Dominant Approaches and

Ideas of Social Sciences -

Psychoanalysis
and Rational Choice
Prepared by:
CECILLE T. GOMEZ
SHS Teacher 2
Look at the pictures and describe what you
see on them.
Psychoanalysis
› is defined as a set of psychological
theories and therapeutic techniques that
have their origin in the work and theories
of Sigmund Freud.
› is the belief that all people possess
unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires,
and memories.
Sigmund Freud
› Father of Psychoanalysis
› Jewish background, though avowed
atheist.
› He had a medical background wanted
to do “neurophysiologic research”.
› He had a private practice in nervous and
brain disorders.
Levels of Mental Life
 Unconscious:
› The material that we have no immediate access to,
and we cannot bring into consciousness. It includes
repressed feelings, hidden memories, habits, thoughts,
desires, and reactions.

Preconscious:
› It stores all the thoughts of which you could bring into
consciousness fairly easily if you wanted to; thoughts
that can be easily recalled without special
techniques.
 Conscious:

› It contains those thoughts of which you are currently

aware (e.g. logic and reasoning).
 Provinces of Mind
Id:
› It is the oldest and most primitive psychic energy;
› Representing the biological foundations of
personality;
› Is concerned only with satisfying personal desires; and
› The actions taken by the id are based on the Pleasure
Principle (motivate the organism to seek pleasure).
 Provinces of Mind
Ego:
› The “executive”;
› The primary job of the ego is to mediate/ balance the
demands of the Id and the outer forces of reality;
› The center of reason, reality-testing, and common
sense; and
› Governed by the Reality Principle
 Provinces of Mind
Superego:
› The “ideal”;
› Consequence of the oedipal drama (sexual desire
[child] toward the parent of the opposite sex – jealous
feelings [child] toward the parent of the same sex);
› The moral arm of the personality, it corresponds to
one’s conscience; and
› Bids the psychic apparatus to pursue idealistic goals
and perfection.
Psychoanalysis
 Rational Choice Theory
› It is the view that people behave as they do because
they believe that performing their chosen actions has
more benefits than costs.

› • Cost - an amount that has to be paid or spent

to buy or obtain something.
› • Benefit - an advantage or profit gained from
something.
 Assumptions of Rational Choice Theory
1. Individualism – is the ability of individuals to ultimately
take actions. (independent, self-reliant)
2. Optimality - Individuals choose their actions
optimally, given their individual
preferences as well as the
opportunities or constraints with which
the individuals face. (best or most
effective)
 Assumptions of Rational Choice Theory
3. Structures – These structures and norms that
dictate a single course of action
are merely special cases of rational
choice theory.

4. Self-Regarding - states that the actions of an

individual is concerned entirely
Interest
with his/her own welfare.
 Assumptions of Rational Choice Theory
5. Rationality – is the most predominant
assumption of the rational choice
theory.
 Strengths of Rational Choice Theory
1. Generality This means that one set of
assumptions relating to each type of
actor in a given circumstance is
compatible w/ any set of assumptions
about the environmental setting in
which the actor is present.
2. Parsimony – (cheapness) The common
knowledge of rationality assumption.
 Strengths of Rational Choice Theory
3. Predictive - Used to produce a wide variety of
decisive theories, whose predictions
about the measurable real - world
phenomena rule out a much larger
set of outcomes that what is already
general.
Rational Choice Theory
 Activity:
Directions: Choose the word of the correct answer.
 Activity:
Directions: Choose the word of the correct answer.
1. This refers to the framework for understanding the impact of the unconscious on
thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
2. The material that we have no immediate access to, and we cannot bring into
consciousness. It includes repressed feelings, hidden memories, habits, thoughts, desires,
and reactions.
3. It contains those thoughts of which you are currently aware.
4. It is concerned only with satisfying personal desires.
5. Individuals choose their actions optimally, given their individual preferences as well as
the opportunities or constraints with which the individuals face.
6. It is the most predominant assumption of the rational choice theory.
7. It is the ability of individuals to ultimately take actions.
8. This assumption states that the actions of an individual is concerned entirely with
his/her own welfare.
9. Bids the psychic apparatus to pursue idealistic goals and perfection.
 Activity:
10. These structures and norms that dictate a single course of action are merely special
cases of rational choice theory.
11. The center of reason, reality-testing, and common sense.
12. It stores all the thoughts of which you could bring into consciousness fairly easily if
you wanted to; thoughts that can be easily recalled without special techniques.
13. Father of Psychoanalysis.
14. The common knowledge of rationality assumption.
15. Used to produce a wide variety of decisive theories, whose predictions about the
measurable real - world phenomena rule out a much larger set of outcomes that what is
already general.
 Activity:
Essay:
Directions: Site some of situations when you used
Psychoanalysis or Rational Choice in your life. (200 words)