Lesson 9 - The Psychodynamic Approach

Question 1

Key assumptions

Answer 1

• The driving force behind behaviour is the unconscious mind
• Instincts and drives motivate our behaviour
• Early childhood is pivotal in making us the person we are

Question 2

Levels of the mind

Answer 2

Freud states that are three levels to the mind:

• The conscious mind contains thoughts, feelings and memories that the person is currently aware of
• The preconscious mind contains the thoughts, feelings and memories that we could retrieve if we wanted to
• The Unconscious which is largerly inaccessible and reveals itself in Freudian slips, creativity and neurotic illnesses like anxiety. It drives behaviour and personality

Question 3

The unconscious mind

How is it revealed?

Answer 3

• The largest part of the mind is unconscious. It is inaccessible
• Most of our everyday actions are controlled by the conscious component, but are a product of the unconscious mind and are revealed in ‘Freudian slips’, creativity and neurosis.
• It is the driving force behind personality and behaviour
• It protects the conscious self from anxiety/fear/trauma/conflict
• Traumatic/repressed memories drive behaviour
• The underlying unconscious drive is sexual
• Conflict experiences during the development of the psychosexual stages can affect an adult’s personality

Question 4

The Id

Answer 4

• Wants, needs and pleasure
• Formed between birth and 18 months of age
• It is in the unconscious mind. The id focuses on the self, and it is irrational and emotional
• Operates on the pleasure principle

Question 5

The Ego

Answer 5

• Rational, obtains a balance between id and superego
• Formed between 18 months and 3 years of age
• It is in the conscious mind
• Operates on the reality principle

Question 6

The Superego

Answer 6

• Conscious or moral guide based on parental and societal values
• Formed between the age of 3 and 6
• It is in the unconscious mind
• Based on the morality principle

Question 7

Defence mechanisms

Answer 7

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

Repression: This is the unconscious unblocking of unacceptable thoughts. But these repressed thoughts still influence behaviour. Like, you may block memories of childhood abuse, but you still may have difficulties forming adult relationships

Denial: The refusal to accept reality in order to avoid dealing with any related painful feelings. You may be an alcoholic who denies having. drinking problem

Displacement: The focus of strong emotions like anger is redirected onto something else, like you may take your anger out by kicking or throwing an object

Question 8

The 5 Psychosexual Stages

Answer 8

Freud believed that personality developed in five stages

This model emphasises that the most important driving force in the development is the need to express sexual energy (libido)

Each stage involves this energy being expressed in different ways through different body parts

Each stage had a certain conflict that had to be resolved. This requires the expenditure of the libido, and the more of this energy that is used, the more of an effect this stage has on the personality

This conflict must be resolved for the person to progress to the next stage

Question 9

Oral stage

Answer 9

• Between 0-1 years
• Focus of pleasure is the mouth
• Sucking, tasting, biting
• For example, sucking on a pacifier or bottle

Resolution: Trusting and able to give and receive affection

Unresolved: Oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical

Question 10

Fixation

Answer 10

If there is too little satisfaction or overindulgence in a specific phase, this could lead to a fixation which has an imprint on the persons adult personality.

For example, in the oral phase, if you are overfed or neglected, the libido is permanently invested in this stage leading to oral fixation

Question 11

Anal Stage

Answer 11

• Between 1-3 years old
• Focus of pleasure is the anus, and the child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling waste
• Comes to a conclusion when the child is potty trained, and the nature of this authority (how harsh or early this training is) can dictate how the personality deals with authority later on

Resolution: Can deal with authority figures

Unresolved:

Anal retentive personality: perfectionist and obsessive

Anal expulsive personality: thoughtless and messy

Question 12

Phallic stage

Answer 12

• Between 3-5 years old
• Focus of pleasure is the genitals, child experiences the Oedipus or Electra Complex which needs to be resolved
• Children become aware of their bodies and the bodies of others and become aware of the idea of ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ and differing sex organs
• This complex is resolved through identification with the same sex parent

Resolved: Adopts the same behaviours and traits of the same sex

Unresolved: Narcissistic, reckless, possibly homosexual. In men, they may have anxiety about sexual performance, and the need for validation. In women, they may feel the need to dominate men or gain male approval

Question 13

Latent stage

Answer 13

• Latent means hidden
• Between 6-12 years old
• Sexual energy and the libido is hidden, and instead, focus is placed on education and other societal skills instead of romantic relationships.
• Sexual energy is sublimated into these areas of mastery

Resolved: Able to keep up with school and performs academically, is able to form social connections

Unresolved: struggling with basic academic skills like literacy and numeracy, feelings of inadequacy and insecurity

Question 14

Genital stage

Answer 14

• 12 years old to adulthood, from the onset of puberty
• The libido reappears, and is focused on the opposite sex, and mature sexuality is developed
• You may develop crushes, and understand responsible relationships.
• Resolved by settling down in a secure one-to-one relationship

Resolved: well-adjusted individual. Able to have safe heterosexual intercourse, as this is the proper outlet of sexual energy

Unresolved: May have abnormal sexual perversions, and difficulties in forming heterosexual relationships

Question 15

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 15

• Occurs during the phallic stage in men
• Boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and a rivalry and hatred for their father over possession of the mother
• The boy fears that if he were found out, the father would take away what he loves most, which at this stage is his penis
• Therefore the boy develops ‘castration anxiety’
• These feelings are repressed and the boy, in order to avoid being castrated, identifies with the father and adopts his characteristics which leads to the development of the superego.

Question 16

Electra complex

Answer 16

• Occurs during the phallic stage in girls
• The girl subconsciously develops a sexual attraction towards her father and views her mother as a competitor
• She develops ‘penis envy’ when she realises that she does not have a penis
• She believes that she has been castrated and blames the mother for this
• Girls give up this desire to have a penis and replace it with a longing to have a baby
• In order to resolve the tension between herself and her mother, she identifies with her, adopting her female gender roles. This leads to the development of the moral superego

Question 17

Strengths of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 17

• Divino and Moore (2010) state that there are some correlations between biology and the psychodynamic approach, as there is a higher right hemisphere activity in infants and this correlates to the idea of the id and the unconscious shown through brain scans.
• The case of Little Hans supports the Oedipus complex, as he found a correlation between Hans’s phobia of horses and a fear of his father
• Caspi found that the role of childhood personality had an impact on later life. Children who had an inhibited personality at age 3 became depressed by 21.
• Led to the development of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and modern psychiatry

Question 18

Weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 18

• The key concepts of this approach lack falsifiability as they are unconscious processes that cannot be measured or seen. It cannot be proven wrong or right
• Freud ignores any current problems the patient is having and solely focuses on childhood experiences
• The idea of the Oedipus and Electra Complexes are outrightly objected by many