Approaches: The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
1
Q
What are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
A
- our behaviour is determined by unconscious activity
- we possess innate instincts that motivate our behaviour
- we have a three part personality - our psyche
- childhood experiences have significant importance on our personality in adulthood
2
Q
What is the role of the unconscious, as suggested by Freud?
A
- vast parts of our mind are inaccessible to conscious awareness
- this is shown in the iceberg metaphor, where consciousness is only the tip of the iceberg
- traumatic memories are repressed into the unconscious mind (such as memories from childhood)
- however these memories are never truly forgotten and can be explored through psychoanalysis
- the unconscious mind can be revealed through dreams and fantasies, known as Freudian slips
3
Q
What is the structure of personality?
A
- the ID
- the ego
- the superego
4
Q
What is the ID?
A
- erotic energy governed by the pleasure principle which seeks pleasure and instant gratification
- operates on instinct
- consists of primal urges called drives
- is present at birth
5
Q
What is the ego?
A
- governed by the reality principle
- balances the demands of the ID and the superego
- is not present at birth and arises in response to control by others (such as parents during the anal stage)
6
Q
What is the superego?
A
- governed by the morality principle: our sense of right and wrong - our conscious
- is the internalised parent developed in response to parental discipline
- develops during the phallic stage
7
Q
What are the three defense mechanisms?
A
- repression
- denial
- displacement
8
Q
What is repression?
A
forcing traumatic or distressing memories out of the conscious into the unconscious mind
e.g. cannot remember child abuse
9
Q
What is denial?
A
refusal to acknowledge or accept the truth or reality of a distressing situation
e.g. denies having financial problems
10
Q
What is displacement?
A
feelings toward a target individual cannot be expressed so is transferred onto someone or something else
e.g. being angry and yelling at wife after being yelled at by boss
11
Q
Why do we have defense mechanisms?
A
- used by the ego to cope with the conflicting demands of the ID and superego
- the ego distorts reality so distressing feelings or memories do not dominate the conscious awareness in everyday life
12
Q
What are the psychosexual stages?
A
- ORAL (1-2 yrs) - focus on mouth
- infant experiences pleasure by biting and sucking
- unresolved conflict leads to oral fixation (e.g. nail biting)
- ANAL (2-3 yrs) - focus on anus
- becomes aware of the reality principle imposed by parents and undergoes potty training to control bowel movements
- unresolved conflict leads to anal fixation where you are either retentive (a obsessive perfectionist) or expulsive (messy and thoughtless)
- PHALLIC (3-6 yrs) - focus on genitals
- Oedipus complex occurs, where one must overcome their unconscious sexual desire for their mother by identifying with the father
- unresolved conflict leads to phallix fixation where one is reckless and narcissistic
- LATENT (6-12 yrs) - hidden focus
- sexual energy becomes latent, so one can focus on the world and forming friendships
- GENITAL (12+ yrs) - focus on genitals
- psychosexual energy is directed towards forming adult relationships
- unresolved conflict leads to genital fixation where one struggles to form heterosexual relationships
13
Q
Describe Freud’s case study of Little Hans:
A
- Freud did a case study on a boy named Hans who had a phobia of horses
- Freud analysed notes from Hans father about Han’s dreams and the things he said
- Hans was afraid of horses because he thought they might bite him or fall on him
- Hans also developed an interest in his penis
- Hans had a dream where he was married to his mum
- Freud determined Hans had an oedipus complex, where he was desired his mother and was jealous of his father
- Freud also determined Hans was scared of being castrated by his father (as he desired his mother)
- Freud determined Hans developed a phobia of horses because he was displacing his fear of castrastion from his father onto horses
- Therefore Hans’ fear of being bitten by a horse was just a symbol of his fear of being castrated
14
Q
Evaluation of the psychodynamic approach:
A
- strength: it is a comprehensive theory that can be used to explain many aspects of human behaviour such as personality, abnormality, morality, etc.
- strength: practical applications - Freud developed a therapy called psychoanalysis which may have led to modern day psychotherapies (such as hypnosis and dream analysis. however, this may be harmful for those with serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia
- weakness: case study - Freud based his entire theory on studies of individuals. therefore it is not possible to make universal claims about the human psyche based on case studies, as they are too specific
- weakness: validity of theories - the validity of Freud’s theories is questioned. his case study of Hans was based on reports from Hans’ father, which may have been biased. also, his theories about the unconscious are untestable, as we cannot directly observe or measure it. therefore it is impossible to know whether Freud’s theories are true.
