The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Define the Psychodynamic Approach
An approach that describes dynamic forces which are mainly unconscious operating on the mind to influence behaviour
Who was the key figure in the Psychodynamic Approach?
Sigmund Freud
What methodology is used in the Psychodynamic Approach?
- Individual case studies
- Gather lots of qualitative data, interpreted to understand its significance for behaviour motives
- Psychoanalysis
What is psychoanalysis?
‘Talking therapy’
A method of gaining data from the conscious + bringing up repressed data from the unconscious - which is all interpreted
What are some aspects involved in psychoanalysis?
- Hypnosis
- Analysis of parapraxes
- Analysis of dreams
- Free association (patient encouraged to say whatever comes into mind)
What are parapraxes?
‘Slips of the tongue’
Believed to be the unconscious emerging through speech
What are the key assumptions of the Psychodynamic Approach?
- The mind is divided (conscious, preconscious, unconscious) with the unconscious playing an important role in behaviour
- The personality is divided into a ‘tripartite’ (id, ego, superego) with the interaction between the three playing an important role in behaviour
- There are 5 Psychosexual Stages of Development + fixations at the stages can influence adult behaviour
- Defence mechanisms are used by the ego to control the id + reduce anxiety
What is the mind divided into?
- Conscious mind
- Preconscious mind
- Unconscious mind
What is the conscious mind?
- Part of the mind that we are aware of
- Concerned with logical thinking + reality
What is the preconscious mind?
- Sits between the conscious + unconscious
- Material stored here can be accessed with effort
What is the unconscious mind?
- Part of the mind we are unaware of (may be recalled in psychoanalysis)
- Contains: biological drives/instincts + repressed thoughts/memories that are threatening
What is all conscious thought a reflection of?
Latent (true) hidden emotions/instincts/drives
What is the personality divided into?
‘TRIPARTITE’
- Id
- Ego
- Superego
What is the Id?
- Primitive part of personality (contains basic drives)
- Ruled by principle of: pleasure
- Wants to satisfy needs immediately
What is the Ego?
- Mediator between the id + superego
- Ruled by the principle of: reality
- Makes conscious decisions + employs defence mechanisms to mediate
What is the Superego?
- Moral part of personality that contains internal sense of right + wrong
- Ruled by the principle of: morality
- In constant conflict with id, using anxiety + guilt to stop it acting impulsively
When does the Id develop?
At start of life
When does the Ego develop?
Gradually - through contact with outside world + gaining sense of self
When does the Superego develop?
Phallic stage (3-5 yrs old)
- Internalise parents’ moral values at end of Oedipus/Electra Complex
- Superego praises good moral behaviour + threatens punishment otherwise (boys castration, girls unclear)
Why were girls seen as morally weaker by the Psychodynamic Approach?
When superego developed at end of Phallic stage, boys were prevented from acting immorally through threat of castration, but it was unclear what punishment girls would have (less obligation to act morally?)
What changes at each Psychosexual Stage?
The focus of the LIBIDO (the primary driving force)
What happens if a child doesn’t deal with the conflict at a Psychosexual Stage?
They become ‘fixated’ - later personality may include characteristics from this stage
What are the 5 Psychosexual Stages?
