psychodynamic approach

Question 1

what does childhood play and what can trauma cause

Answer 1

Our childhood plays an important role in shaping of our personalities as adult’s. traumatic experiences in childhood can cause abnormal behaviour later in life

Question 2

what happens in the unconcious mind

Answer 2

Conflicts in the unconscious mind influence our behaviour and our personalities as a result od the changing nature of conflicts an individual is constantly changing as they develop .

Question 3

what was freuds idea of the unconcious mind and his metaphor

Answer 3

the role of the unconscious mind . Freud believed in the existence of part of the mind that was inaccessible to the conscious thought he referred to this as the unconscious mind . metaphor of the iceberg the tip of the iceberg is the conscious mind it is visible and we are aware of it , the larger part of the iceberg is the unconscious mind hidden underwater and we are unaware of it. The parts of the mind store our biological drives abd intentons which influence most of our actions and behaviours and personality.

Question 4

what were the tree parts of the personality and what did it have in common

Answer 4

: The structure of personality freud divide personality into three structures, id, the ego and the super ego each parts which demands gratification but is frequently conflicted with the other parts

Question 5

what is the id personality

Answer 5

. The id is the unconscious mind from birth to 18 months based in the unconscious mind most primitive and instinctive part of personality based on pleasure principle demands immediate gratification regardless of circumstances which suggest irrational emotions and feeling

Question 6

what is the ego

Answer 6

The ego is around 18 months to 3 years works on realoty testing if rational it acts as a mediator between super ego and id aim to reduce the conflict between the two and works out realistic ways to mediate its demands it uses ego defense mechanisms to do this.

Question 7

what is the super ego

Answer 7

The super ego is formed between 3-6 years internalised sense of right and wrong base on morality principles develops through identification with same sex parent and their internalisation of their moral standards. Moral guide control instinctive impulses from id alike society norms and morals. Punishes ego for wrong succumbing to ids demands through guilt

Question 8

what are defense mechanisms

Answer 8

DEFENSE MECHANISMS . if an individual is faced with a situation that they are unable to deal worth rationally their ego may try to alleviate the anxiety by using ego defence mechanisms these distort our perception of reality on an unconscious level to reduce anxiety these example of defence mechanisms

Question 9

what is repression

Answer 9

repression which is blocking an unacceptable memory thoughts and impulses moved from the conscious mind moved to the unconscious mind. Doesn’t stay quietly in the unconscious mind repressed memories and impulses continue to influence behaviour and cause distress however individuals are unaware of it.

Question 10

what is denial

Answer 10

is the refusal to accept reality avoiding any painful feelings associated with that event. displacement is redirecting of hostile thoughts and feeling. Happens during situations where they feel they are unable to express them to the person who caused them harm in the first place. Instead take it out on an innocent subject or substitute

Question 11

what is displacement

Answer 11

…

Question 12

what is the psychosexual stages of development

Answer 12

: PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES. Freud claimed that personality developed through a sequence of five stages these are referred to as the psychosexual stages at each stage the individual experiences conflict to resolve these gratify erogenous state lack of gratification will result in fixation in that stage.

Question 13

what is the oral stage

Answer 13

is between 0-1 years and the erogenous zone is the mouth babies receive gratification by sucking on the mothers breats and inserting objects into the mouth. Fixation in this stage can lead to over dependency in adult relationship

Question 14

what is the anal stage

Answer 14

Anal stage is 1-3 years and the erogenous zone is the anus and this is where pleasure is gained , child gains pleasure by withholding and excreting faeces fixation caused by strict potty training and may lead to obsession ocd and cleanliness

Question 15

what is the phalliac stage

Answer 15

, the focus of pleasure is in the genital area and males experience odeious complex which is unconscious desires for his mother, develops anxiety that father may find out and castrate him

Question 16

what is gender development

Answer 16

then occurs and the identity resolves by repression of desire and identifying with others whilst girls experience electra complex and penis envy

Question 17

what is latency

Answer 17

Latency is 6-12 and earlier conflicts repressed and sexual urges become less active

Question 18

what is genital development

Answer 18

Genital 12+ sexual desires become active alongside the onset of puberty.

Question 19

practical application of the psychodynamic challenge

Answer 19

One strength is that there are practical applications as Freud used his theory to develop a new therapy called psychoanalysis the therapy uses a range of different techniques designed to access the unconscious mind like hypnosis and dream analysis to resolve conflicts in the unconscious mind this forms the basis of psychotherapy to treat anxiety and depression. Bergin found that 10,000 patients around 80% benefitted from psychoanalysis this is a strength as it suggests that treatment is effective which reflects the validity of underlying psychodynamic approach

Question 20

influence of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 20

Another strength is the influential and pioneering shift in psychology firstly instead of relying on self analysis like introspection freud suggests new methodological procedures for gathering empirical evidence like case studies and first hand observations of behaviour emphasizes significance on the unconscious mind and repressed thoughts memories from childhood influences later life behaviour. General research now accepted in attachment research Bowlby’s theory also helped this approach gain popularity this shows that Freud’s approach initiated many more psychology ideas which are still followed today

Question 21

gender biased approach

Answer 21

Gender biased approach it has a gender biased views towards females. Freud seemed to remain ignorant of female sexuality based his theories significantly around male sexual development concepts such as penis envy makes females appear to be the lesser sex and that they envy the superior make leading to anxiety in his theories ow women. It may also lead to misunderstanding and misdiagnosing of female behaviour females may be seen as abnormal and will be said to show mental illness even though there is nothing is wrong with them therefore due to this and this gender biased approach this approach cannot be applied to women.

Question 22

it cannot be falsified

Answer 22

Lack of falsifiability if it is wrong or not it is very difficult to test this approach scientifically most of the research from the psychodynamic approach revolves around concepts that are hard to measure and operationalise for example conflicts in the unconscious mind a problem with such poorly defined concepts if only investigated though self report and non experimental methods this means that this concept is often impossible to verify and establish a cause and effect relationship in addition as these concepts are hard to measure it could be argued that they are hard to disprove which mean the approach lacks falsifiability which is key feature of science. Kanpopper called the psychodynamic approach a pseudoscience and approach reduces scientific credibility of psychology