The psychodynamic approach Flashcards
What does the psychodynamic approach assume?
The psychodynamic approach assumes that conflicts in the unconscious mind are the driving force behind our behaviours, thoughts and emotions
Who came up with the psychodynamic approach?
Sigmund Freud
What did Freud believe was the most influential part of the mind?
The vast inaccessible area that we are not aware of, the unconscious.
What did Freud believe was stored in the unconscious to protect the conscious self from anxiety caused by trauma and conflict?
Memories and fantasies that would be distressing, painful or embarrassing
What is the mind also known as?
The ‘psyche’
What are the 3 components that the mind is divided into?
Id, ego and superego
What did Freud believe that together the 3 components did?
The interactions and conflicts among these components create personality
Which of the 3 components is a person born with?
The id
When does the superego develop?
Around the age of 3-6 years old, during the phallic stage of psychosexual development
When does the ego develop?
Around the age of 18 months - 3 years old
What part of the mind is the id?
The unconscious part of the mind
What is does the id do?
It seeks instant gratification of its needs that all centre around pleasure
It is the part of our personality that is selfish, irrational and emotional, it is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday world
What part of the mind is the ego?
It is our sense of ‘self’
What is the ego?
It is the rational, conscious part of the mind that mediates between the unrealistic id and the real world
What is the ego’s function?
To satisfy the id’s demands in a safe and socially acceptable way
What happens to the ego when the superego has formed?
The ego also balances the conflicting demands of the id and superego
What part of the mind is the superego?
Part of the unconscious mind
What is the superego?
It incorporates the values and morals of society, which are learned from parents and motivates us to behave in a socially responsible and acceptable way
What is the superegos function?
To control the id’s impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression
What did Freud state about the underlying unconscious?
It is sexual, and that ‘sexual energy’ (or libido) is present from birth
What does the focus of the libido do?
It shifts as we develop from one erogenous zone to another
What has to happen for someone to move to the next psychosexual stage?
Freud stated that there is an unconscious conflict at each stage which must be resolved before the next stage is reached, if conflict is not resolved, the individual will become fixated at this stage, and this controls personality traits in adulthood
How many psychosexual stages are there?
5
What is the way to remember the order of the psychosexual stages?
Old Aged Pensioners Like Gardening
What are the 5 psychosexual stages?
Oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage, genital stage
What is the oral stage?
Focus of pleasure is the mouth and the mother’s breast is the focus of desire
At what age does the oral stage occur?
0-1 year
What is the anal stage?
Focus of pleasure is the anus and child focuses on withholding and expelling faeces - potty training
At what age does the anal stage occur?
1-3 years
What is the phallic stage?
Focus of pleasure is genitals and children experience the Oedipus/Electra complex
At what age does the phallic stage occur?
3-5 years
What is the Oedipus complex?
Freud suggested that children in the phallic stage begin to have unconscious sexual desires for their opposite sex parent. This makes them resentful of the same sex parent, as they see them as a competitor for their parent’s love
In order to resolve this anxiety, boys identify with their father and internalise his morals and standards, which becomes the superego. Boys think that if they become more masculine their father will like them and not want to castrate them
What is the Electra complex?
Freud viewed femininity as failed masculinity.
He argued that girls believe they do not have a penis because their mother must have already castrated them. They turn to their fathers for love in the hope of regaining their penis.
Girls suffer penis envy for the rest of their lives. The only way a woman can resolve her penis envy is by having a male baby, taking a male lover or having a career, basically try to become more like a man as a way of compensating for the lack of penis
What are the ego’s defence mechanisms?
Regression, repression, denial and displacement
What is regression?
The ego aims to reduce conflict by mediating between the demands of the id and superego → reduce anxiety.
If the ego fails to resolve conflict, they can become fixated at the stage of psychosexual development where the conflict occurs.
Later trauma causes them to regress back to the stage.
That regression causes them to display undesirable behaviours linked to the erogenous zone.
What is repression?
Repression involves unconsciously blocking out unpleasant thoughts, feelings and impulses
What is denial?
Refusing to accept reality or facts
What is displacement?
Displacement involves transferring negative feelings from one thing to another
Who are the 2 main case studies?
Little Hans and Anna O
What are 3 evaluation points for the psychodynamic approach?
- Explanatory power
- The case study method
- Untestable concepts
