The psychodynamic approach

Question 1

What the key assumptions of psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

The unconscious mind is the driving force behind our behaviour
If we have problematic or challenging behaviour then we must access the unconscious mind to address it.
Instincts/Drives motivate our behaviour
We are driven by instinct to go through a series of psychosexual stages in the development of our behaviour and personality.
Early childhood experiences determine adult behaviour
- They are pivotal in making us the person we are.
- Most of our psychological development is argued to be formed prior to age six.

Question 2

What is the iceberg metaphor?

Answer 2

Freud used the Iceberg metaphor to describe the mind:
The tip of the iceberg, which is visible above the surface is the conscious mind.
Hidden below the surface and holding greater influence is the unconscious mind.

Question 3

What is conscious mind?

Answer 3

the part of our mind we can access.

Question 4

What is the preconscious mind?

Answer 4

lies just below the surface and is made up of the thoughts that may surface at any point into the conscious.
Many of our memories reside here (they are accessible, but are not in the forefront of our thoughts) .

Question 5

What is the unconscious mind?

Answer 5

thoughts that will not easily surface and may never do so.
Contains the primitive drives or instincts that motivate our behaviour.
Traumatic/unpleasant/repressed thoughts, memories and feelings remain here, protecting the conscious self from anxiety/fear/trauma/conflict, and although they are not accessible, they may influence our behaviour.
Defence mechanisms, e.g. repression, denial, displacement, are used unconsciously to reduce anxiety.

Question 6

What did Freud believe that most of our behaviour/personality is controlled by ?

Answer 6

the unconscious mind, revealing itself in Freudian slips, creativity and neurotic symptoms.

Question 7

What is the structure of personality?

Answer 7

The psychodynamic approach argues that there are 3 parts to our personality and the way they develop affects the person we become.
Each demands gratification and is frequently in conflict with the other parts.

Question 8

What is the Id?

Answer 8

forms from birth-18 months):
Operates solely in the unconscious.
Contains the libido.
Referred to as the ‘pleasure principle’ - it demands immediate gratification (pleasure) regardless of the circumstances (it is impulsive).
Childlike, selfish, hedonistic, instinct-driven and entirely focused on the self.

Question 9

What is the Ego?

Answer 9

(forms from 18 months - 3 years):

Referred to as the ‘reality principle’

It mediates and ensures balance between the impulsive demands of the id and the moralistic demands of the superego, as well as the reality of the external world.

It is able to delay the id’s drive for pleasure until there is a more appropriate opportunity to satisfy its demands.

Question 10

What is the superego?

Answer 10

forms from 3 - 6 years):
Referred to as the ‘morality principle’
It helps the personality to form a moral code.
It develops as a result of interactions with parents (socialisation) – child internalises their values.

Question 11

what is the conscience superego?

Answer 11

The conscience is the internalisation of societal rules. It causes feelings of guilt (and anxiety) and holds someone back from behaving a certain way if it is thought to be wrong.

Question 12

What is the ego-ideal in the superego?

Answer 12

The ego-ideal is what a person strives towards and is most probably determined by parental standards of good behaviour

Question 13

What happens if the Ego is too weak?

Answer 13

this allows the id or superego to dominate the personality….

Question 14

What happens if the Id dominates the personality?

Answer 14

selfish, out of control behaviour; aggressive; potential for psychopathic behaviour.

Question 15

What if the superego dominates?

Answer 15

strict, anxious, obsessive; could lead to depression, phobias, anxiety, OCD (neurotic behaviour).

Question 16

What are defence mechanisms?

Answer 16

methods we use unconsciously to reduce anxiety.
Anxiety weakens the influence of the ego, which needs to be strong to mediate between the id and the superego.

Question 17

What is repression?

Answer 17

An unpleasant memory is pushed into the unconscious where it is not accessible to the conscious mind.
There is no recall of the event or situation, but it can still affect our behaviour.

Question 18

What is denial?

Answer 18

The refusal to accept the reality of an unpleasant situation.
The person may believe that the situation is not negative or that the unpleasant event has not happened.

Question 19

What id displacement?

Answer 19

The focus of a strong emotion is expressed onto a substitute neutral person or object.

Question 20

What is according to Freud, the most important driving force in develepment?

Answer 20

is the need to express sexual energy (libido).

Question 21

how do you move to the next psychosexual stage?

Answer 21

Each of the psychosexual stages is associated with a particular conflict that must be resolved before the individual can successfully advance to the next stage.

Question 22

What is fixation?

Answer 22

(libido becomes locked in a stage) at a certain psychosexual stage may occur because:
The needs of the developing individual at a particular stage may not have been adequately met –> frustration
The person’s needs may have been so well satisfied that he/she is reluctant to leave the psychological benefits of a particular stage –> overindulgence

Fixation has an unconscious effect on personality

Question 23

What is the oral stage?

Answer 23

(0-18 months) The libido and focus for pleasure is centered on the baby’s mouth.
The child gets satisfaction from putting things in its mouth to satisfy the libido and thus its id demands i.e. through sucking and biting.

Question 24

when may fixation occur during the oral stage?

Answer 24

Frustration: a child is weaned from its mother’s milk too early or underfed (orally aggressive).
Overindulgence: Weaned too late or overfed (orally passive).

Question 25

An orally passive person fixated at the oral stage may be…

Answer 25

dependent, very passive and gullible

Question 26

An orally aggressive person fixated at the oral stage may be…

Answer 26

dominant and aggressive, either physically or verbally.

Question 27

Overall, people with an oral fixation are thought to be more likely to

Answer 27

chew on pens, bite their fingernails and smoke.

Question 28

What is the anal stage (18-36months)

Answer 28

The libido becomes focused on the anus and the child derives pleasure from defecating i.e. withholding/expelling faeces.

