L10 - Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
What is a defence mechanism?
Stops an individual from becoming consciously aware of any unpleasant thoughts/feelings/memories that they may be experiencing
These are
- Repression
- Denial
- Displacement
Repression
- Unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts
- Repressed thoughts still influence behaviour
e.g a person abused as a child may not remember the abuse, but could have trouble forming adult relationships
Denial
- Refusal to accept reality to avoid painful feelings associated with a traumatic situation
Displacement
- Focus of a strong emotion is expressed on an alternative person/object
What are psychosexual stages?
- Personality develops in 5 stages. These stages are psychosexual stages
- It emphasises the most important driving force for development is the need to express sexual energy
- Parents play an important role in a child’s progression
- Too much or little gratification in each stage, and fixation could occur
- This is where an adults personality could show permanent signs reflecting the stage at which fixation occurred
What are the 5 stages and their ages?
Oral: 0-2 years Anal: 2-3 years Phallic: 3-6 years Latent: 6-12 years Genital: 12 + years
What are the descriptions of each stage?
Oral: Pleasure is from mouth; sucking, biting + tasting
Anal: Pleasure is from anus; withholding/expelling faeces
Phallic: Pleasure is from genitals; Electra/Oedipus complex
Latent: Mastery of world + social relationships. Early conflict is repressed
Genital: Sexual desires are conscious as puberty starts
What are the consequences of resolution for each stage?
Oral: Trusting & Give/receive affection Anal: Can deal w/ authority figures Phallic: Adopts behaviours of same sex Latent: Mastery of world + social relations. Early conflict is repressed Genital: Well adjusted adult
What are the consequences if unresolved for each stage?
Oral: Oral fixation: smoking/nail biting & sarcastic/critical
Anal:
- Anal retentive personality: perfectionist + obsessive
- Anal expulsive personality: thoughtless + messy
Phallic: Narcissistic, reckless & homosexual
Latent: Mastery of the world + social relations. Early conflict is repressed
Genital: Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
What is the Oedipus Complex?
- Boys in the phallic stage have incestuous feelings towards their mother and a hatred for their father
- Afraid that dad will castrate them, they repress their feelings & identify with their father (castration anxiety)
- They internalise his gender role + moral values (superego)
What is the Electra Complex?
- Girls in the phallic stage have penis envy and desire their dad
- They believe they have been castrated and blame their mum for it
- Over time, the desire for their father is replaced for a baby
- They identify with their mother and internalise her gender role and moral values (superego)
Evaluation (+)
+ Defence mechanisms do have intuitive appeal; most people appreciate the ideas of denial, repression & displacement
+ Led to development of psychoanalysis for treatments. Laid foundation for psychotherapy in psychiatry
+ Study of Little Hans supports the Oedipus complex. However the concept could only be inferred by behaviour or reported thoughts where subjective interpretation is open to investigator bias
Evaluation (-)
- Key concepts like the unconscious mind lack falsifiability as they are unconscious so hard to test
- Concepts are based on small samples because of case studies. Poses problems for generalisability
