the psychodynamic approach Flashcards
what is the psychodynamic approach?
a perspective that describes the different forces (dynamics), most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour
who introduced the psychodynamic approach?
Sigmund Freud
what is the unconscious part of the mind?
a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that has a significant influence on behaviour. We are unaware of this part of the mind
why can the unconscious be dangerous?
it contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed or forgotten. These can be accessed during dreams or slips of the tongue
what can be found below the conscious mind?
preconscious which contains thoughts and memories that aren’t currently in conscious awareness but can be accessed if desired
what are in the tripartite of personality?
id, ego, superego
describe the id
the primitive part of our personality. It operates on the pleasure principle-it gets what it wants. It is unconscious and has selfish instincts and aggressive drives
describe the ego
works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the 2 other parts of personality. Develops around the age of 2 and tries to reduce conflict between id and superego. Employs defence mechanisms.
describe the superego
formed at the end of the phallic stage, around age 5. Internalised sense of right and wrong, based on the morality principle. Represents the moral standards of the child’s same gender parent and punishes the ego for wrongdoing through guilt.
what are defence mechanisms?
unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and the superego
what are the five psychosexual stages?
oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital
what are psychosexual stages?
5 development stages that all children pass through. At each stage there’s a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development
what can unresolved conflict in a psychosexual stage lead to?
fixation- the child becomes stuck and carries these behaviours into adulthood
what psychosexual stage occurs at 0-1 years?
oral- focus of pleasure is mouth
what psychosexual stage occurs at 1-3 years?
anal- focus of pleasure is anus
what psychosexual stage occurs at 3-6 years?
phallic- focus of pleasure is the genital area
what occurs in the latency stage?
earlier conflicts are repressed
what occurs in the genital stage?
sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
explain one strength of the psychodynamic approach (real world)
Freud introduced the idea of psychoanalysis as opposed to physical treatments. This was the first attempt at trying to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically. This included things such as dream analysis. Psychoanalysis attempts to bring repressed emotions of the unconscious mind into the conscious mind so they can be dealt with. This shows that the approach has high value as has created a new way of treating mental disorders
explain one limitation of the psychodynamic approach (not apply)
psychoanalysis is regarded inappropriate, even harmful, for people experiencing more severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Many symptoms that come with these disorders such as delusional thinking or paranoia mean patients can lose their grip on reality and therefore can’t properly articulate their feelings or emotions in a way required by psychoanalysis. This suggests psychoanalysis can’t be applied to all mental disorders
explain one strength of the psychodynamic approach (explanatory power)
its ability to explain human behaviour. Even though Freuds theories can be seen as controversial and bizarre, they have had a huge influence on psychology. It was a key force in psych for the first half of the 20th century and can be used to explain a number of phenomena such as the origins of mental disorders, personality development or moral development. It is significant in drawing connections between childhood and adulthood. This suggests that the approach has had an overall positive impact on psychology and other human endeavours
explain one limitation of the psychodynamic approach (untestable)
much of it is untestable. It doesn’t meet the scientific criteria of falsification. It’s not open for empirical testing as many of Freuds concepts occur at an unconscious level which makes them difficult, if not impossible to test. Furthermore his ideas were based on the subjective study of single individuals such as little Hans which makes it difficult to make universal claims about behaviour. This suggests that Freuds theory was pseudoscientific rather than established facts.
Give 2 assumptions of the psychodynamic approach
-the conscious part of our mind is merely the tip of the iceberg
-most of our mind is made up of the unconscious
what are the 3 defence mechanisms?
repression, denial, displacement
what is repression?
forcing a stressing memory out of the conscious mind
what is denial?
refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
what is displacement?
transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target
