topic 5: approaches in psychology part 2 Flashcards
outline the tripartite structure of human personality
put forth by Sigmund Freud
- Ego; the mediator between Id and Superego
develops age 1-3, driven by the reality principle - Superego; morals, punishes and praises the ego
develops age 3-5, driven by the anxiety principle - Id; basic drives, selfish and demanding and ensures survival of infants
present at birth, driven by the pleasure principle
what is dynamic equilibrium
having the Id, Superego and Ego in a state of balance
dominant Id –> impulsive and uncontrollable, they act on their most basic wants with no concern for consequences
dominant superego –> incredibly moralistic and judgmental, not accepting anything against their moral judgment
outline the fundamental beliefs of the psychodynamic approach
all behaviour can be explained in terms of the inner conflict of the mind
it suggests that behaviour is driven by unconscious motives
what does the psychodynamic approach suggest happens at times of excessive stress
unconscious use of defence mechanisms by the ego
- repression; pushing dow unpleasant memories so they can’t cause harm
- denial
- displacement; placing frustration onto something that isn’t to blame
our dreams may also reflect underlying concerns
describe Freud’s theory of the stages of psychosexual development
at each stage the child has to overcome the conflict in order to successfully proceed, if not they will have a fixation to that stage
1. the oral stage (birth-1)
mouth is focus of libido, conflict may arise when weaning off bottle/breast
conflict presents as oralfixation; smoking/overeating/biting nails/critcal and sarcastic verbulations
2. the anal stage (1-3)
anus is focus of libido, conflict may arise when toilet training
presents as anal retentive (neatness and perfectionism) and anal expulsive (messiness and insensitivity)
3. the phallic stage (3-6)
conflict can cause oedipus compex (boys) or electra conflict (girls); shown as vanity/overambition/narcissism/impulsivity
4. the latent stage (6-puberty)
earlier conflicts are repressed, no consequences from unresolved conflict
5. the genital stage (adulthood)
sexual desires become consious with puberty
unresolved conflict –> difficulty in forming heterosexual relationship
outline the positives of the psychodynamic approach
+ evidence support
Little Hans case study, lots of in depth qualitative data
4 yrs old (phallic stage), lived opposite coaching inn and afraid of horses, so was afraid to leave the house(mum is in house). he was most scared of horses drawing heavily laden carts (dad and pregnant mother) and being bitten by a horse(dad), especially white horse w/ black mouth+blinkers (dad’s characteristics)
plumber dream: plumber cam and cut off his behind+widdler and replaced with larger (identify with father, overcome castration anxiety and resolve oedipus complex)
+ explains a wide variety of phenomenon
DID is a result of inner conflict and early childhood experiences that were repressed (ego defence mechanism)
this eventually resurfaces and can be as DID
+ psychoanalysis
it helped invent various therapies for treating mental disorders; freud believed that once unconscious conflicts and emotions were made conscious, they could be discussed and resolved
eg. free association/Rorschach ink blot test/ briefly freud used hypnosis
outline the negatives of the psychodynamic approach
— psychoanalysis is considered inappropriate or even harmful for people with more serious mental disorders; eg. Sz and its symptoms makes it hard to articulate their thought as needed for psychoanalysis
so has limited utility
– there are other explanations for the case study evidence (Hans)
Learning theory: Hans reported seeing a horse falling down, this is = to a road accident and may be a learned fear from one trial learning
– relies on interpretation
Freud inferred the meanings of Hans dreams and fears and this may not be accurate or true
– highly subjective, unfalsifiable
most ideas were based on case studies and cant easily be experimentally tested; the highly conceptual nature means it is difficult to both prove and disprove
outline maslows hierarchy of needs - humanist
levels cannot be jumped, each level has to be achieved to get the motivation to reach the next level
outline rogers and the self concept - humanist
it’s how you perceive yourself in your roles and appearance
this can be influenced by the things that we succeed and fail in and the things that we have internalised from hearing as a child
he said people have 2 basic needs
1. positive regard from others
2. a feeling of self worth
outline rogers’ theory on the actual self and the ideal self - humanist
ideal self - the view we have of how we feel we should be and would like to be
rogers said we become troubled and unhappy if there’s a mismatch between our actual self and our ideal self
to have feelings of self worth there needs to be some congruence
outline the role of conditions of worth - humanist
unconditional positive regard - having a positive regard fir all people regardless of who they are or what they have done
conditions; positive regard - when people are only accepted the they do what others want them to do (follow their conditions), leading them to develop conditions of worth
evaluate the humanist approach
+ we now know act the unique, individual human experience; this approach, unlike others, considers and emphasises free will
there’s evidence support for the approach: has been found that teens that create a false self to gain parental love are more likely to develop depression
+ we can apply the findings
person centred counselling: the clients conditions of worth are broken down by providing unconditional positive support
– unscientific
there’s a lack of objective evidence, so while the approach is useful on an individual basis, it is not as helpful when looking at a large group of people and trying to generalise findings
– Maslow’s theory is culturally biased
he said that levels can’t be jumped but a study in china found that there the love/belonging stage was given more importance and self-actualisation presented itself more through community contribution that individual development
outline evidence support for the psychodynamic approach
Little Hans case study
4 yrs old (phallic stage)
lived opposite coaching inn and was afraid of horses, and so, leaving the house (where mum is)
most scared of horses drawing heavily laden carts (dad and pregnant mother) and being bitten by a horse(dad), especially white horse w/ black mouth+blinkers (dad’s characteristics)
plumber dream: plumber came and cut off his behind+widdler and replaced with larger (identify with father, overcome castration anxiety and resolve oedipus complex)
outline defence mechanisms
they help the ego manage conflict between the Id and Superego
the mechanisms are an unconscious way to ensure the ego can prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary traumas or threats
outline the humanistic approach
it emphasises the role of free will on growth and development; directly contrasts many others with emphasise the role of external factors like societal and biological influences on behaviour
maslow said self actualisation was the optimal state of personal growth
rogers said personal growth depended on the self and ideal self having congruence
