psychodynamic approach

Question 1

what are the assumptions of this approach?

Answer 1

1) behaviour is influenced by unconscious forces
2) early childhood is crucial to adulthood development
3) focus is placed on the whole person

Question 2

what does the pre-conscious mind consist of?

Answer 2

consists of accessible information which we can be aware of once we pay attention to it

Question 3

what is the conscious mind?

Answer 3

awareness now, aware of external events as well as mental functions

Question 4

what does the unconscious mind consist of ?

Answer 4

consists of information we cannot access, unconscious forces drive our behaviour
contains disturbing memories we might have repressed

Question 5

what is the id?

Answer 5

pleasure principle
demands instant gratification
present since birth

Question 6

what is the ego?

Answer 6

reality principle
mediator between id and superego (impulsive demands and societal expectation)

Question 7

what is the superego?

Answer 7

morality principle
divided between conscience and ego ideal
determines which behaviours are permissible and causes guilt when rules are broken

Question 8

what is a defence mechanism?

Answer 8

unconscious strategies the ego uses to manage conflict between id and superego
individual disassociates with unpleasant thoughts and feelings associated with traumatic event

Question 9

what is the defence mechanism: repression?

Answer 9

unconscious blocking of undesired thoughts and impulses

Question 10

what is the defence mechanism: denial?

Answer 10

acting as it the traumatic event did not happen
refusal to accept reality in order to avoid dealing with painful feelings associated with that event

Question 11

what is the defence mechanism: displacement?

Answer 11

redirecting feelings, which the person feels unable to express, in regard to an event to a helpless victim or object

Question 12

what are the psychosexual stages? (explain it)

Answer 12

Freud believed the development of a child happened in five stages. in each stage there was a conflict the child must resolve before moving on to the next stage. Failure to resolve conflict means the child is “stuck” and leads to adult fixation

Question 13

what are the psychosexual stages? (name them)

Answer 13

oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

Question 14

what is the oedipus complex?

Answer 14

occurs during phallic stage for boys.
Child experiences desires for opposite sex parent and develops jealousy on same sex parent.
Hostile feelings lead to castration anxiety (Fear the father will remove penis as a punishment for desire for mother)
To cope with anxiety, child adopts and internalises attitudes the father holds

Question 15

what is the electra complex?

Answer 15

Introduced by Carl Jung
When girls feel a desire for their fathers and jealousy towards their mothers
When girls show resentment towards their mother for sending them into the world “insufficiently unequipped” due to the lack of male genitalia, developing penis envy
Resentment eventually gives way to identification with their mother and the process of internalising her characteristics

Question 16

name all evaluation points for the psychodynamic approach

Answer 16

lacks generalisability
lacks falsifications
cultural bias
practical approach

Question 17

explain the practical approach eval point

Answer 17

Strength (P)
Freud uses it to develop new therapy called psychoanalysis (E)
This therapy uses a range of techniques to access unconscious mind such as dream analysis. Therapy has now been developed and is basis for psychotherapies used to treat mental disorders such as anxiety (E)
Therefore, psychodynamic is beneficial in assisting psychological disorders irl (L)

Question 18

explain lacks generalisation eval point

Answer 18

Limitation, based on an individual study (P)
Heavily based on Little Hans study to investigated Oedipus complex (E)
Cannot be generalised onto every child no guarantee a child will go through the same experience or suffer from adult fixations (E)
Therefore, decreasing reliability of approach as it is not able to be replicated or generalised (L)