Freud's psychodynamic theory Flashcards
What is the conscious mind ?
Small amount of mental activity we know about
What is the preconscious mind ?
Things we could be aware of if we wanted to or tried
What is the unconscious mind ?
Things we aren’t aware of/can’t become aware of
What part of the mind is the largest, most powerful & inaccessible ?
Unconscious mind
What is neuroses ?
Mental health problems individual aware of suffering from
What is psychoses ?
Mental health problems individual not aware of & no insight into nature of their problems
How did Freud think psychoses could be treated ?
Identifying problems in unconscious mind
What does Anna O support ?
Repressed memories cause problems
Who is Anna O ?
- Fear of drinking when dog she didn’t like drank from her glass = hysteria
- Treated by recalling forgotten memories of traumatic events
- Repressed memories brought into conscious mind & guide behaviour
What are 4 key assumptions of Freud ?
- First 5 years = most important in forming personality, problems in these years affect development
- All children pass through psychosexual stages, if resolve issues = stable personality & good adult relationships
- Unconscious mind largest & most powerful
- Everyone has stable energy including libido = boring with Eros and Thanatos
What is the id ?
Pleasure principle motivated to satisfy basic biological urges & present since birth
What is the ego ?
Reality principle = satisfy id in line with what’s realistically possible considering environment
What is the superego ?
Morality principle which judges whether actions are right or wrong, present since 5
What is a strong superego ?
Same sex parent overly harsh, anxiety so satisfy superego’s need for punishment
How does a strong superego develop ?
Commit crime to get caught & punished to relieve guilt, express built up aggression & sexual desires
What is a deviant superego ?
Child internalises morals of criminal or same sex parent
How does a deviant superego develop ?
Same sex parent is overly harsh, individual crippled by guilt so satisfy superego’s need for punishment
What is a weak superego ?
Same sex parent absent during phallic stage of psycho sexual development, failing to internalise moral values
How does a weak superego develop ?
Act in ways that gratify id, don’t react to antisocial behaviour
What did Blackburn suggest ?
If superego deficient then criminality inevitable as id not properly controlled & give into urges
What is the Oedipus complex ?
- 5 = boy develop intense sexual desire to mother causing boy to reject & display aggression against rival
- Internal conflict = fears father, assuming pursuing mothers affection father will hurt & castrate him
- Believe sister already castrated & fears same punishment
What is the Electra complex ?
- 5 = girl develop intense sexual desires to mother
- Envious as realises she doesn’t have penis & blames mother for ‘castrated state’, causing aggression
- Fear of punishment = repress desires & internalise mothers values
- Unable to develop conscience through fear of castration
- Superego weaker in females & morally inferior
Why do we have defence mechanisms ?
To allow urges of id to be channelled in socially acceptable way, (ego strike balance between id & superego)
What is repression ?
Unconscious mechanisms by ego to keep disturbing/threatening thoughts from becoming conscious
What is denial ?
Blocking external events from awareness
What is projection ?
Attributing own unacceptable thoughts, feelings & motives to another person
What is displacement ?
Satisfying an impulse with a substitute object
What is regression ?
Movement back in psychological time when faced with stress
What is sublimation ?
Satisfying an impulse with a substitute object in a socially acceptable way
What is Eros ?
Drive for life, love & self satisfaction
What is Thanatos ?
Drive for death, aggression, destruction & violence
What is catharsis ?
Purging or release of emotional tensions
Catharsis - Feshbeck & Singer
- 652 boys living in residential institutions, one group - non aggressive video, one group - aggressive video for 6 weeks
- Non-violent showed more aggression due to catharsis as violent group could let out emotions by empathising with violence
Supporting research - Feshbeck & Singer
Field experiments, natural setting
Criticisms - Feshbeck & Singer
Field experiments, less control over extraneous variables = boys watching non-violent may have acted aggressively as banned from watching favourite programmes
Criticism - concepts
Unfalisifable, concepts not measurable can’t be rigorously tested
Criticism - methodology
Unscientific, data = qualitative & personal so overall theory shouldn’t be generated, lacks generalisability due to unique nature of patients
Compliment - methodology
Developed from in-depth case studies looking at background & mental state, qualitative data triangulation e.g dream analysis
Opposing research - Hoffman
Females have stronger moral orientation, lower criminal rates = Freud suggest females have weaker superegos
Application
Can explain criminal acts whereby no obvious gain & explain why aggression runs in families
