Approaches - Psychodynamic Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the main assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • Believes all human behaviour is controlled by the unconscious mind
  • Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious (the part we are unaware of) The unconscious factors are largely unknown to us and beyond our control.
  • The unconscious extends its influence into every part of our waking and sleeping lives.
  • Events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping your personality as they remain in the unconscious and influence adult behaviour.
  • Stresses the importance of relationships. Parent and child relationship is particularly important.
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2
Q

What are the four key aspects of the Psychodynamic approach?

A

The role of the unconscious
The tripartite structure of the personality
Defence mechanisms
Psychosexual stages of development

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3
Q

What metaphor did Freud use to describe the conscious and unconscious mind?

A

Iceberg metaphor
Tip above the surface = conscious mind
Much larger part hidden underwater = unconscious mind

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4
Q

According to Freud, what part of our mind controls our actions and behaviours?

A

The unconscious mind

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5
Q

What does the unconscious contain? What does this influence?

A

Repressed ideas and memories, and primitive desires, drives, impulses and instincts. These then influence most of our everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

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6
Q

What are the strengths of the Psychodynamic approach?

A

Freud’s theory was a major contribution to psychological thinking. The use of case studies provided a new way of gathering empirical evidence with observations of behaviour, rather than introspection, playing a key role in developing the approach. The approach was the first to demonstrate the potential of psychological treatments for disorders such as depression and anxiety, rather than using biological treatments.

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7
Q

How many parts did Freud believe personality was made up of? What were the parts called?

A

3 parts, the id, the ego and the superego

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8
Q

What does each part of the personality all demand? What does this cause?

A

They all demand gratification which means that each part of the personality is in conflict with the other parts.

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9
Q

What shapes the development of the different parts? What does this affect?

A

Experiences/ conflicts in childhood shape the development which affects how a person behaves.

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10
Q

What part of our personality is the id? When is it formed?

A

The primitive part. Formed from birth to 18 months.

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11
Q

What is the id a source of?

A

our unconscious desires, impulses, drives and instincts.

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12
Q

What principle does the id operate on? What is this?

A

Pleasure principle - the id demands immediate gratification of its needs regardless of circumstances (it gets what it wants) .

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13
Q

Examples of the id’s needs:

A

Hunger, thirst, sex

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14
Q

What does the id focus on? What does it deal with?

A

On the self, it is irrational and emotional. It deals with feelings and needs.

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15
Q

What does the id contain?

A

The libido - the biological energy created by reproductive instincts

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16
Q

What part of our mind is the ego? What is it’s main role?

A

The rational part - it mediates between the id and superego

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17
Q

When is the ego formed?

A

18 months to 3 years

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18
Q

What principle does the ego operate on?

A

The reality principle - it mediates between the impulsive demands on the id and the reality of the external world.

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19
Q

In what way does the ego try to satisfy the id? Unconscious or conscious?

A

In socially acceptable ways - it is conscious.

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20
Q

What is the main role of the ego?

A

To reduce the conflict between the demands of the id and superego

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21
Q

What part of our mind is the superego?

A

Our internalised sense of right or wrong based on societal and parental values. it acts as our conscience or moral guide.

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22
Q

When is the superego formed? Unconscious or conscious?

A

3-6 years It is around this age that parents start to demand that the child acts in more socially acceptable ways. The superego usually takes over this parental role and tells us inside our own head how we should behave. It is conscious.

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23
Q

What principle does the superego operate on?

A

The morality principle, it is our internal representation of the moral standards of the child’s same sex parent and causes feelings of guilt when rules are broken.

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24
Q

Why are defence mechanisms triggered?

A

If an individual is faced with a situation they are unable to deal with rationally.

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25
Q

How do defence mechanisms work?

A

Unconsciously, by distorting reality so that anxiety is reduced. They ensure that the ego is not overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas.

By using defence mechanisms, the individual stops themselves becoming aware of any unpleasant thoughts and feelings associated with the situation .

Long term solution = psychologically unhealthy

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26
Q

What is denial? How does the individual act?

A

This is the refusal to acknowledge and accept reality so as to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that might be associated with that event. The person acts as if the event never happened .

27
Q

What is repression?

A

This is the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses. The distressing memory is forced out of the conscious mind. However these repressed thoughts and impulses in the unconscious continue to influence behaviour without the individual being aware of the reasons behind their behaviour.

28
Q

What is displacement?

A

Transferring emotions from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target. Therefore in situations where the person feels unable to express their thoughts or feelings in the presence of the person they should be directed towards, the thoughts or feelings are directed onto someone or something else. This gives their hostile feelings a route for expression, even though they are misapplied to an innocent person or object.

29
Q

What acronym can we use to remember the psychosexual stages of development?

A

Old Aged Pensioners Love Guinness
Oral Anal Phallic Latent Genital

30
Q

What age does the Oral stage develop at?

A

Birth - 18 months

31
Q

What age does the Anal stage begin?

A

18 months to 3 years

32
Q

What age does the Phallic stage begin?

A

3-6 years

33
Q

What age does the Latent stage begin?

