the psychodynamic approach

Question 1

what did sigmund freud suggest?

Answer 1

that the part of the mind that we know about (conscious mind) is the ‘tip of the iceberg’. most of our mind is made up on a unconscious, a storehouse of biological drives and instincts. unconscious also contains traumatic memories which have been repressed, known as defence mechanisms.

Question 2

explain the ‘tripartite’ of the structure of the personality

Answer 2

ID- primitive part, operates on the pleasure principle. id gets what it wants. only one present at birth, resides in the unconscious. id is entirely selfish.
ego- works on the reality principle, mediator between the other parts, develop around the age of 2, role is to reduce conflict.manages this by employing a number of defence mechanisms.
superego- formed at the end of the phallic stage , around 5, out internalised sense of right and wrong.based on the mortality principle, represents the moral standards of the childs same sex parent, punishes the go for wrong doing

Question 3

what is a psychosexual stage ?

Answer 3

each stage is marked by a different conflict the child must resolve in order to progress to the next stage. any psychosexual conflict that is unresolved leads to a fixation where a child will carry certain behvaiours.

Question 4

name and stage ages in which psychosexual stage occurs

Answer 4

oral - 0-1yrs
anal- 1-3 yrs
phallic- 3-6yrs
latency - 6yrs to puberty
genital - beyond puberty

Question 5

explain the description and consequence of unresolved conflict of the oral stage

Answer 5

• focus of pleasure is the mouth, mothers breast can be the object to desire
• oral fixation- smoking , biting nails, sarcastic, critical

Question 6

explain the description and consequence of unresolved conflict of the anal stage

Answer 6

• focus of pleasure in the anus, chins gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
  -anal retentive- perfectionist, obsessive
  anal expulsive- thoughtless, messy

Question 7

explain the description and consequence of unresolved conflict of the phallic stage

Answer 7

• focus of pleasure is the genial area
  -phallic personality, narcissistic, reckless

Question 8

explain the description and consequence of unresolved conflict of the latency stage

Answer 8

earlier conflicts are repressed

Question 9

explain the description and consequence of unresolved conflict of the genital stage

Answer 9

• sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
• difficultly forming heterosexual relationships

Question 10

what is a defence mechanism?

Answer 10

unconscious memorys that allow the ego to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas. however they often involve some form of distortion of reality and as a long term soution they are regarded as psychologically uhealthy.

Question 11

explain the three defence mechanisms

Answer 11

repression- forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
denial- refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
displacement- transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target.