psychodynamic approach Flashcards
what does it believe the mind consists of?
multiple parts- some conscious, some unconscious
it suggests different parts of mind…
conflict with each other + shape behaviour
does it suggest childhood experience shapes us as adults?
yes- failure to resolve psychological conflicts in childhood leads to psychological problems as an adult
what is the tripartite?
structures of the personality
what does the tripartite consist of?
Id, Ego, Superego
Id- when is it present from?
present from birth (ensures survival- e.g. baby crying when hungry)
Id- what does it operate according to?
pleasure principle (it gets what it wants)
what is the Id?
seething mass of unconscious drives + instincts
- won’t tolerate delayed gratification regardless of consequences
- it’s selfish
e.g. child ‘i want it now!’
- self-indulgent pleasures
Ego- when does it develop?
- develops around age of 2 (anal stage)
what principle does it work on?
reality principle
- acts as a mediator between Id + Superego
- employs defence mechanisms
explain Ego.
- reduces + balances demands
- tames Id and may ignore Superego to avoid excessive guilt etc.
- finds behaviour that is socially acceptable
is Ego conscious or unconscious part of mind?
conscious
Superego- when does it develop?
end of phallic stage (5 years old)
Superego- what principle does it work on?
- moral principle
superego- is it conscious or unconscious part of mind?
- unconscious
explain Superego in more detail
- can be approving or disapproving
- moral guide + judge of behaviours (whether right or wrong) -> internalises –> moral standards= learnt through same- sex parent + type of discipline in childhood
- punishes Ego (makes you feel guilt + shame if behaviour= inappropriate)
- tries to moralise action of Id to more appropriate + acceptable
explain the ice berg
shows the role of the unconscious
- tip of iceberg= conscious mind
- middle= pre-conscious
- bottom (biggest section)= unconscious mind
what’s the conscious mind?
mind we are aware of
conscious thoughts (attention, perception)
what’s the pre-conscious mind?
where dreams and ‘Freudian slips’ (reveal secrets) lurk
- memories + stored feelings + knowledge
what’s the unconscious mind?
- largest part of mind
- holds info. + feelings the individual may be aware of
- e.g. secrets, fears, desires, repressed memories, emotions, traumatic experiences etc
- psychoanalysis= way to confront nasty/frightening parts of unconscious mind + confront trauma
what’s defence mechanisms?
- Ego uses defence mechanisms to help balance conflicting demands of the Id and Superego
- Ego manages internal struggle to prevent being overwhelmed/trauma (balancing= on an unconscious level)
defence mechanisms= protective mechanisms meaning…
protect us from harsh reality
only provide temporary relief + long-term may be psychologically unhealthy
what are the types of defence mechanisms?
Displacement
Repression
Denial
what is displacement?
- when the focus of a strong emotion is directed towards an uninvolved person
- this reduces anxiety as it allows expression of strong emotion
what is repression?
- unpleasant/distressing memories= pushed to unconscious mind= can’t recall event= prevents anxiety
- but they can still influence behaviour even though we may be unaware of this
what is denial?
- refusal to accept the reality of a situation= avoids dealing with emotions associated to event
how many psychosexual stages are there?
5
what are psychosexual stages?
- development occurs in 5 stages
- each stage has different conflict the child must resolve to progress successfully to next stage
what happens when any stage conflict is unresolved?
- leads to fixation (where a child is stuck at a stage and carries certain behaviours + conflicts associated with stage to adult life)
what is the main indicator of healthy development?
- if child successfully navigates the phallic stage
how does a child successfully navigate the phallic stage?
boys- by going through oedipus complex
girls- electra complex
what is oedipus complex
- where a boy feels an unconscious desire for closeness to mother (+ wants his mothers full attention)
- boy will fear father + see him as a rival= creates castrate anxiety (fear he’ll have his testicles removed)
- this is eventually resolved by boys identification with the father= point when superego is formed
what is electra complex (not actually from Freud)?
- when a little girl desires her father and realises she doesn’t have a penis= penis envy + desires to be a boy
- this is repressed by girl substituting her desire for a penis with the wish for a baby
- girl will have hatred towards mother but these feelings will be eventually repressed when girl identifies with her mother and internalises her mother’s gender identity
what was Freud’s case study to show oedipus complex?
Little Hans
explain Little Hans
- 5 year old boy with horse phobia
- Horse represents boys father according to Freud= allowing Freud to interpret Hans phobia as being evidence for oedipus complex
- Hans emerged from phobia towards beginning of latency stage= Freud’s evidence of him having resolved conflict
what is the order of the 5 psychosexual stages?
- Oral
- Anal
- Phallic
- Latency
- Genital
Overall Aspen Parry’s Literally Great
oral stage- when does it occur?
0-1 years
description of oral stage?
- mouth= focus of pleasure
- mother’s breast= desired object
consequences of unresolved conflict in oral stage?
- smoking, nail biting, sarcastic, critical etc
anal stage- when does it occur?
1-3 years
description of anal stage?
anus= focus of pleasure
conflict may arise when toilet training as child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
consequences of unresolved conflict in anal stage?
anal retentive- perfectionist, obsessive
anal expulsion- thoughtless, messy
phallic stage- when does it occur?
3-6 years
description of phallic stage?
genital area= focus of pleasure
child experiences oedipus complex (boys) or electra complex (girls)
consequences of unresolved conflict in phallic stage?
phallic personality- narcisstic, reckless, vanity
latency stage- when does it occur?
6 years to puberty
description of latency stage?
earlier conflicts become repressed
genital stage when does it occur?
puberty onwards
description of genital stage?
genitals= focus of pleasure
sexual desire= conscious as puberty hits
consequences of unresolved conflict in phallic stage?
difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
eval- point 1
real world application
- introduces psychotherapy= increases external validity
- Freud brought new form of therapy (psychoanalysis) –> first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically
- psychoanalysis= designed to access persons unconscious mind e.g. dream analysis –> helps bring repressed emotions to conscious mind so the can be dealt with
- psychoanalysis is forerunner of modern day counselling
eval- point 1 counterpoint (real-world applications)
- Freudian therapy can’t be used for all mental disorders
- although Freudian therapists claimed success for clients with mild neuroses
psychoanalysis= inappropriate + harmful for people experiencing serious mental disorders
e.g. schizophrenia –> many symptoms e.g. delusional thinking= those with disorder have lost grip on reality + can’t articulate thoughts in way psychoanalysis requires. means you need to combine treatments with drugs etc for more effective outcomes (Stein in 1980 proved this for people with schizophrenia (eclectic approach))
eval-point 2
untestable concepts
- Karl Popper argued that it doesn’t reach scientific criteria for falsification
- it’s not open to empirical testing
- Freud’s concepts operate at unconscious level= can’t test so can’t be proved or disproved
- subjective study of single case study (Little Hans)= difficult to generalise claims to all humans
eval- point 3
- only uses 1 case study (Little Hans)
- this was subjective interpretation + wasn’t checked/confirmed= unreliable + lacks scientific
eval point 4
explains human behaviour
- approach is significant at drawing attention to connection between childhood experiences + later development
- used in 20th century with behaviourism to explain personality development, abnormal behaviour, gender identity etc
eval point 5
sexualises kids
eval point 6
ages with stages
- doesn’t account for individual differences
- panicks parents if expected characteristic not shown
eval point 7
other explanations for explaining behaviour other than being fixated in a psychosexual stage e.g. tidiness, being neat may be due to autism spectrum disorder
or a critical person may have learnt behaviour from parent role model
eval point 8
suggests behaviour= determined by unconscious conflicts from childhood which is extreme as it ignores influence of free will on behaviours
