Psychodynamic Approaches Flashcards
Key concepts - Unconscious
The part of the mind that we are unaware that directs behaviour
Key Concepts - Tri-partite Structure of Personality
Consists of 3 parts: the id, the ego and superego
Key Concepts - Defense Mechanisms
Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflicts of the id and the superego
Key Concepts - Psychosexual Stages
Each is associated with a conflict that must be resolved before individual can advance to the next
If not resolved they get fixated and behaviours may carry on through life
Key Concepts - Psychic determinism
Unconscious forces are inborn and control and determine behaviour
All we say and do has a cause
Psychodynamics
Psych = mind. Dynamics = interaction
- Describes interaction of various parts of the mind
- Application of theory is psychoanalysis which aims to resolve childhood issues that can cause psychological problems
The Psyche - The Conscious Mind
Thoughts that a person is currently aware of or is remembering
The Psyche - The Preconscious Mind
Info that isn’t our conscious mind but can be brought into the conscious mind w/o psychoanalysis
The Psyche - The Unconscious Mind
Thoughts + motives that lie beyond a person’s normal awareness
=> contains a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, feelings and memories
Only assessed by psychoanalysis
Tri-partite Model of Personality - The Id
Primitive part of the personality which operates on pleasure principle + demands instant gratification
=> develops first in human mind
=> can only want
=> strives to satisfy our basic instincts related to sexual and aggressive drives
Tri-partite Model of Personality - The Ego
Conscious part of the psyche - works on reality principles
=> a mediator between id and superego
Tri-partite Model of Personality - Superego
Internalised sense of right and wrong based on morality principle
=> punishes the ego through guilt develops around age 5
Psychosexual stage - Oral (0-1yrs)
Pleasure centre is mouth
Cause of fixation - early weaning or deprivation of love or food
Results in - smoking, biting nails or sarcasm
Psychosexual stage - Anal (1-3yrs)
Pleasure focus is the anus
Cause of fixation - harsh or lax toilet training
Results in - anal retentive (obsessiveness, tidiness and meanness) or anal explusive (thoughtless or messy)
Psychosexual stage - Phallic (3-5yrs)
Pleasure centre is the genital area
Cause of fixation - no father figure or very dominant mother
Results in - self obsession, sexual anxiety and envy
Psychosexual stage - Latency (pre-teen)
Earlier conflicts are repressed
(S) Real World Application - introduced idea of psychotherapy
=> Introduced idea of psychotherapy in form of psychoanalysis - 1st attempt to treat mentall disorders psychologically + was a forerunner for talking therapies like counselling
=> Designed to access the unconscious and bring repressed emotions to conscious mind
SHOWS value of the approach in creating a new type of therapy
(L) Counter to Real World Application - not helpful to mental disorder
Regarded as inappropriate/harmful for those with schizoprenia due to delusional thinking + paranoia
=> lost grip of reality + can’t articulate thoughts for psychotherapy
SUGGESTS Freudian theory doesn’t apply to all disorders
(S) Explanatory Power - Can explain human behaviour
Huge influence on psychology alongside behaviourism for first half of 20th century
=> Explained personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development etc.
=> Draws attention to connection between childhood experience and later development
SUGGESTS overall positive impact on psychology as well as literature art etc.
(L) Untestable Concepts - Karl Popper
Argued this approach doesn’t meet scientific criterion of falsification - not open to empirical testing + can’t be disproved e.g the id and Oedipus Complex occur unconsciously so can’t be tested
=> Ideas based on subjective case studies like LIttle Hans = not universal
SUGGESTS Freud’s theory was pseudoscientific instead of established fact
(L) Psychic Determinism
- Approach suggests behaviour is rooted in childhood conflicts - no accidents (slip of the tongue is driven by unconscious forces + has deep meaning)
=> Critics claim this is extreme => dismisses possible influence of free will on behaviour
