The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
The role of the unconscious The structure of the personality
What is the psychodynamic Approach?
The importance of early childhood and its influences in shaping adulthood.
Who theorised the Psychodynamic Approach?
Sigmund Freud
At what time period did Freud live?
1900s
What are the three levels of the mind?
- The conscious
- The preconscious
- The unconscious
What is the conscious mind?
- ‘the tip of the iceberg’
- real self exposed to the world
- present thoughts + feelings
What is the preconscious mind?
- easily recalled
- aware off when tried to think about
- occur in dreams
- bubbling under surface of conscious
What is the unconscious?
- comes out in adult mine/life (eg. poor mental health)
- buried + unable to call
- threatening/ disturbing memories been repressed/ forgotten
What therapy did Freud used when trying to uncover the unconscious?
Psychoanalysis, the ‘talking cure’.
What is the first level of the personality?
Id
When does the Id develop?
18 months
What are the characteristics of the Id?
-unconscious focus on self
-selfish drive, pleasure principle
What is the second level of the personality?
Ego
When does the Ego develop?
1-3 years
What are the characteristics of the Ego?
-rational, conscious
-The reality principle, balances demands between Id and superego
What is the third level of the personality?
Superego
When does the superego develop?
3-6 years
What are the characteristics of the superego?
-morality principle
-unconscious acts as the conscious moral guide
What happens if the Ego is too weak?
Allows superego and Id to dominate
What happens if the Id is too strong?
Is selfish, out of control, may become an addict
What happens if the Superego is too strong?
Strict, anxious, obsessive- depression, anxiety, OCD.
Why are defence mechanisms used?
Ego protects mind from things causing anxiety/ trauma. Not conscious using mechanisms, ego separate
What is denial?
Complete refusal to believe something even when solid evidence is presented.
What is displacement?
Redirect your unacceptable drive/ feelings onto a more acceptable one. Eg. punching a wall.
What is repression?
The mind (ego) forces a distressing memory out of the conscious mind.
- motivated forgetting, emerges as symptom of anxiety.
Old Age Pensioners Love Guinness
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital
What was Freud’s theory behind the psychosexual stages?
In adulthood we are driven by a sexual drive, making us seek pleasure. We have the same drive throughout life but in childhood it’s not sexual, it just seeks pleasure and is gratified in the different stages.
Why must we complete all stages?
In order to be psychologically healthy otherwise abnormalities might occur- the person becomes fixated.
When is the Oral Stage completed?
Birth - 1 year
What is the focus of pleasure in the Oral Stage?
Seeks pleasure from the mouth, eg. breast/ bottle, dummy.
How is successful completion made?
Weaning correctly
When does fixation occur?
Weaned too early/ too late
How does the fixation manifest in adulthood?
Smoking, drinking or eating.
When is the Anal Stage completed?
1-3yrs
What is the focus of pleasure in the Anal Stage?
the anus
How is successful completion made?
Potty training, being clean
What does potty training represent for the infant?
First step of independence, control over body.
What is the fixation?
Develops anal character:
Anally retentive (too strict)
Anally expulsive (too lenient)
How does the fixation manifest in adulthood?
Anally retentive- uptight, rigid, strict
= OCD
Anally expulsive- disorganised, messy(chaotic)
=sociopath
When is the Phallic Stage completed?
3-5 yrs -coaligns w/ superego develops
What is the focus of pleasure in the Phallic Stage?
the genitals (little boys only because of Victorian times), boys experience the Oedipus Complex
What is the Oedipus complex?
Little boys desire their mothers and resent their fathers.
Attached to their mother and jealous of father because spent all their time with mother and barely saw their father.
What happens when the stage is completed successfully?
Start take on fathers morals (superego)- take on/identify with same-sex parent.
Gender/identity- realise they are boy,
father =role model.
How does the fixation manifest in adulthood?
Not typically masculine- hasn’t got strong set of morals; crime
Don’t accept sex they are born with- lines blurred between genders.
When is the Latency Stage completed?
6yrs- puberty
What happens to the sexual urge and the focus of pleasure?
Sexual urge sublimated into sports+hobbies. Focus on developing same-sex friendships. No particular requirements for successful completion.
When is the Genital Stage completed?
Puberty to Adulthood.
What is the focus of pleasure in the Genital Stage?
Focus on genitals- not same extent as phallic
What happens when the stage is completed successfully?
Develops healthy adult relationships. Should happen if earlier stages were completed successfully.
