The Psychodynamic approach Flashcards
What is the psychodynamic approach?
a perspective that describes different forces, most of which are unconscious
What is the unconscious?
The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which continues to direct much of our behaviour
What are the three parts of personality?
The Id
The ego
The superego
What is the id?
Entirely unconscious
Selfish and aggression instincts
Wants immediate gratification
What is the ego?
The reality principle
Rational part of personality
Balances the conflicts between the id and the superego
What is the superego?
Moral principle
Represents the ideal self
Wants to be the best version of self
What are defence mechanisms?
Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and the superego
What does the psychodynamic approach believe that human behaviour and personality are largely determined by?
Unconscious motives
What type of research methods are used by the psychodynamic approach?
Case studies
Where are repressed memories placed?
In the unconscious
What does the preconscious include?
Thoughts and ideas which we become aware of during dreams
Why does the ego use defence mechanisms?
To protect the conscious mind from discovering the id
What are psychosexual stages?
5 developmental stages that all children pass through
What is each psychosexual stage marked by?
Conflict which has to be resolved in order for the child to pass into the next stage
What happens if any conflict in the psychosexual stages of development is not resolved?
It will lead to fixation where the chid becomes stuck in the stage and manifests itself in certain behaviours and conflicts that a child carries throughout their life
What is the first stage of psychosexual development?
Oral stage
What age does the oral stage occur at?
0-18 months
What are some characteristics of the oral stage?
Pleasure from sucking and swallowing
When teeth develop, pleasure is gained from biting and chewing
What is the second stage of psychosexual development?
Anal stage
What age does the anal stage occur at?
1-3 years
What are some characteristics of the anal stage?
Pleasure from expelling and playing with faeces
during toilet training, pleasure from holding onto and controlling bowel movements
What is the 3rd stage of psychosexual development?
Phallic stage
What age does the phallic stage occur at?
3-5/6 years
What are some characteristics of the phallic stage?
The libido focuses on curiosity and pleasure involving the genitals which becomes directed towards the opposite sex parent
What do children experience in the phallic stage?
Boys = Oedipus complex girls = Electra complex
What is the 4th stage of psychosexual development?
latency stage
What age does the latency stage occur?
5 years to puberty
What are some characteristics of the latency stage?
Standstill stage
The child directs its attention to cognitive and social development
What is the 5th stage of the psychosexual development?
Genital stage
What age does the genital stage occur?
Puberty onwards
What are some characteristics of the genital stage?
Re-emergence of libido and directed at love, objects outside the family
Why are defence mechanisms bad?
They sometimes involve distortion of reality and as a long term solution they are regarded as psychologically unhealthy and undesirable
What is repression?
Forces distressing memories out of the mind to prevent unpleasant memories from becoming conscious
What is denial?
Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
What is displacement?
Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target
What is projection?
When a persons own thoughts and feelings are projected onto another person
What is reaction formation?
When a person behaves in an opposite way to how they feel or think
What is sublimation?
negative thoughts and feelings are channelled or redirected into socially acceptable behaviour
What can the psychodynamic approach be used to explain?
Criminal behaviour
Substance abuse
Gender development
Personality
What does the approach emphasise?
An individuals childhood and how the experiences they have in childhood impact on adult life
What is the issue with using case studies as a method of study?
Although they are detailed, they are subjective and may be interpreted differently by different psychologists.
They lack scientific vigour and it is hard to see the universal impact these studies can have on individual people
The approach is unscientific - what is the issue with this?
The ideas cant be empirically tested
Many concepts take place at an unconscious level so they cant be tested
What practical applications are there from the psychodynamic approach?
Psychoanalysis was developed - designed to access the unconscious such as dream therapy and hypnosis
Led to the development of psychotherapy
What type of determinism is shown in the approach?
Psychic determinism
All behaviour is driven by unconscious conflict, meaning that free will is an illusion
Outline the case of Little Hans?
He was afraid of horses after seeing one in the street
Freud suggested that he displaced his repressed fear onto horses
The horse was a symbolic representation of Hans’ feat of castration by his father
How well does the approach explain development?
It presents the most coherent theory of development, tying concepts and processes to specific stages
There was little development past the teenage years
Where is the psychodynamic approach in terms of nature and nurture?
He thought that much of our behaviour has biological drives and instincts but also demonstrated the key role parents play in development.
Is the approach reductionist?
It is both holistic and reductionist
It is holistic as it looks at the 3 parts of personality
It is reductionistic as it looks at the impact of sexual drives and biological impacts
