The Psychodynamic approach

Question 1

Define psychodynamic approach

Answer 1

A perspective that describes the different forces most of which are unconscious , that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience

Question 2

Define the unconscious

Answer 2

The part of the mind that we are unaware of but directs much of our behaviour

Question 3

Define the Id

Answer 3

Entirely unconscious - made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification

Question 4

Define Ego

Answer 4

The ‘reality check ‘ that balances the conflicting demands of the eId and Superego

Question 5

Define superego

Answer 5

The moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self , how we ought to be

Question 6

Define defence mechanisms

Answer 6

Unconscious strategies that the Ego uses to manage the conflict between the aid and Superego

Question 7

Define psychosexual stages

Answer 7

Five developmental stages that all children pass through , at each stage there is a different conflict which determines our future development

Question 8

What did Sigmund Freud suggest about the mind?

Answer 8

That part of our mind that we know about and are aware of is merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’ and that most of our mind is made up of the unconscious

Question 9

What is the unconscious?

Answer 9

A vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that has significant influence on our behaviour and personality

The unconscious also contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed / locked away

Question 10

What is just underneath the conscious mind?

Answer 10

The preconscious - which contains thoughts and memories - which we are not currently in conscious awareness but we can access it if desired

Question 11

how did Freud describe personality?

Answer 11

as a ‘tripartite’ - composed of three parts
(Id, Ego, superego)

Question 12

what is the Id?

Answer 12

the primitive part of our personality, it operates on the pleasure principle - the id gets what it wants

its a seething mass of unconscious drives and instincts

the Id is the only thing present at birth and throughout life it is selfish and demands gratification of its needs

Question 13

what is the ego?

Answer 13

works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the other two parts of the personality

the ego develops around the age of two years and its role is to reduce the conflict between the demands of the id and the superego - it manages this by employing a number of defence mechanisms

Question 14

what is the superego?

Answer 14

formed at the phallic stage , around age five

it is our internalised sense of right or wrong .

based on the morality principle it represents the moral standards of the child’s same gender parent and punished the ego for wrongdoing (through guilt)

Question 15

what are psychosexual stages?

Answer 15

Freud claimed that child development occurs in five stages and each stage is marked by a different conflict which the child must resolve in order to progress successfully into the next stage

and psychosexual conflict left unresolved leads to a fixation where the child becomes stuck and carries on certain behaviours and conflicts associated with the stage through adult life

Question 16

how does the ego help balancing out the id and superego?

Answer 16

it helps in the form of defence mechanisms

Question 17

what are defence mechanisms ?

Answer 17

they are unconscious and ensure the ego is able to prevent us form being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas

but they often involve some form of distortion of reality and as a long term solution they are regarded as psychologically unhealthy and undesirable

Question 18

What is a strength of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 18

It introduced the idea of psychotherapy as opposed to other physical treatments

Question 19

What was the therapy Freud introduced?

Answer 19

Psychoanalysis - the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically

It included a range of techniques designed to access the unconscious - such as dream analysis

Question 20

What does psychoanalysis claim to do?

Answer 20

It claims to help clients by bringing their repressed emotions into their conscious mind so they can deal with them

Psychoanalysis is a forerunner to many modern day ‘talking therapies’ this shows value in the psychodynamic approach

Question 21

What is a limitation of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 21

Although Freudian therapists have claimed success for clients with mild neuroses , psychoanalysis is said to be inappropriate and harmful on people with more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia

This suggests that Freudian therapy may not apply to all mental disorders

Question 22

What is another strength of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 22

It’s ability to explain human behaviour

Along side behaviourism, this approach remained a key force in psychology for the first half of the 20th century

It has been used to explain personality development, origins of psychological disorders , moral development and gender identity

Question 23

What is another limitation of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 23

Much of it is untestable

Karl Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification

It does not open to empirical testing (and the possibility of disproved

Question 24

Why is much of the psychodynamic approach untestable?

Answer 24

Many of freud’s concepts occur at an unconscious level - making them extremely difficult to test

And his ideas were focused on subjective study of a single individual which makes it difficult to make universal claims about human behaviour

Question 25

Therefore, what is Freud’s theory thought of?

Answer 25

Pseudoscientific (not a real science) rather than an established fact