psychodynamic approach Flashcards
psychodynamic approach
most of our behaviour is driven by unconscious thoughts from our childhood and experiences as a human
the mind
unconscious holds biological drives and instincts. threatening memories can be repressed. the new preconscious holds thoughts and memories
id
unconscious. made up of selfish instincts that demand immediate gratification
dominant at birth
ego
reality check - balances the conflicting demands of id and superego
develops at age 2
superego
moral - represents ideal self and how we ought to be.
develops at 5
psychosexual stages
child development happens in 5 stages. at each stage there is a conflict to be resolved. unresolved conflict influences behaviour in later life
psychosexual stages order
oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
oral stage
age 0-1. focus of pleasure in the mouth. mothers breast is object of desire
fixation = smoking,nail biting, sarcasm
anal stage
age 1-3. focus of pleasure in the anus pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
retentive = perfectionist, obsession
expulsive = thoughtless, messy
phallic stage
3-5 years. focus of pleasure in genitals. child experiences oedipus or electra complex
phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless, gay?
latency
earlier conflicts are repressed
genital
sexual desires become conscious.
unresolved conflict = difficulty forming straight relationships
oedipus complex
boys develop unconscious sexual desires for mum and hatred for dad. fear dad will castrate them do repress feelings and identify with dad.
electra complex
girls had feelings for dad and develop penis envy and become jealous of mum, to cope with this they have a desire to have kids
little hans
5 year old boy developed phobia of bourses and freud said this was because he repressed fear for him dad
defence mechanisms
strategies to reduce anxiety
repression
unpleasant memory pushed to unconscious mind so does not cause anxiety however still affects behaviour in unconscious
denial
refusing to accept the reality of a situation. reduced anxiety
displacement
emotions are expressed onto another person or object. reduces anxiety as can express emotions
positive of psychodynamic approach
freida ideas still used by therapists today which suggest it had validity. also cs from freuds work shows his patients made recovery (little hans at 19)
negative of psychodynamic approach
ideas are difficult to test for reliability as much of evidence comes from cs which can’t be generalised to the whole pop making his ideas lack scientific cred
