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
What happens if the structure of the personality is unbalanced?
It can cause us a lot of anxiety and may eventually lead to mental abnormality
What is the ego?
- The second part of the personality that develops within the first three years of birth
- It exists in both the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind and acts as a rational part known as the reality principle
- It balances the id and and the superego to keep our behaviour in line and learn to control urges
What is the Superego?
- The third part of the personality which develops between 3 to 6 years old
- It is in both the conscious and the unconscious part of the mind and is motivated by the moral principle
- It is involved in making us feel guilty based on parental and societal values - developing our moral compass
What happens if the Id is dominant?
Your personality can become selfish and out of control
- this could lead to becoming an addict
- or show sociopathic tendencies
What happens if the Superego is dominant?
Your personality becomes strict, anxious and obsessive - this could lead to depression, anxiety and OCD
What if the ego is too weak?
It allows the id and superego to dominate
What is the mnemonic for the stages of psychosexual development?
Old
Age
Pensioners
Love
Guinness
What are the stages of psychosexual development?
- Oral Stage
- Anal Stage
- Phallic Stage
- Latent Stage
- Genital Stage
What are Freuds beliefs about a Libido?
- Freud believed that children are born with a libido, not necessarily a sexual urge
- There are a number of stages of childhood, during which the child seeks pleasure from a different ‘object’
- To be psychologically healthy, we must successfully complete each stage
- Mental abnormality can occur if a stage is not completed successfully – the person becomes ‘fixated’
What is the Oral Stage Characteristic ?
The mouth is the focus of pleasure (pleasure from feeding and sucking objects such as their thumb)
What is the Oral Stage Age?
0 - 18 months
How do you know when the Oral stage is complete?
Successful completion is demonstrated by weaning (starting to eat fed food)
How does fixation occur in the Oral stage?
If a child is weaned too soon or is not weaned soon enough
What does fixation cause in the Oral Stage?
- When an adult they gain pleasure from oral gratification
- Can lead to activities such as smoking, drinking or eating
What is the Anal Stage Characteristic?
Focus of pleasure in the anus from potty training
What is the Anal Stage Age?
18 months to - 3.5 years
How do you know when the Anal stage is complete?
When Potty training has been complete
How does fixation occur in the Anal stage?
If your parents are too strict or lenient when potty training
What does fixation cause in the Anal Stage?
- If the stage is not resolved then it will lead to an anal character
- Can lead to an anally retentive or anally expulsive personality
What does it mean to be anally retentive?
Very tidy person who likes order and being in control, could lead to OCD
What does it mean to be anally expulsive?
Generous person but disorganised and doesn’t like to follow rules, giving sociopathic tendencies
What is the Phallic Stage Characteristic?
Genital fixation - Oedipus Complex
What is the Phallic Stage Age?
3.5 years to 6 years
How do you know when the Phallic stage is complete?
Gender identity Occurs
What does fixation cause in the Phallic Stage?
Guilt or anxiety about sex
What was the Method for the Case Study of Little Hans?
Freud carried out a case study of a child called Hans who had a phobia of horses. Hans was observed by his father, who made notes of Hans’s dreams and stuff he said, and passed them on to Freud for analysis.
What were the Results for the Case Study of Little Hans?
Hans was afraid of horses because he thought they might bite him or fall on him. During the study he developed an interest in his ‘widdler’ (penis). His mum had told him not to play with it or she’d cut it off. Hans told his dad about a dream where he was married to his mum and his dad was now his grandfather.
What was the conclusion for the Case Study of Little Hans?
Freud’s interpretation was that Hans had reached the phallic stage of development and showed evidence of the Oedipus complex - he wanted to have an exclusive relationship with his mother and was jealous of his father. Hans had sexual feelings for his mother, shown partly by his dream of marrying her. The horse symbolised Hans’s father because, to him, they both had big penises. His fear of horses is an example of displacement - a defence mechanism that protected him from his real fear of his father. Hans suffered from castration anxiety. He was afraid his that he would be castrated by his father if he found out about his feelings for his mother. This was symbolised by Han’s fear that a horse would bite him.
What is Penis Envy?
- Jealousy of male dominance
Summarise the Latency Stage
- From ages six to puberty
- Urges are sublimated into sports and other hobbies
- Focus on developing same sex friendships
- At puberty sexual feelings become less focused on the self and are directed to potential partners
Summarise the genital stage
- Puberty into adulthood
- Focus on genitals but not to same
extent as phallic stage - Task is to develop healthy adult
relationships - This should happen if earlier stages have been negotiated successfully
