The psychodynamic approach Flashcards
What is the psychodynamic approach?
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.
What are some assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
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
What makes up our unconscious mind?
The conscious, preconscious and unconscious
What is the conscious mind?
Consists of what we are aware of, including our perceptions and everyday thoughts
What is our preconscious mind?
It is just beneath the surface, including our memories and stored knowledge. We can access these if needed. Dreams and slips of the tongue.
What is the unconscious mind?
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.
What makes up the structure of our personality?
The id, ego and superego - it is also called the tripartite personality
What is the id?
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.
What is the ego?
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.
What is the superego?
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.
What are defence mechanisms?
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
What is displacement?
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.
What is repression?
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.
What is denial?
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.
What is regression?
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.
What are the psychosexual stages of development?
Oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital
Old age people like gardening
What is the oral stage of development?
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
What is an oral receptive personality?
Trusting, gullible and over-dependent
What is an oral aggressive personality?
Aggressive and domineering
What is the anal stage of development?
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.
What is the phallic stage of development?
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.
What is the latency stage?
It is at puberty, and earlier conflicts are repressed.
What is the genital stage?
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.
What is the Oedipus complex?
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.
What is an Electra complex?
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.
Case study of Little Hans?
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.
Does the psychodynamic approach have supporting research?
Little Hans case study. Study showed how children use defence mechanisms and the Oedipus complex. This adds validity to Freud’s claims.
Does the psychodynamic approach have methodological problems?
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.
Does Freud’s theory explain adult development?
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.
Is there contradicting research?
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.
Does the theory have good practical applications?
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.
Issues and debates?
Psychic determinism
Mostly nature
Reductionism and holism
Nomothetic and idiographic
Not scientific
