Contributions of the Psychodynamic Approach to the Study of Groups and Collective Life

Theoretical Framework

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You are only allowed to use ACADEMIC resources for this assignment. Academic resources include books, journals and academic, statistical or official websites. (Take note if a website address contains “.com” it is often not considered academic, however, if you see “.ac”, “.edu” or “.org” in the website address it is a more appropriate type of source.)

You are not allowed to use Wikipedia as a source, but you can use the “Reference list” on the Wikipedia results page(s) to help you find sources that are relevant to your search.

Please note “Google” is not a resource, it is a search engine that helps you to locate resources, and thus you cannot have “Google” in your reference list. You are supposed to reference the specific source that you used. “Google” only helped you to retrieve the source, it is not the source. “Google Scholar” may also help you to retrieve academic sources more easily. We would further suggest that you rather make use of the electronic databases (available on the Unisa library website) than “Google”, since the information retrieved on “Google” isn’t always academic.

?Format of a critical essay A critical essay is writing about a topic by comparing and contrasting different issues and views, including your own understanding and view. Comparing means that you review existing literature and some additional materials you have obtained by using the Internet like “Google”, as explained above to see where they agree with each other on specific arguments or points of views. Contrast is then when you look at how these literature sources appear to be different in explaining the issue or topic. Often contrast also means that you look at some critiques on the topic by different literature sources. This is a writing skill which you will need as you continue into postgraduate studies.

The format of a critical essay includes the following three main elements:

Under your introduction, you introduce the topic/s which the essay will cover and explain to the reader how you will address this topic/s. If I read your introduction it will explain to me what to expect if I will continue reading your essay. It is like the introduction within a novel where the first part introduces the stories and main characters of the story.

In the body you start to systematically address the different sub-topics of your main topic as introduced in your introduction. By using appropriate headings and sub-headings (NEVER use a heading “body”) which you have to number, you are organising the different sub-topics in more detail by explaining and using own examples to illustrate your understanding. It is important to learn how to use the theoretical knowledge you have obtained from the literature sources in balance with the application in real life by further explaining and using examples to illustrate your own understanding.

It is also in the body of the assignment where you will start to practice evidence-based writing, which means you are referencing the different literature sources as explained under point 1 above.

It may help you to do a mind map where you map out from the main topic the sub-topics and how they can be organised to create a flow of your discussions. What is in the beginning of the discussion versus what should be toward the end to create a logic and systematic flow of arguments, explanations and facts.

In your conclusion you have to draw the discussions and explanations towards two to three major findings or points you want to get across to the reader. This means you have to summarise the body (main) part of the essay as well as highlight these major findings or points to support your concluding remarks. It is also in here where you can more explicitly express your final view on the topic. It should not be a long conclusion as you are now bringing the discussion toward its end.

Write a critical essay on the contributions of the psychodynamic approach to the study of groups and collective life in our daily lives.

Your essay must contain the following three sections (based on the above explanation of the format of a critical essay which entails):

• a)  Provide a brief historical introduction to the psychodynamic approach, for example who are the main theorists and where does the approach come from? You will also have to pay special attention to the work of Wilfred Bion.
• b)  Explain the three levels of analysis used by the psychodynamic approach and the ?unconscious group processes. (60 Marks)

• a)  After explaining the theoretical aspects of the psychodynamic approach to groups and collective life, you have to identify a real-life example or social situation to explain how one can practically apply the approach. This example could be from your personal or workplace life. A situation could be an incident with family or an event at workplace.
• b)  You have to first introduce the example (social situation) by explaining what the setting is (family, friends, workplace or community), who are the people involved (family members, friends, colleagues or just unknown people) and why is the psychodynamic approach appropriate to analyse and explain the situation.
• c)  Then you have to briefly explain how the three levels of analysis could assist you in explaining the group behaviour, and how does the unconscious group processes form and maintain these behaviours and the group interaction. (30 Marks)

Part C: Conclusion:

?Here you are expected to summarise the main points from the theory and your practical explanation. What are the main contributions or lessons you have learned by using the psychodynamic approach in the chosen example or situation? Did you find the approach useful in explaining your example? Briefly critique the approach should you disagree with it.

Total Marks: 100