PSYCHODYNAMIC EXPLANATIONS FOR OCD Flashcards
Summarise the psychodynamic approach for OCD?
OCD is caused by unconscious conflicts between the id’s desires and the superego’s moral conscience, this conflict often arises from trauma during the anal stage of psychosexual development.
Explain/ summarise the psychodynamic explanation of OCD?
1) Unconcious conflict: OCD is driven by unconcious conflict between the id and superego. The id may urge messiness, whilst the superego urges strict moral standards.
2) Coping mechanisms: The ego tries to manage the conflict with obsessive or compulsive behaviors as coping mechanisms (compulsive cleaning to counteract the urges from the id)
3) Failure/development: Thus, OCD develops when the ego’s defenses fail to manage this internal conflict (causing anxiety/ repetitive behaviours)
4) Anal stage: This conflict often arises during the anal stage of psychosexual development, involving toilet training. Too strict or lenient toilet training can shape personalties negatively.
What is the anal stage of psychosexual development?
- (around 18 months—3y/o)
- Child learns about control (paticularly around potty training)
What did Freud argue would happen if a child experinces too much punishment or leniency/chaos during the anal stage?
- Too much punishment/ control= anal-rententive personality.
- (If the enviroment was) too lenient/chaotic= anal-expulsive personality.
What is an anal-retentive personality?
- When personality is defined by perfectionistim, orderliness, and control. A result of harsh potty training which may later manifest as OCD.
What is an anal-expulsive personality?
- When personality is defined by emotional outburts, and disorganisation. Results from lenient/ chaotic potty training and may lead to compusive behaviours as an attempt to regain control.
Name 1 strength and 1 weakness of the psychodynamic explanation for OCD?
- Strength (holistic explanation): considers unconscious motives, early childhood experiences, and personality development, making it holistic and psychologically rich. It addresses aspects of human experience that biological and behaviourist models may overlook.
- Weakness (lacks emperical support/unfalsifiable): Concepts such as the id, ego, and anal personality types are theoretical and unobservable, making them unfalsifiable. This significantly reduces the scientific validity and reliability of the theory, as it cannot be tested under controlled, replicable conditions.
More weaknesses= lacks temporal, and population validity as these parenting styles/ ideas of toilet training may no longer be applicable.
