The Psychodynamic approach Flashcards
Give a key assumption of the psychodynamic approach.
Unconscious activity is the key detriment of how we behave.
What is the role of the unconscious as defined by the psychodynamic approach?
The driving force behind everyday actions e.g. children who have been abused or neglected, repress this information and, by adulthood, this information resurfaces in the form of depression or anxiety.
List the three components of the ‘tripartite’.
-ID
-Ego
-Superego
What are characteristics of the ID?
Selfish and demands immediate gratification.
What is the role of the ego?
Uses defence mechanisms to mediate the ID and Superego
What are characteristics of the superego?
Internalised sense or right and wring and is determined by parental standards.
What is the purpose of defence mechanisms?
Used by the ego to prevent anxiety in an attempt to mediate the ID and Superego.
Give an example of 3 defence mechanisms.
1) Repression - burying an unpleasant thought e.g. negative childhood experiences.
2) Displacement - Hostility is directed towards other things e.g. slamming a door instead of hitting someone.
3) Denial - A threatening thought is treated as though it were not true.
List the 5 psychosexual stages from earliest to latest.
1) . Oral - pleasure of the mouth.
2) . Anal - controlling bowel and bladder movements.
3) . Phallic stage - focus on the genital area.
4) Latency - early conflicts, from earlier stages, are repressed.
5) . Genital stage (puberty) - sexual desires become constant.
What is the Oedipus complex?
A boy will begin to envy their fathers and view them as rivals for their mother’s affection. The boy fears he will be punished by his father for these feelings known as castration anxiety.
Describe the Electra complex.
Girls experience ‘penis envy’ and they will identify with the same sex parents as a way of vicariously possessing the other parent.
Give 2 advantages of the psychodynamic approach.
+It is holistic and can be used to describe a wide range of behaviours. e.g. aggression, anxiety and depression.
However, its ideas are hard to disprove scientifically, it is hard to use methodology to test the unconscious mind.
+Has high practical validity.
It led to the creation of many successful treatments e.g. psychoanalysis is used to find and treat unconscious conflicts. It is successful in treating a wide range of mental abnormalities.
Give 2 disadvantages of the psychodynamic approach.
-It is very socially sensitive.
Freud claimed that conflict in the genital stage may lead to trouble forming heterosexual relationships. Suggesting that homosexual relationships are a ‘consequence’ of conflict in this stage.
However, homosexuality was removed from the DSM-1, so this approach is outdated.
-The use of case studies makes generalisation difficult.
E.g. Little Hans to study the Oedipus complex has low population validity.
