the psychodynamic approach Flashcards
what is the psychodynamic approach?
a perspective that describes the different forces (dynamics), most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience
who is the main psychologist?
Freud
what is the role of the unconscious?
•Freud suggests that most of our mind is made up by the unconscious
•the unconscious also contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed
what are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
•unconscious processes determine our behaviour
•personality has three parts, the id, the ego and the superego
•innate drives (instincts) motivate our behaviour and cause us to go through a series of psychosexual stages
•childhood experiences have significant importance in determining our personality when we reach adulthood
what are the three parts of your personality?
the id
the ego
the superego
what is the id?
it is entirely unconscious, the id is primitive and made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification. pleasure principle
what is the ego?
it works on the reality principle- it balances the conflicting demands of the id and the superego. it resides in our conscious and unconscious minds and develops at age 1-3 years
what is the superego?
works on the morality principle, represents our conscience and makes us feel guilty. it represents our ideal self and how we ought to be. this resides in our conscious and unconscious minds and develops at around 3-5 years old
what analogy does freud use to describe the mind?
the iceberg analogy
what does the iceberg analogy show?
what parts of our personality reside in the conscious and unconscious
what are psychosexual stages?
five developmental stages that all children pass through. at each stage there is a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development
when does our id develop?
we are born with it
when does our ego develop?
during the anal stage, at around 2- 2 1/2
when does our superego develop?
during the phallic stage
what are the 5 psychosexual stages? what ages do they occur?
•oral (0-1)
•anal (1-3)
•phallic (3-5)
•latency (5-puberty)
•genital (puberty-adulthood)
what is the oral stage?
focus of pleasure is on the mouth, mothers breast is usually the object of desire. characteristics include sucking and biting.
what are the consequences of unresolved conflict in the oral stage?
oral fixation- smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical
what is the anal stage?
focus of pleasure is the anus. the child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces.
what are the consequences of unresolved conflict in the anal stage?
anal retentive- perfectionist, obsessive
anal expulsive- thoughtless, messy
what is the phallic stage?
focus of pleasure is in the genital area. child experiences oedipus or electra complex.
what is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the phallic stage?
phallic personality- narcissistic, reckless, possibly homosexual
what is the latency stage?
earlier conflicts and experiences are repressed
what is the genital stage?
sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
what is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the genital stage?
difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
what are defence mechanisms?
unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and the superego
what are 3 defence mechanisms?
•repression
•denial
•displacement
what is repression?
forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind and into the unconscious
what is denial?
refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality- blocking it from conscious awareness
what is displacement?
transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target
evaluation points
+explanatory power
-/+ case study methods
-untestable concepts
+practical application
-psychic determinism
strength: explanatory power
•freud’s theory has had a huge influence on psychology
•it has been used to explain a wide range of phenomena including personality/ moral development, abnormal behaviour and gender
•it draws attention to the connection between our childhood and adulthood
the case study method
•freud’s theories are often based off the case studies of single individuals in therapy (like Little Hans)
•although the case studies have a high amount of detail, the information obtained through them may not be able to be generalised, as they were based on a small number of psychologically abnormal individuals
•also, interpretations of behaviour were highly subjective
•Freud’s methods lack scientific rigour
limitation: untestable concepts
•Popper suggested that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification, in the sense that it is not open to empirical testing (and the possibility of being disproved)
•many of Freud’s concepts (such as the oedipus complex) are said to occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult (if not impossible) to test
•according to popper, this affords psychodynamic theory the status of pseudoscience (‘fake’ science) rather than real science
strength: practical application
•freud brought about a new form of therapy- psychoanalysis
•employing a range of techniques designed to access the unconscious, such as hypnosis and dream analysis
•while psychoanalysis has had much success, it has been criticised for being inappropriate for more serious mental disorders (like schizophrenia)
limitation: psychic determinism
•freud believed, that in relation to human behaviour, there was no such thing as an ‘accident’
•like saying a dress is ‘fattening’ instead of ‘flattering’ is driven by unconscious forces and has deep symbolic meaning
•this approach suggests all behaviour- even accidents- are determined by unconscious conflicts that are rooted in childhood such that any free will we think we have is an illusion
