Approaches - psychodynamic approach Flashcards
What is the psychodynamic approach?
An approach to understanding behaviour that emphasises the importance of subjective experience and each person’s capacity for self determination
The role of the unconscious
Freud: the mind is made up of…
Conscious - what we are aware of
Preconscious - thoughts we may become aware of through dreams and ‘slips of the tongue’
Unconscious - a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts all of which have a significant influence on our thoughts, behaviour and personality
The structure of personality: Freud describes our personality as…
Tripartite
- ID - Ego - Superego
All of which develop at different time and are responsible for different things
The structure of personality: The ID - pleasure principle
- Primitive part of our personality and is present from birth
- Unconscious biological drives, instincts and urges
- Demands instant gratification
The structure of personality: The Ego - reality principle - Tame the ID
(age 2)
- Reduces the conflict between the demands of the ID and the superego
- Uses defence mechanisms
The structure of personality: The Superego - morality principle - idealism vs realism
(age 5)
- Represents the moral standards of our same sex parent
- Punishes the ego through guilt, but also rewards the ego with pride
- Direct opposition to the ID
- Internalised sense of right and wrong
Defence mechanisms
Used by the ego in order to cope with conflicting demands of the other two parts of the personality: the ID and superego
Repression - forcing a distressing memory our of the conscious mind
Denial - refusing to acknowledge society
Displacement - transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target
The psychosexual stages
According to Freud, children pass through 5 stages of psychosexual development
- during each stage, the child fixates and gains pleasure from a specific part of the body
- each stage is also associated with a particular conflict, which if not resolved can result in an adult fixation
Oral (0-1) - pleasure focus = mouth, weaning off breast or bottle
Adult fixation e.g = smoking, overeating
Anal (1-3) - pleasure focus = anus, toilet training
Adult fixation e.g = neatness, messiness
Phallic (3-6) - pleasure focus = genitals, oedipus/electra complex
Adult fixation e.g = vanity, overambiton
Latency (6-12) - earlier conflicts are repressed
Genital (puberty) - sexual desires become conscious
Oedipus complex
Psychosexual conflict at the phallic stage
Young boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and a murderous hatred for their father
Later boys repress their feelings for their mother and identify with their father, taking on his gender role and moral values
Girls of the same age experience penis envy
Strengths of the psychodynamic approach (3)
- Practical application
- Influential
- Ability to explain human behaviour
Strength of the psychodynamic approach: Practical application
P: A strength of the psychodynamic approach is that it has practical application with therapy
E: For example, Freud created a new therapy known as psychoanalysis based on theories about the unconscious mind. This therapy use hypnosis and dream analysis among other techniques to access the unconscious mind.
E: This is an advantage because his therapy served as a model for modern psychotherapies that treat anxiety and depression. Additionally, the efficacy of these therapies strengthens the credibility of the psychodynamic approach’s fundamental basis for the treatment.
L: Therefore, it not only strengthens its validity but also demonstrates how it may be applied in daily life to assist those who are struggling with issues related to their mentalhealth.
Strength of the psychodynamic approach: Influential
P: One strength of the psychodynamic approach is that it is considered as a catalyst of paradigm shift within psychology
E: For example, it proposed new methods for obtaining empirical data, such as case studies, and its key principles were behaviour observations as opposed to introspection and self-analysis of thinking.
E: Furthermore, Freud’s theory was the first to highlight how our adult behaviour is influenced by unconscious processes and repressed childhood material.
L:This illustrates how Freud and the method pioneered several fundamental psychological concepts that are still in use today, highlighting its significance as a trailblazing method.
Strength of the psychodynamic approach: Ability to explain human behaviour
Although occasionally controversial and bizarre, it has nevertheless had a huge influence on psychology and western contemporary thought
Key force in psychology alongside behaviourism for the first half of the 20th century and has been used to explain wide range of phenomena
- Personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development and gender identity
- Draws attention to connection between experiences in childhood i.e relationship to our parents and later development
Limitations of the psychodynamic approach (3)
- Counterpoint to practical application
- Falsifiability
Limitation of the psychodynamic approach: Counterpoint to practical application
On the other hand whilst Freudian therapists have claimed success for many clients with mild neurosis (overthinking), psychoanalysis is regarded as inappropriate, even harmful, for people experiencing more serious mental disorders
- Symptoms of schizophrenia such as paranoia and delusional thinking -> those with the disorder have lost their grip on reality, unable to articulate their thoughts in the way required by psychoanalysis
Suggesting Freudian therapy and theory may not apply to all mental disorders
