The Psychodynamic approach Flashcards
Define psychodynamic approach
A perspective that describes the different forces most of which are unconscious , that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience
Define the unconscious
The part of the mind that we are unaware of but directs much of our behaviour
Define the Id
Entirely unconscious - made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification
Define Ego
The ‘reality check ‘ that balances the conflicting demands of the eId and Superego
Define superego
The moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self , how we ought to be
Define defence mechanisms
Unconscious strategies that the Ego uses to manage the conflict between the aid and Superego
Define psychosexual stages
Five developmental stages that all children pass through , at each stage there is a different conflict which determines our future development
What did Sigmund Freud suggest about the mind?
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
What is the unconscious?
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
What is just underneath the conscious mind?
The preconscious - which contains thoughts and memories - which we are not currently in conscious awareness but we can access it if desired
how did Freud describe personality?
as a ‘tripartite’ - composed of three parts
(Id, Ego, superego)
what is the Id?
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
what is the ego?
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
what is the superego?
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)
what are psychosexual stages?
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
how does the ego help balancing out the id and superego?
it helps in the form of defence mechanisms
what are defence mechanisms ?
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
What is a strength of the psychodynamic approach?
It introduced the idea of psychotherapy as opposed to other physical treatments
What was the therapy Freud introduced?
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
What does psychoanalysis claim to do?
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
What is a limitation of the psychodynamic approach?
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
What is another strength of the psychodynamic approach?
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
What is another limitation of the psychodynamic approach
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
Why is much of the psychodynamic approach untestable?
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
Therefore, what is Freud’s theory thought of?
Pseudoscientific (not a real science) rather than an established fact
