psychodynamic approach Flashcards

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1
Q

when did it originate

A

the 19th century

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2
Q

what does freud say is the importance of this approach

A

childhood experiences

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3
Q

role of the unconscious

A

unconscious forces in our mind, determine our thoughts, feelings and behaviour
mind can be divided in to 3 levels of consciousness, which can be illustrated by the ice berg analogy, the unconscious mind which is hidden below the surface has the most influence on our personality

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4
Q

the conscious mind

A

is the tip of the ice berg

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5
Q

the unconscious mind

A

a vast storage house of biological drives and instincts that has a significant influence on our behaviour and personality

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6
Q

preconscious mind

A

includes thoughts and ideas which we may become aware of during dreams or through ‘slips of the tongue’
thoughts and memories are not always always accessible but easily recalled

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7
Q

what does the unconscious mind usually consist of

A

repressed thoughts, memories and feelings

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8
Q

what is most of our behaviour driven by

A

unconscious motives

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9
Q

what do mental disorders arise from

A

repressed, unresolved, unconscious conflicts originating in childhood

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10
Q

what does the unconscious do

A

protects the conscious self from anxiety/fear/trauma/conflict

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11
Q

what are the defence mechanisms

A

denial, replacement, repression

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12
Q

how can psychological problems be treated

A

by accessing the unconscious mind through psychoanalysis

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13
Q

what 3 characteristics did freud say we all have in our minds

A

Id
Ego
Superego

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14
Q

the Id

A
  • earliest part of the personality
  • unconscious, focuses on self, irrational and emotional, deals with feelings and seeks pleasure
  • present at birth- 18 months
  • motivated by the pleasure principle
  • selfish ego
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15
Q

the Ego

A
  • conscious part of the mind
  • formed between 1-3 years
  • motivated by the reality principle
  • tries to balance out the Id and Superego
  • reasonable ego
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16
Q

the Superego

A
  • unconscious ats as the conscious or moral guide
  • based on parental and societal values
  • formed between 3-6 years. motivated by the morality principle
  • controlling superego
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17
Q

what happens if ego is too weak

A

allows id and superego to dominate

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18
Q

what happens if id is too strong

A

selfish, out of control, could become an addict

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19
Q

what happens if superego is too strong

A

strict, anxious, obsessive- depression, anxiety, OCD

20
Q

what is the defence mechanism, denial

A

completely rejecting the thought or feeling
- refusing to accept that an event has happened
- when something traumatic happens which would be hard to deal with, the person denies that it has happened at all
- not a conscious process, they wont realise they are in denial

21
Q

what is the defence mechanism, displacement

A

you redirect your feelings e.g. anger to another target
- when an unacceptable drive such as hatred to your mother is displaced to a more acceptable target such as your sister

22
Q

what is the defence mechanism, repression

A

you force a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
- when thoughts are kept in the unconscious mind are not allowed to the conscious mind
- it is as if they are forgotten- or at least not remembered, more a case of motivated forgetting but this is not done consciously
- thoughts are kept in the unconscious to protect the person from those thoughts, wishes and desires, and the ego does not have to deal with them
- they can emerge as symptoms of anxiety

23
Q

are defence mechanisms conscious or unconscious

A

unconscious, we are unaware of what we are doing

24
Q

why is there a lack of testability for defence mechanisms

A

they are unconscious so cannot be studied directly

25
Q

what can defence mechanisms only be inferred from

A

behaviour or reported thoughts or experience

26
Q

what are the stages of psychosexual development

A

oral - 0 to 1
anal - 1 to 3
phallic - 3 to 5
latency - 6 to 12
genital - puberty to adulthood
Old Age Pensioners Love Guinness

27
Q

what is fixated

A

if the child is deprived or over satisfied at a particular stage then they may become fixated and this will have effects on their adult behaviour

28
Q

what did freud believe

A

that children are not born with a libido- not necessarily a sexual (pleasure) urge

29
Q

why does a child need to complete each stage successfully

A

to be psychologically healthy

30
Q

what happens if a stage is not completed successfully

A

mental abnormality can occur- become fixated

31
Q

oral stage

A
  • mouth is the focus of pleasure- id
  • newborn will have instant pleasure from the mouth from feeding or sucking their thumb
  • the id is in control
  • successful completion is demonstrated by weaning
  • fixation occurs at this stage if a child is weaned too soon or is not weaned soon enough makes adult gain pleasure from oral gratification, can lead to activities such as smoking, drinking or eating
32
Q

what is oral receptive

A

passive, needy, sensitive to rejection- over eats, bites nails may smoke

33
Q

what is oral aggressive

A

hostile, anger management problems

34
Q

anal stage

A
  • when potty training is completed
  • focus for pleasure is the anus
  • if this stage is not resolved then it will lead to anal character
  • parents might be too strict or too lenient which causes the fixation
  • defecation is the main source of pleasure
  • successful completion marked by potty training
35
Q

what is anally retentive

A

very tidy ( OCD ), likes order and being in control

36
Q

what is anally expulsive

A

generous but disorganised doesn’t like to follow rules

37
Q

why is the anal stage important

A
  • child can have control over its environment- going to the toilet
  • he or she can show obedience
  • fixation at this stage may lead to an obsession with hygiene and cleanliness perhaps OCD
38
Q

phallic stage

A
  • superego develops
  • focus of pleasure and sexual energy is the genitals
  • boys experience the oedipus complex
  • girls experience the electra complex
  • gender differences are noticed and psychosexual development differs between sexes
39
Q

case study: little hans

A

freud believed this case study supported his theory of psychosexual stages

40
Q

oedipus complex

A

boys experience the oedipus complex= sexual curiosity comes from being close to the mother which leads to intense affection and desire for the mother
- boy then sees his father as a rival which then creates a fear of losing his fathers love, to cope with these conflicting feelings the boy identifies with his father and absorbs his moral attitudes, this is the foundation of his superego

41
Q

electra complex

A

because penis envy is not a fearful and castration anxiety, the girl does not identify with her mother as strongly, and so has a weaker superego
- according to freud, females never completely resolve the oedipus complex, and so are not as moral as boys. the girl replaces her penis envy with a desire for a baby
- resolving the electra complex ultimately leads to identification with the same-sex parent

42
Q

the latency stage

A
  • sexual urges sublimated into sports and other hobbies
  • focus on developing same sex friendships
  • no particular requirements for successful completion
43
Q

genital stage

A
  • focus on genitals but not to same extent as phallic stage
  • task is to develop healthy adult relationships
  • should happen if earlier stages have been negotiated successfully
44
Q

what is psychic determinism

A

belief that everything including human thought and behaviour is predetermined by the law of nature

45
Q

what is free will

A

the belief that we have total control over our own lives

46
Q

electra complex

A
  • girls develop electra complex
  • realise they have no penis
  • produces a state of penis envy, which leads her to develop more affection to the father
  • girls sense of competition with her mother for the affections of her father. comparable to the male oedipus
  • but she realise she doesnt have a penis like her father
  • becomes hostile towards her mother because she believes her mother has castrated her
  • however because penis envy is not a fearful and castration anxiety, the girl does not identify with her mother as strongly and so has a weaker super ego
  • freud said that females never completely solve the oedipus complex so are not as moral as boys