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PSYCHOLOGY > 4.2.1 PSYCHODYNAMIC > Flashcards

4.2.1 PSYCHODYNAMIC Flashcards

1
Q

what are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • all behaviour can be explained in terms of the inner conflict of the mind
    -> has unconscious causes
  • Freud highlights:
    -> the role of the unconscious mind
    -> structure of personality
    -> influence that childhood experiences have on later life
  • Freud believed that the unconscious mind determines most of our behaviour and that we’re motivated by unconscious emotional drives
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2
Q

who developed the psychodynamic approach and when?

A
  • Sigmund Freud
  • in the 18th / early 19th century
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3
Q

according to Freud our personality is composed of three parts
what are these?
what’s it called?

A

Tripartite Personality

1) ID

2) ego

3) superego

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4
Q

what is the Id?

A
  • it’s the biological part (instincts and drives) of the personality
  • it’s present at birth
  • motivated by the pleasure principle
  • demands instant gratification of its needs
  • accounts for unreasonable behaviour
  • if dominant, individual might develop a psychosis eg) schizophrenia
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5
Q

what’s the ego?

A
  • develops from 1-3 years
  • exists in both unconscious and conscious parts of the mind
  • is motivated by the reality principle
  • mediates the conflicts between the Id and superego
  • uses defence mechanisms to achieve this
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6
Q

what’s the superego?

A
  • develops from 3-5 years
  • motivated by the morality principle
  • punishes the ego with guilt for ‘doing wrong’
  • to be mentally healthy the ego has to be able to balance the demand of the ego and superego
  • if it’s dominant, the individual might develop a neurosis eg) depression
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7
Q

the mind is divided into three parts - what are these?

A
  • the conscious
  • the preconscious
  • the unconscious
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8
Q

what is the conscious?

A

the part we are aware of and can access without any effort

contains part of the ego

eg) what we’re seeing / hearing / smelling / thinking

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9
Q

what is the preconscious?

A

the part of the mind that we can’t access without effort

contains the ego and some of the superego

made up of memories

eg) we can recall our address / phone number / childhood memories / what we did at the weekend

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10
Q

what is the unconscious?

A

the part of the mind that cannot be accessed without the help of a trained psychologist

contains the superego and the Id

made up of memories, desires and fears that cause us extreme anxiety and therefore have been ‘repressed’ of forced out of our conscious awareness

still influences our behaviour

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11
Q

to reduce anxiety we use defence mechanisms - what are these?

A
  • repression
  • displacement
  • denial
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12
Q

what is repression?

A
  • used by the ego to keep disturbing memories out of the conscious mind
  • puts them in the unconscious mind where they cannot be accessed
  • eg) sexual and aggressive urges or painful childhood memories
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13
Q

what is displacement?

A
  • an impulse may be redirected from its original target onto a more acceptable one
  • eg) being angry with your father and shouting at your little sister
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14
Q

what is denial?

A
  • the existence of unpleasant internal or external realities is denied and kept out of consciousness awareness
  • eg) having lost your job and yet you go to work every day
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15
Q

what are the psychosexual stages of development?
and what are the ages they are experienced?

A

1) oral -> 0-18 months

2) anal -> 18months - 3.5 years

3) phallic -> 3.5 years - 6 years

4) latent -> 6 years - puberty

5) genital -> puberty - adult

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16
Q

what is the source of pleasure of the oral stage?

A

mouth

  • sucking, swallowing etc
17
Q

what is the source of pleasure for the anal stage?

A

the anus

  • withholding or expelling faeces
18
Q

what is the source of pleasure in the phallic stage?

A

the penis / clitoris - genital fixation

  • masturbation
  • Oedipus and Electra complex
19
Q

what is the source of pleasure for the latent stage?

A

sexual drives are repressed

20
Q

what is the source of pleasure for the genital stage?

A

the genitals

  • adult derives pleasure from masturbation and sex

awakened sexual urges

21
Q

what is the outcome of the oral stage?

A
  • if forceful feeding, deprivation or early weaning occur
  • then fixation could lead to:
    -> oral activities eg) smoking
    -> dependency and aggression
22
Q

what is the outcome of the anal stage?

