the psychodynamic approach

Question 1

what is the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

a perspective that describes the different forces (dynamics), most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour

Question 2

who introduced the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 2

Sigmund Freud

Question 3

what is the unconscious part of the mind?

Answer 3

a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that has a significant influence on behaviour. We are unaware of this part of the mind

Question 4

why can the unconscious be dangerous?

Answer 4

it contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed or forgotten. These can be accessed during dreams or slips of the tongue

Question 5

what can be found below the conscious mind?

Answer 5

preconscious which contains thoughts and memories that aren’t currently in conscious awareness but can be accessed if desired

Question 6

what are in the tripartite of personality?

Answer 6

id, ego, superego

Question 7

describe the id

Answer 7

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

Question 8

describe the ego

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

describe the superego

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

what are defence mechanisms?

Answer 10

unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and the superego

Question 11

what are the five psychosexual stages?

Answer 11

oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital

Question 12

what are psychosexual stages?

Answer 12

5 development stages that all children pass through. At each stage there’s a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development

Question 13

what can unresolved conflict in a psychosexual stage lead to?

Answer 13

fixation- the child becomes stuck and carries these behaviours into adulthood

Question 14

what psychosexual stage occurs at 0-1 years?

Answer 14

oral- focus of pleasure is mouth

Question 15

what psychosexual stage occurs at 1-3 years?

Answer 15

anal- focus of pleasure is anus

Question 16

what psychosexual stage occurs at 3-6 years?

Answer 16

phallic- focus of pleasure is the genital area

Question 17

what occurs in the latency stage?

Answer 17

earlier conflicts are repressed

Question 18

what occurs in the genital stage?

Answer 18

sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty

Question 19

explain one strength of the psychodynamic approach (real world)

Answer 19

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

Question 20

explain one limitation of the psychodynamic approach (not apply)

Answer 20

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

Question 21

explain one strength of the psychodynamic approach (explanatory power)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

explain one limitation of the psychodynamic approach (untestable)

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Give 2 assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 23

-the conscious part of our mind is merely the tip of the iceberg
-most of our mind is made up of the unconscious

Question 24

what are the 3 defence mechanisms?

Answer 24

repression, denial, displacement

Question 25

what is repression?

Answer 25

forcing a stressing memory out of the conscious mind

Question 26

what is denial?

Answer 26

refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality

Question 27

what is displacement?

Answer 27

transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target