psychodynamic approach Flashcards
what are the 3 main assumptions of the psychodyamic approach
- personality has a discernable structure (ID ego and superego)
- personality is constructed by the passage through psychosexual stages of development
- unconscious are mediated by defense mechanisms
who coined the psychodynamic approach
Freud
what does the psychodynamic approach believe
- believes that the driving force behind our behaviour is the unconscious
-to solve problematic behaviour we must access the unconscious mind
describe the role of the unconscious
- unconscious = a storehouse of biological drives that influence our behaviour
- any traumatic events arent truly forgotten –> just repressed in the unconscious
- ice berg metaphor
- inaccessible to conscious awareness
what are the 3 components that make up our personality
- ID
- ego
- superego
describe the ID as a component of our personality
- governed by pleasure
- consists of primal urges that seeks instant gratification
- present at birth
describe the ego as a component of our personality
- governed by reality principle –> balances the demands of ID and superego
- not present at birth but arises in response to others –> parents during anal stage
describe the superego as a component of our personality
- governed by morality principle - sense of right or wrong
- ‘inner voice’ that tells us when we have crossed the line
- develops in response to parental discipline approx. 5 yrs old
what are defense mechanisms
- used by the ego to cope with conflicting demands of other two parts –> ID and superego
- distorts reality so individual can continue with everyday life
what are the types of defence mechanism
- repression
- denial
- displacement
describe repression as a type of defence mechanism
when a traumatic memory is forced out of conscious into the unconscious
describe denial as a type of defence mechanism
- a refusal to accept the truth of a situation
- acting as though nothing has happened
describe displacement as a type of defence mechanism
when feelings towards a target person cant be expressed directly so are transferred onto someone else
describe the psychosexual stages of development according to Freud
- during each stage the child has desires for bodily pleasure denied and redirected by parents until they focus exclusively on he appropriate sexual outlet for the given stage
- if child fails to resolve conflict at each stage they may develop a fixation where they display certain behaviours in adult life
- driven by Oedipus complex
what is the Oedipus complex regarding the psychosexual stages of development
- where boys relinquish their unconscious desire for their mother and internalise the fear of castration by their father
- process is traumatic and cannot be confronted directly so ego establishes defense mechanisms to mediate the terror is generates
what are the psychosexual stages of development
- oral
- anal
- phallic
- latent
- genital
describe the oral stage of the psychosexual stages of development
- 0-2 yrs
- mouth focus
- infant experiences pleasure through their mouth by sucking and biting
what would happen if there is unresolved conflict at the oral stage
oral fixation –> person might engage in behaviours like smoking, nail biting…
describe the anal stage of the psychosexual stages of development
- 2-3 yrs
- anal focus
- child becomes aware of reality principle imposed by parents and must undergo potty training
- ego develops
what would happen if there is unresolved conflict at the anal stage
anal fixation can occur in 2 ways:
- anal retentive –> may become an obsessive perfectionist
- anal expulsive –> may be messy and thoughtless
describe the phallic stage of the psychosexual stages of development
- genital focus
- 3-6
- Oedipus complex –> boys must overcome unconscious sexual desire for their mother
- superego develops
what would happen is there is unresolved conflict during the phallic stage
might become restless and narcissistic behaviours
