Psychodynamic approach Flashcards
Assumptions
Unconscious mind
Instincts/drives
Early childhood experiences
Unconscious Mind
Driving force behind our behaviour
Instincts/drives
Motivate our behaviour
Early childhood experiences
Pivotal in making us person we are
argued most of psychological development formed prior to 6yrs old
Iceberg model - Role of unconscious
Conscious mind
Pre-conscious mind
Unconscious mind
Freudian slips
Conscious Mind
Accessible part of mind
Pre-conscious mind
Thoughts may surface at any point into the conscious
Unconscious mind
The Inaccessible
Traumatic memories remain here
accessed through therapy or Freudian slips
Freudian slips
Saying something which accidentally reveals your unconscious desire.
Often be sexual or violent
Structure of Personality
Id
Superego
Ego
The Id
Pleasure principle
birth to 18 months
self and self-seeking pleasure
The Superego
Morality principle
3-6 years old
Acts as Individual’s conscious
Personality forms a moral code
The Ego
Reality principle
18 months & 3yrs
Logical and rational part of personality
Balances demand of both
Defence Mechanisms
Methods we use unconsciously to reduce anxiety and manage the conflict between id and superego.
Ways of protecting ego
Types of defence mechanisms
Repression
Displacement
Denial
Repression
Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind where it is not accessible
Displacement
Transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target.
Denial
Refusing to acknowledge the reality of an unpleasant situation
Psychosexual Stages
Series of stages every individual progresses through from from birth to adulthood.
Different stages(Order)
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latent
Genital
Oral (0-1 years)
Pleasure is mouth- biting and sucking
Oral passive- no teeth so pleasure from sucking and swallowing. As an adult- non aggressive, dependent, very passive, gullible
Oral aggressive - pleasure from biting/chewing. As an adult- verbally or physically aggressive, sarcastic, critical.
Oral fixation - chew on pens, bite fingernails, smoke
Anal Stage (1-3 years)
Focus of pleasure is the anus
Child potty trained
Anally expulsive - Child may love using potty and is overly keen.
As an adult - messy, insensitive, thoughtless.
Anally Retentive - If parents are very strict about potty training, child anxious to hold on to faeces
As an adult - organised, neat, perfectionist
Phallic Stage (3-5 years)
Oedipus and Electra Complex
Phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless, possibly homosexual.
lead to jealous and amxious adult
Oedipus Complex
Boy experiences intense sexual feelings for mother.
Father seen as rival, boy wants him to leave.
Boy threatened by father’s presence
Castration anxiety
Combat anxiety - identifies with father
Conflict resolved
Electra complex
Girls desire closeness with opposite sex parent
Believe the mother removed the penis
Develop penis envy of males
When desire not fulfilled, expressed through desire for baby.
Fear of losing mother’s love
Identifies with mother
Latent Stage (approx. 6 years)
Sexual energy displaced
Calm time in development
Concentrates on being a child
Genital Stage (approx. 12 years)
Sexual desires become conscious with onset of puberty
Child becomes an adult
Consequences of unresolved conflict means difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.
Advantages
Useful- Explains wide range of phenomena: personality development, gender… , focuses on psychological causes of disorders(not evil spirits)
More we understand, more we can help people and quality of life is improved.
Advantages
Importance of childhood behaviour- understand children’s progression through psychosexual stages and development. Strengthens children’s right reform
Means children should be nurtured as childhood plays important role in progression to adulthood.
Advantages
Psychoanalysis - Accessing unconscious
Still used today for mental health - gives it a sense of validity and merit.
Alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life.
Disadvantages
Problems with psychoanalysis
- Time consuming, expensive and distressing memories revealed
- Unconscious isn’t observable or measurable - impossible to validate
- Interpretations are subjective and unreliable
Focus on the past rather than current problems
Disadvantages
Difficult to test
- Not observable or measurable so difficult to test.
- unscientific as can’t be proven
- lacks credibility
Disadvantages
Case Studies
- lack reliability and cannot be generalised to general pop.
- contains many uncontrolled variables- no firm conclusions