The anal stage represents the beginnings of ego development, as the child becomes aware of the demands of reality and the need to conform to the demands of others e.g. parents.

The major issue at this stage is toilet training as the child has to learn to control the expulsion of bodily waste.

Question 29

frustration in the anal stage =

Answer 29

If the parents are very strict about potty training, the child will become anxious about using the potty and try to hold onto their faeces.
As an adult, fixation at this stage as a result of frustration leads to personality characteristics such as being very organised, neat and reluctant to spend money (anally retentive).

Question 30

overindulgence in the Anal stage =

Answer 30

The child loves using the potty and is overly keen to do so – lax potty training.
As an adult, fixation at this stage as a result of overindulgence leads to generosity, creativity and someone who is demonstrative with their emotions. They are often disorganised and untidy (anally expulsive).

Question 31

What is the phallic stage (2-6years)

Answer 31

Sexual energy is now focused on the genitals.
This stage is differentiated by the gender of the child.
The major conflict of this stage is the Oedipus/Electra complex.

Question 32

What do fixations at the phallic stage lead to ?

Answer 32

Fixations at this stage can lead to homosexuality and a jealous/anxious adult.
Men may experience possible vanity, self-obsession and narcissism.
Women may experience inferiority and envy.

Question 33

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 33

A young boy experiences intense sexual feelings for his mother.
He sees his father as a love rival.
He feels threatened by him and fears he could harm him.
The boy experiences castration anxiety.
To reduce this anxiety and resolve this problem, the child befriends his father and identifies with him.

Question 34

What is the Electra complex?

Answer 34

For girls, the realisation that they do not have a penis leads to penis envy.
They blame the mother for this ‘castrated state’, which creates tension.
Young girls sexually desire their fathers.
Girls substitute their desire for a penis with a desire for a baby.
To reduce this anxiety and resolve the conflict, the child comes to identify with her mother.

Question 35

What is the Latent stage (6-12 years)

Answer 35

No further psychosexual development occurs and the libido is dormant.
There are no foci for pleasure nor complexes to resolve.
The conflicts/issues of previous stages are repressed and children are unable to remember much of their early years.
There are no fixations or effects on the adult personality.
The child’s energy is focused on mastering the world around them, developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge.

Question 36

What is the genital stage?

Answer 36

(12+ years) The culmination of psychosexual development.
The libido is focused in the genitals, where it stays for life.
Everyone reaches this stage, which directs us towards the beginnings of adult life and sexual intercourse.

Question 37

What was the case of Little Hans (1909)?

Answer 37

Little Hans developed a phobia of horses.

His father (one of Freud’s friends) documented what his son said and did in detail and passed the information on to Freud in the form of letters for him to analyse the Hans’ behaviour.

Freud interpreted the boy’s behaviour and reported dreams as a problem in the phallic psychosexual stage.

Question 38

the case of little hans -The key features of the analysis were:

Answer 38

Hans’ fascination with his ‘widdler’. He noticed that animals, including horses, often had much larger penises than him  phallic stage of development

Question 39

What was the evidence of the Oedipus complex in the Little Hans study?

Answer 39

Hans’ father went away for a while and Hans enjoyed having his mother’s attention to himself. When his father returned, Hans resented his presence.
Hans was hostile towards his newly born sister, Hannah, jealous of the attention she was receiving from their mother.
He enjoyed getting into bed with his mother, experiencing a sexual attraction to her and seeing his father as a rival for her affections.
Hans was experiencing castration anxiety – he developed a fear of being bitten by horses.
Hans was afraid of white horses with blinkers and black hair around their mouths  represented his father.

Question 40

PEC: Psychoanalysis has been hailed as a pioneering approach.

Answer 40

• It suggested new methodological procedures for gathering empirical evidence i.e. the use of case studies and relied on observations of behaviour rather than on introspection.
• From these observations, Freud was able to demonstrate the potential of psychological treatments for disorders such as depression & anxiety: -he pioneered the use of Psychoanalysis e.g. dream analysis, free association.
  Maat et al. (2009) conducted a large-scale review of psychotherapy studies and concluded that psychoanalysis has produced significant long-term improvements in symptoms.

Question 41

PEC: There is research support for the psychodynamic approach

Answer 41

Fisher & Greenberg (1996) summarised ~2,500 studies (meta-analysis) concluded that experimental studies of psychoanalysis ‘compare well with studies relevant to any other major areas of psychology.’ In particular, they found support for the existence of unconscious motivation in human behaviour, and the defence mechanisms of repression, denial and displacement.This shows that many of the claims of psychoanalysis have been tested and confirmed.

Question 42

PEC: Psychoanalysis is a gender-biased approach.

Answer 42

Freud’s views of women and female sexuality were less well developed than his views on male sexuality - Freud was ignorant of female sexuality and how it may differ from male sexuality.

Freud’s work has also been criticised for being sexist, arguing that girls develop ‘penis envy’ during the Electra complex, implying that male genitalia is superior and that males are therefore superior.
Dismissing women and their sexuality is problematic, because he treated many female patients and also because his theories are still so influential, which could impact on the way that females are treated today using psychoanalysis.

Question 43

PEC: Psychoanalysis is a culture-biased approach.

Answer 43

Sue & Sue (2008) argue that psychoanalysis has little relevance for people from non-Western cultures. Psychoanalysts believe that mental disorders are the result of traumatic memories being ‘locked’ in the unconscious and that freeing them through therapy gives the individual the chance to deal with them.
However, in China, a person who is depressed or anxious avoids thoughts that cause distress, rather than discuss them openly.Therefore, the Western belief that open discussion and insight are always helpful in therapy may not apply to all cultures.