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Psychodynamic approach Flashcards

Approaches to psychology

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1
Q

What is the psychodynamic approach?

A

Describes the different forces that operate on the mind (mainly unconscious), and direct human behaviour

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2
Q

What is the unconscious?

A

The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which directs much of our behaviour

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3
Q

What are the three parts of the structure of personality?

A

Id
Ego
Superego

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4
Q

What is the structure of personality?

A

Includes the three pieces that describe personality

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5
Q

What is the preconscious?

A

Part of the mind, which contains thoughts and memories that are not currently in conscious awareness, but can be accessed

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6
Q

What are psychosexual stages?

A

Freud claimed that child development happens in 5 stages- the psychosexual stages

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7
Q

What is the first psychosexual stage?

A

Oral (0-1 years)
Focus of pleasure is the mouth
Mother’s breast is the object of desire
Consequence= oral fixation

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8
Q

What is the second psychosexual stage?

A

Anal (1-3 years)
Focus of pleasure is the anus
Child gains pleasure from expelling and withholding faeces
Consequence= anal retentive- perfectionist, obsessive, anal expulsive- thoughtless, messy

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9
Q

What is the third psychosexual stage?

A

Phallic (3-6 years)
Focus of pleasure is the genital area
Consequence= phallic personality- narcissistic, reckless

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10
Q

What is the fourth psychosexual stage?

A

Latency (10 years-puberty)
Earlier conflicts are repressed
Consequence= none

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11
Q

What is the fifth psychosexual stage?

A

Genital (puberty)
Sexual desires become conscious alongside onset puberty
Consequence= difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

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12
Q

What are the three main defence mechanisms?

A

Displacement
Denial
Repression

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13
Q

What is displacement?

A

Diverting emotions from their original source, towards a less dangerous one

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14
Q

What is denial?

A

Refusing to believe events or admit they are experiencing certain emotions that provoke anxiety

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15
Q

What is repression?

A

Preventing unacceptable desires, motivations or emotions from being conscious

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16
Q

What is the ID?

A

Primitive, operates on pleasure
Biological component
Selfish principle

17
Q

What is the EGO?

A

Based on reality, mediator
Psychological component
Rational principle

18
Q

What is the SUPEREGO?

A

Morality, phallic stage
Social component
Moral principle

19
Q

What are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • Explains wide range of principles
  • Connects childhood experiences to later developments
  • Real-world application
  • Introduced the idea of psychotherapy
20
Q

What are the limitations of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • Untestable (lacking in scientific credibility)
  • Not open to empirical testing
  • Subjective studies
  • Ignores concept of free will
  • Cannot be applied to all mental disorders
21
Q

What are some of the principles explained by the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • Personality development
  • Origins of psychological disorders
  • Moral development
  • Gender identity
22
Q

What is the oedipus complex?

A

Occurs in the phallic stage, little boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother, and murderous feelings towards their father

23
Q

What is the electra complex?

A

Young girls develop penis envy towards their father- this is later replaced by the desire to have a baby

24
Q

What are the psychodynamic contributions to modern society?

A
  • Understanding of importance of early childhood on personality (Bowlby’s theory of monotropy- attachment to caregiver)
  • Understanding of child development in stages (Piaget’s theory of cognitive development)
  • Understanding psychoses and developing the ‘talking cure’ (psychoanalysis- dream therapy)
25
Q

What was the study of Little Hans?

A
  • Hans wanted his father and sister to go away= unconscious sexual desire for mother
  • fear of being bitten by horses= fear of castration (repression)
  • Dreams of wiping children’s bottoms= fixated in anal stage (denial)
  • Dream that ‘widdler’ had been replaced with a pipe= resolution to oedipus complex- wanted to be a man like his father
26
Q

Strength-
I= Real world application- introduced idea of psychotherapy

A

D= Freud brought about psychoanalysis- first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically not physically. Techniques like dream analysis used to access the unconscious- claims to bring repressed emotions into conscious mind. Forerunner to talking-therapies like counselling
E= Shows the value of psychodynamic in creating a new approach to treatment

27
Q

Limitation-
I= Downsides to psychoanalysis

A

D= Inappropriate and harmful for those experiencing serious mental disorders, like schizophrenia. Symptoms (paranoia, delusional thinking) mean those with the disorder have lost a grip on reality and cannot articulate thoughts, as required by psychoanalysis
E= Suggests Freudian theory cannot apply to all mental disorders

28
Q

Strength-
I= Good ability to explain human behaviour

A

D= Psychodynamic approach used to explain wide range of phenomena, including personality disorders, moral development, gender identity. Important in drawing attention to connections between childhood experiences to later development (e.g: parental relationships)
E= Suggests the approach had a positive effect on psychology

29
Q

Limitation-
I= Uses untestable concepts

A

D= Popper argues psychodynamic approach does not meet criteria of falsification. Not open to empirical testing. Freud’s concepts (e.g: Oedipus concept) occur at an unconscious level, so are hard to test. Ideas (e.g: little Hans) are based on subjective concepts
E= Suggests Freud’s theory was pseudoscientific, not established fact

30
Q

Psycho determinism

A

Strength-
- Advocates psychic determinism- we are slaves to out past, so behaviour and personality is hugely mapped out. Freud regards free will as an illusion

Limitation-
- Represents too extreme of a view. Early childhood influences our behaviour, but idea that we are determined by early year conflicts is too extreme and leaves no room for free will

Psychology- Approaches (9 decks)

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