The psychodynamic approach

Question 1

What is the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

Founded by Freud, and is the foundation of talking cures.
It is made up of the role of the unconscious, the structure of personality, defence mechanisms and psychosexual stages.

Question 2

What are some assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 2

Focusses on how our behaviour can be motivated by unconscious motives and events that occurred in early childhood.
Explains our development and can be used to interpret dreams.
Developed a theory called psychoanalysis

Question 3

What makes up our unconscious mind?

Answer 3

The conscious, preconscious and unconscious

Question 4

What is the conscious mind?

Answer 4

Consists of what we are aware of, including our perceptions and everyday thoughts

Question 5

What is our preconscious mind?

Answer 5

It is just beneath the surface, including our memories and stored knowledge. We can access these if needed. Dreams and slips of the tongue.

Question 6

What is the unconscious mind?

Answer 6

Includes information which is very hard or impossible to achieve and is the biggest part of our mind. This includes our fear instincts, distressing, painful or embarrassing material as well as traumatic past experiences. This motivates our personality and how we behave without conscious awareness. Protects us from the painful material that would damage the psyche if recalled into conscious awareness.

Question 7

What makes up the structure of our personality?

Answer 7

The id, ego and superego - it is also called the tripartite personality

Question 8

What is the id?

Answer 8

It operates on the pleasure principle and seeks immediate satisfaction. It is made up of aggressive and selfish instincts. It is present from birth and resides in the conscious mind. This is your libido.

Question 9

What is the ego?

Answer 9

It operates on the reality principle, and is aware that instant gratification is not always possible. Works to balance the demands of the id and superego. Develops between 1 - 3 years and resides in our conscious mind.

Question 10

What is the superego?

Answer 10

Operates on the morality principle and stores and enforces rules. It develops between 3 - 5 years and resides in the unconscious mind. This represents our morals.

Question 11

What are defence mechanisms?

Answer 11

Employed to cope with feelings of anxiety or guilt. They protect the ego by distorting reality and all these are motivated unconsciously. Examples include displacement, repression, denial and regression

Question 12

What is displacement?

Answer 12

Transferring feelings from the true source of the distressing emotion into a substitute target. The unconscious redirection of an impulse onto a powerless substitute target. This can be a person or an object.

Question 13

What is repression?

Answer 13

Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind. The ego pushes a memory deep into the unconscious mind so you don’t have to deal with this trauma. Therefore the person does not remember. This happens unconsciously.

Question 14

What is denial?

Answer 14

Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality. Unconsciously blocking external events from conscious awareness. If the situation is too much to handle, the person unconsciously cannot accept it.

Question 15

What is regression?

Answer 15

At time of stress or conflict, we may regress to a previously fixated stage. The individual may behave in a way that is not seen as appropriate for their age or stage development.

Question 16

What are the psychosexual stages of development?

Answer 16

Oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital
Old age people like gardening

Question 17

What is the oral stage of development?

Answer 17

0 - 1 years. The pleasure source is the mouth and the id develops during this stage. Conflicts to overcome include sudden weaning or delayed weaning. If conflict is unresolved then as adults, you may have behaviours such as smoking, nail biting, oral receptive personality or oral aggressive personality

Question 18

What is an oral receptive personality?

Answer 18

Trusting, gullible and over-dependent

Question 19

What is an oral aggressive personality?

Answer 19

Aggressive and domineering

Question 20

What is the anal stage of development?

Answer 20

Between 1 - 3 years and the pleasure source is the anus. The ego develops during this stage. Conflicts include overly harsh toilet training when you learn you can’t always have what you want, and overly lax toilet training. As an adult, you may be anal expulsive, where you are generous, untidy and disorganised, or anal retentive, where you are mean, tidy, organised and an obsessive perfectionist.

Question 21

What is the phallic stage of development?

Answer 21

3 - 6 years. The pleasure source is the genital area and the superego develops during this stage. Conflicts may include unresolved Oedipus or Electra complex. Identification with the same sex parent. Development of gender identity. Development of empathy. As an adult, if these conflicts are resolved. you may be narcissistic, reckless, homosexual or have sexual fetishes.

Question 22

What is the latency stage?

Answer 22

It is at puberty, and earlier conflicts are repressed.

Question 23

What is the genital stage?

Answer 23

It is from puberty onwards and the pleasure source is the genital area. Conflicts to overcome include transition into adult sexuality. As an adult, you may have difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

Question 24

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 24

According to Freud, in the phallic stage a boy has an intense love for his mother and sees his father as a rival for her affections. However he realises that his father is physically stronger and is afraid he might punish him by castration. Castration anxiety is resolved by identifying with his father and so becoming as much like his father as possible including gender and moral behaviour.

Question 25

What is an Electra complex?

Answer 25

According to Freud, in the phallic stage, a girl has a strong affection for her father and sees her mother as a rival for his affections. She experiences penis envy and blames her mother for her own lack of penis. However, girls worry about losing their mother’s love, so the girl identifies with her mother through her gender role and behaviour.

Question 26

Case study of Little Hans?

Answer 26

5 year old boy had a phobia of horses. From the age of 3 he had showed an interest in his own penis and the penises of other males, such as animals. His mother threatened to cut his penis off if he didn’t stop playing with it. His fear of horses worsened, and Freud linked this fear to the horse’s large penis. The phobia improved, relating to the black harnesses over their noses. His father suggested that this symbolised his moustache. Freud linked this fear to the Oedipus complex, unconsciously represented his fear of his father. He fantasised about himself with a big penis and married to his mother and he had castration anxiety from his father. He solved this conflict by identifying with his father and developing his own morality.

Question 27

Does the psychodynamic approach have supporting research?

Answer 27

Little Hans case study. Study showed how children use defence mechanisms and the Oedipus complex. This adds validity to Freud’s claims.

Question 28

Does the psychodynamic approach have methodological problems?

Answer 28

Unscientific and concepts like the id are abstract and not easily measurable. Means it is not repeatable. Suggests theory is less credible because it is unfalsifiable.

Question 29

Does Freud’s theory explain adult development?

Answer 29

More limited explanation as his theory stops at adolescents. This is unlike Erikson psychodynamic theory - the 8 stages of man - which is a whole life theory and says we continue to develop into old age. He emphasises unconscious and social aspects of development from birth to death. Freud’s theory can be seen as reductionist.

Question 30

Is there contradicting research?

Answer 30

Malinowski’s research suggests that Freud’s theory may be reductionist in assuming that any deviation from psychosexual stages, will result in abnormal development. He studied Trobriand Islanders where boys are not brought up by their fathers. This should mean that they do not resolve their Oedipus complex as the family structure is different; however the boys do develop normally and have healthy relationships.

Question 31

Does the theory have good practical applications?

Answer 31

It can treat people suffering from a variety of disorders using a talking cure. Psychoanalysis addressed neuroses through talking, whereas previous treatments may not have been ethical. It has been used worldwide to successfully treat many individuals. There is no side effects like those with medication, and some argue it truly addresses the real cause of the disorder.

Question 32

Issues and debates?

Answer 32

Psychic determinism
Mostly nature
Reductionism and holism
Nomothetic and idiographic
Not scientific