psychodynamic approach Flashcards
whats our personality called
psyche
key assumptions
-unconscious activity is key determinant of how we behave
-we process innate drives that energise our min ds to motivate behaviour we develop through our lives
-our psyche is comprised of the ID, ego and superego
-childhood experiences have significant importance in determining our personality when we reach adulthood
whats the ID
-instinct, gets whatever it wants however it wants, operates by “pleasure principle”
-Freud called “selfish beast”
-contained in unconscious
what is psychoanalysis (freud)
-talking therapy to help release problematic repressed memories
our origin according to frued
-we are animals driven by basic biological motives
-the emergence of society has required us to bring our animal impulses under control
parts of the iceburg analogy
-the conscious
-the preconscious
-the unconscious
whats the conscious
-the small amount of mental activity we know about e.g. thoughts, perceptions
the preconscious
-things we could be aware of if we tried e.g. memories and stored knowledge
the unconscious
-things we are unaware of and cannot become aware of e.g. instincts and buried memories
the unconscious mind activities
-the mind tries to protect itself by preventing traumatic memories from the unconscious reaching the conscious
-extends itself to all parts of our waking and sleeping lives
when are defence mechanisms used
when the mind cannot rationalise and therefore distorts reality to
repression and example
the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and experiences leading to altered behaviour e.g. adult forgets about being abused as a child but has trouble forming relationships
denial and example
the refusal to accept reality so as not to have to deal with painful feelings associated with the event, pretending it never happened
- e.g. alcoholic refusing to say they have drinking problem
displacement
redirecting thoughts or feelings to an innocent victim/object as the person feels unable to express themselves to the real cause
-e.g. pupil shouting at their parents when they get home from school bc a bad test result
what are the psychosexual stages of development
oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
what ages is the oral stage
birth to two years
description of oral stage
pleasure from oral stimulation e.g. tasting and sucking
what ages is the anal stage
15 months to 3 years
problems/ fixation deriving from oral stage
-dependency or aggression
-problems with drinking, smoking, nail biting
description of anal stage
-primary focus on controlling bladder and bowels- toilet training
problems/fixation in the anal stage
-anal expulsive: messy, wasteful, destructive
-anal retentive: orderly, rigid, obsessive (due to fear of strict parents)
what ages is the phallic stage
3 to 6 years
description of phallic stage
-focus on genitals- sex differences realised
-Oedipus complex
-child identifies with same sex parent
problems/ fixation in phallic stage
- sexual deviants or confused sexual identity
-Freud believed girls possessed feelings of envy/ inferiority–> penis envy
what age is latency stage
from 6 years to puberty
description of latency stage
-sexual desires pushed to background
-focus on intellectual and social pursuits
problem/ fixation of latency stage
-important for developing communication skills and self confidence (may lack this)
what age is the genital stage
puberty through adulthood
description of genital stage
sexual desires renewed and seek relationship with others
problems/ fixation in the genital stage
problems emerging here are carried on from earlier stages
what is fixation
-cant progress onto next psychosexual stage of development if prior stage is not completed hence get fixated on one stage
what’s ego
-executive of our personality
-uses cognitive abilities to control ID and balance its desire against restrictions of superego
-operates accordingly to the reality principle
what’s the superego
-our conscience
-wants to do the right thing
-develops through identification with one parent which the child internalises
what are the two primal instincts ID is based off
-Eros (fuelled by psychic energy called libido- sleep with)
-Thanatos(the death instinct)
what’s neurotic psyche
-superego governs behaviour
-extreme guilt, anxiety, too worried what everyone will think
what is the structure of personality called
-tripartite, the ID, Ego and Superego
what’s a psychotic psyche
-ego and superego underdeveloped
-ID in overdrive
-selfish, don’t care what others think but wont hurt them as still have ego and superego
what’s a psychopathic psyche
-ID and ego, no superego so ego only listens to ID
-no longer care abt what people think or say about them
-no morality
