Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach
1) The psychodynamic approach believes that all human behaviour is controlled by the unconscious mind.
2)Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious – the part of our mind that we are unaware of. The unconscious factors are largely unknown to us and beyond our control. (iceberg analogy of Freud)
3) The unconscious extends its influence into every part of our waking and sleeping lives.
4) Psychodynamic theory states that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality. Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and influence our behaviour as adults.
5) Psychodynamic theory stresses the importance of relationships, particularly those with family members. The relationship between parent and child is of particular importance.
Features of the approach
Freud felt that behaviour was largely due to unconscious psychological factors, emphasising 4 aspects:
- The role of the unconscious
- The tripartite structure of the personality (id, ego, superego)
- Defence mechanisms
- Psychosexual stages (stages of development)
What is the role of the unconscious?
- Freud claimed that the conscious mind (the part of the mind that we are aware of) is merely the ‘tip of the iceberg.’
- He used the iceberg metaphor to describe the mind: the tip above the surface is the conscious mind, but the much larger part (representing the unconscious) is hidden underwater.
- Freud believed that our actions and behaviours are not controlled consciously; instead they are the product of the unconscious mind which reveals itself in Freudian slips in creativity and neurotic systems
- The unconscious contains repressed ideas and memories, and primitive desires, drives, impulses and instincts. These then influence most of our everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
- Therefore, behaviour is caused by unconscious factors which are largely unknown to us and beyond our control.
- The mind actively prevents traumatic memories in the unconscious reaching conscious awareness; these memories cause anxiety and so the mind uses defence mechanisms to prevent the person becoming aware of them
The tripartite system of personality - the id, ego and superego
Freud divided the mind into three structures - the id, ego and superego - which each demand gratification but are frequently in conflict with each other
1) The id - operates solely in the unconscious, containing libido which is the biological energy created by the reproductive instincts. It operates according to the pleasure principle, i.e. it demands immediate gratification, regardless of circumstance. For example, if someone is hungry, the id demands they eat right then
2) The ego - mediates between the impulsive demands of the id and the reality of the external world (reality principle), such as delaying the gratification of the id until a more appropriate opportunity to satisfy its demands. It must also compromise between the impulsive demands of the id and the moralistic demands of the superego
3) The superego - ths is divided into the conscience and the ego-ideal, with the conscience being the internalisation of societal rules, determining which behaviours are permissible and causes guilty feelings when rules are broke. The ego-ideal is what a person strives towards, and is most probably determined by parental standards of good behaviour
Experience/conflicts in childhood shape the development of the three parts, which affects how a person behaves. E.g. If a person’s superego is too strong, they are seen as rigid, pompous or self righteous. Or if a person’s id is too strong, they are seen as delinquent, antisocial or self-centred.
The id - detailed
- The id is the primitive part of our personality that is formed from birth to 18 months.
- It is unconscious and represents our drives, desires and instincts.
- It operates on the pleasure principle – it demands immediate gratification regardless of circumstances (i.e. it gets what it wants).
- It focuses on the self (selfish), is irrational and emotional.
- It deals with feelings and needs - these needs consist of thirst, hunger and sex)
- It contains the libido – the biological energy created by reproductive instincts.
- Id = instinct - strong id = impulsive behaviour
- Behaviour it drives - Selfish, irrational, emotional, deals with feelings and needs, hedonistic (self-indulgent), seeks pleasure no matter what the cost, gets what it wants no matter what.
The ego - detailed
- The ego is the rational part of our mind that mediates between the id and superego that is formed between 18 months and 3 years.
- It operates on the reality principle – it mediates between the impulsive demands of the id and the reality of the external world.
- The child realises the demands of the id cannot always be met, seeking to satisfy it in socially acceptable ways
- It is conscious
- Its role is to reduce the conflict between the demands of the id and superego.
- Ego = reality
- Behaviour it drives - Rational, realistic, mediates - it is the mediation between instinct and morality which is conscious
The superego - detailed
- The superego is our internalised sense of right and wrong based on parental and societal values (i.e. it acts as our conscience or moral guide) and is formed between 3-6 years; it is around this age the parents start to demand the child acts in more socially acceptable ways
- The superego gradually takes over this parental role and tells us inside our own head how we should behave
- It is unconscious.
- It operates on the morality principle – it is our internal representation of the moral standards of the child’s same-sex parent and causes feelings of guilt when rules are broken.