A
  • if toilet training is too harsh or too relaxed
  • then fixation could lead to:
    -> obsessiveness
    -> tidiness
    -> meanness

too relaxed
-> untidiness
-> generosity

23
Q

what is the outcome of the phallic stage?

A

if abnormal family set-up leading to unusual relationship with mother/father

  • then fixation could lead to:
    -> vanity
    -> self-obsession
    -> sexual anxiety
    -> inadequacy
    -> inferiority
    -> envy
24
Q

what is the outcome of the latent stage?

A

fixation doesn’t happen in this stage

25
Q

what is the outcome of the genital stage?

A

fixation at this stage should occur in a mentally healthy adult

26
Q

what does each stage of psychosexual development focus on?

A

obtaining pleasure through a certain part of the body

27
Q

what is pleasure affected by?

A

how parents raise a child affects how much pleasure is obtained through that stage

eg) how strict they are when potty training, and what type of role models they are

28
Q

why do children become ‘fixated’?
what can it lead to?

A

if they receive too much or not enough pleasure during a stage of development

  • severe fixation can lead to psychological disorders in later life
29
Q

as part of psychoanalysis Freud did case studies on his patients using several methods to reveal conflicts, fears and desires in their unconscious mind
these could then be faced so the patient would know how to resolve them

who did Freud do a case study on?

A

LITTLE HANS

30
Q

what was the method of the Little Hans case study?

A
  • carried out a case study of a child called Hans who had a phobia of horses
  • was observed by his father
  • his father made notes of Han’s dreams and stuff he said, and passed them on to Freud for analysis
31
Q

what were the results of the Little Hans case study?

A
  • was afraid of horse because he thought they might bite him or fall on him
  • during the study he developed an interest in his ‘widdler’ (penis)
  • mum told him not to play with it or she’d cut it off
  • he told his dad about a dream where he was married to his mum and hid dad was now his grandad
32
Q

what were Freud’s conclusions of the Little Hans case study?

A
  • Hans had reached the phallic stage of development
  • showed evidence of the ‘Oedipus complex’
    -> wanted to have an exclusive relationship with his mum
    -> was jealous of his dad
  • had sexual feelings for his mum
  • horse symbolised his dad, because to him, they both had big dicks
  • afraid he’d be castrated by his dad if he found out about his feelings for his mum
    -> symbolised by the fear of the horse that it’d bite him
33
Q

how can we evaluate the Little Hans case study?

A

1) was a case study
- provided lots of detailed data about 1 subject (+ve)
- but means the data can’t be generalised (-ve)

2) findings provided evidence to support Freud’s theories
- results were based entirely on observation and interpretation
- means a cause and effect relationship can’t be established

3) could be other explanations
- Han’s anxiety may have come from his mum threatening to cut his dick off
- before the study Hans had been frightened by a horse falling down in the street -> could explain his fear of them

4) Freud analysised data from his father
- results could be biased

34
Q

what are two applications of the psychodynamic approach?
AO3 PROS

A

1) given rise to one of the first ‘talking cure’ psychoanalysis
- many psychosocial therapies are now based on this

2) can be used to explain mental disorders
- such as depression and schizophrenia
- these explanations are rarely used by mainstream psychology

3) very influential concept by Freud of the lasting importance of childhood on later life and development

35
Q

what are some pros of the psychodynamic approach?
AO3

A

1) was the first theory to focus on psychological causes of disorders
- before the focus had been on physical causes or things like possession by evil spirits

2) one of the first approaches to suggest that mental health disorders may be linked to unresolved conflicts related to biological needs

36
Q

what are some cons of the psychodynamic approach?

A

1) Freud’s claims are based on his subjective interpretations of his patients’ dreams, etc
-> they’re often unreliable and open to bias

2) Freud’s theories are related to the unconscious mind, which can’t be accessed
- his theories are unfalsifiable (i.e. they can’t be proved wrong)

3) The approach is based on case studies of people in ‘distress’, so the findings can’t be generalised to everyone else

4) The unscientific research methods mean it’s not possible to establish cause and effect

5) is determinist as it rejects the idea of free will
- person’s behavior is determined by their unconscious motives which are shaped by their biological drives and their early experiences

PSYCHOLOGY (80 decks)

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