The psychodynamic approach

Question 1

Describe the conscious, preconscious and unconscious mind.

Answer 1

Conscious: What we are aware of at any one time.

Preconscious: Thoughts which may become conscious at some point.

Unconscious: The part we are unware of.

Question 2

What is the role of the unconscious?

Answer 2

The driving, motivating force behind our behaviour and personality.

Protects the conscious self from trauma and conflict.

Question 3

How can the unconscious mind be explored?

Answer 3

• Freudian slips.
• Interpretation of dreams.

Question 4

What is the structure of the personality?

Answer 4

The Id
The ego
The superego

Tripartite

Question 5

Describe the Id

Answer 5

• The pleasure principle
• Present at birth
• Demands instant gratification
• Drive to act on urges and desires without restraint to fulfill basic drives.

Question 6

Describe the superego

Answer 6

• The morality principle
• Develops at 4/5
• Morals, ideals and standards.
• Conscience: rewards with pride, punishes with guilt.
• Attempts to supress the unacceptable urges of the Id.

Question 7

Describe the ego

Answer 7

• The reality principle
• Reduce conflict between the Id and the Superego.
• Mediates.

Question 8

How does personality develop according to Freud?

Answer 8

Via passage through the psychosexual stages of development: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latent, Genital.

• Emphasises the importance of libido and specifically the expression of sexual energy as the driving force in development.

Question 9

Describe fixation.

Answer 9

An indiviual carries behaviours relevant to a psychosexual stage into adulthood due to an unresolved conflict at one of the stages.

Question 10

Oral stage

Age, libido, conflict, fixation

Answer 10

• 0-1 years
• Mouth
• Weaning
• Sucking thumb, smoking and overeating to gain oral stimulation.

Question 11

Anal stage

Answer 11

• 2-3 years
• Bladder and Bowels
• Toilet training
• Anal expulsive or Anal retentive.

Question 12

Phallic stage

Answer 12

• 3-5 years
• Genitals
• Oedipus and Electra complex
• Overly dependant on Mother/Father and Gender identity confusion

Question 13

Describe the Oedipus complex.

Boys

(5)

Answer 13

• Father seen as threat and rival
• Desires Mother
• Castration anxiety
• Resolved by identifying with Father
• Boys adopts male identity and characterisitcs

Question 14

Describe the electra complex

Girls

Answer 14

• Mother is a threat and rival
• Desire for sexual possession of Father
• Penis envy
• Sees hereself and mother as powerless
• Converts desires for a penis into desires for a baby
• Identifies with mother and adopts the female role

Question 15

Latent stage

Answer 15

• 6-12 years
• Dormant/not active
• Generally calm, defence mechanisms develop
• Immaturity (but fixation not common)

Question 16

Genital stage

Answer 16

• 13 + years
• Sexual desires (onset of puberty)
• The development of the ego and superego continue to control and balance the urges to help behaviours be appropriate to the expectations of parents and society.

Question 17

Define defence mechanisms

Answer 17

Unconscious resources used by the ego to manage the conflict between the Id and the Superego.

Often involve a distortion of reality.

Question 18

Describe repression.

Answer 18

A distressing memory is forced out of the conscious mind into the unconscious mind.

Question 19

Describe denial.

Answer 19

Refusal to acknowledge some part of reality.

Question 20

Describe displacement.

Answer 20

Transfer feelings from the true source of the distressing emotions onto a (less threatening) substitute target.

Question 21

Evaluation

Answer 21

+ Practical application - psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis - first attempt to treat psychologically not physically -has led to therapies.
+ Although occasionally controversial and bizarre, it has nevertheless had a huge influence on psychology and Western contemporary. For example it is able to explain personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development and gender identity. Draws attention to the connection between experiences in childhood and our later development.

– Unfalsifiable - pseudoscience - Karl Popper
– psychoanalysis is regarded as inappropriate, even harmful for people experiencing more serious mental disorders.