Psychodynamic Approaches

Question 1

The Great Demotions

Answer 1

Darwin, part of an evolutionary process
Freud, drivers of our behaviour are unconscious and irrational.

Question 2

What is the Psychodynamic Approach

Answer 2

• Focus on experiences in childhood
• Focus on the unconscious mind

Question 3

According to freud what are the three parts the human mind consists of?

Answer 3

• Conscious Mind
• Pre Conscious Mind, recallable to the conscious mind
• Unconscious Mind, accessed through dream analysis, wishes and feelings

Question 4

Motivated unconscious

Answer 4

• not socially acceptable to express sexual and aggressive instincts
• Incest could be as a result of hating siblings and parents also childhood trauma
• Suppress these feelings by not allowing them into the conscious

Question 5

Id, Ego and Superego

Answer 5

Id = Instinctive feelings, and operates on pleasure principle

Ego = Mediates between the Id and superego, operates on the reality principle

Superego = Moral conscience and valued

Example
‘I want it now’
‘You need to plan before you get it’
‘You can’t have it, it’s not right’

Question 6

What is the Capgras illusion

Answer 6

Capgras and Carette (1924)
- Thinking your spouse is an imposer
- Represents and attempt to hide incest desires between a young woman and her father.

Question 7

Freud: Anxiety

Answer 7

Objective Anxiety:
Fear of danger from the world

Neurotic Anxiety:
Fear that instincts will not be under control

Moral Anxiety:
Fear of your own moral values, for example feeling guilty.

Question 8

Defence Mechanisms: Repression

Answer 8

• Unable to recall certain traumatic experiences because they are blocking the memories from their conscious.

Example; An adult not being able to remember being abused as a child.

Question 9

Freuds Fainting episodes

Answer 9

• Jung states that Freud believed he had death wishes towards him as a result of his interest in corpse.
• Becker say’s fainting is the refusal to stay conscious when threatened.

Question 10

Defence Mechanisms: Displacement

Answer 10

• Targeting others as a result of our own stressors

Example; Kicking the cat because you are being bullied

Question 11

Defence Mechanisms: Projection

Answer 11

• As a result of our own impulses which we aren’t happy about, we then condemn others with the same impulses to make ourselves feel better.

Example; Girlfriend likes her teacher, when her boyfriend talks about a teacher she becomes annoyed and says he likes his teacher.

Question 12

Defence Mechanisms: Reaction Formation

Answer 12

• Expressing the complete opposite of an unacceptable desire

Example; If you are accused of being gay then you would go over the top to prove that you aren’t

Question 13

Defence Mechanisms: Regression

Answer 13

• Going back to a behaviour from early development.

Example: Using a baby voice to talk when stressed.

Question 14

Defence Mechanisms: Undoing

Answer 14

• A action which amends an unacceptable behaviour or impulse

Example; Lady Macbeth washing the murder from her hands “Macbeth affect”

Question 15

Defence Mechanism: Compensation

Answer 15

• Making up for your own limitations by trying to develop other positive traits

Example; Low self esteem as a result of being small, then going to the gym to get really big as a result of this.

Question 16

Defence Mechanism: Sublimation

Answer 16

• Channeling pent up stresses like sexual frustration into things which are social acceptable for example Boxing.
• Mature defence mechanism

Question 17

Defence Mechanism: Humour

Answer 17

• Managing unpleasant situations with self disrespect.

Freud: Jokes allow the expression of impulses especially sexual ones.

Question 18

What are the psychosexual stages of development

Answer 18

• If a child is unable to resolve a certain conflict in one of the stages they may become fixated resulting in problems arising in adulthood.
• With each stage, sexual gratification matures

Question 19

Oral Stage of psychosexual development

Answer 19

• From birth to 18 months
• Erogenous zone: Mouth, lips and tongue (exploring with mouth as well as swallowing)
• Key conflicts include dependancy on others

Question 20

Anal Stage of psychosexual development

Answer 20

• 18months to 3 years
• Erogenous zone: anus and bum region, pleasure from going to the toilet (poo)
• Key conflicts associated with self control
  Anal-retentive = organised and controlled
  Anal-expulsive = disorganised and messy

Question 21

Phallic Stage of psychosexual development

Answer 21

• 3-5 years
• Erogenous zone: Genitals
• Key conflicts include; castration anxiety, oedipus and Electra complexes
• Sexual desire for opposite sex parent
• Development of superego

Question 22

Displacement and Phobias

Answer 22

• Phobias happen as a result of anxiety being displaced onto a object.
• Little Hans had horse phobia, the horse resembled his father.
• Resembled his father because of the large penis

Question 23

Displacement and Fetishes

Answer 23

• Fetishes happen because of the fear of castration
• The fetishised object is a substitute for the mothers missing penis.

Question 24

Latency Stage of psychosexual development

Answer 24

• 6 - 12 years
• Sexual motivations channelled into age appropriate interests and activities such as sports and hobbies.

Question 25

Genital Stage of psychosexual development

Answer 25

• Two motivating factors sex and aggression
• Healthy individuals release this through sexual intercourse and exercise

Question 26

What is Psychoanalytic Therapy

Answer 26

Goal:
Trying to bring thoughts from the unconscious awareness to conscious to help with psychological disorders
Tools:
- ‘Interpretation’, suggesting meanings behind accounts of patient. Psychoanalyst must try to overcome patient ‘resistance’.
- ‘Neutrality’, making sure there is a distance between therapists and patient so no personal influence. ‘Transference’, explaining feelings about people to the analyst.
- Be aware of ‘countertransference’, own feelings influence their response

Question 27

Counter Transference

Answer 27

Transference:
- Seeking approval
- Acting the helpless child
Counter transference:
- Rescue fantasy
- Inappropriate response

Question 28

Malan Triangles

Answer 28

Shows transference in psychology
Triangle of conflict: Defence, Anxiety, Feeling (Hidden)
Triangle of persons: Other, Therapist, Parent

Question 29

Three Windows Into the unconscious

Free Association

Answer 29

• Client says what comes to mind without stopping chain of thought
• Reveal unconscious mind

Question 30

Three Windows Into the unconscious

Slips of Tongue

Answer 30

• Freudian Slip
• Accidentally calling someone by the wrong name
• Nothing happens by accident

Question 31

Three Windows Into the unconscious

Dreams

Answer 31

• Dream analysis
• Unconscious thoughts

Question 32

Freud Evaluation

Answer 32

• Freud had no interactions with Hans and his father could have been biased
• Didn’t observe little Hans, only met once

Question 33

Freud: Parsimony

Answer 33

• Scientific material should be parsimonious
• Freuds theory is extremely complex, not a parsimony theory at all
• I.e. boys look up to fathers not fear of castratration

Question 34

Freud: Falsifiability

Answer 34

• Evidence has to prove it to be false
• Psychoanalytic theory has no testable hypotheses as well as changing over time. Example, freud believed symbols in dreams meant things universally then changed his idea to being specific to each person
• Freud believed his theory was so good there was no need for it to be tested.
• Freud uses defence mechanisms to explain results which go against psychoanalytic theory.

Question 35

Freud positives

Answer 35

• Scientific method is closed minded
• Replicability crisis over half the studies can’t be replicated, not just Freud.
• Macbeth affect has failed to replicate

Question 36

Other issues

Answer 36

Overly sexualised
Not falsifiable
Sexist

Importance of childhood experiences in development
Innovative
Important information on the unconscious