Approaches - psychodynamic approach

Question 1

psychodynamic

Answer 1

term describes the perspective on psychology in which inner feeling and unconscious tensions are emphasized

Question 2

unconscious

Answer 2

that part of the human mind that contains repressed ideas and
memories, as well as primitive desires and impulses that have never been allowed to enter the conscious mind

Question 3

psychoanalysis

Answer 3

a term used to describe the personality theory and therapy associated with Sigmund Freud - bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders, and reduce anxiety

Question 4

defence mechanisms

Answer 4

unconscious strategies that protect our conscious mind from anxiety. defence mechanisms involve distortion of reality in some way, so that we are better able to cope with a situation

Question 5

what did Freud believe?

Answer 5

• unconscious activity shapes behaviour
• traumatic childhoods can lead to psychological disorders
• psychoanalysis can release repressed memories and relieve symptoms

Question 6

why do mental disorders arise (psychodynamic approach)

Answer 6

unresolved, unconscious conflicts originating in childhood.

Question 7

Freud’s model of the mind

Answer 7

id, ego, superego. if unbalanced, mental abnormality

Question 8

id

Answer 8

satisfy selfish urges with immediate gratification regardless of circumstances. exists from birth. only in unconscious

Question 9

ego

Answer 9

acts rationally, balances id and superego. develops age 2-4

Question 10

superego

Answer 10

keeps to moral norms. attempts to control id with feelings of guilt. develops ages 4-5

Question 11

conscience (superego)

Answer 11

an inner feeling of the rightness or wrongness of an action

Question 12

ego-ideal (superego)

Answer 12

standards for moral behaviour determined by parental guidance and reward of good behaviour

Question 13

role of the unconscious

Answer 13

unconscious mind is inaccessible to conscious thought
tip of iceberg = conscious
larger part underwater = unconscious

Question 14

preconscious

Answer 14

Information that is not conscious but is retrievable into conscious awareness (like a waiting room)

Question 15

freudian slip

Answer 15

a verbal mistake that is thought to reveal an unconscious belief, thought, or emotion

Question 16

psychosexual stages

Answer 16

the childhood stages of development during which, according to Freud, the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

Question 17

what are the psychosexual stages?

Answer 17

oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

Question 18

becoming fixated on one psychosexual stage

Answer 18

restricts full development and makes you display specific personality symptoms

Question 19

to be psychologically healthy… (psychodynamic)

Answer 19

you have to successfully complete each stage and not get fixated

Question 20

oral Stage (0-18 months)

Answer 20

pleasure centers on the mouth- sucking, biting, chewing.
completed by eating independently

Question 21

anal Stage (18-36 months)

Answer 21

pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

Question 22

oedipus complex (3-6 years)

Answer 22

a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father. identifies with father to cope with castration anxiety

Question 23

electra complex (3-6 years)

Answer 23

the unconscious desire of girls to replace their mother and win their father’s romantic love. hates mum because she thinks she castrated her. penis envy. later resolves feelings towards mother

Question 24

latency stage (6-puberty)

Answer 24

stage focuses on dormant sexual feelings put into sports and other hobbies

Question 25

genital stage (puberty on)

Answer 25

sexual feelings re-emerge and are oriented toward others. completed by forming healthy adult relationships -> only happens if earlier stages are completed

Question 26

what are ego defence mechanisms

Answer 26

balances potential conflict between id and superego, reduces anxiety

Question 27

whatare the 3 defence mechanisms?

Answer 27

repression = burying unpleasant thoughts in unconscious, can influence behaviour
displacement = emotions/thoughts directed away from target, hostility is still released
denial = ignoring unpleasant thoughts, refusing to accept reality and avoid having to deal with it

Question 28

free association

Answer 28

expressing immediate unconscious thoughts as they happen

Question 29

dream interpretation

Answer 29

analysing latent content (underlying meaning) of manifest content (what’s remembered from the dream)

Question 30

evaluation of psychodynamic approach

Answer 30

+ modern day psychiatry still uses Freud’s techniques and ideas
+ evidence supports ego defence mechanisms -> people repress memories
+ case study methodology is complex enough to fully represent processes
- focus on childhood experience as source of issues but can be from adult life
- case studies are difficult to generalise and are less scientific than other approaches, meaning they can’t be proved right or wrong.