Approaches in Psychology: Psychodynamic

Question 1

The Psychodynamic Perspective

Answer 1

The Psychodynamic Perspective is synonymous with the work of Sigmund Freud.

Question 2

Key assumptions:

Answer 2

• All human behaviour can be explained in terms of inner conflicts of mind.
• The structure of the mind made up of the conscious and unconscious.

Question 3

THE Id

Answer 3

• With us from birth.
• Its energy Is called the libido.
• It constitutes all our basic drives and instincts.
• UNCONSCIOUS

Question 4

The Super-ego

Answer 4

• Develops as we get older.
• It is the internalization of rules passed down from our parents.
• It is the ‘ideal’ force, the civilized, socially acceptable figure, the person we should strive to be.
• UNCONSCIOUS

Question 5

The Ego

Answer 5

• It must balance the drives from the Id and the control from the super-ego.
• CONSCIOUS

Question 6

The Psychodynamic Approach

Answer 6

• There is a balancing act between the forces of the id and the super-ego.
• The strength of each force is a factor in our personality.
• If a person’s Id is too strong, they are seen as delinquent, anti-social or self-centered.
• If a person’s super-ego is too strong, they are seen as rigid, pompous, or self-righteous.

Question 7

Defence Mechanisms

Answer 7

• Denial: Blocking that something is a problem.
• Repression: burying of the problem into our unconscious.
• Projection: we project our own problem behaviour onto someone else.
• Displacement: our problems get channeled onto something.
• Sublimation: putting effort in to one activity because another can’t be pursued.
• Rationalization: giving an alternative interpretation to something.
• Regression: we go back several stages in our development.

Question 8

what are the stages

Answer 8

oral
anal
phallic
latency
genital

Question 9

what is the age erogenous zone and conflicts and consequences of fixation for oral

Answer 9

0-1 years

mouth

Smoking, biting nails, sarcasm, critical.

Question 10

what is the age erogenous zone and conflicts and consequences of fixation for anal

Answer 10

2-3 years

anus

Anal Retentive: perfectionist, obsessive.
Anal expulsive: thoughtless, messy.

Question 11

what is the age erogenous zone and conflicts and consequences of fixation for phallic

Answer 11

4-6 years

genetalia

Narcissistic, reckless.

Question 12

what is the age erogenous zone and conflicts and consequences of fixation for latency

Answer 12

7-10 years until puberty

Previous issues are repressed.

Question 13

what is the age erogenous zone and conflicts and consequences of fixation for genital

Answer 13

11+ years (Puberty and beyond)

Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

Question 14

Stage 1 – Oral Stage

Answer 14

• Mouth (sucking) is the source of pleasure.
• The ID is in control.
• Fixation caused by:
• Overindulgence:
• Symptoms include selfishness, dependency, compulsive talking.
• Frustration
• Nail biting, sarcasm, critical etc.

Question 15

Stage 2 – the ANAL stage

Answer 15

• Elimination of faeces is the source of pleasure.
• The EGO (reality principle) develops.

Question 16

Stage 3: the PHALLIC stage

Answer 16

• The Superego develops.
• Driven by the anxiety principle.
• The Oedipus conflict (boys).
• The Electra conflict (girls).
• Fixation caused by failure to resolve the Oedipus/Electra conflict.
• Symptoms include homosexuality, curiosity, exhibitionism.

Question 17

Stage 4: Latency Stage

Answer 17

• Nothing much goes on in this stage.
• Sexual energy is put to one side whilst other important physical and intellectual development takes place.
• This explains why at around the age of 6 children no longer choose to interact with opposite sex children.

Question 18

Stage 5: Genital stage

Answer 18

• This is the final stage and marks the transition into adult sexuality.
• Freud was a product of his time and thought the only acceptable type of sexuality was heterosexuality.

Question 19

Evaluation
pratical valuve

Answer 19

Practical value as a therapy
- Allows a person to explore the causes of an issue rather than the symptoms (other aim to remove the symptoms).
- Used for a lot of therapy/counselling

Question 20

evaluation
reduction

Answer 20

Reductionist
- It says all problems are due to fixations in the psychosexual stages but surely, we are more complex than that.

Question 21

Evaluation
good power

Answer 21

Good explanatory power
- Good at explaining the root causes of behaviour.
- Well suited to explaining real-life situations and thus applicable to all our lives.
- Other approaches are difficult to apply to everyday life.

Question 22

evaluation objective

Answer 22

Lack of objectivity – hugely objective
- Hugely subjective.

Question 23

evaluation
conclusions

Answer 23

Unfalsifiable conclusions
- How can his conclusions/interpretations be verified?
- Theories are near impossible to test objectively and repeatedly.

Question 24

what is the Oedipus complex

Answer 24

little boys develop incestous feelings towards their mother and a murderous hatred for their rival in love their father

Question 25

what is the electra complex

Answer 25

girls desire their father as the penis is the primary love object and hate their mother

Question 26

what is the support for the Oedipus complex

Answer 26

little Hans was a case study

5 year old boy who developed a phobia of horses after seeing one collapse in the street

frued suggested that Hans phobia was a form of displacement in which his repressed fear of his father was transferred onto horses.

Thus horses were merely a symbolic representation of Hans real unconscious fear

the fear of castration experienced during the Oedipus complex