Approaches - Psychodynamic Flashcards
what are the assumptions
- different forces that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience are usually unconscious
what is the role of the unconscious
- part of the mind that we are unaware of but directs much of our behaviour
what is the Id
- operates on pleasure principle
- mass of unconscious drives and instincts
- present at birth
- selfish and demands instant gratification
what is the ego
- operates on the reality principle
- mediator between the Id and superego
- develops around 2 years
- employs defence mechanisms
what is the superego
- operates on morality principle
- represents our ideal self we want to be
- formed at the end of the phallic stage
what are defence mechanisms
- unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the Id and superego
what are the three defence mechanisms and what do they do
Repression - force a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial - refuse to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement- transferring feelings to a target
what are the psychosexual stages
- oral
- anal
- phallic
- latency
- genital
what is the oral stage
- 0-1 years
- focus if pleasure is the mouth
- oral fixation - nail biting, smoking
what is the anal stage
- 1-3 years
- focus of pleasure is anus
- anal retentive - perfectionist, obsessive
- anal expensive - thoughtless, messy
what is the phallic stage
- 3-6 years
- focus of pleasure is genital area
- phallic personality - reckless, narcissistic
what is the latency stage
- earlier conflicts are repressed
what is the genital stage
- sexual desires
- onset of puberty
- can be difficult to form heterosexual relationships if fixated
what are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach
Real Workd application
- introduced psychotherapy- psychoanalysis
- first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically
- being repressed emotions to unconscious minds
- forerunner of modern talking therapies
Explanatory Power
- used to explain personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development, gender identity
- draws attention between our experiences in childhood and adulthood
what are the limitations of the psyschodynamic approach
Untestable Concepts
- pseudoscientific
- not open to empirical testing
- concepts occur at an unconscious level
- subjective studies
Psychic determinism
- much of behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood
