Psychodynamic

Question 1

What are our minds mostly made up of?

Answer 1

The unconscious

Question 2

What is in our unconscious mind?

Answer 2

Biological Drives and Instincts

Repressed Memories

Question 3

What is the Preconscious?

Answer 3

Thought/Memories that we aren’t consciously aware of but we can access if we desired to

Question 4

What is the structure of the personality?

Answer 4

Id
Ego
Superego

Question 5

What principle does the id operate on?

Answer 5

Pleasure Principle - gets what it wantd

Question 6

What are the features of the id? (3)

Answer 6

1) Present at birth
2) Throughout life its completely selfish & demands instant gratification
3) It is a mass of unconscious drives

Question 7

What principle does the ego work on?

Answer 7

The Reality Principle

Question 8

What is the role of the ego in the personality?

Answer 8

1) To mediate & reduce conflict between the id and the superego
2) Employs defence mechanisms to mediate

Question 9

When does the ego develop?

Answer 9

Around 2 years of age

Question 10

When is the superego formed?

Answer 10

At the end of the phallic stage (age 5)

Question 11

What principle is the superego based on?

Answer 11

Morality principle

Question 12

What does the superego do?

Answer 12

Punishes ego for wrongdoing - guilt

Question 13

What does the superego represent? (2 things)

Answer 13

1) Our internalised sense of right and wrong

2) The moral standards of the child’s same sex parent

Question 14

What can unresolved psychosexual conflict lead to?

Answer 14

Fixation - cause the child to be stuck and carry out certain behaviours associated with that stage

Question 15

What are the psychosexual stages in order?

Answer 15

1) Oral
2) Anal
3) Phallic
4) Latency
5) Genital

Old Age Pensioners Love Grapes

Question 16

When does the oral stage occur?

Answer 16

0-1 years

Question 17

Define the oral stage

Answer 17

Focus of pleasure is the mouth

Object of desire is the mothers breast

Question 18

What are the consequences of the oral stage being unresolved?

Answer 18

Oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, sarcasm

Question 19

When does the anal stage occur?

Answer 19

1-3 years

Question 20

Define the anal stage

Answer 20

Focus of pleasure is the anus

Gain pleasure through withholding and expelling faeces

Question 21

What are the consequences of the anal stage being unresolved?

Answer 21

Anal Retentive - perfectionist, obsessive (LINKS TO OCD)

Anal Expulsive - thoughtless, messy

Question 22

When does the phallic stage occur?

Answer 22

3-5 years

Question 23

Define the Phallic stage

Answer 23

Focus of pleasure is the genital area

Child experiences the Oedipus / Electra complex

Question 24

What are the consequences of the phallic stage being unresolved?

Answer 24

Phallic Personality - narcissistic, reckless, Homosexual

Question 25

When does the Latency stage occur:?

Answer 25

6 years - Puberty

Question 26

Define the latency stage

Answer 26

No further psychosexual development Sexual impulses are repressed Energy is channelled into developing new skills & knowledge

Question 27

When does the genital stage occur?

Answer 27

puberty - adult

Question 28

Define the genital stage

Answer 28

sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty

Question 29

What are the consequences of the genital stage being unresolved?

Answer 29

Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

Question 30

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 30

When conflict arises b/c a boy sexually desires his mother, yet is scared he father will find out and thus the boy develops castration anxiety.

Question 31

What is the Electra Complex?

Answer 31

When the girl begins to sexually desire her father but realises she doesn't have a penis, thus causing penis envy and tension as the girl blames the mom for the castrated state

Question 32

How does the psychodynamic approach have Explanatory Power?

Answer 32

Dominate force in psych during 20th Century explaining a range of phenomena and drew attention to the influence of early childhood experiences on development.

Question 33

What methods were used in the development of the Psychodynamic Approach? Why is this a weakness?

Answer 33

Case Studies - specifically into Little Hans Cannot make universal claims based on case studies as they are subjective to interpretations and Freuds findings cannot be falsified

Question 34

How is the psychodynamic approach psychically deterministic?

Answer 34

By claiming that all behaviour, even accidents(e.g. slips of the tongue aka 'Freudian Slips'), are due to unconscious forces the approach rejects the idea of free will suggesting we are all slaves to our pasts.