Approaches: psychodynamic approach

Question 1

Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

-focuses on how all our behaviour can be motivated by unconscious motives and events that occured in early childhood –> psychic determinism
-one of freuds biggest contributions was to develop a therapy called psychoanalysis

Question 2

What does our unconscious mind consist of?

Answer 2

Consists of information which is hard or even impossible to retrieve and is the biggest part of our mind. This can include our fears, instincts, painful or embarrassing material as well as traumatic memories.

Question 3

What does our conscious mind consist of?

Answer 3

Consists of thoughts we are aware of. This includes our perceptions and everyday thoughts.

Question 4

What does our preconscious mind consist of?

Answer 4

Just beneath the surface. This includes memories and stored knowledge. We can access these if needed.

Question 5

What is the role of the unconscious mind?

Answer 5

Is to direct and motivate behaviour without conscious awareness. It also protects us from these distressing, painful or embarrassing material that would damage the psyche if recalled into conscious awareness

Question 6

What are the 3 components of the tripartite personality?

Answer 6

• id
• ego
• superego

Question 7

Define the id

Answer 7

• unconscious mind
• this controls your primitive desires and the need for gratification, operating on the pleasure principle
• the id is innate
  -risk taking behaviour

Question 8

Define the ego

Answer 8

• conscious mind
• works on the reality principle and has the ability to delay gratification for more realistic goals
• develops around 3 yr old when we recognise wants, needs and desires
• logical/ rational

Question 9

Define superego

Answer 9

• unconscious mind
• responsible for moral and social constraints, ‘ideal’ force telling you to be a better person
• develop at 5 year old after internalising the same sex parent

Question 10

What are the 4 defence mechanisms?

Answer 10

• displacement
• repression
• denial
• regression (will not be asked about in the exam)

Question 11

Define displacement

Answer 11

The unconscious redirection of an impulse onto a powerless substitute target. Can be an object or person that can serve as symbolic substitute.

Question 12

Define repression

Answer 12

the id has impulses that the ego does not want to allow into the conscious mind so it keeps them out using repression. Also to protect itself from traumatic events. The memory of this is too much to handle and so the ego pushes it deep into the unconscious mind. The person does not remember and this is all unconscious

Question 13

Define denial

Answer 13

unconsciously blocking external events from conscious awareness. If a situation is too much to handle, the person can unconsciously cannot accept it

Question 14

Define regression

Answer 14

Involves the individual going back to ways of behaving that are associated with a safer or happier time of life.
E.g. When situations are high stress an adult may regress to the mental state of a child and show behavioural traits of me age may have regressed

Question 15

List Freud’s psychosexual stages and ages

Answer 15

-Oral (0-1 years)
- anal (1-3 years)
- phallic (3-5 years)
- latent (6-12 years)
- genital (12+ years)

Question 16

Where is the pleasure source during the oral stage?

Answer 16

Mouth

Question 17

Where is me pleasure source during the anal stage?

Answer 17

Anus

Question 18

Where is the pleasure source during the phallic stage?

Answer 18

Genitals

Question 19

Where is the pleasure source during the genital stage?

Answer 19

Genitals

Question 20

Which part of the personality develops during the oral stage?

Answer 20

Id

Question 21

Which part of the personality develops during the anal stage?

Answer 21

Ego

Question 22

Which part of the personality develops during the phallic stage?

Answer 22

Super ego

Question 23

What conflicts must be overcome during the oral stage?and what behaviours arise as adults if there is unresolved conflict?

Answer 23

-Successful weaning
- orally fixated behaviours
-chewing gum, nail biting, sarcasm
- oral receptive personality
- oral aggressive personality

Question 24

What conflicts must be overcome during the anal stage?and what behaviours arise as adults if there is unresolved conflict?

Answer 24

• Successful toilet training
• conflict it overly harsh or overly lax
• anal retentive = mean, tidy, obsessive, organised
• anal repulsive = generous, untidy,disorganised

Question 25

What conflicts must be overcome during the phallic stage?and what behaviours arise as adults if there is unresolved conflict?

