the psychodynamic approach

Question 1

what is a defence mechanism

Answer 1

unconscious strategies that protect our conscious mind from anxiety. Defence mechanisms involve a distortion of reality in some way, so that we are bette able to cope with a situation

Question 2

what are the examples of a defence mechanism

Answer 2

• repression
• Denial
• displacement

Question 3

what is repression

Answer 3

the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses. Rather than staying quietly in the unconscious, these repressed thoughts and impulses continue to influence behaviour without the individual being aware of the reasons for their behaviour.
- example, a child who was abused by their parents may have no recollection of these events but may have trouble forming relationships in the future

Question 4

what is Denial

Answer 4

it is the refusal to accept reality so as to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that might be associated with the event. The press acts as if the traumatic event had not happened, something that those around them find quite bizarre.
- example, alcoholic will often deny they have a problem even after being arrested several times for being drunk and disorderly

Question 5

what is Displacement

Answer 5

involves the redirecting of thoughts or feelings in situations where the person feels unable to express them in the presence of the person they should be directed towards. Instead, they ‘take it out’ on a helpless victim or object. This gives their hostile feelings a route for expression, even though they are misapplied to an innocent person or object.

Question 6

Freud divided the mind into three structures

Answer 6

The ID
The Ego
The super Ego

Question 7

what is the ID

Answer 7

-operates solely in the unconscious.
It operates according to the pleasure principle, i.e. it demands immediate gratification regardless of circumstances.
For instance if a person is hungry, the ID demands they eat there and then
-The personality of the newborn child is all id and only later does it develop an ego and super-ego.

Question 8

what is the Ego

Answer 8

The ego mediates between the impulsive demands of the id and the reality of the external world.
For instance, it may delay gratifying the id until there is a more appropriate opportunity to satisfy its demands.
It also compromise between the impulsive demands of id and the moralistic demands of the super-ego

Question 9

what is the super ego

Answer 9

this is divided into the conscience and the ego idea.
The conscience is the internalisation of societal rules.
It determines which behaviours are permissible and causes guilt when rules are broken.
It develops around the age of 3 – 5 during the phallic stage

Question 10

what is the psychosexual stages

Answer 10

Freud believed that the personality was developed through a sequence of 5 stages.
He believed that the most important driving force of development is the need to express libido and so the psychosexual stages emphasises that.
-Freud believed that an individual experiences tension, which is due to the build up of this sexual energy and that pleasure comes from its discharge.
At each stage this energy is released differently

Question 11

what are the 5 psychosexual stages

Answer 11

Oral stage - between 0-2 years
Anal stage - between 2-3 years 
Phallic stage - between 3-6 years 
Latent stage - between 6-12 years 
Genital stage - 12+ years

Question 12

what is the oral stage

Answer 12

between 0-2 years
-This is when the mouth is the focus point for sensation and is the way in which the child expresses early sexual energy
The id is at its strongest in this stage with no ego or super ego to control it
(e.g. through sucking and biting)

Question 13

what is the Anal stage

Answer 13

between 2-3 years
-The beginnings of ego development, as the child becomes aware of the demands of reality and the need to conform to the demands of others.

Question 14

what is the phallic stage

Answer 14

between 3-6 years
-sexual energy is now focused on the genitals. The major conflict in this stage is the Oedipus complex in which the male child unconsciously wishes to possess their mother and get rid of the father. As a result of this desire, boys experience castration anxiety, and in an attempt to resolve this problem, the child identifies with the father.

Question 15

what is the Latent stage

Answer 15

between 6-12 years
-The child develops their master of the world around. During this stage, the conflicts and issues of the previous stages are repressed with the consequence that children are unable to remember much of their early lives, and freud believed that the sexual energy is sublimated towards school work, hobbies, and friendships.

Question 16

what is the genital stage

Answer 16

12+ years
-The cumulation of psychosexual development and the fixing of the energy in the genitals. This eventually directs us towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of adult life

Question 17

what metaphor did Freud use to describe the unconscious

Answer 17

the mind is like and ice burg with the tip of the ice burg being visible, but a much larger part being hidden under water (representing the unconscious).
Freud believed that most of our everyday actions behaviours are not controlled consciously but are the product of the unconscious mind.

Question 18

what is psychoanalysis

Answer 18

A term used ti describe the personality theory and therapy associated with Freud

Question 19

what is psychodynamic

Answer 19

Refers to any theory that emphasises change and development in an individual, particularly those theories where ‘drive’ is a central concept in development. The best known psychodynamic theory is freud psychoanalysis.

Question 20

what is the unconscious

Answer 20

the part of the human mind that contains repressed ideas and memories, as well as primitive desired and impulses that have never been allowed to enter the conscious mind

Question 21

what is the main strength of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 21

The Psychodynamic approach takes into account both sides of the Nature/Nurture debate.
Freud claimed that adult personality is the product of innate drives- i.e., natural motivations or urges we are born with- and childhood experiences- i.e., the way we are raised and nurtured. He was the first to demonstrate the potential of psychological, rather than biological, treatments for disorders such as depression and anxiety

Question 22

what is the further strengths of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 22

• It has given rise to one of the first “talking cure,” psychoanalysis, on which many psychological therapies are now based. It is also argued that Freud was the first person to highlight the importance of childhood in mental health and this is an idea extensively used today.
• it has supporting evidence from using scientific methodology, Fisher and Greenberg found support for the existence of the unconscious motivation in human behaviour as well as the defence mechanisms.

Question 23

what is the issues and debates criticisms of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 23

• it is gender bias. Freud view of women and female sexuality was less well developed than his views on male sexuality. Freud seemed content to remain ignorant of female sexuality and how it may differ from male sexuality, due to this his theory is viewed as Beta bias. Following this his approach was considered as culturally biased as well, as it has been found to have little relevance to non-western cultures, and so is not applicable to all cultures and is biased to western society.

Question 24

what are the other limitations of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 24

• Freuds research and approach to psychology is largely based on case studies and a small group of people. Due to this it is argued that the approach is subjective and an ideographic approach which Freud then has generalised to everyone.