Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach
- Much of our behaviour is driven by unconscious motives
- Childhood is a critical period in development
- Mental disorders arise from unresolved, unconscious conflicts originating from childhood
- Resolution occurs through accessing and coming to terms with repressed ideas and conflicts
Tripartite model of the mind
- According to Freud, we all have these three characters in our mind at the same time. If they are unbalanced, this can cause us a lot of anxiety and may eventually lead to mental abnormalities.
- These three components are: Id, Ego and Superego
The Id
- This is the earliest part of the human personality
- Unconscious
- Focuses on self, irrational and emotional
- Present at birth-18 months
- Pleasure Principle
The Ego
- Conscious
- Tries to balance the Id and Superego
- Formed between 18 months-3 years
- Reality principle
The Superego
- Unconscious
- It acts as a moral guide, based on parental and societal values
- Formed between 3-6 years
- Morality principle
The conscious mind
The part of the mind that we are aware of- everyday thoughts and feelings
The preconscious mind
Thoughts and memories not accessible at all times, but easily recalled
The unconscious mind
The deep dark shameful part, consisting of repressed thoughts, memories and feelings
Psychosis
Psychosis is when people lose some contact with reality. It can occur when we overuse the defence mechanisms
The three defence mechanisms
Denial- you completely reject the thought or feeling
Displacement- you redirect your feelings to another target
Repression- you force a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
The psychosexual stages (briefly what it is)
- Freud believed that children are born with a libido (a sexual pleasure or urge)
- There are a number of stages of childhood, during which the child seeks pleasure from a different object
- To be psychologically healthy, we must complete each stage successfully
- Mental abnormality can occur if a stage is not completed successfully- the person becomes ‘fixated’
The psychosexual stages
Oral stage:
- 0 to 18 months
- Mouth is source of pleasure
- result of fixation is smoking, overeating or dependence on others
Anal stage:
- 18 months to 2 years
- Defecation is source of pleasure
- result of fixation is overly controlling (anal-retentive) or easily angered (anal-expulsive)
Phallic stage:
- 3 to 5 years
- Source of pleasure is the genitals
- oedipus and electra complex occurs during this stage
- result of fixation is guilt or anxiety about sex
Latency stage:
- 5 years to puberty
- There is no source of pleasure, instead sexual urges are sublimated or dormant during this period
- no fixations during this stage
Genital stage:
- begins during puberty
- source of pleasure is the genitals again
- no fixations at this stage
Little Hans- case study
- Freud carried out a case study of a child called Hans, who had a phobia of horses. Hans’ father made notes on his Hans’ dreams and stuff he said and reported them back to Freud
- Hans was afraid of horses as they might fall on him or bite him. During the study, he developed an interest with his penis. His mum told him not to play with it or she’s cut it off. Hans has a dream where he was married to his mum and his dad was now is grandfather
- Freud interpreted this to mean Hans was in the Phallic stage, as well as showing the Oedipus complex. Hans has sexual feelings towards his mother, shown partly by his dream of marrying her. The horse symbolised father, which is an example of displacement. Hans also suffered castration anxiety, symbolised by his fear that the horse would bite him
Evaluation of Little Hans- case study
- Findings cannot be generalised
- They results provide support for Freud’s theories, however the results were based on observation and interpretation. As a result, a cause and effect relationship cannot be formed
- Furthermore, Freud analysed information form Hans’ father, so the results could be biased
Evaluation of Psychodynamic approach
Strengths:
- This was the first theory to focus on psychological causes of disorders. Before this, the focus had been on physical causes or things like evil spirits. As a result, it was quite a revolutionary theory that instigated a new way of looking at disorders.
- It offers methods of therapy (such as psychoanalysis) which may also uncover unconscious conflicts. Patients can then understand the causes of their problems, so can resolve them
Weaknesses:
- Freud’s claims were based on subjective interpretations and case studies. As a result, they are often unreliable and open to bias.
- Freud’s theories are related to the unconscious mind, which can’t be accessed. As such, his theories are unfalsifiable (this makes his theory not a science)
- Psychoanalysis may take a long time and so be very expensive. The childhood conflicts that are ‘uncovered’ may be emotionally distressing and possibly inaccurate, depending on the reliability of the patients memory, techniques used, and the analyst’s interpretation
