psychodynamic approach Flashcards
key facts about freud:
-trained as a neurologist
-he mostly treated hysteria and applied findings from abnormal patients to
“normal” development
-victorian times: conservative, repressed society, male dominated society
4 main assumptions of the psychodynamic approach:
1) the psyche has a distinct structure (ID, ego, superego)
2) the personality is made by the passage through the physchosexual stages of development
3) the unconscious conflicts in the psyche are mediated by processes called defense mechanisms
4) unconscious processes determine our behaviour
what stance does the psychodynamic approach take? (issues and debates)
psychic determinism: innate drives determine behaviour
what did freud say that the conscious was?
the tip of the iceberg, the part of the mind that we know about and are aware of
what did freud say that most of our mind was made up of?
the unconscious: a massive storehouse of biological drives and instincts that determine our behaviour
what else does the unconscious contain?
distressing memories that have been repressed by using defence mechanisms
what does repressing bad memories do for us?
protects the conscious self from anxiety/trauma
what is under the surface of the conscious?
-the preconscious which includes thoughts and ideas which we may become aware of during dreams or ‘freudian slips’ (parapraxes)
which word refers to the personality having three parts?
tripartite
what is behaviour seen as the result of?
compromise between the three parts of the psyche (personality)
the id
“i want”
-operates according to the “pleasure principle”
-present at birth
-made up of unconscious drives and instincts
the superego
“i should”
-formed at the end of the phallic stage of development through identification with the same gender parent which allows the child to internalise the moral rules and social norms of society
-based on the morality principle
-internalised sense of right and wrong
-punishes the ego for doing wrong through guilt
-opposes and battles the desires of the id
the ego
“i will”
-develops around the age of 2
-works on the “reality principle”
-acts as a mediator between the id and the superego
-its role is to reduce the conflict (and associated anxiety) between the demands of the Id and the superego
what does the ego do to reduce anxiety caused by id-superego conflicts?
employ defence mechanisms
are defence mechanisms conscious?
no, they are unconscious
what do defence mechanisms prevent?
the ego becoming overwhelmed by trauma or stress
how do defence mechanisms work?
by distorting reality in some way
three defence mechanisms:
repression, denial and displacement
what does excessive use of defence mechanisms do?
over time, result in the ego becoming increasingly detached from reality and, in time, can cause psychological disorder
definition of repression:
(unconscious forgetting) an unpleasant memory is pushed into the unconscious mind where it is not accessible to the conscious mind and therefore cannot cause anxiety
definition of denial:
refusing to believe something because it is too painful to acknowledge the reality
definition of displacement:
transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a neutral, substitute target
effect of repression on behaviour:
an individual forgetting the trauma
example of how denial affects behaviour:
continuing to turn up for work even though you have been sacked
example of how displacement affects behaviour:
slamming the door after a row with your girlfriend
what does psychodynamic theory suggest that early childhood experiences do?
-influence our adult lives
-shape our personality
freud claimed that child development occurred in _______
five stages
similarities between stages:
-each stage, apart from latency is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage
-any conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation where the child becomes ‘stuck’ and carries certain behaviours
associated with that stage through adult life
reasons why fixation may occur…
trauma, pleasant or unpleasant experiences, change in environment etc
what dictates when the psychosexual stages occur during development?
drives in the unconscious mind
erogenous zones
the different parts of our bodies that freud thought become particularly sensitive as we grow
order of psychosexual stages:
oral
anal
phallic
latency
genital
how to remember the psychosexual stages:
old - oral
age - anal
pensioners - phallic
love - latency
guiness - genital
oral stage: ages
0 - 1 years
oral stage: source of libido/pleasure
the mouth
-the child enjoys feeding from the mother’s breast, sucking, swallowing, putting things in mouth, etc
oral stage: conflict
-forceful feeding
-deprivation
-early weaning
oral stage: consequences of fixation
-smoking
-chewing pens & fingernails, etc
-overeating & drinking
-sarcasm & verbal hostility
anal stage: ages
1-3
anal stage: source of libido and pleasure
the child derives pleasure from retention
(holding) or expulsion (letting go) of faeces
anal stage: conflict
-the child becomes aware of the demands of reality, as the parent begins to impose potty training on the child
-for the first time the child has restrictions imposed on its behaviour
-in this stage the ego develops
-too strict or too lax potty training can result in the child becoming fixated in this stage
-the child may realise that they can
exercise power over the parents by the retention or expulsion of faeces
anal stage: consequences of fixation
anally retentive: obsessive, tidiness, neatness, intolerance, and passive aggression
anally expulsive: sloppiness, disorganised, recklessness, excessive generosity
phallic stage: age
3-5 years
phallic stage: source of libido
genitals
( the child becomes fully aware of sex
differences; it becomes obsessed with its own genitals)
what is the oedipus complex?
