Psychodynamic approaches 1

Question 1

The great demotions: Copernicus

Answer 1

Copernicus (1473 - 1543) dethroned the earth (the sun, not the earth, is the centre of the universe).

Question 2

The great demotions: Darwin

Answer 2

Darwin (1809 - 1882) dethroned homo sapiens. We
are not special biologically, just one result of an utterly blind evolutionary process.

Question 3

The great demotions: Freud

Answer 3

Freud (1856-1939) dethroned our rationality

Question 4

what does the Psychodynamic approach emphasise?

Answer 4

emphasises the role of internal mental processes and early childhood experiences

Question 5

what belief is the psychodynamic approach based on?

Answer 5

belief that personality and psychological disorders result from dynamic interactions among mental structures.”

Question 6

what does psychopathology result from?

Answer 6

from unconscious conflicts in the individual

Question 7

The motivated unconscious: according to Freud, the human mind consists of 3 parts:

Answer 7

1. the conscious mind
2. the pre-conscious mind: stored info recallable to consciousness
3. the unconscious mind: a mind reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories

Question 8

what did Freud believe?

Answer 8

Society does not allow the free expression of all our sexual and aggressive instincts:

Question 9

how to control sexual urges?

Answer 9

keep them from entering conscious awareness in the first place

Question 10

Id

Answer 10

• Most primitive structure.
• Source of instinctual drives.
• Operates on the pleasure principle.
• Characterized by “primary process
  thinking”.

Question 11

Ego

3 points

Answer 11

• Operates on the reality principle – mediates between the id and the external world and between id and superego.
• Characterized by “secondary process thinking” – the development of strategies for solving problems and obtaining satisfaction.
• The “executive branch.”

Question 12

Superego

Answer 12

• The moral structure – conscience.
• Internalised taboos and moral values of
  society.
• The morality principle – the “judicial
  branch”

Question 13

Compromise Formation

Answer 13

a key task of the ego - to find a balance between the key
demands of motivation, morality, and practicality.

Question 14

what did Enoch and Ball (2001) conclude about capgras delusion?

Answer 14

Capgras delusion resolves ambivalent feelings of love and hatred towards a spouse or close relative.

Question 15

What did Capgras & Carette (1924) say about the representation of capgras delusion?

Answer 15

Capgras delusion represents an attempt to veil forbidden incestuous desires

Question 16

Anxiety: Freud

Answer 16

a casual role in most forms of psychopathology

Question 17

Objective anxiety

Answer 17

• Fear of danger from real world
• Level is proportionate to degree of
  threat

Question 18

Neurotic Anxiety

Answer 18

• Fear that instincts will get out of hand and cause someone to do something which they will be punished for

Question 19

Moral anxiety

Answer 19

• Fear of one’s own conscience (e.g., feeling guilty when you do something against your moral code)

Question 20

Defence mechanisms - repression

Answer 20

Blocking threatening material (impulses, ideas, memories) from consciousness

Question 21

Freud’s fainting episodes

Answer 21

“Fainting represents… the most massive denial, the refusal or inability to remain conscious in the face of a threat.”

Question 22

Defence Mechanisms: displacement

Answer 22

Discharging pent-up feelings on safer targets than those arousing the feelings.

Question 23

Defence Mechanisms: Projection

Answer 23

Attributing one’s own unacceptable impulse or action to another. We can then condemn them instead of condemning ourselves.

Question 24

Defence Mechanisms: Reaction Formation

Answer 24

Expressing the exact opposite of an
unacceptable desire

Question 25

Defence Mechanisms: Regression

Answer 25

Retreating to an earlier developmental level involving less mature behaviour and responsibility.

Question 26

Defence Mechanisms: undoing

Answer 26

A repetitive action that symbolically atones for an unacceptable impulse or behaviour

Question 27

Defence Mechanisms: compensation

Answer 27

Making up for feelings of inferiority or perceived
limitations by developing other positive traits.

Question 28

Defence Mechanisms: sublimation

Answer 28

Channelling frustrated sexual or aggressive energies into different areas, particularly more socially acceptable or even admirable areas (e.g., sport, art,
charity)

Question 29

Defence Mechanisms: Humour

Answer 29

Dealing with unpleasant ideas and situations with
wit and self-deprecation.

Question 30

Freud on Humour

Answer 30

Jokes allow the expression of impulses ordinarily held in check, especially aggressive and sexual impulses

Question 31

Which psychoanalytic concepts are involved with the five stages of personality development?

Answer 31

The ego and superego are associated with five stages in personality development.

Question 32

What is each five stages characterised by?

Answer 32

a dominant mode of achieving sexual energy

Question 33

What is an erogenous zone?

Answer 33

bodily areas which are chief focus of pleasure

Question 34

what happens if a child at a particular stage fails to resolve a conflict?

Answer 34

• he or she may get stuck in that stage or become fixated, resulting in a corresponding adult character type.
• each successive stage represents a more mature mode of obtaining sexual gratification

Question 35

The oral stage

Answer 35

birth -> 18 months
- Erogenous zone: mouth, lips and tongue (sucking, swallowing, exploring objects with the mouth)
- Key conflicts are associated with issues of dependency on others. Fixated = alcoholism? Eating disorders? Smoking?

Question 36

The Anal stage

Answer 36

(18 months -> 3 years)
- Erogenous zone: anus-buttocks region. Child obtains pleasure from first expelling faeces and then, during toilet training, from retaining faeces.
- key conflicts are associated with issues of self-control

Question 37

The anal stage: fixated

Answer 37

• Anal-retentive: organised, controlled,
  rigid, obsessive-compulsive, stingy
• Anal-expulsive: disorganised, messy,
  overly generous

Question 38

The phallic stage

Answer 38

(3-5 years)
- Erogenous zone: genitals.
- Key conflicts: The Oedipus and Electra Complexes. Castration anxiety, penis envy
- Sexual desire for opposite-sex parent (and desire to eliminate same-sex parent).
- Resolution: identification with same-sex parent and development of superego.

Question 39

Displacement and Phobias

Answer 39

Phobias result when unconscious anxiety is displaced onto a neutral or symbolic object (Freud, 1909).

Question 40

Displacement and Fetishes

Answer 40

• Freud – fetishism originates in the (male) child’s horror of castration.
• The fetishistic object as a symbolic substitute for the mother’s missing penis.

Question 41

The Latency stage

Answer 41

(6 -> 12 years)
Sexual motivations channelled (sublimated) into age-appropriate interests and activities such as sports
and hobbies.