11. The Psychodynamic Approach AO1 Flashcards
What does the psychodynamic approach suggest?
The unconscious mind has an important influence on behaviour
What is an example of the psychodynamic approach?
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
What did Freud suggest the mind was made up of?
- Conscious
- Pre-conscious
- Unconscious
What is the conscious?
What we are aware of
What is the pre-conscious?
Memories and thoughts we are not currently aware of but can be accessed
What is the unconscious?
We are unaware of the contents in the unconscious , it is a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that influence our behaviour
What three parts did Freud see personality as having?
- Id
- Ego
- Superego
What is the Id?
Primitive part of the personality operates on the pleasure principle, demands instant gratification
What is the Ego?
Works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the aid and Superego
What is the Superego?
Internalised sense of right and wrong, based on the morality principle, pushes ego through guilt
What did Freud say about the three parts of personality?
Dynamic interaction between three parts determines behaviour
What are there five of?
Psychosexual stages that determine adult personality
Outline the psychosexual stages
Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve to move on to the next
What does unresolved conflict lead to?
Fixation where the child becomes stuck and carries behaviours associated with that stage through to adult life
What are the stages of the sequence and what ages do they occur?
- Oral = 0-1 years
- Anal = 1-3 years
- Phallic = 3-5 years
- Latency
- Genital = puberty
What is the oral stage?
Pleasure focus - mouth, the mothers breast is object of desire
What is the anal stage?
Pleasure focus - anus, the child gains pleasure from withholding and eliminating faeces
What is the phallic stage?
Pleasure focus - genital area
What is the latency stage?
Earlier conflicts are repressed
What is the genital stage?
Sexual desires become conscious
What is the Oedipus complex?
An important psychosexual conflict occurring at the phallic stage
Explain the Oedipus complex
In phallic stage, little boys develop incestuous feelings towards mothers and murderous hatred for their father
Later they repress feelings for mother and identify with father taking in his gender role and moral values
What do girls at the phallic stage experience?
Penis envy
What keeps the Id in check?
Defence mechanisms are used by the ego to keep the Id in check and reduce anxiety
What are the unconscious strategies used but the ego?
- Repression
- Denial
- Displacement
What is the oral repression?
Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
What is the oral denial?
Refusing to acknowledge reality
What is the oral displacement?
Transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target
Who developed the psychosexual stages?
Freud
What else did Freud develop?
The iceberg theory of the psyche containing the Id, ego and Superego
Outline which part of the mind the Id, Ego and Superego occur in
- Id & Superego - unconscious
2. Ego - conscious
