Psychodynamic Approach (booklet 5) Flashcards
Tripartite theory of personality
Our personality is composed of 3 hypothetical constructs
Id- primitive, operates on pleasure principle, present from birth, selfish, demands instant gratification
Ego- reality principle, mediatior between id and superego, develops around age 2, reduces conflict between id and superego using defence mechanisms
Superego- formed at end of phallic stage, internalised sense of right and wrong, based on morality principle, represents moral standards of same sex parent, punishes ego for wrongdoing
Conscious and unconscious mind
Freud believed behaviour was more determined by unconscious factors
Proposed unconscious mind- thoughts, feelings and memories we aren’t aware of
Conscious mind- thoughts feelings and memories we are aware of and can easily recall
Libido
Basic instincts and drives
Manifest
Surface
Eg thoughts, utterances and behaviours
Latent
Hidden
Motives/instincts behind manifest behaviours
Reflect biological drives and early experiences
Unconscious mind
We are born with basic instincts + drives (libido) that form our unconscious mind-> impact behaviour
Our manifest (surface) behaviours reflect latent (hidden) motives/intentions
Latent motives reflect biological drives and early experiences (before age 5)
Anxiety provoking situations are pushed into unconscious mind to avoid having to confront them- repression
Defense mechanisms
Repression (motivated forgetting)- suppressing an anxiety provoking thought , feeling or memory into the unconscious mind
Denial- blocking external events from awareness or refusing to accept reality
Displacement- redirecting an impulse or feeling away from initial object to a substitute object
Psychosexual stages
5 stages of child development, each with a conflict that must be resolved, any unresolved conflicts lead to fixations causing associated behaviours to be carried through life
Oral- age 0-1, focus of pleasure is mouth, mother’s breast is object of desire
Anal- age 1-3, focus of pleasure is anus, child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
Phallic- age 3-5, focus of pleasure is genitals, Oedipus or Electra complex occurs
Latency- 5/6 - puberty, dormant stage, sexual desires repressed to focus on school, hobbies and friendships
Genital- puberty+, sexual desires become conscious alongside onset of puberty
Oedipus complex
In phallic stage
Boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and murderous hate towards their father
Fear father will castrate them (castration anxiety) so repression love for mother and identify with father - internalise his moral values and gender role
Electra complex
In phallic stage
Girls experience penis envy so desire their father and his penis while hating their mother
Then give up love for father, replacing it with desire for a baby
Identify with mother, internalising her morals and gender roles
Little Hans
5 year old boy with phobia of horses
Hans’ father documented his behaviour and sent to Freud via letter
Freud suggested his fear was a result of the Oedipus complex as the features of horses he was scared of resembled his father
Furthered by Hans’ dreams including a plumber coming to remove his bottom and penis, replacing with a bigger one (castration anxiety)
What did Freud conclude from the case study of little Hans?
Supported his theory of psychosexual development
Shows boys experience Oedipus complex in phallic stage
Phobias are products of unconscious anxiety
Proves unconscious determinism (people aren’t consciously aware of what causes their behaviour)
Evaluate the psychodynamic approach- unfalsifisble
Freuds theory is unfalsifiable
Main concepts eg unconscious mind, tripartite theory of personality can’t be directly observed and are abstract concepts
Theory can’t be scientifically tested to determine their existence or impact on behaviour
Other approaches are more scientific eg biological approach- brain scans, hormone levels
Limitation as reduces credibility
Evaluate the psychodynamic approach- practical application
Practical application through development of talking therapies and psychoanalysis
Aims to recover repressed memories from unconscious in order to treat MH problems
Still used today so valuable treatment
Strength as if treatments based on unconscious mind are successful, validates existence
Also treatments based on approach have led to improvement of symptoms and quality of life
However not an appropriate treatment for all disorders
Eg schizophrenia where struggles to differentiate between hallucinations and reality prevent being effective
Evaluate psychodynamic approach- case studies
Largely reliant on use of case studies
Eg little Hans supports Oedipus complex
Strength as allows collection of lots of qualitative data- provides detailed insight eg letters exchanged between Freud and little Hans’ father
However prone to researcher bias- Freud could interpret in a way to suit his research
Also lacks generalisability as can’t assume something that occurs in an individual (Little Hans) occurs in all
Raises questions as unscientific