- Oral Stage (0-1 yrs)
- Anal Stage (1-3 yrs)
- Phallic Stage (3-5 yrs)
- Latency Stage (5yrs - puberty)
- Genital Stage (puberty - adulthood)
Outline the Oral Stage
0-1yrs
- Development focus: mouth
- Pleasure from: sucking
- Fixations: nail biting, smoking
Outline the Anal Stage
1-3yrs
- Development focus: anus
- Pleasure from: withholding + eliminating faeces
- Fixations:
Anally retentive personality (stubborn, controlling, perfectionist)
Anally expulsive personality (untidy, disorganised, thoughtless)
Outline the Phallic Stage
3-5yrs
- Development focus: genitals
- Pleasure from: exploring genital area
- Fixations: vain, feelings of sexual anxiety/inadequacy
- Desire opposite sex parent in complexes (Oedipus + Electra)
Outline the Oedipus Complex
- Experienced by boys in the Phallic Stage
- Sexually attracted to mother
- Resentful + fearful of father (rival who may castrate him)
- Boy decides to identify with father (takes on his gender role + superego morals)
- Boy substitutes desire for mother with desire for other women
Outline the Electra Complex
- Experienced by girls in the Phallic Stage
- Girl believes she’s been castrated + develops penis envy
- Sexually attracted to father (has a penis)
- Girl realises she can’t have a penis or her father so decides to identify with mother (adopting her gender role + superego morals)
- Girl substitutes desires (penis -> baby) (father -> other men)
Outline the Latency Stage
5yrs-puberty
- Sexual motivations are repressed
- Focus on developing skills + completing activities with others
Outline the Genital Stage
Puberty - adulthood
- Sexual desires become conscious
- Development focus: genitals of others
- Pleasure from: adult relationships
- Fixations: difficulty forming heterosexual romantic relationships
What type of person will you be if you have a strong superego?
Moral, good person
What type of person will you be if you have a strong id?
Frequently behave irresponsibly + impulsively
Why are defence mechanisms used by the ego?
- To control the Id
- To reduce anxiety by distorting reality
Name 5 defence mechanisms used by the ego
- Displacement
- Sublimation
- Repression
- Regression
- Denial
What is Displacement?
- Defence mechanism used by the Ego
- Feelings redirected onto somebody powerless, as its more convenient
- E.g. punch little brother, not school bully
What is Sublimation?
- Defence mechanism used by the Ego
- Feelings redirected onto something else which is socially acceptable
- E.g. punch punch-bag, not school bully
What is Repression?
- Defence mechanism used by the Ego
- Forcing a distressing memory into the unconscious so it can’t be easily recalled
- E.g. Forget pain of childbirth
What is Regression?
- Defence mechanism used by the Ego
- Individual goes back to an earlier development stage to avoid the anxiety of their current stage of life
- E.g. Begin sucking thumb again (Oral Stage regression)
What is Denial?
- Defence mechanism used by the Ego
- Individual refuses to acknowledge the reality of a problem
What Case Study supports the Oedipus Complex?
Little Hans
- 5yr old boy saw horse collapse in street
- Developed fear of horses
- Suggested this fear was displacement of Hans’ fear of his father + castration as part of the Oedipus Complex
- This gives exemplification for the fear/resentment of the father by boys during the Complex
Give 2 positive evaluation points for the Psychodynamic Approach
Real world application
- Psychoanalysis has become a form of therapy
- The unconscious is analysed using methods such as hypnosis + dream analysis
- This allows for understanding + treatment of undesired behaviours
- This therapy is used to treat mild neuroses + was the forerunner to other more effective modern talking therapies
- So, the approach has helped the lives of many via therapy treatment
- BUT: psychoanalysis has been thought to worsen severe conditions
Less reductionist approach
- Previously, had used reductionist approaches (e.g. Behaviourist) focusing on purely observable behaviour with set environmental causes
- This new approach drew attention to the complexities of the human mind + that influences on behaviour may not always be observable
- So, the approach helped to set psychology on a less reductionist path, looking at multiple complex causes of pathology
Give 2 negative evaluation points for the Psychodynamic Approach
Non-falsifiable
- Many of the theories are based on the unconscious + cannot easily be tested
- Non-falsifiable theories have been included in the approach (such as the Tripartite Personality: Id, Ego, Superego)
- Popper argued that non-falsifiable theories are not scientific, as we cannot use disproof to test their validity
- So, the approach may be seen as a pseudoscience, due to many of its theories being non-falsifiable + potentially lacking in validity
Theories often based on one-off case studies
- Many theories in the approach stem from one case study
- E.g. the research to support the Oedipus Complex comes from the case study of Little Hans
- This idiographic approach to data collection has been used to create nomothetic theories
- However, it is unreasonable to suggest that findings from one case study can be generalised to the whole population
- So, the approach may be seen as made up of theories lacking population validity
Is the Psychodynamic Approach deterministic?
Yes - Psychic Determinism (attributes the cause of behaviour to the unconscious + childhood development, rather than free will)
