Psychodynamic approaches Flashcards
what are the great demotions?
Copernicus- Earth isn’t centre of universe
Darwin- homo sapians aren’t special biologically
Freud-dethroned our rationality (the motivations that drive our behaviour are unconscious, base and irrational
outline the psychodynamic arguement
Psychopathology results from unconscious conflicts in the individual
personality and psychological disorders are the outcome of a dynamic interaction among mental structures
Emphasises the role of internal mental processes and early childhood experiences
outline the structure of the human mind
1) The conscious mind.
2) The pre-conscious mind: stored info recallable to consciousness.
3) The unconscious mind: A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories.
the structure of the psyche
Id- primary process thinking
Ego- Characterized by “secondary process thinking” – the development of strategies for solving problems and obtaining satisfaction.
Superego
what is compramise formation
is a key task of the ego - to find a balance between the key demands of motivation, morality, and practicality.
what is the motivated unconcious
Society does not allow the free expression of all our sexual and aggressive instincts:
Incest; Hatred towards siblings, parents, or spouses; Memories of childhood traumas
One way to control these urges is to keep them from entering conscious awareness in the first place.
what did freud say on capragas delusion?
somone close to them replaced with imposter
Enoch and Ball (2001): Capgras delusion resolves ambivalent feelings of love and hatred towards a spouse or close relative.
Capgras & Carette (1924): Capgras delusion represents an attempt to veil forbidden incestuous desires (e.g., a young woman’s incestuous desires for her father).
what were the 3 types of anxiety identified by Freud
Freud A causal role in most forms of psychopathology
Objective Anxiety - Fear of danger from real world - Level is proportionate to degree of threat
Neurotic Anxiety - Fear that instincts will get out of hand and cause someone to do something which they will be punished for
Moral anxiety - Fear of one’s own conscience (e.g., feeling guilty when you do something against your moral code)
is anxiety concious or unconcious process?
Freud argued that objective anxiety was conscious whilst Neurotic and Moral anxiety are unconscious so your ego needs defence mechanisms to protect the mind from this.
outline some important defenece mechanisms identified by freud
repression- Blocking threatening material (impulses, ideas, memories) from consciousness
“Fainting represents… the most massive denial, the refusal or inability to remain conscious in the face of a threat
displacement- Discharging pent-up feelings on safer targets than those arousing the feelings.
Projection-Attributing one’s own unacceptable impulse or action to another. We can then condemn them instead of condemning ourselves
reaction formation- Expressing the exact opposite of an unacceptable desire.
regression -Retreating to an earlier developmental level involving less mature behaviour and responsibility.
undoing- A repetitive action that symbolically atones for an unacceptable impulse or behaviour.
compensation-Making up for feelings of inferiority or perceived limitations developing other positive traits.
sublimation-Channeling frustrated sexual or aggressive energies into different areas, particularly more socially acceptable or even admirable areas (e.g., sport, art, charity).
humour-Dealing with unpleasant ideas and situations with wit and self-deprecation.
outline what Freud said on humour
-Freud: jokes allow the expression of impulses ordinarily held in check, especially aggressive and sexual impulses.
Nevo and Nevo (1983) asked high school students to write funny captions to pictures. The students “used Freud’s techniques as if they had read his writings.” i.e. the students’ responses were filled with aggressive and sexual themes.
outline basically what the stages of psychosexual development is
The emergence of the ego and superego are associated with five stages in personality development.
Each is characterized by a dominant mode of achieving libidinal (sexual) energy. Erogenous zones = bodily areas which are chief focus of pleasure.
If a child fails to resolve a conflict at a particular stage, 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.
outline the psychodynamic influence of phobias
Phobias result when unconscious anxiety is displaced onto a neutral or symbolic object (Freud, 1909).
“Little Hans” - developed a horse phobia after seeing a horse fall to the ground and writhe around violently.
Freud – fetishism originates in the (male) child’s horror of castration.
The fetishistic object as a symbolic substitute for the mother’s missing penis
what is the first psychosexual stage, erogenous zone and issues if not fixed?
The Oral stage (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?
what is the 2nd psychosexual stage? erogenous zone and issues if not fixed?
The Anal stage (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.
Fixated Anal-retentive: organised, controlled, rigid,
obsessive-compulsive, stingy
Anal-expulsive: disorganised, messy, overly generous
