the psychodynamic approach Flashcards
what are the assumptions of the approach?
- we are only aware of our conscious
- our mind is made up of the conscious, preconscious and unconscious
- the unconscious contains many innate drives that have an influence on us and also contains represses memories
- the preconscious has thoughts which we may become aware of during paraprates
what is Freud’s theory of personality structure?
the personality is made up of the id, ego and superego
what is the id?
the primitive and innate needs that operate on the pleasure principle and aims to get gratification at any cost
when does the id develop?
it is present at birth
what is the ego?
the equality principle which mediates between the id and superego using defence mechanisms
what defence mechanisms does the ego have?
repression, denial, displacement
what it repressions?
forcing memories ou of the conscious
what is denial?
claiming/believing that what is true is actually false
what is displacement?
transferring feelings from the target to a substitute target
what is the superego?
the internal sense of right and wrong, based on moral principle and punished the ego
when is the superego formed?
at the end of the phallic stage around 5 years old
what is Freud’s theory of personality development?
there are 5 psychosexual stages each having a different conflict the child must solve
what happens if mental conflicts in the psychosexual stages are not resolved?
the child becomes fixated and causes certain behaviours in adulthood
what are the five psychosexual stages in order?
oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
what age is the oral stage?
0-1 years old
what age is the anal stage?
1-3 years old
what age is the phallic stage?
3-5 years old
what age is the latency stage?
7 years old to puberty
what age is the genital stage?
puberty to adolescents
what is the oral stage?
pleasure in the mouth
what is the anal stage?
pleasure in the anus expelling or holding faeces
what is the phallic stage?
pleasure in the genital area (Oedipus and Electra complex) where scopophilia
what is scopophilia?
infant voyeurism
what happens in the latency stage?
earlier unresolved conflicts are repressed
what is the genital stage?
sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty and stages are revisited
how is the oral stage revisited in the genital stage?
exploring the taste of new foods
how is the anal stage revisited in the genital stage?
authority
how is the phallic stage revisited in the genital stage?
sexual relations
when does the ego develop?
anal stage
what happens if conflicts in the oral stage are not resolved?
smoking, problems with food and drink, nail-biting, sarcastic, critical, gullible
what happens if conflicts in the anal stage are not resolved?
anal-retentive- perfectionist, obsessive, stubborn, stingy
repulsive- thoughtless, messy
what happens if conflicts in the phallic stage are not resolved?
narcissism, reckless, homosexual
what happens if conflicts in the genital stage are not resolved?
difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
what is learnt in the oral stage?
relationships
what is learnt in the latency stage?
gender, gender relations, parents relationship
what is the Oedipus complex?
when a boy develops feelings towards their mother and hated for their fathers, and fearing castration repress their feelings for their mothers and identify with their fathers through gender roles and moral values
what if the parents deal with the Oedipus complex harshly?
the child may carry shame and guilt for wanting attention
what if the parents deal with the Oedipus complex too leniently?
narcissism
what is the little Hans case study
a 5-year-old boy who developed a phobia a horse after seeing one collapse in the street, Freud suggests the phobia was a displacement of his fear of castration by his father so the hose was a symbolic representation o his fear
what is the Electra complex?
a girls penis envy for her father and hatred of their mothers with they replace with aa desire for a baby, therefore, identify with ther mothers
why is childhood experience important?
later experiences may cause earlier trauma to be revisited
what are the strengths of this approach?
- a dominant force in psychology
- explains personality and moral development, abnormal behaviour and gender
- freuds observation was detailed and well recorder
- therapy application: psychoanalysis
- simple to understand
- treats the cause and not a symptom
what are the weaknesses of this approach?
- small sample or case studies of those in therapy
- is not faulsification
- highly subjective with no scentific crediility or evidence
- psychoanalysis can be inappropriate and harmful (schizophrenia) and is slow
- confirmation bias
- Freud was androcentric
- cannot establish cause and effect
