Psychodynamic approach Flashcards
During the oral stage of psychosexual development, what does the libido receive satisfaction from?
Stimulation of the lips and mouth.
During the oral stage, how are the libido’s urges satisfied (most of the time)?
Feeding from the mother’s breast.
If an infant receives too much or too little oral stimulation during the oral stage, what may happen?
They may become fixated.
What did Freud propose in relation to schizophrenia and the oral stage?
Individuals with schizophrenia become fixated during the first one or two months of the oral stage of development.
How do adults satisfy oral desires?
Through behaviours such as nail biting and kissing.
When an individual with schizophrenia who has an oral fixation comes into contact with an excessive amount of stress, what may happen?
They may regress back to the oral stage and the individual with schizophrenia becomes like a new-born.
What is regression?
An ego defence mechanism.
Causes the ego to retreat back to an earlier stage.
This may just be temporary or may continue over the long-term.
What is the role of the ego?
To control the id’s impulses.
Try to balance the demands of the id with the moral limitations imposed by the superego.
How does a state of hallucinations and delusions compared to that of a newborn infant? What does this mean?
It’s a little better than that of a newborn infant.
As such the individual with schizophrenia is typified by the primary narcissism seen in all newborns.
What is an issue with an individual regressing back to a point where the ego doesn’t exist?
There is nothing stopping the id from operating completely unimpeded.
What do positive symptoms of schizophrenia represent in relation to the id? What does this mean?
Unchecked activities of the id.
The person loses touch with reality, being able unable to distinguish between reality and their desires and fantasies.
What is primary narcissism?
A supposedly selfish instinct that guides our survival.
What do psychodynamic theorists consider the mother-child relationship to be in relation to schizophrenia?
One of the crucial factors in the development of schizophrenia.
What is the concept of the schizophrenogenic mother?
Mothers of individuals who develop schizophrenia are overprotective and controlling.
At the same time they are rejecting and distant.
The mother’s overprotection stifles the child’s emotional development, while her emotional distance deprives the child of personal security.
This leaves an individual who is vulnerable when faced with stress.
What does Fromm-Reichmann suggest in relation to childhood relationships and schizophrenia?
“The schizophrenic is painfully distrustful and resentful of other people due to the severe early warp and rejection he encountered in important people in his infancy and childhood, as a rule mainly in a schizophrenogenic mother.”
What issue is there with the fact that the psychodynamic approach is unfalsifiable in relation to schizophrenia?
If we cannot demonstrate the existence of the basic psychodynamic concepts such as the id, ego and superego, how can we trust psychodynamic concepts to explain the existence of complex disorders like schizophrenia?
What did Freud believe individuals with schizophrenia were not suitable candidates for? Why was this?
Psychoanalysis.
Many individuals with schizophrenia lacked the insight necessary for this talking treatment.
In the first half of the 20th century, psychology was dominated by psychodynamic explanations. Why did psychologists become dissatisfied with these as the century progressed?
Psychodynamic concepts are unscientific and unfalsifiable.
What did Strupp et al find in relation to psychoanalytical techniques and schizophrenia? Why could this be?
They may actually lead to harmful rather than beneficial effects in those with schizophrenia.
Psychoanalytical techniques often require the patient with schizophrenia to experience memories and insights that they are emotionally incapable of dealing with, and trying to do so is distressing for the patient.
Who is an example of a psychodynamic researcher who proposed that schizophrenia could be treated with psychoanalytical techniques?
Rosen.
What does Strupp et al’s research suggest in relation to psychodynamic theories and therapies?
If an effective therapy cannot be established from the theory, then the underlying principles of the explanation has no merit.
What did Kasanin et al examine? What did they find?
Hospital case records.
Evidence of maternal overprotection in 33 out of 45 cases of schizophrenia.
Psychodynamic explanations suggest that the development of schizophrenia is the consequence of early experience. What is an issue with this?
Overlooks the rule of genetics.
This is despite there being strong evidence of biological factors in schizophrenia.
What do Kasanin et al’s findings mean? What is an issue with the research?
Almost a third of the cases didn’t have an overprotective mother.
This makes the evidence rather unconvincing.
Their judgements may have been biased as they were not “blind” to the hypothesis.
