psychodynamic approach Flashcards
who came up with this theory (psych)
Freud
what does psych approach state?
states that we have unconscious forces in our minds that determine our thoughts, feelings and behaviour
what is the unconscious?
a storehouse of biological drives and instincts that has influence on our behaviour
what is the structure of the personality?
the id, ego and superego
what is the id and when is it formed?
formed in newborns
it acts on the pleasure principal, and demands instant gratification regardless of circumstances. it is selfish and hedonistic
what is the ego and when is it formed?
formed at 2 years
it acts on the reality principal and acts as a mediator by reducing conflict. prevents us from anxiety by employing defence mechanisms
what is the superego and when is it formed?
formed at 5 years
it represents which behaviours are permissible and creates feelings of guilt after wrong-doing
where are the defence mechanisms?
produced by the ego in the unconscious
what are the defence mechanisms?
repression- forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
denial- refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
displacement- transferring feelings fro a true source of distressing emotion on to a substitute target.
what are the psychosexual stages?
freud said children go through 5 stages of development, at each stage the libido focuses on one area oral (0-1 years) anal (1-3 years) phallic (3-5) latency genital
what is the oedipus complex?
when boys go through the phallic stage, they experience sexual desires for their mother and develop feelings of fear for their father. this fear takes the form of castration anxiety. to try and resolve this conflict, they identify with their father
what is the electra complex?
when girls go through the phallic stage, they have penis envy and experience sexual desires for their father and hate their mother for castrating them. try an resolve this by identifying with mother. they never completely resolve this, and replace penis envy with desire for baby
what is a strength of the psychodynamic approach? (new)
this approach is significant and important in the history of psychology. it was a key new idea and moved towards psychoanalysis, away from introspection. Freud suggested that behaviour was psychological not biological. furthermore, it can be argued that the psychodynamic approach was strong and significant as it has led to successful treatments and represented a huge shift in psychological thinking
what is a strength of the psychodynamic approach? (evidence)
in support of the psychodynamic approach, there has been a development of scientific methods. although many critics claim that psychoanalysis is hard to falsify, many have been tested and confirmed. Fisher and Greenberg found evidence for the existence of unconscious motivation in our behaviour, and found support for the defence mechanisms. this is a strength because there is clear evidence showing the accuracy of Freud’s theory. the development of scientific methodology also supports the approach
what is a limitation of freud’s approach?
he had an unscientific approach to analysing human behaviour. for example his use of case studies. although this was a slight improvement as he attempted to prove/develop his theories, case studies are flawed because they are not scientific and so not provide good, reliable evidence. for example his case study of little Hans; it cannot be generalised to everyone. decreases population validity
