Psychodynamic Approach

Question 1

Psychodynamic approach

Answer 1

• a perspective that describes the different forces, most which are unconscious , that operate the mind and direct human behaviour and experience

Question 2

First assumption is role of unconscious

Answer 2

• part of mind aware about and know - the conscious minds ( tip of iceberg)
• most of mind made up of unconscious - influence on personality and behaviour
• preconfigured mind- during dreams or slip of the tongues

Question 3

Second assumption is personality

Answer 3

• ID- primitive part- operates personality - pleasure principles - entirely selfish and demands instant gratification of its needs
  Ego - between ID and superego - reduce conflict - defence mechanisms
• Superego- formed at phallic stage - sense o right and wrong, works on morality principles

Question 4

Defence mechanisms -3rd

Answer 4

Ego- balances conflicts between ID and superego - prevents us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas
Repression - focus on distressing memory out of conscious mind
denial- refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement - transferring feelings of distressing memory onto substitute target

Question 5

Final is psychosexual stages of development

Answer 5

• child development occur in 5 stages - echo stage apart from latency is marked by different conflict- child must resolve for next stage - if unresolved, child stuck in that step- picks up habits

Question 6

Oral

Answer 6

• 0-1 yrs
• focus of pleasure is mouth, mothers breast is object of desire
• results in oral fixation- smoking, biting nails

Question 7

Anal

Answer 7

• 1-3 yrs
• focus of pleasure is anus , child gains pleasure withholding and expelling faeces
• anal retentive- perfectionist
• anal expulsive- messy

Question 8

Phallic stage

Answer 8

• 3-5 yrs
• focus of pleasure is genital area
• child experiences Oedipus or electra complex
• narcissistic, reckless and possibly homosexual

Question 9

Oedipus complex

Answer 9

Freud - phallic stage, little boys develop incestuous feelings towards mother and murderous hatred for their rival in love ( father)
- boy fears that their dad will castrate them so repress feelings for mother by identifying with father, take on gender role and moral values.

Question 10

Electra complex

Answer 10

• girls experience penis envy- penis primary love object - hate mother.
• Freud less clear on process on girls
• as thought to give up desire for father overtime and displace with desire for baby

Question 11

Latency

Answer 11

Earlier conflicts are repressed

Question 12

Genital

Answer 12

• sexual desire became conscious alongside onset of puberty
• difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

Question 13

Strength psychodynamic approach

Answer 13

• has case study support
• Little Hans- 5 yr old boy that develop phobia of horses after seeing one collapse in street
• phobias displacement of fear of his father onto horses

Question 14

Weakness psychodynamic approach

Answer 14

• Freud reliance on case study’s
• based of individuals in therapy - can’t make overall judgement on human nature on one individual
• interpretations highly subjective
• lack scientific rigour compared to other approaches

Question 15

Weakness of psychodynamic approach

Answer 15

• untestable concepts - Popper argued approach does not meet scientific criterion of falsification - not open to empirical testing
• many of Freud concepts occur in unconscious mind- can’t test
• pseudoscience rather than real science

Question 16

Weakness psychodynamic approach

Answer 16

• guilty of psychic determinism
• Freud - no such thing as accident - slip of tongue not an accident -driven by unconscious forces - symbolic meaning
• -determined unconscious conflicts occur in childhood
• humanistic approach offer positive stance on interpreting behaviour

Question 17

Strength psychodynamic approach

Answer 17

• real life application
• Freud - range of techniques to assess unconscious minds e.g dream analysis - updated overhears, still used today