the psychodynamic approach

Question 2

the psychodynamic approach

Answer 2

describes different forces (most unconscious) that operate on mind/direct human behaviour/experience

Question 3

the role of the unconcious

Answer 3

-Freud = most of our mind is ‘the unconscious’
- contains memories that have been repressed that can be accessed through dreams or ‘Freudian slips’

Question 4

how did freud describe personality

Answer 4

• ‘tripartite’ (composed of 3 parts)

Question 5

what 3 parts of the mind did freud establish

Answer 5

id, ego and superego

Question 6

what is the id

Answer 6

• entirely unconscious
• operates on pleasure principle - id gets what it wants
• entirely selfish + demands instant gratification

Question 7

what is the ego

Answer 7

• balances conflicting demands of id and superego
• works on the ‘reality principle’
• develops around the age of 2

Question 8

what is the superego

Answer 8

• moralistic part of personality - represents ideal self
• formed at the end of the phallic stage (age 5)
• punishes the ego for wrongdoing (guilt)

Question 9

what are the psychosexual stages

Answer 9

five developmental stages all children pass through
- at each stage there is a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future for development

Question 10

what is the ‘first’ psychosexual stage

Answer 10

• oral stage
• 0-1 years old
• focus of pleasure - mouth - breast is object of desire
• if unresolved: oral fixation - nail biting, smoking etc

Question 11

what is the ‘second’ psychosexual stage

Answer 11

• anal stage
• 1-3 years old
  -pleasure - anus - withholding/expelling faeces
  -if unresolved:
  anal retentive -perfectionist/ obsessive
  anal expulsive - messy/thoughtless

Question 12

what is the ‘third’ psychosexual stage

Answer 12

• phallic stage
• 3-5 years old
• pleasure = genital area -Oedipus/Electra complex
  -unresolved: phallic personality -narcissistic, reckless

Question 13

what is the ‘fourth’ psychosexual stage

Answer 13

• latency stage
• earlier conflicts are repressed in this period

Question 14

what is the ‘fifth’ (and final) psychosexual stage

Answer 14

• genital stage
• sexual desires conscious alongside onset of puberty

Question 15

what are the three defence mechanisms of the ego

Answer 15

repression -force distressing memory out conscious
denial - refusal to acknowledge aspect of reality
displacement - transferring true cause of distressing emotion onto substitute target

Question 16

AO3 for the psychodynamic approach + Freud

Answer 16

• not objective - Freuds theories taken from case studies (e.g. little Hans) so not generalisable
• untestable concepts - Karl Popper - doesn’t meet scientific requirements of ‘falsification’
• attention to correlation of childhood + development