- Superego = morality
- Behaviour it drives - Feels guilty when rules are broken, strives towards parental standards of good behaviour, has a strong sense of right and wrong
- A weak superego = low morality
Defence mechanisms
- The constant conflicts between the id, the ego and the superego can lead to a lot of anxiety e.g. you want that bar of chocolate but you know you’re meant to be on a diet – you feel guilty if you have it but unsatisfied if you don’t – anxiety
- If an individual is faced with a situation that they are unable to deal with rationally, defence mechanisms may be triggered.
- These tend to work unconsciously and work by distorting reality so that anxiety is reduced. They ensure that the ego is not overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas.
- By using the defence mechanisms, the individual stops themselves becoming aware of any unpleasant thoughts and feelings associated with the situation.
- As a long-term solution, they are seen as psychologically unhealthy.
Types / Examples of defence mechanisms
Denial -
- This is the refusal to acknowledge and accept reality so as to avoid having to deal with any painful experiences that might be associated with that event, and the person acts as though the event never happened, which peers may find bizarre
Repression -
- This is the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses, with the distressing memory being forced out of the conscious mind
- However, these repressed thoughts and impulses in the unconscious continue to influence behaviour without the individual being aware of the reasons behind their behaviour
Displacement -
- This is transferring your emotions from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target, and in situations where the person feels unable to express their thoughts or feelings in the presence of the person they should be aimed at, the thoughts or feelings are redirected onto someone or something else
- This gives the hostile feelings a route for expression, even though they are misapplied to an innocent person or object
Psychosexual stages of development
- Freud believed that personality developed through a sequence of five stages (linked to creation of erogenous zones)
- These are referred to as psychosexual stages because Freud believed that children are born with a libido – an unconscious sexual (pleasure) urge; he believed that the driving force in development was the need to express these feelings
- Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage.
- Any unresolved conflict leads to fixation where the child becomes ‘stuck’ and carries certain behaviours and conflicts associated with the stage into adult life - this comes from too much pleasure or too little pleasure in each stage
- He believed that the individual experiences tension due to the build up of libido and that pleasure comes from its discharge, and at each stage this energy is expressed in different ways through different parts of the body
The 5 psychosexual stages of development - Oral Stage (1)
1) Oral - 0-18 months
- The focus of libido is the mouth, the child is being breast fed and weaned - the mother’s breast is the object of desire, they are passive, receptive and dependent
- They also focus on exploring with their mouths, they will pick up and suck objects, as the mouth is the way in which the child expresses early sexual energy
- This is the least contentious of the stages; there is biological evidence that babies do have more nerve endings in this area and from a survival point of view it makes perfect sense to derive pleasure from suckling
- Freud suggested that an individual could become fixated in this stage if they were either under or over fed as a baby - a fixation here could lead to smoking, biting nails, being sarcastic and critical as an adult
The 5 psychosexual stages of development - Anal Stage (2)
2) Anal - 18 months - 3 years
- The focus of libido is on the anus as this is when potty training takes place; the ego develops as parents impose restrictions and the child becomes aware of the demands of reality and the need to conform to the demands of others - major conflict is toilet training
- It is the first time the child experiences any kind of control (expulsion/retention of faeces) and the child gains pleasure from these activities (sphincter / bladder control)
- Too strict or too lax potty training can result in the child becoming fixated in this stage; the child may also come to realise that they can exercise power over the parents by the retention or expulsion of faeces
- There are two possible outcomes to this fixation; either an anally retentive or an anally responsive personality - anally retentive people are perfectionists and obsessive, and anally expulsive people are thoughtless and messy
The 5 psychosexual stages of development - Phallic Stage (3)
3) Phallic - 3-6 years
- The focus is on the genitals - curiosity and examination
- The child becomes fully aware of gender differences, and it becomes obsessed with its own genitals
- The superego develops through resolution of the Oedipus and Electra complex
- Identification with the same-sex parent leads to formation of gender identity
- Feel attraction to the opposite sex parent and become jealous and rivalrous of same-sex parent
- Consequences of fixation - phallic personality (narcissistic and reckless) and Freud also suggested that this may lead to homosexuality
The 5 psychosexual stages of development - Latent Stage (4)
4) Latent - 6-12 years
- In this stage sexual desires remain dormant, earlier conflicts and issues are repressed with the consequence that children are unable to remember much of their early years
- Children want nothing to do with the opposite sex as social and intellectual development occurs - the child develops mastery of the world around them
- A consequences of fixation in this stage results in difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
The 5 psychosexual stages of development - Genital Stage (5)
5) Genital - 12+ years
- This stage marks the beginning o mature adult sexuality - sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty, with the calm of latency disrupted as the id makes powerful demands in the form of heterosexual desires
- The opposite sex is now needed to satisfy the libido, and this eventually directs us towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of adult life
- There are no consequences to fixation in this stage
