Approaches 2

Question 1

what is the main idea of the psychodynamic approach?
What was Freuds proposition about the symptoms of his patients?

Answer 1

that the unconscious mind can influence behaviour

physical symptoms were actually caused by deep rooted psychological conflict within the unconscious mind

Question 2

what are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 2

• the unconscious forces in our mind determine our thoughts, feelings and behaviour
• behaviour as adults is strongly influenced by childhood experiences
• abnormal behaviour is a result of mental conflict
• the mind can be divided into 3 levels of consciousness- demonstrated by iceberg (unconscious has most influence on behaviour but is hidden)
• behaviour is determined more by psychological factors than biological or environmental. born with basic instincts and needs
• most actions and behaviours are a product of the unconscious

Question 3

what did freud suggest made up the structure off personality? tripartile

Answer 3

Id
Ego
Superego

Question 4

what is the Id?

Answer 4

instinct part of personality that we are born with
source of unconscious desires and impulses and demands instant gratification of hunger, thirst, sex
primitive part of our personality
operates according to
pleasure principle

Question 5

What is the ego?

Answer 5

represents conscious mind
develops around 2-3
balances Id in society as it realises needs cant always be met
logical, rational and seeks Id in socially acceptable ways
operates according to reality principle

Question 6

What is superego?

Answer 6

formed 5-6
contains morals
internalised same-sex parent
ensures ego doesnt use unacceptable means to satisfy Id
superego takes over role of parents telling us how to behave
2 parts:
- conscious- tells what we should not do- guilt
- ego ideal- tells us what we should do- pride
operates according to
morality principle

Question 7

what is someone with a strong id like?
what is someone with a strong superego like?

Answer 7

demanding, selfish, irrational

judgemental or people pleaser

Question 8

What are defence mechanisms?
role?

Answer 8

triggered when we are unable to deal with a situation
mainly unconscious and distort reality to decrease anxiety (prevent conscious from experiencing anxiety) but are only temporary (need to directly confront situations to properly deal with them)
can be psychologically damaging as person is no longer aware of unpleasant feelings associated w the situation

Question 9

What are the 3 defence mechanisms?

Answer 9

repression
denial
displacement

Question 10

what is repression?

Answer 10

unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts/ impulses
rather than staying quietly in unconscious, repressed thoughts and impulses continue to influence behaviour wo person being aware of reasons

Question 11

what is denial?

Answer 11

refusal to accept reality so as to avoid dealing w painful feelings associated w the event
person acts as if event didnt happen- bizarre to people around them

Question 12

what is displacement?

Answer 12

redirecting thoughts/ feelings in situations where person feels unable to express them is presence of person they should be directed to
take it out on helpless victim/ object- gives hostile feelings a route for expression
eg Little Hans’ fear of horses was displaced fear of father due to unresolved oedipus complex

Question 13

What are psychosexual stages of development

Answer 13

freud though different parts of our body are sensitive as we grow- erogenous zones
we pass through 5 stages and in each, libido (sexual energy) is focused on a particular organ
remembered by ‘old age pensioners love guiness’

Question 14

what is the oral stage?

Answer 14

0-1 years
mouth is the organ of pleasure
babies do actually have more nerve endings here
become fixated in this stage if they were over or under fed

Question 15

what is the anal stage?

Answer 15

1-3 years
organ of pleasure is the anus
pleasure from retention or expulsion
ego develops
fixation can come from too strict or too lax potty training- become anally retentive or anally expulsive

Question 16

what is the phallic stage?

Answer 16

3-6 years
organ of pleasure is genitals as child becomes fully aware of gender differences
most important stage and this is where oedopus complex occurs

Question 17

what is the oedipus complex?

Answer 17

children in phallic stage have unconscious sexual desires for opposite sex parent so resentful of same sex parent as they are a competitor for love
boys unconsciously desire mothers but realise father is bigger and stronger so cant compete
realise girls dont have a penis and think they have been castrated so have castration anxiety
to overcome this, they identify with father and internalise his morals- superego
if they become more masculine, father will like them and wont want to castrate them

Question 18

what is the electra complex?

Answer 18

not as clearly defined- afterthought
viewed femininity as failed masculinity
says girls believe they dont have a penis as mothers already castrated them
turn to fathers for love in hopes of regaining penis
suffer penis envy- only resolved by having a male baby, male lover or career (become more like a man)

Question 19

what is the latency stage?

Answer 19

age 6
puberty
sexual desires remain dormant
want nothing to do with opposite sex as social and intellectual development occurs

Question 20

what is the genital stage?

Answer 20

puberty- maturity
beginning of mature adult sexuality
the calm of latency makes Id more powerful in demands for heterosexual desires
opposite sex is now required to satisfy libido

Question 21

what is fixation?

