Psychological Approaches to Psychopathology: Psychodynamic Flashcards
What is main assumption of the psychodynamic model?
Abnormality stems from unresolved childhood conflicts.
What is the role of the ‘ego’ part of the personality?
To balance out the demands from the id and superego parts of a personality.
What happens if the ‘ego’ doesn’t develop properly and the ‘id’ becomes dominant?
Pleasure seeking urges may be expressed such as destructiveness. This can lead to adult psychopathic behaviour.
What happens if the ‘ego’ doesn’t develop properly and the ‘superego’ becomes dominant?
The person may deprive themselves of socially acceptable pleasures which can lead to generalised anxiety disorder.
If the ‘ego’ is struggling to balance the demands of the ‘id’ and the ‘superego’, how does it protect us?
By using defence mechanisms such as denial, repression and displacement.
Give an example of overuse of a defence mechanism being harmful to a person.
An alcoholic overusing denial which then contributes to their addiction.
What are the strengths of the psychodynamic model?
- It is influential as it was the first to emphasise the significance of unconscious processes and childhood trauma.
- It removes responsibility from the patient, as they can’t help what is in their unconscious mind. Reduced stigma around mental health slightly.
What are the limitations of the psychodynamic model?
- It lacks falsifiability. It cannot be tested scientifically but the key concepts are hard to prove wrong, eg - if someone remembers painful childhood memories, it supports the idea that this is the cause of abnormality, but if they DON’T recall them, it could be seen as repression, which also supports the theory.
- It focuses too much on the past and doesn’t take into account the current difficulties that clients might be facing. Even if childhood events contribute, it is important to take current circumstances into account.
