C1 - Psychodynamic Approach AO1 Key Terms Flashcards
Influence of childhood experiences
An assumption of the psychodynamic approach that proposes that early psychological development influences adult personalities
Libido
Roughly translated as sexual drives or instincts.
Fixation
Problems at any stage of psychosexual development can result in this.
Frustration
This is when the stage has not been resolved because needs have not been met, the child is unsatisfied
Overindulgence
This is when the needs of the child have been more than satisfied, and the child feels too comfortable and reluctant to move on to the next stage.
The unconscious mind
An assumption of the psychodynamic approach in which Freud proposed the mind is like an iceberg and much of what goes on inside the mind lies under the surface.
Preconscious mind
This is just under the surface, can be accessed with a little thought (like accessing a memory)
Conscious mind
This is the logical, in control part, what is actually happening
Ego defence mechanisms
Conflicts between the id, ego and superego create anxiety and the ego tries to protect itself from harm.
Regression
returning psychologically to an earlier stage of development rather than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adult way.
Displacement
Transferring impulses from one person or object to another.
Projection
Undesirable thoughts are attributed to someone else.
Repression
Pushing painful memories deep down into our unconscious mind, so they are effectively forgotten.
Tripartite personality
An assumption of the psychodynamic approach where Freud believed that the adult personality is structured into three parts that develop at different stages in our lives.
id
This is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our personality that is present at birth. It demands immediate satisfaction and can be referred to as the pleasure principle.
ego
This is the conscious, rational part of the mind that develops around the age of two years. It is governed by the reality principle and balancing the wants of the id in a socially acceptable way.
superego
This is the last part of our personality to develop at about 4 years of age. It seeks to perfect and civilise our behaviour and acts as on the morality principle.
dream analysis
The process of assigning meaning to dreams.
latent content
The real meaning of the dream
manifest content
The content of the dream you actually experience
dreamwork
Consists of a number of processes that are applied to the dream to uncover the real meaning behind the dream
condensation
Dream thoughts are rich in detail and content but these are reduced to the brief images experienced in a dream, where one dream image stands for several associations and ideas.
displacement
The emotional significance of a dream object is separated from its real content and attached to an entirely different one so the dream content is not ‘censored’
representation
A thought is translated into visual images
symbolism
An action, person or idea is represented by another image.
secondary elaboration
The unconscious mind collects all the different images and ties them together to form a logical story, further disguising the latent content. The actual dream material may be supplied from recent events in a person’s waking life.