Approaches A2 Flashcards
1
Q
Psychodynamic Approach Key Assumptions
A
- The driving force behind our behaviour is the unconscious mind
- Instincts and drives motivate our behaviour
- Early childhood is pivotal in making us the person we are
2
Q
Structure of Personality
A
- Personality has a tripartite structure
- Experience and conflicts in childhood shape the development of the 3 parts of personality affecting how a person behaves
3
Q
The Id
A
- Formed between 18 months of ages
- In the unconscious mind
- It focuses on the self (selfish) + irrational + emotional
- Deals with feelings and needs and seeks pleasure
- Operates on the pleasure principle
4
Q
The Ego
A
- Formed from around 18 months until 3 yrs of ages
- In the conscious mind
- Rational + obtains a balance between the id + the superego
- Operates on the reality principle
5
Q
The Superego
A
- Formed between 3 and 6 yrs of age
- In the unconscious mind
- Acts as a conscience or moral guide based on parental and societal values
- Operates on the morality principle
6
Q
Defence Mechanisms
A
- Help the ego manage the conflict between the id + superego
- Provide compromise solutions (usually unconscious) to deal with unresolvable conflict
- Also provide a strategy to reduce anxiety which weakens the egos influence
7
Q
Repression
A
- Is the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts
- However these repressed thoughts continue to influence behaviour
- E.g. a person who is abused as a child may not remember the abuse but could still have trouble forming adult relationships
8
Q
Denial
A
- Is the refusal to accept reality to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that may be associated with a traumatic situation
- E.g. An alcoholic may deny that they have a drinking problem
9
Q
Displacement
A
- Occurs when the focus of a strong emotion (e.g. anger) is expressed on an alternative person or object
- E.g. a student who has been given a detention by their teacher might kick their locker
10
Q
Freud believed there are 3 levels to the mind:
A
- Conscious mind
- Pre conscious mind
- Unconscious mind
11
Q
Conscious mind
A
Contains the thoughts, feelings and memories that a person is currently aware of
12
Q
Pre conscious mind
A
Contains the thoughts, feelings and memories that a person could access if they wanted to
13
Q
Unconscious mind
A
Largest part of the mind that is inaccessible
14
Q
Key Assumptions of the Humanistic Approach
A
- Psych should study the whole person (e.g. be holistic) given that everyone is unique
- People have free will to make their own decisions in life
- The scientific method is too objective because the methods fail to acknowledge the subjective experience of the individual
15
Q
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
A
- A persons most basic physiological needs are represented at the bottom of the pyramid
- Most advanced needs are at the top
- People are motivated to achieve progression through the levels + each level must be fulfilled before a person can move up to a higher need
- Maslow believed that the more basic the need, the more powerfully it is experienced + the more difficult it is to ignore
16
Q
Self actualisation
A
Occurs when a person reaches their full potential + is the best version of themselves
17
Q
Maslows findings about self actualisation
A
- Maslow found that most of those who attained self actualisation shared certain characteristics
- They tended to be creative, accepting of other people + had an accurate perception of the world around them
- Maslow believed that such individuals experienced self actualisation in the form of peak experiences
18
Q
Peak experiences
A
These are moments of extreme inspiration + ecstasy during which they are able to leave behind all doubts, fears + inhibitions
19
Q
Focus on the Self
A
- Rogers (1951) claimed that people have 2 basic needs: positive regard from others + feelings of self worth (valuing ourselves)
- Feelings of self worth develop in childhood as a result of the child’s interactions with parents
- Further interactions with others in adulthood (friends, spouses) also have an influence
- The closer the perceived self is to the ideal self, the higher our feelings of self worth
20
Q
Congruence
A
When there is a similarity between a persons perceived self + their ideal self a state of congruence exists
21
Q
Perceived self
A
How they view themselves
22
Q
Ideal self
A
How they would like to be
23
Q
Incongruence
A
- If there is a difference between the perceived self + ideal self, the person experiences a state of incongruence
- It is rare for a complete state of congruence to exist, most people experience some degree of incongruence
- However, most people see themselves in ways that are largely consistent with their ideal self
24
Q
Unconditional positive regard
A
The positive regard given by other people may be unconditional when a person is accepted for who they are
25
Conditional positive regard
When people experience conditional positive regard, they develop conditions of worth
26
Conditions of Worth
- These are conditions which they believe have to be met if they are to be accepted by others
- An individual will only experience a sense of self acceptance if they meet the expectations that others have set as conditions of acceptance
27
What Freud believed about the mind?
