Psychodynamic Assumptions Flashcards
(1) What do childhood experiences influence?
Our adult personalites
Adult relationships
(1) What was Freuds propostion?
All children go through psychosexual development. The childs libido is focused on a particular body part at each stage
(1) What is stage one of psychosexual development?
ORAL
0-18months
Libido is focused on the mouth - Breast/Bottle
Explore the world with mouths, picking up objects and sucking them
The childs ego begins to form
Healthy - trust, enjoy food and drink, healthy relationships
Too much gratification: Optimism, gullible, too trusting, too dependent (Oral Receptive)
Not enough gratification: aggressive, pestimistic, envy, suspicious (Oral aggressive)
(1) What is stage two of psychosexual development?
ANAL
18 months-3 years
Anus - toilet training
Child has to learn how to delay their gratification (id has to wait to be satisfied)
Healthy- Patient, deals with authority, able to balance between a mess and order
Anal retentive - Stubborn, possessive
Anal Explusive - Messy, disorganised, careless, defiant
(1) What is stage three of psychosexual development?
PHALLIC
3-6 years
Genitals
Ego has now formed, but superego is not present
(1) What is the Oedipus Complex?
1) Young boy focuses his sexual energy onto his mother
2) Begins to see his father as a threat to the bond between him and mother - jealous of his father and starts to fear him
3) Scared that if his father knew he would be castrated (castration anxiety)
4) The boy realises that one way to posses his mother is to become his father (internalizes him which becomes super ego)
(1) What is the Electra Complex?
1) Young girl realises that she doesn’t have a penis so feels like she has already been castrated (penis envy)
2) Girl develops sexual feelings towards her father as a way of possessing a penis
3) She blames her mother for her lack of penis
4) Realise they can possess their father by identifying with their mother - Penis Envy is not as strong as CA so has a weak superego
5) Female never completely resolve the Electra Complex so are not as moral as boys - Replaces PE with the desire for baby
(1) Why should the Phallic Stage compleces be resolved?
Resultion of these complexes is vital to presonaluty development and the development of the superego. Super ego is the mental representation of the same sex parent. If parent does not help their children through this stage, them may end up sexually over or under confident
(1) What is Stage four of psychosexual development?
- Latency Stage
- 7 years -> puberty
- Not particularly important
- Libido is dormant
- Child focuses on acquiring knowledge and understanding of the world and building same sex friendships
(1) What is stage five of psychosexual development?
- The Genital stage
- Puberty onwards
- Libido is set on genitals but on opposite sex
- Adult personality is set
- Oedipus and Electra complexes have been repressed
- May be conflict between parents and child
(1) What happens if the child has made it through psychosexual development successfully?
- Well adjusted adult
- Capable of love
- Able to be loved
- Work hard and contribute to society
- Maintain healthy sexual relationships
(2) What is the conscious mind?
Thinking and feeling and aware of. Logical and rational
(2) What is the preconscious mind?
Not currently thinking about, but could be aware of it with thinking of them (memories)
(2) What is the unconscious mind?
Irrational and ruled by pleasure. Repressed thoughts and feelings are contained
(2) What is an ego defence mechanism?
Ways that the ego protects itself from unconsious thoughts and feelings that may cause stress if they become conscious.
