Paper 2 - Approaches - Psychodynamic

Question 1

What are the key assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

• Our behaviour is largely controlled by the unconcious mind
• Early childhood experiences determine adult behaviour and personality (the unconcious mind is make up of repressed childhood experiences and conflicts)
• Our personality is dynamic and tripartate in nature - made up of the id, ego and superego

Question 2

What did freud believe about free will?

Answer 2

We have no free will, we are fully controlled by our unconcious mind, and any free will we believe we have is an illusion

Question 3

Explain - Iceberg analogy; the concious mind

Answer 3

At the surface lies the concious mind where we are directly aware of our thoughts and exdperiences

Question 4

Explain - Iceberg analogy; the preconcious mind

Answer 4

Here lies our thoughts, feelings and experience that we are not directly aware of but can be easily accessed
Memories of experiences are stored in our preconcious and can be retrieved through both recall and recognition

Question 5

Explain - Iceberg analogy; the unconcious mind

Answer 5

Contains repressed traumatic events and conflicts as well as instincts, drives and desires that we are not aware of but which have a strong influence on our behavious - many of these would be disturbing to the individual if there were to become concious
- These thoughts are completely inaccesible without the use of specialist techniques from a psychoanalysist

Question 6

Explain the structure of personality (not in detail)

Answer 6

0-1 - the ID (the pleasure principle)
2 - the Ego (the reality principle)
5 - the Superego (the morality principle)

Question 7

Structure of personality - ID

Answer 7

The pleasure principle. The primitive part of your personality that demands pleasure. It is entirely unconcious and is made up of selfish, agressive instincts that demand immidiate gratification

Question 8

Structure of personality - Ego

Answer 8

The reality principle. It is the mediator between the id and the superego. Its role is to reduce the conflict between the ID and the superego - it does this by emmplying a range of defense machanisms

Question 9

Structure of personality - Superego

Answer 9

The morality principle. Formed at the phallic stage at 5 - it is our internalised sense of rights and wrong. It represents the moral standards of the childs same-sex parent and it pushes the ego for wrong doing - through guilt

Question 10

Why are defense machanisms used?

Answer 10

They are used by the ego to prevent painful, upsetting or disturbing unconcious thought and conflicts becoming unconcious or entering into our awareness

Question 11

What is the defintion of defense machanisms?

Answer 11

Unconcious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and superego

Question 12

Name 4 defense mechanisms

Answer 12

Repression, denial, regression, displacement

Question 13

Explain repression and give an example

Answer 13

Forcing a distressing memory into the unconcious mind to prevent us from experiencing too much anxiety
eg forgetting the trauma of a relative dying

Question 14

Explain denial and give an example

Answer 14

Refusing to acknowledge/accept certain aspect of reality (because it would cause distress)
eg denying that a bump you have is suspicious

Question 15

Explain regression and give an example

Answer 15

Reverting to early forms of childhood behaviour

eg going to bed when things get tough - curling up in the foetal position

Question 16

Explain displacement and give an example

Answer 16

Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a subsequent target
eg having an argument and wanting to hit the person but slamming the door instead

Question 17

Explain what the psychosexual stages are

Answer 17

They relate to different areas of the bodu that give pleasure or gratification to the child and freud likended the sex instinct to a basic desire for pleasure.
- For Freud, early childhood experiences determine the adult personality
Normal development to the childi is to pass though one stage and onto the next one - however some chiuldren get stuck or fixated at a particular stage and this has consequences for adult personality development and behaviour.

Question 18

Name the 5 stages of the psychosexual stages and when they are

Answer 18

Oral - 0-1 years 
Anal - 2-3 years
Phallic - 4-5 years
Latency - 6-12 years
Genital - 13-18 years

Question 19

Give the characteristics of the oral stage

Answer 19

The mouth is the area associated with gratification
eg If weaning is not handled sensitively individuals will be fixated at this stage and may bote their nails or such their thumb or smoke cigarettes (oral character)

Question 20

Give the characteristics of the anal stage

Answer 20

Gratification comes from expelling and withholding feces - eg if toilet training is not handled sensitively the individual will be fixated at this stage and will be excessively organised, tidy and concerned with bodu clenliness (they may also appear to be mean and obstinante) (anal character)

Question 21

Give the characteristics of the phallic stage

Answer 21

Gratification comes from the genital area of the body - the important developmental process is the development of gender identity through the resulution of the Oedipis and Electra complexes -
Fixation may result in the adult always looking for a mother figure and homosexuality

Question 22

Give the characteristics of the latency stage

Answer 22

This is a period of relative calm in which ego defence mechanisms are developed - fixation does not normally occur at this stage

Question 23

Give the characteristics of the genital stage

Answer 23

Gratification is associated with mature sexual relationships - sexual desire becomes concious with the onset of puberty