analysis of psychodynamic approach and Oedipus complex

Question 1

what is the Oedipus complex

Answer 1

-in phallic stage, boys develop incestuous feelings for their mother and hatred for their rival for love (father)
-fearing father will castrate them, repress their emotions for their mother and identify with fathers gender roles and moral values

Question 2

what case study supported Oedipus complex

Answer 2

-Little Hans (5 yrs old)
-developed phobia of horses after seeing one collapse in street
-phobia form of displacement of fear of father, horses were symbolic of unconscious fear of castration

Question 3

what is the Electra complex

Answer 3

-in phallic stage, girls develop penis envy
-desire for father -as penis is primary love object- and hate mother
-over time give up desire for their father and replace with desire for baby whilst identifying with the mother

Question 4

research method Freud mostly used

Answer 4

-case studies
+ unique insight
+ecological validity
-cant generalise

Question 5

who did Freud mostly examine

Answer 5

-his case studies were mostly patients which he used for psychoanalysis

Question 6

psychoanalysis

Answer 6

-aim to bring unconscious to conscious to release anxiety
-Freud would listen to and interpret words as he believed unconscious bubbles through their speech

Question 7

negatives for psychoanalysis

Answer 7

-causes undue destress
-as its unconscious “ice burg” we cant access it, cant talk about it just because someone says to
-self report (might lie due to denial) so lack validity

Question 8

techniques in psychoanalysis

Answer 8

-free association
-dream interpretation

Question 9

what is dream interpretation

Answer 9

-analysis of latent (underlying/ hidden meaning) content of manifest (what was remembered from dream) content

Question 10

what is free association

Answer 10

express immediate (unconscious) thoughts as they happen e.g. what you see first in pic

Question 11

what is repression

Answer 11

-done by unconscious to protect us

Question 12

note about displacement

Answer 12

-on a neutral or innocent object/person
-anger is transferred
-unable to express true feelings onto cause

Question 13

negative of psychoanalysis approach (equality)

Answer 13

-gender- biased approach
-view of women and female sexuality less well developed than males
-lead psychologists such as Horney to criticise Freud’s views on women and development
-dismissing women problematic because he treated so many females as well as how influential his theories still are

Question 14

negative of psychoanalysis (c-b)

Answer 14

-culture biased
-sue and sue (2008) argued psychoanalysis has little relevance for people in non-western cultures
-many cultures don’t value insight in the same way as western (freeing traumatic memories helps deal with issues)
-e.g. in china, person who is depressed avoids thoughts that cause distress rather than willing to discuss openly

Question 15

positive of psychoanalysis (support)

Answer 15

-many psychs claim no scientific evidence for psychoanalysis and claims are not falsifiable
-but claims of psychoanalysis have been tested to be confirmed using scientific methodology
-Fisher and Greenberg (1996) summarised 2,500 studies, concluding experimental studies of psychoanalysis compare well with studies relevant to any other major area of psychology
-their support adds scientific credibility to psychoanalytic explanations

Question 16

positive of psychoanalysis (new way of understanding)

Answer 16

-a pioneering approach to understanding human behaviour
-suggested new methodological procedures for gathering evidence (case studies)
-development of approach based on observations rather than introspection
-From observations, Freud can demonstrate potential of psychological (rather than biological) treatments to depression, etc
-lead to successful treatment
-e.g. de Maat et al (2009)- large scale review of psychotherapy studies shown psychoanalysis produced big improvements in symptoms that were maintained in the years after treatment

Question 17

weaknesses of psychoanalysis (lots of small ones)

Answer 17

-case studies mostly of adults with emotional disorders
-psychoanalytic therapy difficult to evaluate due to long time it takes its possible (litch months) that individuals recover bc time
-androcentric, takes male discoveries and applies to females

Question 18

positives of psychoanalysis (lots of small ones)`

Answer 18

-draws attention to importance of childhood experiences and was first approach to say that people cant treat children badly
-unique insight to human behaviour- unconscious motivation gained widespread support
-theory is still in modern day society (talk therapy)