Psychodynamic Approach

Question 1

Main assumptions (3)

Answer 1

1. Unconscious mind is the driving force behind much of our behaviour so if we have behaviour problems we must delve into our unconscious mind.
2. Instincts/drives motivate our behaviour and we are driven by these instincts as we undergo a series of stages of development for behaviour and personality.
3. Early childhood experience is crucial in making us the person we are today. Traumatic events can resurface in adulthood.

Question 2

Role of the unconscious

Answer 2

the part of the mind that we are unaware of but that influences behaviour (desires, selfishness etc)

Question 3

Id

Answer 3

-Develops from birth - 18 months
-Unconscious, primitive and destructive
- the pleasure principle as it demands immediate satisfaction and is childlike, selfish and hedonistic

Question 4

Ego

Answer 4

• develops 8 months - 3 years
• reality principle
• our consciousness and ability to think rationally
• Arbitrates between demands of id and superego

Question 5

Superego

Answer 5

• develops around the age of 5
• morality principle
• develops through socialisation
• opposite to id as it is rigid, punishing and repressive
• can create anxiety, ocd etc

Question 6

Freudian slip

Answer 6

an unintentional error regarded as revealing subconscious feelings e.g in friends when Ross said Rachel’s name instead of Emily’s at his wedding, revealing that he truly wanted to be with her instead.

Question 7

What are the 5 psychosexual stages?

Answer 7

oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage, genital stage

Question 8

oral stage (0-1 year)

Answer 8

Freud’s first stage of psychosexual development during which pleasure is centered in the mouth (sucking/biting)

Question 9

Oral stage main conflict

Answer 9

Weaning (from milk/breastfeeding)

Question 10

anal stage (1-3)

Answer 10

Pleasure is derived from excreting and retaining faeces and urine, coping with demands for control. Most of the time it coincides with potty training.

Question 11

Anal stage main conflict

Answer 11

Potty training

Question 12

Phallic stage (3-6years)

Answer 12

the genitals become the focus of concern and pleasure. Child becomes aware of anatomical differences between males and females (Oedipus and electra complex here)

Question 13

Phallic stage main conflict

Answer 13

Oedipus/electra complex

Question 14

Latent stage (6- puberty)

Answer 14

Sexual desires are repressed and libido is dormant. Focus is on self pleasure of genitals. Calm before adolescent storm.

Question 15

genital stage (puberty onward)

Answer 15

Freud’s last stage of personality development, from the onset of puberty through adulthood, during which the sexual conflicts of childhood resurface (at puberty) and are often resolved during adolescence).

Question 16

Oedipus complex

Answer 16

Boys develop intense sexual feelings towards their mother and resent their fathers for monopolizing on her time (fathers are seen as a love rival!).
Fearing that their fathers will castrate them if they realise this (‘castration anxiety’), boys repress their sexual feelings for their mothers and instead befriend their fathers to reduce this anxiety. This is done by taking on his values and beliefs through an ACTIVE identification process (the Oedipus complex is resolved and a boy begins to develop his superego).

Question 17

Electra complex

Answer 17

• it is during the Phallic stage of development that girls realise they are simply castrated males!
• they believe their mothers have castrated them, and so they develop penis envy (around age 3).
• when that desire is not fulfilled it is expressed through the desire to have a baby instead.
• little girls develop sexual desires for their fathers but these are repressed in favour of identifying with her mother.
• this is done PASSIVELY - the girl accepts her role as a girl due to already losing their penis.

Question 18

Repression

Answer 18

Forcing a distressed memory out of the conscious mind

Question 19

Denial

Answer 19

Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality

Question 20

Displacement

Answer 20

Transferring feelings from one source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target e.g punching a wall after an argument

Question 21

+ explanatory powers (Ao3)

Answer 21

• The psychodynamic approach has explanatory power
• Freud’s theory is controversial but it has had a huge influence on Western
  contemporary thought
• It has been used to explain a wide range of behaviours (moral, mental disorders) and drew attention to the influence of childhood on adult personality
• This suggests that, overall, the psychodynamic approach has had a positive influence on psychology and modern-day thinking.

Question 22

+ Real world application (AO3)

Answer 22

• the psychodynamic approach introduced psychotherapy
• Freud’s psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically
• Psychoanalysis claims to help clients deal with problems by providing access to their unconscious, using techniques such as dream analysis
• Therefore psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many modern-day ‘talking therapies’ e.g. counselling.

Question 23

• Counter argument to real world application (AO3)

Answer 23

• However, whilst psychoanalysis is claimed to be successful for clients with mild problems, it is not appropriate (and even harmful) for more serious mental disorder such as schizophrenia.
  -Therefore, Freudian therapy and theory may not apply to mental disorders where a client has lost touch with reality.

Question 24

• untestable concepts (AO3)

Answer 24

• The psychodynamic approach includes untestable concepts
• Karl Popper (philosopher of science) argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification (as it cannot be disproved)
• Many of Freud’s concepts, such as the Id or the Oedipus complex, occur at an unconscious level making them difficult, if not impossible, to test
• This means that Freud’s ideas lack scientific rigour and the theory is pseudoscience (‘fake’ science) rather than real science.

Question 25

Little hans study

Answer 25

-Little Hans feared horses
-Freud used the Oedipus complex and defense mechanisms to explain his phobia
-Claimed Little Has displaced his fear of his father castrating him onto the horse and it biting him
-Provides support for the Oedipus complex and the theory of defence mechanisms