The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
What is the Psychodynamic Theory?
Psychodynamic theory states that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality
Who is the main figure in the Psychodynamic theory?
Sigmund Freud
State the three levels of consciousness the mind can be divided into.
- Conscious
- Preconscious
- Unconscious
Examples of the Conscious Level:
- Thoughts
- Perceptions
Examples of the Preconscious Level:
- Memories
- Stored Knowledge
Examples of the Unconscious Level:
- Fears
- Unacceptable Sexual Desires
- Violent Motives
- Immoral Urges
- Irrational Wishes
- Selfish Needs
- Shameful Experiences
What is the Unconscious?
The Primitive, instinctual wishes as well as the information that we cannot access
What are the defence Mechanisms?
- Denial
- Displacement
- Repression
What is the reason for these defence Mechanisms?
Used unconsciously to reduce anxiety
What is Denial?
A non Conscious process where a person refuses to accept that an event has happened (usually traumatic).
Give an example of Denial.
When a wife dies after a long and happy marriage, the husband may act as though their wife is still alive.
What is Displacement?
A non Conscious process when an unacceptable drive such as hatred to your mother is displaced to a more acceptable target such as your sister.
Give an example of Displacement.
Taking your anger our by kicking the door when you’re really upset with your friend.
What is Repression?
A non Conscious process when thoughts are kept in the unconscious mind and are not allowed into the conscious mind, they can emerge symptoms of anxiety.
What can an overuse of defence mechanisms lead to?
Psychosis
What is Psychosis?
A mental health problem where people lose touch with reality
What is ‘the talking cure’ ?
It’s Freuds use of psychoanalysis by talking to patients.
Give the Tripartite of the mind.
- Id
- Ego
- Superego
What does the tripartite of the mind mean ?
According to Freud, we all have these three characteristics in our mind at the same time.
What is the Id?
- The earliest part of the human personality, ONLY IN NON-CONSCIOUS that we are born with and is only present until 18 months
- It is motivated by the pleasure principle and wants to be satisfied by whatever means possible
- It contains our innate, aggressive and sexual instincts and accounts for unreasonable behaviour