L9 - Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Key assumptions
- 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
Role of unconscious
- 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
What does the mind do?
- 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
What is a ‘Freudian slip’?
- 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
What’s free association
- a word/image which may spontaneously suggest another - may be without logical connection
- have to say without thinking
What did Freud say dreams mean?
They have wishes embedded in them, felt they were a pathway to the unconscious mind
Structure of personality
- 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.
The Id
• 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
The ego
• 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
The superego
• 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
Defense mechanisms
These stop an individual from becoming consciously aware of any unpleasant thoughts, feelings, or memories that they may be experiencing
Includes repression, denial & displacement
Regression
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.
Denial
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.
Displacement
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
Psychosexual stages
• 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.
The 5 stages
- oral
- anal
- phallic
- latent
- genital
Oral
- 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
Anal
- 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.
Phallic
- 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.
Latent
- 6-12 years
- Focus is on the mastery of the world and social relationships.
- Earlier conflicts are repressed/resolved and early years are forgotten
Genital
-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.
Oedipus complex
- 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).
Electra complex
- 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).
Evaluation of the psychodynamic complex
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
development of psychoanalysis
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
case study
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.
evidence to support psychotherapy effectiveness
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
research supports freud’s work
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.
praise in psychology
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.
Not scientific or objective
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
Childhood alone
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.
