Psychodynamic Theory Flashcards
What did Freud believe?
Children are born with a libido (sexual urge)
What did Freud say during childhood?
That there are a number of stages which the child seeks pleasure form a different object.
What do we need to do to be psychologically healthy?
Successfully compete each stage
What happens if a stage isn’t competed successfully?
Mental abnormality
Person becomes fixated
What are the psychosexual stages?
Oral Anal Phallic Latency Genital
The oral stage
0-1 years
The mouth is the main focus of pleasure
Child enjoys tasting/sucking
Mothers breast is the object of desire
How is successful completion demonstrated in the oral stage?
By weaning/eating independently
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the oral stage?
Oral aggressive personality - hostile and verbally abusive
Nail biting
Needy, sensitive to rejection
Smoking
The anal stage
1-3 years
Defecation is the main source of pleasure
How is successful completion shown in the anal stage?
Potty training
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the anal stage?
Stingy
Compulsive seeking of order and tidiness
Stubborn
Perfectionist
The phallic stage
3-5 years
Main form of pleasure is the genital area
Oedipus complex
Electra complex
Who proposed the Oedipus complex?
Freud
When does the Oedipus complex happen?
Around age 3/4
What happens in the Oedipus complex?
The boy begins for desire the mother and wants compete attention from her.
The father will be the rival
What does the Oedipus complex create for the boy?
Anxiety and repressed fear that the father will castrate him
How is the Oedipus complex eventually resolved?
By boys identification with father, a superego is formed
Who proposed the Electra complex?
Carl Jung (Freud’s student)
When does the Electra complex happen?
During phallic stage
What happens during the Electra complex?
The girl desires her father, she realises she doesn’t have a penis.
What does a girl desiring her father lead to?
Development of penis envy and desire to be a boy.
How is the Electra complex resolved?
Girl repressing the desire for father and substituting the wish for a penis with a wish for a baby.
What has Freud claimed?
Girls blamed mothers for castrated stage which creates tension
Why are the feelings of a girls desire for a penis repressed?
To remove tension. The girl identifies with the mother and internalises her gender identity so it becomes her own.
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the phallic stage?
Narcissistic
Reckless
Possibly homosexual
The latency stage
Age 6- puberty
Earlier conflicts are repressed
The main focus is to develop same sex friendships
Lull before storm of puberty.
The genital stage
Puberty - adulthood
The focus is on the genitals
Their task is to develop healthy adult relationships (this could happen earlier if stages are completed successfully)
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the genital stage?
Difficulty forming heterosexual relations.
What evidence is used for the psychosexual stages?
Little Hans
What are defence mechanisms?
Unconscious strategies used by the ego to manage anxiety by redirecting psychic energy
Why do we use defence mechanisms?
Protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety/guilt because we feel threatened.
Where do defence mechanisms operate at?
An unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings.
What happens when ego-defence mechanisms get out of proportion?
Neuroses develop - anxiety states, phobias,hysteria
What are the 3 defence mechanisms?
Denial
Displacement
Repression
Denial
Threatening thought is ignored/treated as if it wasn’t true
An example of denial
Wife finds husband cheating, and dismisses it and provides other reasons
Displacement
Emotions are directed away from their source/target towards something else
An example of displacement
Boss gives employees hard time at work and the employee goes home and shouts at his wife, taking it out on her.
Repression
Involved burying an unpleasant thought or desire in the unconscious.
An example of repression
Traumatic childhood experiences repressed and forgotten
When did the psychodynamic approach originate?
19th century
Who is the main figure in the approach?
Sigmund Freud
What are the key assumptions of the approach?
Unconscious processes determined out behaviour.
Personality has a structure in 3 parts; id, ego, superego.
Early childhood experiences determine adult personality
What does the unconscious mind do?
Influences our behaviour
What is the conscious mind unaware of?
What thoughts and emotions can occur in the unconscious. Unconscious thoughts can still have an effect on our conscious mind.
What is the theme of the approach known as?
Psychic determinism
Psychic determinism
Unconscious forces and drives are Inborn and control
All we say and do has a cause.
The conscious mind
Small amount of metal activity we know about (thoughts, perception)
The preconscious mind
Things we could be aware of if we wanted/tried
Memories, stirred knowledge
The unconscious mind
Things we are unaware if and can not become aware of
Instinct, deeply buried memories
What metaphor did Freud use?
Iceberg
The tip is the conscious because it is visible
The hidden part under the surface is the unconscious
How can we asses the unconscious mind?
Dream analysis
Free association
Rorschachs ink blots
Dream analysis
The royal road to the unconscious
Manifest and latent content
Free association
Exploring the unconscious but spontaneous word association
Rorschachs ink boots
Test used to examine a persons personality characteristics and emotional functioning
Structure of the personality
Structured into 3 parts - id -ego - superego All develop at different stages in our lives
ID
Pleasure seeking
Operates pleasure principle
Mass of unconscious drives and instinct
Only id is present at birth
Ego
Sensible
Develops at age 2
Works on reality principle
Makes aware of others feelings and can’t always have own way
Superego
Uptight/moral
Formed at age 5
Internalised sense of right and wrong
Punishes ego for wrong doing through guilt
IDA evaluation for Frued
psychic determinism – useful as predicts who will have negative influences from their childhood so these can be used in therapy. Studies have found that childhood experiences can affect your mental health in later life Hammersley et al- Childhood trauma hallucinations and bipolar. However, It is deterministic-suggests that behaviour is predetermined and people do not have free will (Freud’s psychosexual stages). Your childhood determines how you will live the rest of their life. It does not explain why some people do go on to suffer the ill effects of their childhood but some do not.
Strength of freud - led to effective therapies
Freud eventually turned his Psychodynamic theory in to a therapy: Psychoanalysis. Using a wide range of techniques such as dream analysis and hypnosis, he treated people for mild mental disorders. It even makes up the basis of some modern therapies. This suggests it has good applications to real life. Freud’s theories were based on very intense and in-depth case studies of individuals. Case studies are often based on very unique events which are unlikely to occur again. This suggests the findings cannot be generalised to a wider population.
Case study methodology strength
embraces our complex behaviour by gathering rich information, and on an individual basis – an idiographic approach – when conducting research. For example Little Hans. But there is a Lack of Scientific Methodology
Karl Popper argued that concepts must be falsifiable. Some of Freud’s main concepts – such as that of the Id, Ego and Superego happen on the unconscious level, meaning they are difficult – if not impossible – to study scientifically. This suggests that it is not objective and therefore not valid. Also, Some experts argue that it is inappropriate for more severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia, with some even claiming that it can do more harm than good. This suggests it does not have good application to real life.
