Aggression: Psychodynamic Theory

Question 1

Who came up with the ‘Psychodnamic’ theory?

Answer 1

Freud

Question 2

Define the ‘conscious’ mind.

Answer 2

The mental activity we are aware of.

Question 3

Give an example of something that would take place in the conscious mind.

Answer 3

Thoughts and perceptions.

Question 4

Define the ‘subconscious’ mind.

Answer 4

The mental activity we can be made aware of if we tried.

Question 5

Give an example of something that would take place in the subconscious mind.

Answer 5

Memories and stored knowledge.

Question 6

Define the ‘unconscious’ mind.

Answer 6

The mental activity we are unaware of and cannot become aware of.

Question 7

Give an example of something that would take place in the unconscious mind.

Answer 7

Instincts and deeply buried memories.

Question 8

What is ‘Thanatos’ responsible for?

Answer 8

Our death instinct and instinct for self-destruction from the unconscious desire to die.

Question 9

What is ‘Eros’ responsible for?

Answer 9

Our life instinct and the preservation of it, including health and safety through our sexual drive.

Question 10

What emotions is Thanatos associated with?

Answer 10

Negative emotions, such as fear, hate and anger.

Question 11

What emotions is Eros associated with?

Answer 11

Positive emotions, such as love, cooperation, and other harmonious behaviours.

Question 12

Define the ‘Id’.

Answer 12

A part of our personality that works on the pleasure principle and is driven by biological needs.

Question 13

Define the ‘Ego’.

Answer 13

A part of our personality that aims the gratify the demands of the id by working on the reality principle of what is socially acceptable to carry out. It also aims to protect us from harm through defence mechanisms.

Question 14

Define the ‘Superego’.

Answer 14

A part of our personality that develops last and is an internalised representation of the values and morals of society by working on the morality principle to satisfy the id through working out what is right and wrong to do.

Question 15

How is conflict between the parts of our personality get resolved?

Answer 15

Conflict between the id and the superego is resolved through defence mechanisms.

Question 16

Define ‘defence mechanisms’.

Answer 16

Unconscious mental processes used to protect oneself from unacceptable feelings, such as shame and to channel urges from the id in a socially acceptable way.

Question 17

Give an example of a Freudian defence mechanism for aggression.

Answer 17

Using sport for a socially acceptable release of aggression.

Question 18

Briefly summarise the structure of personality.

Answer 18

• The id develops first and works of the pleasure principles to receive immediate gratification of biological urges
• The ego works on the reality principle by channelling the urges of the id in socially acceptable ways to society that may involve defence mechanisms to protect from harm from conflict between id and superego
• The superego develops last around age 4 and is an internalisation of moral standards of what is perceived and right and wrong that can affect satisfaction of the id

Question 19

Briefly describe what happens to a boy as they pass through the Oedipus complex.

Answer 19

• Develops sexual drive for mother
• Rejects the father and may act aggressively towards him as he is a rival
• Begins to fear father through internal conflict
• Assumes if father finds out he will castrate him
• To resolve this the boy takes on the father’s superego

Question 20

Briefly describe what happens to a girl as they pass through the Electra complex.

Answer 20

• Due to girls not having a penis they can’t develop a conscience through castration anxiety
• Therefore they develop penis envy and show anger towards the mother
• As a result of this the superegos of females are weaker than males and so are morally inferior

Question 21

Explain why the superego might be weak.

Answer 21

• If they have a deviant father whose morals will be inferior - If they are a girl and have an unresolved superego
• If the Oedipus complex is unresolved due to no father for it to properly develop

Question 22

Briefly describe how a harsh superego can lead to aggression?

Answer 22

• Through identifying with a strict parent
• Resulting in feelings of guilt and obsession when the id attempts to get any satisfaction
• This can either lead to abiding by the law or defying it in order to seek punishment for feelings of guilt.

Question 23

Briefly describe how a weak superego can lead to aggression?

Answer 23

• Through a poor or absent parent
• Individual is selfish and uncaring
• Deviance may develop if father is deviant even if the Oedipus complex is fully resolved

Question 24

Describe how displacement can explain aggression.

Answer 24

Someone who feels anger towards their parent who cannot express it directly to them may displace it onto someone more inferior, such as bullying.

Question 25

Define ‘catharsis’.

Answer 25

An emotional release of unconscious conflicts.

Question 26

Give an example of cathartic activities.

Answer 26

Watching aggressive behaviour on TV.

Question 27

How might catharsis reduce aggression?

Answer 27

• When repressed ideas are brought into the conscious mind the feelings are released
• This releases the energy that was being used up
• And so the person is ‘freed’ from these emotions

Question 28

Identify the elements of Freud’s theory as an explanation for aggression?

Answer 28

• Frustration from not receiving gratification of the id
• A weak superego that leads to a lack of discipline of the urges of the id
• A strong id that seeks immediate gratification irregardless of the possibility of punishment
• Displacing hostility towards parents on inferior groups
• Feeling hostile towards father (if a boy) and mother (if a girl) due to Oedipus and Electra complexes
• If they have a weak superego from a deviant father there will be a lack of moral discipline on aggressive urges for violent crime
• If unconscious negative emotions are continually repressed without any energetic release of it from catharsis

Question 29

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate a supporting and rejecting ‘evidence’ point.

Answer 29

P - Feshback and Singer (1971) support
E - Found that out of 652 boys, aged 8-18, the boys who watched non-violent media showed more aggression than those who didn’t
E - Supporting the idea of catharsis releasing emotions in a safe way
P - Hoffman (1977) rejects
E - Found that females constitute a very small percentage of the criminal population
E - Refuting the idea that females have a weaker superego and so weaker morals

Question 30

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 high ‘how’ points.

Answer 30

P - Freud has high validity
E - He used case studies with methods such as dream interpretation
E - Gathering in-depth qualitative data
P - Feshback and Singer’s (1971) research has high generalisability
E - They gathered a sample of 652 boys in all stages of development from the ages of 8-18
E - This therefore means that the data with be generalisable to a target population of boys in this age group due to many ppt variables being accounted for

Question 31

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 low ‘how’ points.

Answer 31

P - Feshback and Singer’s (1971) research has low validity
E - They found a correlation between the amount of people who watched violent TV having lower levels of aggression compared to those who watched non-violent TV
E - Meaning a cause and effect relationship between the violent TV causing a cathartic release of aggression cannot be established
P - Freud has low validity
E - Data gathered mostly comes from dream analysis
E - Open to subjectivity

Question 32

Are there any applications?

Answer 32

P - Yes
E - Freud identified new ways to explain and treat mental health problems such as hypnotherapy to access the unconscious
E - Therefore allowing him to help people who would previously have gone untreated and has put a stop to barbaric treatments

Question 33

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 low ‘credibility’ points.

Answer 33

P - Deterministic
E - Freud argues that many reasons for behaviour is hidden in the unconscious mind
E - Therefore it ignores the element of free will people may have in choosing whether or not they act on a certain thing regardless of the unconscious reason
P - Unscientific
E - Concepts such as the id and superego are not measurable
E - This means that scientific testing cannot be carried out to test the reliability and validity of these claims