Psychodynamic Flashcards
Structure of the personality
ID - governed by the pleasure principle - erotic energy
EGO - Tames the id and balances the demands of the superego - governmend by the reality principle
SUPEREGO - Sense of right and wrong - inner voice - morality principle
Defence mechanisms
Denial - Refuse to accept the reality of a situation
Displacement - Feelings are transferred to someone who is not the cause of the issue
Repression - traumatic memory is forced out of the conscious awareness and into the unconscious
Psycosexual stages
ORAL - 0-2
focus = mouth
oral fixation = smoking
ANAL - 2-3
focus = anus
child becomes aware of reality principle
anal retentive = perfectionist
anal explosive = messy
PHALLIC - 3- 6
Focus = genitals
Boys must overcome their sexual desire for their mum
fixation = reckless and narcissistic
LATENT - puberty
Focus = hidden
- Individuals focus on the world around them
GENITALS - 6+
Focus = forming relationships
- psychosexual energy taking residence in the genitals
Fixation = struggle to form relationships
Strengths
practical application
- influential in the practice of psychology
- created psychotherapeutic techniques
research support
-Bachrach et al - conducted a meta analysis that showed a psychoanalysis is an effective treatment for many patients
Limitations
Gender bias
- Oedipus complex is androcentric and is irreverent to women
-cannot be generalised to women
Culture bias
- all Freuds patients were from Viennese middle class
- cannot be generalised lacks population validity
unrepresentative
