The psychodynamic approach

Question 1

What are the main aims of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 1

• Behaviour can be explained in terms of the inner conflicts of the mind

Question 2

What does Freud highlight?

Answer 2

• The role of the unconscious mind

- The structure of personality and the influence that childhood experiences have on later life.

Question 3

What does Freud believe?

Answer 3

That the unconscious mind determines most of our behavior and that we are motivated by unconscious emotional drives.

Question 4

What does Freud believe about our personality?

Answer 4

It is composed of three parts

Question 5

What is the personality made of?

Answer 5

• The Id
• Ego
• Superego

Question 6

What is the Id?

Answer 6

• It is the biological part (instincts and drives) of the personality
• It is present at birth
• The Id is motivated by the pleasure principle; it demands instant gratification of its needs

Question 7

What is the Ego?

Answer 7

• Develops from 1 - 3 years
• It is motivated by the reality principle
• It mediates the conflicts between the ID and superego
  > It uses defence mechanisms to achieve this.

Question 8

What is the superego?

Answer 8

• develops from 3 - 5 years
• It is motivated by the morality principle
• It punishes the ego with guilt for “wrong doing”.

Question 9

What must occur for a person to be mentally healthy?

Answer 9

• The ego has to be able to balance the demands of the ego and the superego
• If the superego is dominant, the individual might develop a neurosis e.g. depression
• If the ID is dominant, the individual might develop a psychosis e.g. schizophrenia.

Question 10

What is the mind divided into?

Answer 10

Three parts:

• Conscious
• Preconcious
• Unconcious

Question 11

What is the conscious mind?

Answer 11

• This is the part we are aware of and can access without any effort
• It contains part of the ego.

Question 12

What is the Preconscious mind?

Answer 12

• This a part of the mind that we cannot access without effort.
• It contains the ego and some of the superego.

Question 13

What is the unconscious mind?

Answer 13

• This part of the mind cannot be accessed without the help of a trained psychoanalyst.
• It contains the superego and the Id.

Question 14

What happens when there is unconscious conflict between the Id and the superego?

Answer 14

• Anxiety is created

- To reduce this anxiety we use defense mechanisms such as repression.

Question 15

What are the defence mechanisms?

Answer 15

• Repression
• Displacement
• Denial

Question 16

What is Repression?

Answer 16

Is used by the ego to keep disturbing memories out of the conscious mind and in the unconscious mind where they cannot be accessed, e.g. sexual or aggressive urges or painful childhood memories.

Question 17

What is Displacement?

Answer 17

An impulse may be redirected from its original target onto a more acceptable one, e.g. being angry with your father and shouting at your little sister.

Question 18

What is Denial?

Answer 18

The existence of unpleasant internal or external realities is denied and kept out of conscious awareness, e.g. having lost your job and yet you go to work every day.

Question 19

What are the psychosexual stages of development?

Answer 19

• Oral
• Anal
• Phallic
• Latency
• Genitals

Question 20

How has the psychodynamic approach been applied to therapy?

Answer 20

The psychodynamic approach has given rise to one of the first “talking cure”, psychoanalysis, on which many psychological therapies are now based. Psychoanalysis is rarely used now in its original form but it is still used in a shorter version in some cases.

Question 21

How has the psychodynamic appriach been applied to explanations of mental disorders?

Answer 21

This approach can be used to explain mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia although these explanations are rarely used by mainstream psychology. One of the very influential concept put forward by Freud is the lasting importance of childhood on later life and development.

Question 22

Evaluations of psychodynamic approach

Answer 22

The concepts of Id, ego and superego are very abstract and difficult to test experimentally so evidence is obtained from case studies (Little Hans and Anna O). However, the sample used in these case studies is mainly Austrian so lack population validity.
These case studies used mainly unstructured interviews so yielded qualitative data. The need for interpretation of the material gathered means that it is biased on the part of the researchers as they tend to interpret the data in a way that supports their theory.
Furthermore, the fact that two different researchers can reach completely different interpretations of the same case suggests that the methods lack objectivity.

Question 23

Evaluations of the psychodynamic approach to do with determinism?

Answer 23

The psychodynamic approach is determinist as it rejects the idea of free will. A person’s behavior is determined by their unconscious motives which are shaped by their biological drives and their early experiences.

Question 24

Real world application evaluation

Answer 24

Real world application – Psychoanalysis has been used as a form of literary criticism in literature such as Hamlet where repressed messages are hidden beneath the surface of the text, interpretation allows us to delve into the characters mind – Can be used to explain behavior outside psychology.

Question 25

Issues and debates: Free will vs determinism

Answer 25

It is strongly determinist as it views our behavior as caused entirely by unconscious factors over which we have no control.

Question 26

Issues and debates: Holism Vs reductionism

Answer 26

The psychodynamic approach is determinist as it rejects the idea of free will. A person’s behavior is determined by their unconscious motives which are shaped by their biological drives and their early experiences.