L9 - Psychodynamic Approach

Question 1

Key assumptions

Answer 1

• Driving force behind our behaviour is the unconscious mind
• instinct & drive motivates our behaviour
• early childhood is pivotal in making us the person we are

Question 2

Role of unconscious

Answer 2

• 3 levels to the mind
• conscious mind has thoughts, feelings & memory a person is currently aware of
• preconscious mind contains the thoughts, feelings and memories that a person could access if they wanted to.
• Freud argued that the largest part of the mind is inaccessible - referred as the unconscious mind.
• Freud believed that most of our everyday actions and behaviours are not controlled consciously but are the product of the unconscious mind, which reveals itself in slips of the tongue (Freudian slips), in creativity and in neurotic symptoms.
• The unconscious is the driving/motivating force behind our behaviour/personality & protects the conscious self from anxiety/fear/trauma/conflict.
• Traumatic (repressed) memories drive our behaviour
• The underlying unconscious drive is sexual
• If a conflict is experienced during the development through the psychosexual stages, e.g. oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital, a fixation (that resides in their unconscious mind) can affect an adult’s personality

Question 3

What does the mind do?

Answer 3

• actively prevents traumatic thoughts, feelings and memories in the mind from reaching the conscious mind because they would cause the person anxiety
• During psychoanalysis or hypnosis the psychoanalyst tries to access the unconscious mind of their patients using free association and dream interpretation

Question 4

What is a ‘Freudian slip’?

Answer 4

• an unintentional error revealing subconscious thoughts
• if call someone the wrong name you are actually thinking of the
  E.g. mispronunciation of words, call teacher your mum

Question 5

What’s free association

Answer 5

• a word/image which may spontaneously suggest another - may be without logical connection
• have to say without thinking

Question 6

What did Freud say dreams mean?

Answer 6

They have wishes embedded in them, felt they were a pathway to the unconscious mind

Question 7

Structure of personality

Answer 7

• Personality has a tripartite structure (e.g. it made up of three parts), the Id, the Ego and the Superego.
• Experience and conflicts in childhood shape the development of the three parts of personality, affecting how a person behaves.

Question 8

The Id

Answer 8

• The id is formed between birth and 18 months of age.
• It is in the unconscious mind. The id focuses on the self (selfish), and is irrational and emotional.
• It deals with feelings and needs, and seeks pleasure.
• It operates on the pleasure principle.
- what makes you happy e.g. eating lots of chocolate

Question 9

The ego

Answer 9

• The ego is formed from 18 months to 3 years of age.
• It is in the conscious mind.
• It is rational and obtains a balance between the id and the superego.
• It operates on the reality principle.
E.g chocolate isn’t healthy so only eat a bit

Question 10

The superego

Answer 10

• The superego is formed between 3 and 6 years of age.
• It is in the unconscious mind.
• The superego acts as a conscience or moral guide based on parental and societal values.
• It operates on the morality principle.
E.g. what your parents would usually say to you

Question 11

Defense mechanisms

Answer 11

These stop an individual from becoming consciously aware of any unpleasant thoughts, feelings, or memories that they may be experiencing
Includes repression, denial & displacement

Question 12

Regression

Answer 12

This is the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts. These repressed thoughts continue to influence behaviour. For example, a person who is abused as a child may not remember the abuse but could still have trouble forming adult relationships.

Question 13

Denial

Answer 13

This is the refusal to accept reality to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that may be associated with a traumatic situation. For example, an alcoholic may deny that they have a drinking problem.

Question 14

Displacement

Answer 14

This occurs when the focus of a strong emotion (e.g. anger) is expressed on an alternative person or object. For example, a student who has been given a detention by their teacher might kick their locker or shout at their friends

Question 15

Psychosexual stages

Answer 15

• Freud believed that personality developed through a sequence of five stages.
• These are referred to as psychosexual stages to emphasise that the most important driving force in development is the need to express sexual energy (libido).
• At each stage this energy is expressed in different ways and through different parts of the body.
• Freud believed that parents played an important role in a child’s progression through the psychosexual stages.
• If the child as allowed to experience too much or too little gratification at any of the stages, a process called fixation could occur in which the child’s later adult personality could show permanent signs reflecting the stage at which fixation occurred.