Answer 21

child needs to successfully pass through psychosexual stages of development yet conflict can occur in each (except latency)
if child receives too much/ little stimulation, libido can be fixated in this stage- seriously affects development of adult personality
fixation in genital stage is normal (viewed homosexuality as abnormal)

Question 22

personality traits if suck in:
oral stage
anal stage
phallic stage
genital stage

Answer 22

dependant, trusting, excessive eating, drinking, smoking, nail biting

anally retentive (strict potty training)- orderly, clean, miserly. anally expulsive (lax potty training)- untidy, generous, impulsive

vain, reckless, self-centred, ambitious, exploits others

struggle forming heterosexual relationships

Question 23

Evaluate the psychodynamic approach

Answer 23

+
explanatory power- controversial but had big influence & used to explain things eg personality development, abnormal behaviour. draws attention to connection between experiences in childhood and later development

case study method- not generalisable, subjective (so lacks reliability)

untestable concepts- doesnt meet scientific criterion of falsification. unconscious so impossible to test accurately- pseudoscience

Question 24

Little Hans case study

Question 25

what is the humanistic approach?

Answer 25

developed by abraham maslow and carl rogers in 1950s
focus on conscious human experience and free will- paved way for positive psych and emphasises personal growth and fulfillment
all unique so making generalised laws about behaviour is inappropriate
cant know what someone will do wo knowing the individual

Question 26

what are the key features of the humanism

Answer 26

maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-actualisation
free will
focus on the self
congruence/ incongruence
conditions of worth

Question 27

what is maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-actualisation

Answer 27

maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been very influential in psych and econ
most basic needs must be met before move onto next
the goal is self-actualisation where we feel most alive, moments of inspiration and ecstasy- doesnt happen often
all born w innate drive to self-actualise but all get there in own ways

Question 28

what is free will?

Answer 28

we have full conscious control over destiny
not necessarily free to do anything- subject to forces such as biological and societal influences
still able to make significant personal choices within these constraints

Question 29

what is the focus on the self?

Answer 29

rogers argues concept of self comes from opinion of others (positive regard) and own feelings of self-worth developed in childhood as a result of interactions w parents

Question 30

what is congruence/incongruence?

Answer 30

rogers argues that we have a slef-concept (how we see ourselves) and ideal self (how we would like to be)
if they are similar, we are in a state of congruence
if large gap, incongruence

Question 31

what are conditions of worth?

Answer 31

unconditional love- unconditional positive regard
conditional love- conditional positive regard
other people may hinder persons progress to self-actualisation by placing conditions upon them

Question 32

what is the influence of the humanistic approach on counselling psychology?

Answer 32

• rogers 1959 said individuals psychological probs were result of conditions of worth & conditional positive regard
• believed that counselling could allow people to solve own probs in constructive ways and become more fully functioning
• therapists are guides/ facilitators not directors to help people understand themselves and self actualise
• therapists provide unconditional positive regard- supportive- dissolve conditions of worth
• person becomes more authentic to themselves

Question 33

what are some characteristics and behaviours of self-actualisers?

Answer 33

perceive reality efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty
accept themselves and others
spontaneous
creative
deep appreciation for basic events
experience life like a child
try new things
take responsibility in working hard

Question 34

evaluate the humanistic approach

Answer 34

+
research support for conditions of worth- increases validity- harter et al 1996- teens who feel they have to fulfil certain conditions to gain parents approval end up not liking themselves and more likely to develop depression

prac aps through therapy- client centred therapies help people solve problems in constructive ways. therapist shows unconditional positive regard offering supportive environ to dissolve conditions of worth

-
evidence used to support fails to establish causal relationship between variables - correlation not causation- non-experimental research methods were used

unrealistic, idealised view of human nature. doesnt recognise capacity for pessimism and self destructive behaviour . oversimplification (all problems due to blocked self actualisation) unrealistic to just focus on self- development rather than situational forces

cultural diffs in hierarchy of needs- nevis 1983 carried out study in china finding belongingness needs were seen as more fundamental than physiological needs and self actualisation was determined by contributions to community

Question 35

what themes are used to compare approaches?

Answer 35

• determinism- refers to belief that behaviour is determined by outside forces beyond control and ignores free will
• nature vs nurture- product of biology/ interaction with environment
• reductionism- belief that human behaviour can most effectively explained by breaking it down into constituent parts and focusing on one factor
• holisim- opposite of reductionism
• psychology as a science- extent to which scientific method is used
• practical applications

Question 36

behaviourism

Answer 36

environmental determinism- learning (classical, operant, SLT)

nurture

scientific- experimental methods

reductionist- breaks behaviour into stimulus-response links

Question 37

biological

Answer 37

deterministic- genes, brain structure, hormones

nature

scientific- experimental methods and tech eg EEG

reductionist- reduces to genes/ neurons

Question 38

cognitive

Answer 38

free will and determinism- cant control if have - thoughts but can change them

nature (thought processes are innate) and nurture (experiences can affect thought processes)

scientific- but inference as thoughts arent directly observable. cognitive neuroscience

machine reductionist

Question 39

psychodynamic

Answer 39

deterministic- unconscious motivation

nature and nurture

not scientific- unfalsifiable, untestable- decreases reliability

reductionist- reduces to sexual drives and instincts (avoid using this)

Question 40

humanistic

Answer 40

free will- choice

nature (innate drive to self actualise) and nurture (experiences affect growth)

not scientific- human experiences are too complex for simple experimentation

holistic- lots of factors

Question 41

SLT

Answer 41

free will and determinism- cant control what behaviour you see but can control if you imitate

nurture

scientific- uses experimental methods and control conditions

reductionist and holistic- reduces to observation and imitation but includes cognitive processes

Question 42

what is the order of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 42

physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem needs, self-actualisation