Individual Differences- Frued and Baron-Cohen

Question 1

What is the key assumption of individual differences approach

Answer 1

All individuals differ in behaviour and personal qualities so not everyone is average. everyone is genetically unique and is displayed in their behaviour

Question 2

What does the term psychodynamic mean

Answer 2

psycho- mind spirit
dynamic- energy, expression of energy

Question 3

what 4 areas are covered in the psychodynamic theory of freud

Answer 3

-structure of the mind
-structure of the personality
-defence mechanism
-psychosexual stages of personality

Question 4

describe freuds idea of the structure of the mind

Answer 4

The conscious mind- thoughts and feelings we are presently aware of and easily recovered
The pre conscious mind- thoughts and feelings we are not directly aware of but can easily recall
The unconscious mind- thoughts and feelings we are not aware of and are not easily recalled or accessed, these thoughts are trying to find a way to be expressed for example found through hypnosis and dream analysis

Question 5

describe the structure of the personality

Answer 5

Id- pleasure principle: present from birth in the unconscious mind demanding instant gratification of biological needs
Ego- reality principle: present from age 2-3 in the preconscious mind and maintains balance between id and superego
Superego- morality principle: present from age 5 in the conscious mind and decides what is socially appropriate so always in conflict with Id

Question 6

explain the defence mechanism regression

Answer 6

reverting to childlike behaviour when anxious or stressed

Question 7

explain the defence mechanism displacement

Answer 7

taking out our impulses on less threatening target

Question 8

explain the defence mechanism denial

Answer 8

refuse to acknowledge some aspects of reality

Question 9

explain the defence mechanism repression

Answer 9

putting memories in the unconscious mind

Question 10

explain the defence mechanism projection

Answer 10

attribute our undesirable characteristics to others

Question 11

Describe all the stages of psychosexual development

Answer 11

Oral 0-1.5 years: mouth, orally aggressive (chewing) orally passive (smoking ,eating), results in gullibility or manipulation
Anal 1.5-3 years: bowel, bladder, anal retentive (organisation), anal repulsive ( reckless disorganised)
Phallic 3-5 years: genitals, overindulgence (messy personality), under indulgence (obsessive)
Latency 5-puberty: same sex friendships, tend not to fixate this stand
Genital stage puberty: mature, unsatisfactory relationships

Question 12

What is the oedipus complex

Answer 12

during the phallic stage children (boys) grow an attachment to opposite parent, the feeling stemming from the unconscious mind. the boy will feel distant and jealous of the father. the boy will adopt characteristics of the father as he develops the superego that is inline with the fathers morals to resolve the threat.
electra is girl but not acknowledged

Question 13

What is the aim of frueds study

Answer 13

to report the findings of 5 yr old Little Hans for his phobia of horses and find evidence for psychosexual development and oedipus complex

Question 14

What sampling technique and research method is used in frueds study

Answer 14

opportunity sampling with high levels of bias as a longitudinal case study (2 years)

Question 15

What are the features of a case study

Answer 15

Investigate a unique behaviour
focuses on one individual
often longitudinal with rich qualitative data

Question 16

What is the negative in how the research was collected

Answer 16

there is research bias as both freud and his dad will look at data in a subjective way to support their own thoughts

Question 17

Where is the displacement defence mechanism found in Hans story

Answer 17

His unconscious desire for his mother to drown his sister translated into a fear that he will drown in the bath (freuds interpretation)

Question 18

What were Hans sources of anxiety

Answer 18

mother- fantasies resulted in castration anxiety
father- rivalry and love conflicted with eachother
sister- displacement defence mechanism

Question 19

Explain Hans horse phobia

Answer 19

this fear developed after experiencing anxiety filled dreams about losing his mother and fantasies and the experience with the horse bite

Question 20

How did Hans dreams link to this complex

Answer 20

plumber fantasy, phobia of baths, giraffe dreams, phobia of horses, interest in widdler

Question 21

what is an explication of hans fear of horses

Answer 21

classical conditioning as he saw one fearful experience of a horse and generalised it to all horses

Question 22

What are the issues with Freuds research

Answer 22

Androcentrism- placing male issues at the centre point, freud highly ignores females
Ethnocentrism- placing one ethnicity at the centre point, middle class educated europeans
single sample