The psychodynamic approach Flashcards
Who created the psychodynamic approach
Sigmund Freud- Austrian neurologist
He was interested in conditions with no physical cause
Describe Freud’s Iceberg theory
most of our mind is unconscious
our biological drives+instincts influence our behaviour
our unconscious contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed
Explain each section of the iceberg theory
Conscious- thoughts and perceptions
Preconscious- memory, stored knowledge
Unconscious- instincts, fears and selfish motives
Describe what Freud meant by the “Id”
operates on the pleasure principle
- seething mass of unconscious desires
- born with this
Describe what Freud meant by the “ego”
operates on the reality principle
mediator between both sides + reduces conflict between Id and Superego
develops from 2 yrs old
Describe what Freud meant by the “Superego”
operates on the morality principle
internalised sense of right or wrong
around 5 yrs old
Describe Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages
Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress
0-1 Oral
1-3 Anal
3-6 Phalic
Latency
Genital
If these psychosexual stages are not fulfilled what will happen?
Unresolved conflict would lead to fixation where the child becomes stuck and carries behaviours associated with that stage into later life
E.g oral- focus on pleasure for mouth- oral fixation (e.g smoking)
What is are defence mechanisms?
Unconscious processes to help the ego manage the demands of the superego and id
These often involve reality distortion to cope with
Give three examples of défense mechanisms
- Repression- forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
- Denial- Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
- Displacement- Transferring feelings from the source of distressing emotion onto a substitue target
Supporting evidence of the psychodynamic approach (+)
Freud conducted a case study with Little Hans- a five year old boy who developed a phobia of horses
Hans’s phobia was a form of displacement in which his repressed fear of his father was transferred onto horses
Horses were merely a symbolic representation of Hans’s real fear
therefore this theory is valid
Describe a criticism of the psychodynamic approach (-)
This approach does not meet the scientific criteria of falsification
It is not open to empirical eating, many of Freud’s concepts occur at an unconscious level, making them impossible to test
This is therefore subjective and an unreliable approach
How can this approach be applied to the real world?
It led to the introduction of psychotherapy
Freud’s research led to the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically
This helped clients bring repressed emotions to the conscious mind and is the forerunner to many modern talking therapies- e.g counselling
Is the approach reductionistic or holistic?
It is holistic as Freud claimed we all go through the same psychosexual stages, but our individual experiences affect how we develop as individuals.