Question 16

The 5 stages

Answer 16

• oral
• anal
• phallic
• latent
• genital

Question 17

Oral

Answer 17

• 0-1 years
• Focus of pleasure is the mouth and the control of sucking, tasting and biting
• consequence of resolution is trusting and able to give/receive affection
• consequence if unresolved oral fixation – smoking, biting nails, sarcastic and critical

Question 18

Anal

Answer 18

• 1-3 years old
• Focus of pleasure is the anus. The child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces.
• consequence if resolved is can deal with authority figures
• consequence if unresolved :
  Anal retentive personality – perfectionist and obsessive.
  Anal expulsive personality – thoughtless and messy.

Question 19

Phallic

Answer 19

• 3-5 years
• Focus of pleasure is the genital area. Child experiences the Oedipus or Electra complex.
• if resolved the consequence is adopts the behaviours/traits of the same sex.
• consequence if unresolved Narcissistic, reckless and possibly homosexual.

Question 20

Latent

Answer 20

• 6-12 years
• Focus is on the mastery of the world and social relationships.
• Earlier conflicts are repressed/resolved and early years are forgotten

Question 21

Genital

Answer 21

-12+ years
- Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty.
- if resolved Individual is a well-adjusted adult.
- consequence if unresolved difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

Question 22

Oedipus complex

Answer 22

• During the phallic stage, boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and a hatred for their rival in love – their father.
• Fearing that their father will castrate them (castration anxiety), boys repress their feelings for their mother and identify with their father.
• In doing so, they internalise his gender role and moral values (his superego).

Question 23

Electra complex

Answer 23

• During the phallic stage, girls experience penis envy and so desire their father.
• They also believe they have been castrated and blame their mother for this.
• Over time, girls give up their desire for their father and replace this with a desire for a baby.
• In turn, they identify with their mother and internalise her gender role and moral values (her superego).

Question 24

Evaluation of the psychodynamic complex

Answer 24

strengths
- development of psychoanalysis
- case study
- evidence to support psychotherapy effectiveness
- research supports freud’s work
- praise in psychology
weaknesses
- not scientific objective
- childhood only

Question 25

development of psychoanalysis

Answer 25

A strength of the psychodynamic approach is that it led to the development of psychoanalysis – a therapy for the treatment of anxiety disorders. This laid the foundation for psychotherapy in modern psychiatry

Question 26

case study

Answer 26

The case study of Little Hans supports the Oedipus complex proposed by Sigmund Freud. However, the concept could only be inferred from behaviour or reported thoughts/experiences (e.g. through dream analysis) where subjective interpretation is open to investigator bias.

Question 27

evidence to support psychotherapy effectiveness

Answer 27

An advantage of the psychodynamic approach is the use of evidence to support the effectiveness of psychotherapy. E.g. De Maat et al examined the effectiveness of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for patients with a range of DSM diagnoses. There was supporting evidence for improvements in psychological symptoms due to the use of psychotherapy

Question 28

research supports freud’s work

Answer 28

Research conducted by the psychologist Caspi would support Freud’s work. Caspi found that the role of childhood personality has an impact later on in life. Children who had an inhibited personality at age 3 tended to become depressed adults by the age of 21. Children who were impulsive and lacked control at age 3, tended to develop anti-social personality disorder by age 21.

Question 29

praise in psychology

Answer 29

The psychodynamic model has received a great deal of praise in Psychology. It was the first systematic model that focused on psychological factors as a cause of abnormality as well as psychological treatments (such as psychodynamic therapy). The psychodynamic model helped the behavioural and cognitive model develop.

Question 30

Not scientific or objective

Answer 30

The key concepts of the psychodynamic approach such as the unconscious mind and defence mechanisms lack falsifiability because they are unconscious processes and therefore difficult to test. They cannot be seen, measured or observed and are not very scientific or objective

Question 31

Childhood alone

Answer 31

The psychodynamic model can be criticised. Freud tends to focus on childhood traumas and problems that a patient might have had, and this is seen as the cause of abnormality. Freud would ignore any current problems that the patient is having, and would solely focus on childhood alone.