Psychodynamic approach Flashcards
What are the key assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
1) A large part of our mental life operates at an unconscious level, which drives our behaviour.
2) Early childhood experiences are important to understanding current behaviour.
3) Children develop through psychosexual stages which involve conflict that must be resolved.
What is the personality made up of?
The id, The ego, The superego.
Who was the psychologist who created the psychodynamic approach?
Sigmund Freud.
What is the unconscious mind?
A big area of biological drives and instincts that has a significant influence on our behaviour and personality. It also contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed or locked away and forgotten.
What is the preconscious mind?
Includes thoughts and ideas that we may become aware of through dreams or slips-of-the-tongue (Parapraxes).
In dream analysis, what is latent content?
The repressed ideas in the unconscious more likely to appear in dreams than when we are awake.
In dream analysis, what is manifest content?
The dream as it appears to the dreamer, dream symbols that are used to disguise unacceptable ideas.
What is dream analysis?
A therapist interprets dreams in order to provide insight about what the dream really represents.
What is the Id?
The pleasure seeking principle (immediate gratification). Present from birth (Devil on the shoulder).
What is the ego?
The mediator between the id and the superego. Balances the desires and requirements of both. Develops by the age of 2 and employs defence mechanisms.
What is the superego?
The morality based principle (accepting moral principles and rules). Develops around age 5 (Phallic stage) (angel on the shoulder).
What are the five psychosexual stages?
Oral stage, Anal stage, Phallic stage, Latent stage, Genital stage.
What is the Oral stage of psychosexual development?
Age 0-1 years. The focus is on the mother’s breast and pleasure of mouth. Trauma happens when weaned off.
What are the consequences in the Oral stage?
An oral fixation - Smoking, biting nails, sarcastic and critical.
What is the Anal stage of psychosexual development?
Age 1-3 years. The focus is on controlling bladder and bowel movements. Trauma happens when potty trained.
What are the consequences during the Anal stage?
Anal retentive - Perfection, obsessive.
Anal expulsive - Thoughtless, messy.
What is the Phallic stage of psychosexual development?
Age 3-6 years. The focus is on the genitals. The Oedipus complex + penis envy.
What are the consequences during the Phallic stage?
Phallic personality - Narcissistic, selfish, reckless.
What is the Latent stage of psychosexual development?
Age 6 - puberty. Libido is suppressed, superego strengthens, develop skills, earlier conflicts are repressed. No consequences.
What is the Genital stage of psychosexual development?
Age puberty - death. Focus is on sexual partners.
What are the consequences during the genital stage?
A difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.
What are the 4 defence mechanisms?
Repression, Denial, Projection, Displacement.
Describe the 4 defence mechanisms.
Repression - Keeps disturbing or threatening thoughts from being conscious.
Denial - Blocking events from awareness.
Projection - Attributing own personal thoughts onto others.
Displacement - Satisfying an impulse with a substitute object.
What were the main points of little Hans’ case?
Little boy with fear of horses. Oedipus complex. Horse has a large penis. Black harness = father’s moustache. Fear of horses stemmed from fear of dad castrating him.
What is the Oedipus complex?
Unconscious sexual desires for the parent of the opposite sex. Wanting to ‘get rid of’ the other parent.
