The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Sigmund Freud’s psychodynamic theory is an example of
The psychodynamic approach
Freud suggested that the mind is made up of
Conscious
Pre-conscious
Unconscious
Conscious
What we are aware of
Pre-conscious
Memories and thoughts we are not currently aware of but can be accessed
Unconscious
We are unaware of the contents of the unconscious.
It is a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that influence our behaviour
Freud saw personality as having three parts
Id
Ego
Superego
Id
Primitive part of the personality.
Operates on the pleasure principle.
Demands instant gratification.
Ego
Works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the id and the superego
Superego
Internalised sense of right and wrong.
Based on the morality principle.
Punished the ego through guilt.
Pleasure principle
Id
Reality principle
Ego
Morality principle
Superego
Each stage is marked by a different
Conflict that the child must resolve to move on to the next
Any conflict that is unresolved leads to
Fixation where the child becomes stuck and carries behaviours associated with this stage through to adult life
Oral age
0-1
Oral pleasure focus
Mouth
Oral - what object is the child’s object of desire
The mothers breast
Anal age
1-3
Anal pleasure focus
Anus
Anal: the child gains pleasure from
Withholding and eliminating faeces
Phallic age
3-5
Phallic pleasure focus
Genital area
Latency
Earlier conflicts are repressed
Genital / puberty
Sexual desires become conscious
The Oedipus complex is an important
Psychosexual conflict occurring in the phallic stage
In what stage does the Oedipus complex occur
Phallic stage
In the phallic stage, little boys develop
Incestuous feelings to their mother and murderous hatred to their father
Later on in the phallic stage, boys
Repress their feelings for their mother and identify with their father, taking on his gender role and moral values
During the phallic stage, girls experience
Penis envy
What are the unconscious strategies used by the ego?
Repression
Denial
Displacement
Repression
Focusing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial
Refusing to acknowledge reality
Displacement
Transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target
Although Freud’s theory is controversial and often bizarre
It has had huge influence on Western contemporary thought
Freud’s theory has been used to explain a wide range of
Behaviours and draw attention to the influence of childhood on adult personality
Alongside behaviourism, the psychodynamic approach was
The dominant approach in psychology for the first half of the twentieth century
Freud’s ideas were developed using
A small number of case studies
Because Freud used a small number of case studies, critics have suggested that it is
Not possible to make universal claims about human nature based on such a limited sample
Although Freud’s observations were detailed and carefully recorded
His interpretations were highly subjective and it is unlikely that any other researcher would have drawn the same conclusion
One main strength with the psychodynamic approach is that it lacks
Scientific rigour
Karl Popped argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet
The scientific criterion of falsification in the sense that it cannot be proved or disproved
Many of Freud’s concepts, such as the id or the Oedipus complex
Occur at an unconscious level making them difficult if not impossible to test
Because we can’t test and potentially disprove the psychodynamic approach, it is known as
A pseudoscience
Freud introduced a new form of therapy
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is designed to access the
Unconscious mind using a range of techniques such as dream analysis
Who is psychoanalysis most suitable for?
People suffering from mind neuroses
Who is psychoanalysis not suitable for?
Schizophrenia patients
Psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many
Modern-day psychotherapy’s
The psychodynamic approach explains all behaviour as
Determined by unconscious conflicts that are rooted in childhood
even something as apparent as a ‘slip of the tongue’ is
driven by unconscious forces and has symbolic meaning