- Freud believed that most of our everyday actions + behaviours aren’t controlled consciously but are the product of the unconscious mind, which reveals itself in slips of the tongue (Freudian slip) in creativity + in neurotic symptoms
- The mind actively prevents traumatic thoughts, feelings + memories in the mind from reaching the conscious mind because they would cause the person anxiety if they did
- During psychoanalysis, the therapist (psychoanalyst) tries to access the unconscious mind of their patients using free association + dream interpretation
28
Psychosexual Stages
- Freud believed that personality developed through a sequence of 5 stages
- Referred to as psychosexual stages to emphasis that the most important driving force in development is the need to express sexual energy (libido)
- At each stage this energy is expressed in diff ways + thru diff parts of the body
- Freud believed that parents played an important role in the child’s progression thru the psychosexual stages
- If the child is allowed to experience too much or too little gratification at any of the stages, a process called fixation could occur in which the child’s later adult personality could show permanent signs reflecting the stage at which fixation occurred
29
Oedipus complex
- During the phallic stage boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother + a hatred for their rival in love (father)
- Fearing that their father will castrate them (castration anxiety) boys repress their feelings for their mother + identify with their father
- In doing so, they internalise his gender role + moral values (his superego)
30
Electra complex
- During the phallic stage girls experience penis envy + so desire their father
- Believe they have been castrated + blame their mother for this
- Over time girls give up their desire for their father + replace this with a desire for a baby
- In turn they identify with their mother + internalise her gender role + moral values (her superego)
31
Advantage of the Psychodynamic Approach (1)
- PA concepts such as defence mechanisms do have intuitive appeal
- Most people appreciate the ideas of denial, repression + displacement
32
Advantage of the Psychodynamic Approach (2) - *psychoanalysis*
- The PA has practical applications
- It has led to the development of psychoanalysis (a therapy for the treatment of anxiety disorders)
- This laid the foundation for psychotherapy in modern psychiatry
33
Disadvantage of the Psychodynamic Approach (1)
Key concepts of the PA e.g. unconscious mind + defence mechanisms lack falsifiability because they are unconscious processes + therefore difficult to test
34
Disadvantage of the Psychodynamic Approach (2)
- Concepts of the PA are based on small samples due to the reliance of the case study method
- This poses problems of generalisability
35
Counselling Psychology
- Rogers claimed that an individual’s psychological problems were a direct result of the conditional positive regard they receive from others
- He believed that with counselling people would be able to solve their problems in constructive ways + move towards being a more functioning person
- Instead of acting in a directive way humanistic psychologists regard themselves as guides to help people understand themselves + find ways to enable their potential for self actualisation
36
How do therapists play a role?
- Therapists provide unconditional positive regard expressing their acceptance + understanding
- They are able to provide a supportive environment to help dissolve the clients conditions of worth
- This results in the client being more true to their self (rather than being who someone else wants them to be)
37
Advantage of the Humanistic Approach
- Humanists believe in free will
- However science believes that all behaviour is caused by something (it has been determined)
- Determinism in science allows for general laws + predictability of behaviour + so there is limited application of the HA
38
Disadvantage of the Humanistic Approach (1)
- Humanistic Psychology lacks scientific rigour
- It proposes that we should study the whole person because each individual is unique however science relies on reductionism (reducing behaviour into its simplest components so that they can be studied objectively)
39
Disadvantage of the Humanistic Approach (2)
- Humanists propose concepts such as self actualisation where definitions lack operationalisation
- There is no objective measure of whether someone has self actualised leading to a lack of empirical evidence to support its claims
40
Disadvantage of the Humanistic Approach (3)
- Many of the ideas that are central to humanistic psychology such as personal growth would be much more readily associated with individualist cultures in the western world (e.g. US)
- Collectivist cultures (e.g. China) which emphasis the needs of the community may not identify so easily with the ideals + values of humanistic psychology
- Therefore it is possible that this approach is the product of the cultural context within which it was developed
41
Compare the humanistic approach with the psychodynamic approach (8).
- Determinism: HA assumes people have free will over their behaviour / PA assumes behaviour is determined by unconscious factors
- Nature/Nurture: HA assumes behaviour is affected by desire to self actualise + PA assumes behaviour is driven by unconscious forces (nature) but our coping mechanisms arise from experiences (nurture)
- Methodology: Both less scientific than others (but PA assumes some aspects of behaviour can be investigated scientifically)
- Therapy: Rogers believed counselling can be used to help clients / Freud believed psychoanalysis can lead to improvements in clients thru psychotherapy
