The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Who created the psychodynamic approach?
Sigmund Freud
What aspect of the mind did Freud focus on?
The role of the unconscious mind in determining our behaviour.
List the 3 ways in which Freud explained the psychodynamic approach.
- Tripartite System
- Psychosexual Stages
- Defence Mechanisms
List the 3 levels that Freud divided the mind into.
- The Conscious Mind
- The Preconscious
- The Unconscious
Define our ‘conscious mind’.
Our waking thoughts, awareness an memories.
Define our ‘preconscious mind’.
We are not aware of this - but may recall some info with the right cue.
Define our ‘unconscious mind’.
The info can only be accessed through hypnosis/dreams - conflict from childhood/repressed memories are stored here + can cause problems if not retrieved.
Which mind does the tripartite system fall under?
Unconscious
List the 3 parts of the tripartite system.
- Id
- Ego
- Superego
Summarise the ‘id’.
- Born with it.
- ‘Pleasure Principle’.
- Focus is to get what it wants.
- In constant conflict with the superego.
Summarise the ‘ego’.
- Developed at the age of 2.
- ‘Reality Principle’.
- Mediates between the id and superego.
- Summarise the ‘superego’.
- Develops at the age of 5.
- ‘Morality Principle’.
- Focus is to do the right thing.
- In constant conflict with the id.
Outline the key points of a ‘dominant id’.
- Impulsive behaviour.
- Lack of regard for consequences.
- High levels of aggression.
- Cannot cope with stress, childishness + selfishness.
Outline the key points of a ‘dominant superego’.
- Anxiety about not being good enough.
- Obsessive attention to detail.
- Extremely self judgemental.
- Can lead to OCD + panic attacks.
When is conflict most likely to be the most damaging? Why?
During childhood - the ego is not yet developed enough to mediate successfully.
Where are traumatic/confusing events pushed to?
The unconscious.
What happens if the ego cannot cope with the conflict between the id and the sueprego?
It uses defence mechanisms to protect itself.
List the 3 types of defence mechanisms.
- Repression
- Displacement
- Denial
Define ‘repression’.
Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind.
Define ‘displacement’.
Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion to a substitute target.
Define ‘denial’.
Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality.
How many stages of ‘psychosexual development’ did Freud propose?
5
What does the term ‘libido’ mean?
Physical/sexual energy.
What happens at each stage of psychosexual development in regards to the libido?
The libido is located at a different part of the body - stimulating this results in physical pleasure/gratification.
What happens if too much/too little libido gratification is recieved during a stage?
Fixation occurs - libidinal energy stays ‘stuck’ and the individual cannot develop in a normal, healthy way.
List the 5 psychosexual stages.
- Oral
- Anal
- Phallic
- Latent
- Genital
At what age does the ‘oral’ stage occur?
0 -2 years
At what age does the ‘anal’ stage occur?
2- 3 years
At what age does the ‘phallic’ stage occur?
3 -6 years
At what age does the ‘latent’ stage occur?
6 - 12 years
At what age does the ‘genital’ stage occur?
12 +
What is the focus of pleasure at the ‘oral’ stage?
Mouth
What is the object of desire at the ‘oral’ stage?
Mother’s breast
Describe the consequence of unresolved conflict at the ‘oral stage’.
Oral fixation - smoking, nail biting, sarcastic, critical.
What is the focus of pleasure at the ‘anal’ stage?
Anus
How does the child gain pleasure at the ‘anal’ stage?
Withholding + expelling faeces.
Name the two different types of consequences of unresolved conflict at the ‘anal’ stage.
- Anal retentive - perfectionist, obsessive.
- Anal expulsive - thoughtless, messy.
What is the focus of pleasure at the ‘phallic’ stage?
Genital area
What does a child experience at the ‘phallic stage’?
Oedipus or electra complex.
Describe the consequence of unresolved conflict at the ‘phallic’ stage.
Phallic personality - narcisistic, reckless, possibly hetrosexual.
‘Young boys are attracted to their mothers, they feel jealous of their father and want them dead so they can marry their mother - at the same time, boys fear their father will find out and will castrate them as a punishment.’
Which complex is this?
Oedipus
How do boys resolve the conflict of the oedipus complex?
Identifying with their father.
‘Young girls are attracted to their father and resent their mother, they experience penis envy and blame their mother for their lack of a penis.’
Wich complex is this?
Electra
What are the 2 ways that girls resolve the conflict of the electra complex?
- Replacing their desire for a penis with a desire for a baby.
- Identify with their mother.
Describe the ‘latent’ stage.
Earlier conflicts are repressed.
What happens at the ‘genital’ stage?
Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty.
Outline the consequence of unresolved conflict at the ‘genital’ stage.
Difficulty forming hetrosexual relationships.
What is Freud’s most prominent method of investigation?
Case Studies
What was the name of the case study that supported the ‘Oedipus Conflict Theory’?
Little Hans
‘Aims to understand human behaviour through individual cases.’
Idiographic or nomothetic?
Idiographic approach
‘Involves statistical analyses of large samples to produce general laws about behaviour.’
Idiographic or nomothetic?
Nomothetic approach.
List the 3 strengths of Freud’s psychodynamic approach.
- Developments/advancements in psychological thinking.
- Scientific/empirical evidence.
- Comprehensive theory.
Summarise the evaluation point ‘developments/advancements in psychological thinking’.
- Psychoanalysis has suggested a new method of collecting data; case studies.
- Led to the growth of psychological explanations of mental disorders/rise in talking therapies.
- Psychoanalysis; shown to give long-term relief from symptoms.
- Allowed expansion/developments in psychology + new methods of treatment (valuable).
Summarise the evaluation point ‘comprehensive theory’.
- Psychoanalysis has been used to understand aspects of human behaviour and a mode of cultural/literacy criticism.
- Given critics a new way of gaining insight into a range of literary texts.
- Allows for greater comprehension of human behaviour and in other disciplines e.g literature.
List the 3 limitations of Freud’s psychodynamic approach.
- Use of Case Studies
- Gender Bias
- Cultural Bias
Summarise the evaluation point ‘use of case studies’.
- Uses idiographic methods of investigation but attempts to apply them nomothetically to large populations.
- Little Hans; Freud assumes all children will go through this complex, despite having only studied one individual that cannot be generalised to the whole population.
- Not possible to know whether the theory is accurate for all individuals or only applies to Little Hans.
Summarise what is meant by the evaluation point ‘gender bia’.
- Freud’s views were based on observations of men; views about women were less developed.
- Ignores the extent to which female sexuality differed from males; ignorant about women/their sexual life.
- Critics have found a feminist psychoanalysis which is beneficial to many psychoanalytical female patients.
- Freud’s theory doesn’t generalise wel to women and can arguably only be applied to men.
Summarise the evaluation point ‘cultural bias’.
- Sue + Sue; psychoanalysis is not relevent to those in non-Western cultures.
- Psychoanalysts believe that mental disorders are the result of repressed material being ‘locked’ in the unconscious and that freeing this material in a supportive environment is the key to understadning the material/recovering from the disorder.
- However, non-Western cultures may not value insight. In China/Japan, it is thought to be more beneficial to avoid thoughts which bring distress/people are not willing to discuss them openly.
- Theory cannot be applied to all cultures.
