could possibly have beaten up other children before where his friends would have cheered him on. But in these instances, he was most likely fighting with boys much closer to his own age and size. When it came to Tiffany Eunick, who was just a little girl, he outweighed her by 120 pounds and was much stronger. Sigmund Freud would have taken a much different approach when diagnosing why Lionel Tate killed Tiffany Eunick. Freud believed that behavior is governed by unconscious forces. According to Freud unconscious sexual conflicts rooted in childhood experiences cause most personality disturbances. His theory about the Oedipal complex said that children experience erotically tinged desires for their opposite-sex parent, conveyed by feelings of hostility toward their same-sex parent. Freud said that in order for this dilemma to be resolved the child must eradicate the sexual longings for the opposite-sex parent and overcome the hostility felt toward the same-sex parent. He would most likely argue that the absence of a father in Tates life was to blame for his actions. He would say that Tate never resolved the Oedipal dilemma. Carl Rogers was one of the founders of the humanist movement. Humanism is a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for growth. Humanists believe in free will. According to Rogers, human behavior is governed primarily by each individuals sense of self, or self-concept. Rogers would have said that Lionel Tate must not have received unconditional positive regard. His mother must have placed conditions on his love. Rogers would say this caused Tate to have an inaccurate self-concept, or that his self-concept must be incongruent. Too much incongruence undermines ones psychological well-being. This leads to recurrent anxiety, which leads to defensive behavior. Rogers would have said Tate lashed out at Tiffany Eunick because of...
