but was unable to due to these internal conflicts. It also demonstrates the interconnectedness of individual desires with society, as the anxiety related to Vince's difficult boss contributed to his struggles.

According to Hollway (2007), the social psychoanalytic

perspective demonstrates that individual desires can be shaped by social context, thus transcending the individual-society dichotomy. Meanwhile, both the phenomenological and psychoanalytic views of the self attempt to move beyond this dichotomy by using qualitative research to extract meaning from personal experiences. Despite their differences, these approaches agree on the idea that the self is both situated and dynamic, as it derives significance from real-life social encounters.

While the phenomenological method involves conscious experiences and emotions, the social psychoanalytic perspective seeks to analyze these experiences to uncover hidden unconscious motivations. Both approaches employ qualitative methods which are reminiscent of earlier SSP research. Nonetheless, they have progressed beyond the notion of the self being exclusively described in social contexts, as advocated by James (1890), Cooley (1902) and Mead (1934). A contemporary interpretation of the self has been developed which takes into account both the individual and society.

Both phenomenology and social psychoanalytic approaches build on previous research by Rogers (1942), and they both focus on individual desires while also considering the individual's place within society. By continuously presenting the self as a dynamic and integrated individual who responds to social experiences, these approaches contribute to a coherent definition of self in the twenty-first century within the field of social psychology.