Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Who was the psychodynamic approach laid by?
Sigmund Freud
What notion did Freud propose?
That behaviour cannot be measured through conscious experiences, unconscious mind is responsible for the majority of behaviour produced
What is the unconscious mind?
- Inaccessible deposit of memories/events
- Traumatic memories/events are repressed here
- Freudian slips acts as the unconscious mind revealing itself
What are the three personalities?
The ID, ego and superego
What is the ID?
Pleasure principle; primal urges and instant gratification, present at birth
What is the Ego?
reality principle; balance between ID and Superego, develops at anal stage
What is the Superego?
morality principle; boundaries of behaviour, develops in response to parental discipline in the phallic stage
Name the 5 psychosexual stages
Oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital
Define the Oral stage
Develops at age 0-2, focus on the mouth, oral fixation of nail biting/smoking
Define the Anal stage
Develops at age 2-3, focus on the anus, ego develops here. If child is nervous to go toilet; anally retentive (obsessive perfectionist), if child is eager to go toilet; anally expulsive (impulsive)
Define the Phallic stage
Develops at age 3-6, focus on the genitals, oedipus complex develops, wreckless or narcisstic behaviour is produced.
Define the Latent stage
Develops at age 6-12, focus is hidden, relationships form, there is no unresolved conflict
Define the Genital stage
Develops at age 12 and continues into adulthood, psychosexual energy in the genitals and directs towards formation of adult relationships, fixation may cause trouble in forming heterosexual relationships
What part of the mind is the ID, Ego and Superego found?
ID: uncon
Ego: between con/uncon
Superego: mostly in uncon
List the three defence mechanisms
Repression, denial, displacement
What is repression
Repression occurs when a traumatic or distressing memory is forced out of the conscious into the unconscious
What is denial
Denial involves refusal in accepting the reality of the situation
What is displacement
Displacement is where the feelings towards a target individuals cannot be expressed directly and therefore transferred elsewhere
AO1 - Assumptions and Tripartite Personality
- Idea that the unconscious mind (storing out innate biological and instinctive drives) has a majority influence on behaviour and personality
- Disturbing memories, trauma, Freudian slips
- Tripartite personality; ID, Ego, Superego
AO3 - Not Scientific
P: Inability to be scientifically tested
E: Unconscious mind cannot be empirically tested for
E: Unfalsifiable and a pseudoscience, lacks scientific credibility
AO3 - Positive Practical Applications
P: Applauded for PPA
E: Biskup et al., (2005), naturalistic study of psychoanalytic theraphy, 77% of patients show clinically significant improvements
E: Greater chance of recovery, therapeutically effective, appreciate humans as complex beings, wider range in professional practices, higher utility in modern day society
AO1 - Defence Mechanisms
- Ego employs defence mechanisms to cope with conflicting demands of ID and Superego
- Identify and explain the 3 defence mechanisms
AO1 - Psychosexual stages
- Development of psychosexual fixations leading to conflict if not resolved
- Systematically state and explain psychosexual stages
AO3 - Use of case studies
P: Assumptions based on utilization of case studies
E: Freud (1909), Little Hans, phobia of horses stemmed from fear of his father due to sexual desires for his mother (Oedipus complex)
E: special psychological interests, not generalisable, lacks ecological validity, findings may be prevalent of researcher bias, threatening internal validity of study, difficult to establish firm C+E, limited applications
AO3 - Indirect Evidence
P: Indirect evidence for psychosexual stages
E: Lewis (1992) found that out of 140 college students, ones with clinical levels of depressive symptoms scored significantly higher on the oral pessisms questionnaire than rest of the sample
E: inability to esolve psychosexual conflicts resulting in destructive behaviours like anxiety and depression, beneficial to individuals through adoption of psychotherapy, providing face validity
