The Psychodynamic Approach To Studying Psychology Flashcards
who made the psychodynamic approach popular
Sigmund Freud and Neo-Freudians
the psychodynamic approach states personality is characterised by what two themes
- places emphasis on unconscious determinants of behaviour as well as the conscious elements of personality
- focuses on understanding a person as a whole rather than identifying isolated traits or dispositions (Gestalt)
state the definition Vaeley gave for personality
personality is a dynamic set of processes that are constantly changing and are often in conflict with one another
state two weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach to personality
- huge difficulties in testing it
2. focus entirely on internal determinants and gives little focus to the social environment
what are the three main elements of Freud’s Psychoanalytical theory of personality
- different levels of awareness - with a focus on the conscious awareness
- the dynamic interplay between the three parts of personality
- the psychosexual stage theory of personality
within Freud’s three levels of awareness, explain the tip of the iceberg (2 parts)
- the tip is the conscious mind (what you are currently aware of)
- in memory terms, this is your ST memory (what you’re thinning of right now)
within Freud’s three levels of awareness, explain the area just beneath the surface of the water (2 parts)
- area is the precocious mind
2. in memory terms, this is your LT memory - what you’re not presently aware of but you can gain access to
within Freud’s three levels of awareness, explain the deep section of the iceberg (2 parts)
- the large base is the unconscious mind (the part of the mind which you cannot freely access)
- Freud believes this contains the primary motivations, biological instinctual drives, repressed unacceptable thoughts, memories and feelings and unresolved conflicts from our childhood experiences
explain the concept of the ID (4 things)
- original personality, only one present at birth and which the other two emerge from
- grouped instincts into life instincts and death instincts
- adheres to the pleasure principle
- ID is totally self centred and focused on satisfying biological drives
state what it is meant by the key term ‘pleasure principle’
the pleasure principle states the ID strives for immediate gratification for internal drives without concern over consequences
explain the concept of ego (3 things)
- develops from first year of life
- function to protect personality while ensuring ID’s drives are met
- adheres to the reality principle
- located in conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious mind
- uses memory and conscious thought to do its job
- must mediate between instinctual drives of ID as well as the superego
state what it is meant by the key term ‘reality principle’
the reality principle is responsible for finding gratification for instinctual drives within the constraints of reality (norms and laws of society)
explain the concept of the superego
- represents conscious idealised standards of behaviour or a particular culture
- develops in childhood
- tells ego on how one ought to act
- acts as a morality principle
- superego and ID come into contact and ego must resolve within the constraints of reality
state what it is meant by the key term ‘morality principle’
the morality principle is the principle of the right and wrong accepted by an individual’s social group
how does the ego prevent an individual becoming overwhelmed with anxiety
the ego used defence mechanisms
state what it is meant by the key term ‘defence mechanism’
a defence mechanism is a process that distorts reality and protects us from anxiety
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - repression
- repression is the process of unknowingly placing an unpleasant memory or though into the unconscious mind
- eg - not remembering a traumatic insolent from a crime
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - ‘regression’
- regression refers to reverting back to immature behaviour from an earlier stage of development
- temper tantrum when you don’t get your own way
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - ‘denial’
- denial refers to refusing to acknowledge anxiety provoking realities
- refusing to accept evidence your spouse is having an affair
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - ‘displacement’
- displacement refers to redirecting unacceptable from the original source to a safer, suitable target
- taking anger toward boss out on your spouse by yelling at them
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - ‘sublimation’
- sublimation refers to replacing socially unacceptable impulses with socially acceptable behaviours
- challenging aggressive drives into playing football
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - ‘reaction formation’
- reaction formation refers to acting the entire opposite way to one’s unacceptable impulses
- being overprotective and loving to an unwanted child
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - ‘projections’
- projections refers to attributing one’s unacceptable feelings and thoughts to others and not yourself
- accusing spouse of cheating as you feel as if you’ve cheated on them
state what it is meant by the key term, in relation to defence mechanisms - ‘rationalisation’
- rationalisation refers to creating false excuses for ones unacceptable feelings, thoughts or behaviour
- justifying cheating on an exam as ‘everyone else does’
state what it is meant by the key term ‘healthy personality’ - Freud
a healthy personality is one where none of the three segments of a personality (ID, ego or superego) is dominating allowing all three systems to interact in a harmonious way
what did Freud believe the issue of defence mechanisms were (2 points)
- Believed we could become dependent on defence mechanisms and prevent us from facing our problems.
- This may prevent us from facing our feelings and dealing with them
state 2 introductory facts to Freud’s Psychosexual theory
- developed from his memories of being a chid and years of case studies of patients childhood memories
- the two stages of the psychosexual theory are: the ‘erogenous zone’ and ‘fixation’
explain the concept of the ‘erogenous zone’ in relation to Freud’s psychosexual theory (2 points)
- the erogenous zone is where the ID’s psychic energy is focused during a particular stage of psychosexual development
- erogenous parts are areas of the body where instinctual satisfaction can be obtained
what are Freud’s 5 stages of the erogenous zone of psychosexual development (only Arron pours lubricant gel)
- oral
- anal
- phallic
- latency
- genital
explain the fixation component of Freud’s psychosexual theory (2 points)
- fixation occurs when a part of the ID’s pleasure seeking energy remains in an earlier stage of development due to excessive or insufficient gratification of instinctual needs during that stage of development
- frustration (lack) and overindulgence
state the 3 basic tenets of the Psychodynamic Theory (school of thought)
- psychodynamic therapists encourage people to speak freely about their emotions, desires and fears
- being open may reveal vulnerable feelings that have been pushed out of conscious awareness
- according to the psychodynamic theory, behaviour is influenced by unconscious thought
state the 3 life instincts (within the ID)
- survival
- reproduction
- pleasure drives (eg - food, water and sex)
what are death instincts ?
destructive and aggressive drives that are detrimental to survival
what does Freud believe our best defence mechanism is ? (2 points)
- the best defence mechanism may be no defence mechanism
- facing problems allow us to see reality is not that bad and that working to change reality is better than distorting it
state what it is meant by the key term - structuralism
Structuralism focuses on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers attempt to understand the basic elements of consciousness
state what it is meant by the key term - functionalism
functionalism is a direct outgrowth from Darwinian thinking which focuses attention on the utility and purpose of behaviour that has been modified over evolution
state what it is meant by the key term - psychodynamic
psychodynamics is the study of psychological forces which underlie human behaviour, feelings and emotions. and how they might relate to early experiences
state what it is meant by the key term - gestalt psychology
a theory which emphasises that the whole of anything is greater than the sum of its parts
state what it is meant by the key term - evolutionary psychology
attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits as adaptations (i.e. - functional products of natural selection)
state what it is meant by the key term - socio-cultural psychology
examines the influence of your environment on your development
