The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
What is involved in this approach?
Role of the unconscious, structure of the mind, defence mechanisms and the psychosexual stages of development
What is the fundamental belief of this approach?
behaviours including mental disorders arise from unconscious drives operate in the mind
what occurs in the pre-conscious and subconscious levels
memory and stored knowledge
what did Freud believe about the role of the unconscious
he believed that there is minimal material in our minds that is available for conscious awareness
most of what is in our mind is unconscious
it is the unconscious material that drives behaviour
how does our mind cope with painful memories
painful memories can be repressed into our unconscious to protect us from harm however this can cause anxiety which manifests itself into behaviour that may result in mental disorders
what are the three structures in Freud structure of mind
the id, the ego and the superego
what occurs in the id
this is the part of the mind that we are born with - it is innate.
referred to as the pleasure principle
very selfish part of personality that wants immediate gratification
contains basic drives such as hunger Drive
what occurs in the superego
referred to as the morality principle
it is the opposite of the id
suggests that we focus on others/think about others
gives us a sense of guilt
developed through socialisation and forms at the end of the phallic stage age 5 
what does the ego involve
develops at the age of two
balances conflict between the id and the superego
referred to as the reality principle
what are the three defence mechanisms
repression, denial, displacement
define repression
A painful memory is forced into the unconscious part of the mind
define denial
some object of reality is not acknowledged
define displacement
feelings from a distressing emotion/experience I’ve transferred from the source of distress onto a nonthreatening other
how can defence mechanisms be triggered
they can be triggered by the ego trying to mediate the id and the superego
how can defence mechanisms help individuals
if someone is experiencing extreme levels of stress defence mechanisms can stop them from becoming overwhelmed
