Approaches: L9 & L10

Question 1

Key assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 1

• The driving force is the unconscious mind
• Instincts and drives motivate behaviour
• Early childhood is pivotal in making us who we are

Question 2

The role of the unconscious

Answer 2

• 3 levels to the mind
  Conscious mind: Thoughts, feeling and memories that a person is aware of

Question 3

Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

The role of the unconscious

Answer 4

Conscious mind: Thoughts, feelings and memories a person is currently aware of

Preconscious mind: Thoughts, feelings & memories a person is able to access

Unconscious mind: The largest part of our mind is inaccessible, most everyday actions are controlled by the unconscious mind, which reveals itself in Freudian slips. It:
- Driving/motivating force for behaviour/personality
- Protects the conscious self from anxiety/trauma
- If conflict occurs during the psychosexual phases -> affects adults personality

Question 5

Freudian slip

Answer 5

An unintentional error, believed to reveal subconscious thoughts. The mind actively prevents traumatic thoughts, feelings & memories from reaching the conscious mind. During psychoanalysis the patients unconscious mind is accessed through free association & dream interpretation

Question 6

Free association

Answer 6

Allowing a person to talk without pause in a stream of words to psychoanalyse the unconscious mind

Question 7

Dream interpretation

Answer 7

Using symbolism to determine underlying issues in the unconscious mind

Question 8

Structure of personality

Answer 8

Tripartite structure
The Id:
- Formed between birth to 18 months
- In the unconscious mind -> selfish, irrational & emotional
- Operates on the pleasure principle

The Ego:
- 18 months - 3 years
- Conscious mind -> balance between id & superego
- Operates on the reality principle

The superego:
- 3 - 6 years
- Unconcious mind -> Conscience/moral guide based on parental or societal values
- Operates on the morality principle

Question 9

Defence mechanisms

Answer 9

Stops an individual from becoming consciously aware of any unpleasant thoughts, feelings or memories that they may be experiencing

Question 10

Repression

Answer 10

Defence mechanism: Unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts. These thoughts continue to influence behaviour

Question 11

Denial

Answer 11

Defence mechanism: This is the refusal to accept reality to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that may be associated with a traumatic situation

Question 12

Displacement

Answer 12

Defence mechanism: Occurs when the focus of strong emotion is expressed on an alternative person or object

Question 13

Psychosexual stages

Answer 13

• Freud believed that personality developed through 5 stages
• These are psychosexual stages and emphasise that the most important driving force in development is the need to express libido

Question 14

Oral stage

Answer 14

Age: 0-1 years

Description: Focus on pleasure is the mouth and the control of sucking, tasting & biting

Consequence of resolution: Trusting & able to give/receive affection

Consequence is unresolved: Oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, sarcastic and critical

Question 15

Anal stage

Answer 15

Age: 1-3 years

Description: Focus of pleasure is the anus. Pleasure is gained from withholding & expelling faeces

Consequence of resolution: Can deal with authority figures

Consequence if unresolved:
Anal retentive personality - perfectionist & obsessive
Anal expulsive personality - thoughtless & messy

Question 16

Phallic stage

Answer 16

Age: 3-5 years

Description: Focus of pleasure is genitals. Child experiences Oedipus/Electra complex

Consequence of resolution: Adopts the behaviours/traits of the same sex

Consequence if unresolved: Narcissistic, reckless & possibly homosexual

Question 17

Latent stage

Answer 17

Age: 6-12 years

Description: Focus is on mastery of the world & social relationships. Earlier complexes are repressed/resolved and early years are forgotten

Question 18

Genital stage

Answer 18

Age: 12+

Description: Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty

Consequence of resolution: Individual is well adjusted as an adult

Consequence if unresolved: Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

Question 19

Oedipus complex

Answer 19

During the phallic stage, boys develop incestuous feelings for their mother & hatred for their rival (father). The repress these feelings due to castration anxiety and begin to identify with their father. They internalise their fathers superegos

Question 20

Electra stage

Answer 20

During the phallic stage, girls experience penis envy & desire their fathers. They believe they have been castrated & blame their mothers. Girls replace this desire with desire for a baby. They internalise their mothers superego

Question 21

Strengths of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 21

• Little Hans: Case study that supports the Oedipus complex, however the concept could only be inferred by behaviour/self-reports and is subject to investigator bias (subjective info)
• De Maat et al: Examined the effectiveness of long-term psychoanalytical psychotherapy for patients with a range of DSM diagnoses -> effective as it uses evidence to support the effectiveness of psychotherapy
• Caspi: Found the role of childhood personality had an impact in later life. Children who had an inhibited personality at age 3 tended to become depressed at age 21. Similarly, children who were impulsive & lacked control at 3 developed antisocial personalities by age 21.

Question 22

Weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 22

• Falsifiability: Key concepts eg defence mechanisms are unconscious and therefore difficult to test. They cannot be seen, measured or observed, and are not very scientific or objective
• Freud tends to focus on childhood traumas & problems that a patient may have, and this is seen as the cause of abnormality. Freud would ignore any current problems & instead focus on the patients childhood

Question 23

Key assumptions of the humanistic approach

Answer 23

• Psychology should study the whole person as everyone is unique
• People have free will to make their own decisions in life
• The scientific method is too objective as methods used fail to account for the subjective experience of the individual

Question 24

Maslows hierarchy of needs

Answer 24

• A persons most basic physiological needs are represented at the bottom & the most advanced at the top
• People are motivated to progress through the levels, each must be fulfilled before progressing
• The most basic need is most powerfully experienced & the hardest to ignore

Question 25

Self-actualisation

Answer 25

Occurs when a person reaches their full potential & is the best version of themselves. Concerns psychological growth, fulfilment and satisfaction in life & is the final stage in the hierarchy of needs

Question 26

Focus on the self: Rogers

Answer 26

• Claimed that people have two basic needs, positive regard from other people and feelings of self worth
• Feelings of self worth develop through a child’s relationship with their parents
• Positive regard can be conditional or unconditional
• Conditional develops conditions of worth which must be fulfilled in order to experience self acceptance

Question 27

Congruence/Incongruence

Answer 27

• When there is a similarity between a persons perceived self & their ideal self a state of congruence exists
• When there is a difference it may lead to feelings of incongruence, leading to negative feelings of self worth
• Most people are in some degree of incongruence

Question 28

Counselling psychology: Rogers

Answer 28

• A persons psychological problems are the result of the conditional positive regard they receive from others
• With counselling people may solve their own problems constructively
  Humanistic psychologists regard themselves as guides for helping people enable their potential for self actualisation
• Therapists give unconditional positive regard to help clients dissolve conditions of worth

Question 29

Strengths of the humanistic approach

Answer 29

• Harter et als research supports conditions of worth as they found that teenagers that felt like they had to meet certain conditions to gain parents approval were morel likely to end up not liking themselves & develop depression — conditions of worth are important for wellbeing & mental health
• Focuses on personal growth through self-actualisation and personal development. Helps people to uncover their authentic selves & realise their full potentials — through this people can gain clarity about their values, aspirations and goals leading to a more fulfilling and meaningful life

Question 30

Weaknesses of the humanistic approach

Answer 30

• Even though humanists believe in free will, scientists believe that all behaviour is caused by something. Determinism in science allows for general laws and predictability of behaviour, so there is limited application of the humanistic approach to behaviour
• Lacks scientific rigour as it proposes that we should study the whole person because each individual is unique. However science relies of reductionism ie reducing behaviour into its simplest components so they can be studied objectively
• It proposes concepts such as self actualisation without operationalising so there is no objective measure of wether someone has self actualised leading to lack of empirical evidence to support its claims.