Psychodynamic approach (FOCUS) Flashcards
Sigmund Freud
1856-1939
Assumes that all abnormal or undesirable behaviours are caused by unconscious conflicts during childhood
3 basic assumptions
The unconscious mind
Instincts /drives
Early childhood experiences
The unconscious mind
- the driving force behind all behaviour
- abnormal behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts
- this can only be resolved by accessing conflicts within the unconscious mind
Instincts / drives
- our behaviour is motivated by our natural instincts / drives
For examples, we have a sexual drive from birth which takes us through a series of 5 psychosexual stages of development until the final stage is reached around 12 years of age
Successfully resolving all sexual conflicts during these stages will result in a psychologically healthy individual
Early childhood experiences
Early childhood is crucial in shaping the person we are today
Most of our psychological development is complete by around 6 years old
3 levels of thought
Conscious
Preconscious
Unconscious
Freud argued … mind
Freud argued that the unconscious mind is the driving force in all behaviour and can be described as an iceberg
Conscious mind
Thoughts and feelings we are aware of
Preconscious mind
Memories we can access at any time if we want to
Unconscious mind
Thoughts, feelings and memories that are locked away because they are too painful to remember
Structure of personality
Freud proposed that personality is made up of three interacting elements
ID
Entirely unconscious
It follows the pleasure principle because it constantly tries to gratify an unconscious desire for (sexual) pleasure
It is the selfish part of our personality
Ego
Is our conscious self
It follows the reality principle because it seeks to grant the needs of the Id only when it is sensible or rational to do so
Superego
Is part-conscious, part-unconscious
It is our morality and only grants the needs of the ID when it is morally right to do so
Libido
According to Freud, all three parts of our personality are in constant unconscious conflict for libido (psychosexual energy)
Distribution of libido
If the distribution is relatively equal between each part of our personality, normal behaviour occurs
However if distribution is unequal and one part dominates the others, abnormal or undesirable behaviours may occur
For example, if the ID is dominant, it can result in selfish behaviour.
If the superego is dominant, it could result in depression and anxiety
Ego defence mechanisms
The psychodynamic approach argues that the unconscious conflict between the ID, ego and superego causes anxiety
To protect us from this conflict, the mind uses ego defence mechanisms
Due to these ego defence mechanisms, our unconscious mind holds many of our most painful memories which may cause abnormal or undesirable behaviours if unresolved
3 ego defences
Repression
Denial
Displacement
Repression
Hurtful memories are pushed out of conscious recollection into the unconscious to protect oneself from the anxiety they would cause
Eg forgetting sexual abuse as a child because of the anxiety it would cause
Denial
Unconsciously pretending that a problem doesn’t exist to protect oneself from the anxiety it would cause
Eg denying that a doctors diagnosis of cancer is correct and seeking another opinion
Displacement
When a strong emotion is unconsciously passed from the object/person causing anxiety to a more ‘acceptable’ target
Eg slamming a door rather than hitting a person; shouting at your partner rather than at your boss
Psychosexual stages of development
During childhood, we pass through several psychosexual stages of development which shape our personality
Successful completion in childhood leads to normal behaviours
However, if an unconscious conflict arises; the child is over-gratified or deprived, at any stages, they may become fixated on this stage, resulting in abnormal or undesirable behaviours
Oral stage
0-18 months
Mouth is the focus of libidinal energy
Fixation could occur if feeding patterns are irregular or if given dummy for too long
Possible effect on adult behaviour : oral
Oral gratification is gained from smoking, biting nails, chewing pens
Anal stage
18m-3 years
Anus is the focus of libidinal energy - pleasure is gained from the expulsion or retention of faeces during potty training
Fixation could occur if the child is overly keen to use the potty or if training follows a strict regime and the child is reluctant to use the potty, retaining their faeces (anally retentive)
Possible effect on adult behaviour: anal stage
Expulsion results in a generous, overly emotional adult
Retention results in an organised, neat and thrifty adult
Phallic stage
3 years - 6 years
Boys experience Oedipus complex; entering a mental fight with their father for their mother’s affections. A sense of guilt (and a fear of castration) means they begin to identify with the father and adopt his moral attitudes, resolving any conflict
Girls experience the elektra complex, realising they don’t have a penis, they suffer from penis envy. As a result, they develop closer affections for the father. However, as they never truly resolve their penis envy, girls are always less moral as a result
Fixation could occur if there is no father figure present to identify with (boys) or to develop closer affections for (girls).
Possible effect on adult behaviour: phallic
Fixation during the phallic stage (lack of a father figure) can result in homosexuality
Strength of approach s
It has supporting research evidence
This is when an approach is supported because of strong or convincing evidence
For example, Freud’s case study of Little Hans involved analysis of his father’s diary extracts, whereby Hans demonstrated a fascination with his ‘widdler’ indicative of the phallic stage as well as resentment towards his father after lengthy time away (Oedipus complex)
This suggests that unresolved unconscious conflicts in childhood (e.g. resentment towards parents) can contribute to the development of abnormal behaviour in later life (e.g. phobias)
Strength r
It has practical applications
This is when the principles of an approach are put into practice outside of the laboratory, in real life
For example, the approach has been dominant in contributing to the development of psychoanalysis which uses techniques such as hypnosis and dream analysis to access unconscious content, used to help treat a range of disorders such as depression and OCD
This is a strength of the approach as the treatment is based on Freud’s assumptions
Limitation P
Psychic determinism
This is when an approach suggests behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts from childhood and only these shape behaviour
For example, Freud suggests that the development of abnormal behaviours are caused by a fixation during the psychosexual stages of development
This is an extreme determinism stance and suggests that we have no free will over behaviour which is untrue
Limitation u
Unscientific
This is when an approach is based on unscientific and subjective concepts which cannot be measured objectively
For example, Freud suggests that the development of abnormal behaviours are caused by fixations during the psychosexual stages of development which cannot be objectively measured
Additionally, Freud developed his theories based upon case studies of his patients (using mainly middle class, neurotic, Viennese women), causing us to question the scientific credibility of the approach
