Approaches- The Psychodynamic Approach

Question 1

What does the psychodynamic approach emphasise?

Answer 1

The active nature of mental processes and their role in shaping personality and behaviour

Question 2

Who developed the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 2

Freud

Question 3

What are the 3 assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 3

• Human behaviour has unconscious causes
• Humans have a need to fulfil basic biological motivations from birth
• Childhood experiences are important influences on the development of adult personality and psychological disorders

Question 4

What is the conscious?

Answer 4

What we are aware of at any given time

Question 5

What is the preconscious?

Answer 5

Made up of memories that we can recall when we want to

Question 6

What is the unconscious?

Answer 6

Made up of memories, desires and fears which cause us extreme anxiety and have therefore been repressed or forced out of conscious awareness, however still influences behaviour

Question 7

What are the three parts of the personality?

Answer 7

The id, the ego and the superego

Question 8

What is the id?

Answer 8

The basic animal part of the personality that contains our innate, aggressive and sexual instincts
Wants to be satisfied by whatever means possible
Obeys the pleasure principle
Accounts for unreasonable behaviour and is present from birth

Question 9

What is the ego?

Answer 9

Exists in both the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind
Acts on the reality principle which is the rational part of the mind
Develops within the first 3 years after birth
Balances the id and the superego

Question 10

What is the superego?

Answer 10

In both the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind
Takes our morals into consideration and is involved in making us feel guilty
Develops at around 4 to 5 years of age
Includes ideas about how to behave that we adopt from our parents

Question 11

What are the 5 psychosexual stages in order?

Answer 11

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

Question 12

What are the 3 conflicts?

Answer 12

Repression, denial, displacement

Question 13

What does repression involve?

Answer 13

The ego stopping unwanted and possibly painful thoughts from becoming conscious

Question 14

What is denial?

Answer 14

Where a threatening event or an unwanted reality is simply ignored and blocked from conscious awareness

Question 15

What is displacement?

Answer 15

When a negative impulse is redirected onto something else

Question 16

What age does the oral stage occur?

Answer 16

0-18 months

Question 17

What are the characteristics of the oral stage?

Answer 17

Sucking behaviour

Question 18

What age does the anal stage occur?

Answer 18

18 months-3.5 years

Question 19

What are the characteristics of the anal stage?

Answer 19

Keeping or discarding faeces

Question 20

What age does the phallic stage occur?

Answer 20

3.5-6 years

Question 21

What are the characteristics of the phallic stage?

Answer 21

Genital fixation- Oedipus and Electra complex

Question 22

What age does the latency stage occur?

Answer 22

6 years-puberty

Question 23

What are the characteristics of the latency stage?

Answer 23

Repressed sexual urges

Question 24

What age does the genital stage occur?

Answer 24

Puberty-adult

Question 25

What are the characteristics of the genital stage?

Answer 25

Awakened sexual urges

Question 26

What are 4 strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 26

• First approach to focus on psychological causes rather than physical causes or the possession by evil spirits
• First approach to suggest mental health disorders may be linked to unresolved conflicts
• Offers methods of therapy which may uncover unconscious conflicts
• Places emphasis on how childhood experiences can affect later development

Question 27

What are 6 weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 27

• Unreliable and open to bias
• Unfalsifiable
• May take a long time and be very expensive
• Focuses on past, not present
• Findings can’t be generalised
• Not possible to establish cause and effect