Answer 25

• Successfully overcoming the Oedipus or Electra complex to identify with same sex parent
• phallic personality
  • narcotic, vain, reckless

Question 26

Issues after genital stage?

Answer 26

Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships and issues with gender identity

Question 27

Explain the Oedipus complex

Answer 27

In the phallic stage, a boy has an intense love for his mother, and sees his father as a rival for her affections. However, he realises that his father is physically stronger, and is afraid of his father may punish him by castration. This castration anxiety is resolved by identifying with the father, and so by becoming as much like the father as possible, including gender behaviour.

Question 28

Explain the Electra complex

Answer 28

In the phallic stage, the girl has a strong affection for her father and sees her mother as arrival. She experiences penis envy and blames her mother for her own lack of penis. However, girls worry about losing mothers love because of competing affection. This is resolved by the girl identifying with her mother and learning gender roles and behaviour

Question 29

Summarise the case of little Hans

Answer 29

Hans was a five-year-old boy who developed a phobia of horses, one collapse on the street. Freud suggested that hans’s 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’, unconscious fear, which was castration of experience during the Oedipus complex.

Question 30

Evaluation point psychodynamic: Evidence

Answer 30

• Little Hans
  -Hans was a five-year-old boy who developed a phobia of horses, one collapse on the street. Freud suggested that hans’s 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’, unconscious fear, which was castration of experience during the Oedipus complex.

Question 31

Evaluation point psychodynamic: methodological problems/ lacks validity

Answer 31

However, psychodynamic theory generally has some methodological problems, making it less affective as a theory and so a less credible one. Freuds theory is unscientific as the concepts are abstract and not measurable. Science requires that theories are open to observation and can be repeated by someone else in order to be reliable. As a consequence, Freuds theory lacks credibility as its research evidence is not easily replicated and the theory falsifiable. This suggests that as a theory is less credible, therefore lacks validity.

Question 32

Evaluation point psychodynamic: reductionist/incomplete

Answer 32

A further problems, Freuds theory is that it does not explain development into adult hood, and this appears more limited as an explanation of development. There are alternative psychodynamic theories which offer a more complete explanation, and so cast doubt on Floyd’s view. Erickson psychodynamic theory: eight stages of wolman. This is a whole life theory – we carry on developing into old age and experience meaningful event, such as a midlife crisis. Emphasises unconscious and social aspects of development from birth to death. This implies that Freud’s theory, neglects, lifelong development, and as such can be seen as reductionist

Question 33

Evaluation point psychodynamic: disputing evidence

Answer 33

There is also research that contradicts Floyd’s theoretical claims. For example, Malinowski is research suggests that Freuds theory, maybe reductionist in assuming that any deviation from the psychosexual stages, will result in abnormal gender development. Malinowski studied the trobriand islanders, where boys are not brought up by their fathers. This should mean that they do not resolve the oedipus complex. However, the boys to do develop normally. This evidence contradicts the belief by Freud that homosexual/single parents should affect developmental elements I.e. sexual orientation. This is a problem because it suggests for his ideas Are theoretically flawed because it does not consider these inconsistencies 

Question 34

Evaluation Point psychodynamic: practical applications

Answer 34

The theory has good practical application as it can be used successfully to treat people suffering from a wide variety of disorders. It was also the first theory to suggest that mental illnesses could be treated with a talking cure rather than medical intervention. Psychoanalysis has been used worldwide to treat many individuals through talking therapy. Some advantages are that there are no side-effects of some argue it deals with the root cause of the issue. This is good because it could help reduce huge amounts of distress experience by many with mental health issues.

Question 35

Outline what is meant by denial and displacement and suggest how each could be involved in Tim coping with his situation (4 – AO2-4)

Answer 35

Denial - unconsciously blocking external events from conscious awareness
Tim refuses to believe his business is gone and still spends All day in his office
Displacement- unconscious redirection of an impulse into a powerless substitute object
Tim takes out his anger at the bank by arguing with his family.