-boys, unconsciously desire their mothers, but realise their father is bigger and stronger, so they can’t compete
-when they realise that girls don’t have a penis, they think they have been castrated and fear that their father will castrate them too, if their desire for their mother is uncovered (castration anxiety)
-in order to resolve this anxiety, boys identify with their father and internalise his morals and standards, which becomes the superego
-boys think that if they become more masculine their father will like them and not want to castrate them
issues with the elektra concept:
-not clearly defined by freud, he concentrated on boys and added girls on as an afterthought
-freud viewed femininity as failed masculinity and is therefore very unpopular with feminists.
what is the elektra complex?
-freud argued that girls believe they do not have a penis because their mother must have already castrated them and have a weaker superego compared to boys
-they turn to their fathers for love in the hope of regaining their penis
-girls suffer penis envy for the rest of their lives
-the only way a woman can resolve her penis envy is by having a male baby, taking a male lover or having a career, basically try to become more like a man as a way of compensating for the lack of penis
phallic stage: conflict
abnormal family set up leading to unusual relationship with mother or father
phallic stage: consequences of fixation
-anxiety and inadequacy, issues with gender identity and morals
MEN:
-feelings of anxiety & guilt about sex
-fear of castration
-vanity, narcissism
WOMEN:
-feelings of inferiority and envy
(penis envy)
latency stage: age
6-12 years
latency stage: source of libido
sexual drives are repressed:
-early years are largely forgotten -children want nothing to do with sexual relationships
-focus shifts to education, friendships, skills and hobbies
latency stage: conflict
interacting with same sex peers
latency stage: consequences of fixation
fixation does not usually happen at this stage
genital stage: age
12+
genital stage: sources of libido
the genitals, the person derives pleasure from masturbation and sexual intercourse
-the person start to become sexually
mature and to explore their sexual feelings responsibly
-onset of romantic and sexual emotions, leading to the formation of intimate relationships
genital stage: conflict
establishing intimate relationships with opposite sex
genital stage: consequences of fixation
sexual dysfunction, difficulties forming healthy relationships
little hans case study: key points
-when hans was 3 he became interested in his penis
-his mother told him that if he carried on playing with it, she would get a doctor to cut it off
-hans developed a fear of horses after seeing one collapse in the street
-he was more scared of horses with black around their mouths & blinkers
-freud suggested that the horse represented hans’ dad (black = moustache,blinkers = spectacles)
-han’s dad & freud decided that hans was scared that the horse would bite/castrate him because he desired his mother
-hans later said that he had no problems in adolescence, supports that conflict was resolved so no fixation occurred
limitations of the little hans case study
1) hans’s father gave freud the details of the case study. he was familiar with the oedipus complex so it’s possible this influenced the information he gave to freud. freud may even have asked hans leading questions, seeing an oedipus conflict where one did not exist.
2) the method used to conclude Little hans behaviour was due to the oedipus complex is not a scientific way of investigating a phobia. there is a lack of objectivity in the analysis as it was conducted second hand through hans’s father, this method is not replicable
3) little population validity
P - freud’s ideas and concepts are based on case study evidence
E - although they are detailed and carefully recorded, it could be argued that it isn’t possible to make universal claims about human nature based on studies of such a small number of individuals who were psychologically abnormal -> lacks population validity
L - difficult to generalise this evidence to
the wider population
strengths & weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach:
strengths:
-psychoanalysis
-explanatory power
weaknesses:
unfalsifiable
ao3 / strength - psychoanalysis
P - freud developed a new type of therapy called psychoanalysis
E - the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically / this therapy used a range of techniques (free association, dream analysis) designed to access the unconscious
-help reveal unconscious elements in the mind and bring repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind
L - this application has reduced suffering for people and is useful to society / psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many modern day psychotherapies & talking cures that have since been established, thus positively influencing the word of
psychology
ao3 / weakness - unfalsifiable
P - the psychodynamic approach has been criticised for using untestable
concepts
E - karl popper argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criteria of falsification / it isn’t open to the possibility of being disproved) / many of freud’s concepts are said to occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult & impossible to test / his ideas are also based on subjective studies of single
individuals
L psychodynamic theory is classed as a pseudoscience rather than real science, limits the approach’s credibility
ao3 / strength - explanatory power
P - freud’s theory has a great ability to explain human behaviour
E - psychodynamic approach had a huge influence on psychology / the psychodynamic approach has
been used to explain a wide range of phenomena including personality
development, the origins of psychological disorders, moral development and gender identity / approach is also significant in drawing attention to the connection between experiences in childhood and our later development
most important psychosexual stage?
phallic stage
stage where oedipus complex occurs?
phallic stage
in what stage does the ego develop?
anal
when does the superego develop?
phallic stage
