outline and evaluate the psychodynamic approach in psychology #

Question 1

outline

Answer 1

sigmund freud - Assumes all abnormal or undesirable behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts during childhood

unconscious mind:
- driving force behind all behaviour
- abnormal behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts which can only be resolved by accessing conflicts within

instincts/drives :
- behaviour is motivated by these
- e.g. sexual drive from birth which takes us through a series of 5 psychosexual stages of development until 12 yrs
- successfully resolving these will result in psychologically healthy individual
levels of thought
conscious mind - thoughts and feelings we are aware of
preconscious mind - memories we can access at any time
unconscious mind - thoughts, feelings and memories locked away as too painful to remember

structure of personality -
ID - unconscious, follows pleasure principle as it constantly tries to gratify unconscious desire for pleasure, selfish part

ego - conscious, reality principle as it seeks to grant needs of id when rational

superego - part-conscious, part-unconscious, morality and only grants needs of id when morally right to do so

in constant conflict for libido
- uneven distribution means one part dominates others e.g. if id is dom > selfish behaviour
- superego dom > depression and anxiety

ego defence mechanisms - used to protect us from unconscious conflict between id, ego and superego

repression - hurtful memories pushed out of conscious into unconscious to protect from anxiety it would cause e.g. forgetting childhood sexual abuse

denial - unconsciously pretending that a problem doesn’t exist to protect oneself from anxiety it would cause e.g. denying diagnosis of cancer and seeking another opinion

displacement - when strong emotion unconsciously passed from object/person causing anxiety to a more acceptable target e.g. slamming a door

Question 2

strength

Answer 2

It has supporting research evidence

For example, Freud’s case study of Little Hans involved analysis of his father’s diary extracts, whereby Hans demonstrated a fascination with his ‘widdler’ indicative of the phallic stage as well as resentment towards his father after lengthy time away (Oedipus complex)

This suggests that unresolved unconscious conflicts in childhood (e.g. resentment towards parents) can contribute to the development of abnormal behaviour in later life (e.g. phobias)

Question 3

strength 2

Answer 3

It has practical applications

This is when the principles of an approach are put into practice outside of the laboratory, in real life

For example, the approach has been dominant in contributing to the development of psychoanalysis which uses techniques such as hypnosis and dream analysis to access unconscious content, used to help treat a range of disorders such as depression and OCD

This is a strength of the approach as the treatment is based on Freud’s assumptions

Question 4

limit 1

Answer 4

Psychic determinism

This is when an approach suggests behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts from childhood and only these shape behaviour

For example, Freud suggests that the development of abnormal behaviours are caused by a fixation during the psychosexual stages of development

This is an extreme determinism stance and suggests that we have no free will over behaviour which is untrue

Question 5

limit 2

Answer 5

unscientific

This is when an approach is based on unscientific and subjective concepts which cannot be measured objectively

For example, Freud suggests that the development of abnormal behaviours are caused by fixations during the psychosexual stages of development which cannot be objectively measured

Additionally, Freud developed his theories based upon case studies of his patients (using mainly middle class, neurotic, Viennese women), causing us to question the scientific credibility of the approach