psychodynamic perspective

Question 1

different levels of consciousness

Answer 1

1 : conscious - immediate awareness
2 : pre conscious - accessible
memories
3 : unconscious - no awareness (e.g.
repressed trauma)

Question 2

ways the unconscious reveals itself

Answer 2

. free association - laying down +
speaking whatever comes to mind
until the unconscious mind reaches
the surface
. projective tests - ink blot images
. slips of the tongue - when you say
something but meant to say
something else

Question 3

instinctual drives

Answer 3

. eros = life instinct
. thanatos = death instinct

Question 4

tripartite model of the personality

Answer 4

super ego ego id
^ ^ ^
your your your
morality reality impulsive
principle principle principle

Question 5

strengths

Answer 5

. useful in explaining why people develop mental health disorders
. develop treatments for mental health disorders
. case studies allow rich data

Question 6

weaknesses

Answer 6

. not very scientific as focusing on the unconscious mind - research isn’t falsifiable (able to be proven wrong)
. small groups of people stop us from establishing a consistent effect
. using specific groups of people (rare conditions) could limit generalisability