psychodynamic

Question 1

The role of the unconscious

Answer 1

The unconscious contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed or locked away and forgotten
determined by bio and instinct unconscious drives
Iceberg
Behaviour is shaped by unconscious
Only way to transfer it is thorough psycho analysis uncon-> consci
Interpret by therapist

Question 2

The structure of personality

Answer 2

ID- pleasure principle born with it
Ego- reality principle mediator age 2 reduce conflict
Superego- moral principle age 5 internalised sense of right and wrong

Question 3

Psychosexual stages

Answer 3

Child development in five stages
Child must revolve conflict in order to progress successfully to the next stage
Psychosexual stages conflict unresolved leads to fixation where the child will be stuck and carries certain behaviour and conflict associated to adult life

Question 4

oral 
0-1 
pleasure of mouth 
breast 
oral fixation- smoking, biting nails

Answer 4

anal 
1-3 
pleasure in the anus 
withholding and expelling shit 
anal retentive- perfectionist 
anal expulsive- messy

Question 5

phalic
3-6 
pleasure genital area 
phalic personality 
reckless narcissistic

Answer 5

latency 
earlier conflict are repressed 
genital 
sexual desire become conscious 
difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

Question 6

Defence mechanisms
The ego uses them to balance the conflict
Unconscious prevents us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or trauma
Some form of distortion of reality and long-term solution regarded as unhealthy

Answer 6

Repression- forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial- refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement- transferring feelings from true sources of distressing emotions onto a substitute target

Question 7

Real world application

Strength- introduced the idea of psychotherapy

Answer 7

New form of therapy- psychoanalysis
First attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically than physically
Range of techniques designed to access the unconsciousness eg dream analysis
Bring their repressed emotions to the conscious mind
Value of psychodynamic in treatment

Question 8

Counterpoint
Success for mild disorders
But harmful for more serious disorders

Answer 8

Schizophrenic patients lose their grip ono reality and cant articulate their thoughts in the way required by psychoanalysis
Freudian theory and therapy may not apply to all mental disorders

Question 9

Explanatory powers

Strength- ability to explain human behaviour

Answer 9

Used to explain personality development origins of psychological disorders and moral development and gender identity
Significant drawing connections between experiences in childhood
Positive impact on psychology

Question 10

Untestable concepts

Limitation- much is untestable

Answer 10

Doesn’t meet the requirement of falsification
Not open to empirical testing
Many concepts are unconscious – difficult or impossible to test
Many ideas were based on the subjective study of single individuals eg little hans
Theory is pseudoscientific rather than established facts

Question 11

Psychic determinism

Our past conflicts from our children’s map out our future behaviour and personality

Answer 11

Too extreme and leaves no room for free will beyond early childhood
No such thing as an accident is too far-fetched and undermines a key part of his theory