A

6-12 years

34
Q

What age does the Genital age begin at?

A

Puberty onwards

35
Q

Describe the characteristics of the Oral stage?

A
  • Focus of libido is in the mouth (child is breast fed and weaned)
  • The mother’s breast is the object of desire
  • Passive, receptive and dependent
  • The mouth is the way in which the child expresses early sexual energy
  • This is the most controversial of the stages; there is biological evidence that babies do have more nerve endings in this area and from a survival point of view it makes perfect sense to derive pleasure from suckling.
36
Q

What are the characteristics of the Anal stage?

A
  • Focus of libido is on the anus this is when potty training takes place
  • Ego develops as parents impose restrictions and the child becomes aware of the demands of reality and the need to conform to the demands of the others
  • First time the child experiences any sort of control (expulsion/retention of faeces)
  • Child gains pleasure from these activities
37
Q

What are the characteristics of the Phallic stage?

A
  • Focus is on the genitals , curiosity and examination
  • Becomes fully aware of gender differences
  • Becomes obsessed with own genitals
  • Superego develops through resolution of the Oedipus or Electra complex
  • Identification with same sex parent leads to formation of gender identity
38
Q

What are the characteristics of the Latent stage?

A
  • Sexual desires remain dormant
  • Earlier conflicts and issues are repressed with the consequence that children are unable to remember much of their early years
  • Children want nothing to do with the opposite sex
  • Social and intellectual development occurs`
  • Child develops mastery of the world around them
39
Q

What are the characteristics of Genital stage?

A
  • Marks the beginning of mature adult sexuality
  • Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
  • The calm of latency is disrupted as the id makes powerful demands in the form of heterosexual desires
  • The opposite sex is now needed to satisfy libido
  • Eventually directs us towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of adult life
40
Q

What are the consequences of fixation/unresolved conflict in the oral stage?

A

Smoking, biting nails, being sarcastic or critical as an adult

41
Q

Why might a child become fixated/ have unresolved conflicts in the oral stage?

A

If they were either under or over fed as a baby

42
Q

What are the consequences of being fixated/ having unresolved conflicts in the Anal stage?

A

Anally retentive or anally expulsive personality
retentive = perfectionist and obsessive
expulsive = thoughtless and messy

43
Q

Why might a child become fixated or have unresolved conflicts in the Anal stage?

A

Too strict or too relaxed potty training . The child may also come to realise that they can exercise power over the parents by retention or expulsion of faeces.

44
Q

What are the consequences of being fixated in the Phallic stage?

A

Having a phallic personality - narcissistic and reckless
This may lead to homosexuality

45
Q

What are the consequences of being fixated on the Latent stage?

A

Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

46
Q

What are the consequences of being fixated on the Genital stage?

A

None

47
Q

What is the first stage of the Oedipus complex?

A

Boy starts to desire his mother, and wants to have sex with her.

48
Q

What is the second stage of the Oedipus complex?

A

Boy sees father as a rival for his mother’s attention and wishes to kill him.

49
Q

What is the third stage of the Oedipus complex?

A

He fears that if his father finds out about his feelings for his mother, he will castrate him.

50
Q

What is the fourth stage of the Oedipus complex?

A

The boy is in a state of conflict. He resolves this by internalising and identifying with his father.

51
Q

What is the fifth stage of the Oedipus complex?

A

Development of the superego. The boy substitutes his desire of his mother into desire for other women.

52
Q

What is the first stage of the Electra complex?

A

The girl begins to develop penis envy. She blames her mother for removing her penis.

53
Q

What is the second stage of the Electra complex?

A

She starts to desire her father who has a penis.

54
Q

What is the third stage of the Electra complex?

A

The girl sees her mother as a sexual rival for her father.

55
Q

What is the fourth stage of the Electra complex?

A

To resolve seeing her mother as a sexual rival for her father, the girl identifies with her mother so that she can have her father.

56
Q

What is the fifth stage of the Electra complex?

A

The superego develops, as does gender identity. She replaces penis envy with desire for a baby.

57
Q

What sex experiences the Oedipus complex?

A

Male

58
Q

What sex experiences the Electra complex?

A

Females

59
Q

When was the ‘Little Hans’’ case study? What did Little Hans develop?

A

1909, he developed a phobia of horses

60
Q

How old was Little Hans when he developed his phobia of horses? Why was the phobia developed?

A

5 years old - developed his fear after seeing a horse that was pulling a carriage, fall over and kick his feet in the air. Little Hans was terrified and thought that the horse was dead.

61
Q

What did Freud believe Little Hans was experiencing when he developed his phobia of horses?

A

The Oedipus complex - Little Hans wanted to possess his mother , and saw his father as a rival. He displaced his fear of his father onto horses ,

62
Q

What did the blinkers on the horse and the black around its mouth remind Hans of?

A

Blinkers = father’s glasses
Black mouth = Father’s beard and moustache

63
Q

In Little Hans’ case study, what did Freud believe the horses were a symbolic representation of?

A

Horses were merely a symbolic representation of Han’s real unconscious fear of castration experienced during the Oedipus complex.