psychodynamic approach Flashcards
who is the founder of the psychodynamic approach?
sigmund freud
why was the psychodynamic approach developed? (2)
● freud realised that patient’s symptoms such as paralysis and headaches had no physical cause
● proposed symptoms caused by deep rooted psychological conflicts within unconscious mind
what are the 3 assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
● unconscious mind has an influence on our behaviour
● our personality is made of 3 parts - tripartite personality
● psychosexual stages determine our adult personality
what is the conscious mind? (2)
● small amount of mental activity we know about
● e.g. thoughts
what is the preconscious mind? (2)
● things we could be aware of if we wanted or tried
● e.g. memories, stored knowledge
what is the unconscious mind? (2)
● things we are not aware of and can not become aware of
● e.g. instincts, deeply buried memories
what is the id? (3)
● pleasure principle
● present from birth
● demands instant gratification
what is the ego? (3)
● reality principle
● controls demands of id and superego by using defence mechanisms
● to ensure neither one dominate the personality
what is the superego? (2)
● morality principle
● responsible for feelings of guilt and our sense of right and wrong
what are defence mechanisms?
used by ego to prevent us experiencing trauma/anxiety
what is denial?
refusing to acknowledge reality
what is displacement?
transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target
what is repression?
anxiety provoking thoughts are repressed into the unconscious mind
what are the psychosexual stages of development? (4)
● determine adult personality
● each stage marked by different conflict that child must resolve to move on to next age
● any conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation
● where child becomes stuck and carries behaviours associated with that stage though to adult life
describe the oral stage (3)
● age: 0-1
● focus of pleasure is mouth - child gains pleasure from breastfeeding
● consequence of unresolved conflict: oral fixation - smoking, biting nails
describe the anal stage (3)
● age: 1-3
● focus of pleasure is anus - child gains pleasure from withholding and eliminating faeces
● consequences of unresolved conflict:
anal retentive - perfectionist, obsessive
anal expulsive - messy, thoughtless
describe the phallic stage (3)
● age: 3-5
● focus of pleasure is genital area
● experiences oedipus / electra complex
● consequences of unresolved conflict: phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless
describe the latency stage (2)
● age: 6-12
● earlier conflicts are repressed
describe the genital stage (3)
● age: 12 +
● sexual desires become conscious alongside onset of puberty
● difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
outline the oedipus complex (8)
● occurs for males during phallic stage
● begin to have unconscious sexual desire for their opposite sex parent (mother)
● makes them resentful of their same sex parent (father)
● as they see them as a competitor for their parents love
● experience castration anxiety
● to resolve conflict: boys begin to identify with father and adopt their personality and behaviours
● so father no longer sees them as threat
● they internalise their moral values, which leads to development of superego
