Approaches- The Psychodynamic Approach

Question 1

Psychodynamics

Answer 1

Study of the unconscious mind and the unconscious mental drives that develop in childhood, their interactions and how these forces influence behaviour, personality and mental states

Question 2

In Freud’s Psychodynamic theory, the psyche (mind) is a complex system that consists of three distinct parts:

Answer 2

the conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious.

Question 3

The conscious mind

Answer 3

includes the thoughts we are aware of and can talk about, including ideas, decisions and emotions.

Question 4

Preconscious

Answer 4

Preconscious thoughts are not immediately accessible but can be brought into conscious awareness.

Question 5

Unconscious mind

Answer 5

Freud believed the unconscious mind to be the largest part of the mind, holding thoughts and memories that are not accessible to awareness but influence our behaviours and feelings. The unconscious mind contains desires, impulses, and repressed memories.

Question 6

According to Psychic determinism what are the roles of the unconscious ?

Answer 6

According to psychic determinism, our behaviours are shaped by unresolved unconscious conflicts among different parts of our personality, as well as by experiences in early developmental stages Freud identified as psychosexual stages.

Question 7

Problems in the psychosexual stages can result in…?

Answer 7

Problems during these stages can result in fixation, where an individual remains stuck in a particular stage, expressing certain negative personality traits.

Question 8

Which part of the mind protects the other?

Answer 8

The unconscious protects the conscious mind from potentially harmful thoughts, such as traumatic memories, fears and intense desires. By protecting the conscious mind, this reduces anxiety, the unconscious achieves this by using defence mechanisms.

Question 9

The structure of personality is…?

Answer 9

Tripartite

Question 10

The (tripartite) structure of personality:

Answer 10

The adult personality is constructed of three parts, the id, the ego and superego.

Question 11

The id

Answer 11

For a newborn infant, the psyche consists solely of the id, a selfish aspect of the mind focused only on satisfying personal needs and desires. It operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification for its wants, which is why it’s associated with hedonism. The id remains a part of the unconscious mind throughout life, continuously pursuing pleasure.

Question 12

The ego:

Answer 12

At around 18 months, the ego begins to form as the primarily conscious component of personality, known as the reality principle. The ego uses rational thinking to manage the id’s demands, acting as a mediator between the id and the emerging third part of the personality structure. This development marks a critical step in an individual’s ability to interact with the world in a more balanced and realistic manner.

Question 13

The superego:

Answer 13

By age three, a child begins to develop the third primarily unconscious component of their personality, the superego. This “morality principle” emerges as the child internalises the values and norms of their parents and society; it influences behaviour by inducing guilt when an individual’s actions conflict with its strict standards, moderating behaviour according to moral and societal expectations.

Question 14

Freud argued that early childhood experiences

Answer 14

Shape the structure of personality

Question 15

What did Freud suggest about criminal behaviour ?

Answer 15

Freud suggested criminal behaviour could be due to an imbalance in the superego: strength relative to the id: a superego thet is too wealt allows the id’s desires to dominate, or a
deviant superege adopts the
criminal values of the parents.
Alternatively, an overly strong superego might lead to criminal acts to justify the extreme guilt imposed by the superego’s rigid moral standards.

Question 16

Freud and psychosexual stages

Answer 16

Freud argues that as children develop biologically, they pass through 5 psychosexual stages; at each stage, the child will experience an unconscious conflict that must be resolved, If the child is unable to resolve a stage, they become fixated, and this will alter their personality and can even result in mental disorders called neuroses. Freud suggests a sexual drive called the libido moves around the body, and pleasure comes from that part of the body.

Question 17

What are the 5 psychosexual stages ?

Answer 17

Oral 0-1
Anal 1-3
Phallic 3-5
Latency 6-12
Genital 12+

Question 18

What happens at the Oral stage ?

Answer 18

Oral stage (0-1y): The baby receives pleasure from their mouth during breastfeeding. During weaning, the infant learns it does not control the environment and develops delayed gratification. Fixation results in an immature personality.

Question 19

Anal stage

Answer 19

Anal stage (1-3y): The child gets pleasure from holding on to and expelling faeces. If the parents are too strict when punishing potty training mistakes, this can result in fixation (anal retentive) becoming an overly organised and fussy adult.

Question 20

Phallic stage

Answer 20

Phallic stage (3-5y): The libido is now focused on the genitals.

Boys experience the Oedipus complex: a sexual desire for their mother, castration anxiety is the fear that the father will find out and remove the boy’s genitals. The boy eventually realises he cannot compete with his father and instead identifies with him, imitating his behaviour, and so develops a male gender identity.

Jung’s female equivalent, the Electra complex, describes a girl’s attachment to her father and dislike for her mother.

Question 21

Latency stage

Answer 21

Latency stage (6-12 years): Freud suggests at this stage, sexual energy (libido) is dispersed across the body, and previous conflicts, desires and memories from early childhood are repressed into the unconscious.

Question 22

Genital stage

Answer 22

Genital stage (12 years+): This is the point of puberty, and sexual desire is now conscious and in the final adult form.

Question 23

What is the ego’s role?!

Answer 23

The ego’s role is to resolve conflicts between the id and superego. Defence mechanisms are strategies involving the unconscious mind that the ego can use to manage unresolvable conflicts. These mechanisms reduce the anxiety felt by the conflict between the id and the superego.

Question 24

What are the 3 defence mechanisms ?

Answer 24

Denial
Displacement
Repression

Question 25

Defence mechanism
Denial

Answer 25

A refusal to accept the reality of a situation

Question 26

Defence mechanism
Displacement

Answer 26

When a strong emotion is moved from the source of that emotion and placed onto a substitute target, generally, this is a weaker target.

Question 27

Defence mechanism
Repression

Answer 27

An unpleasant memory or painful emotion is placed into the unconscious mind and is no longer accessible to the conscious mind.

Question 28

Evaluation
Lacks falsifiability

Answer 28

Falsifiability is the ability to demonstrate a theory is wrong through empirical testing. However, Freud often framed his theories and definitions in ways that made them untestable. For example, arguing criminal behaviour is the result of an overdeveloped, underdeveloped, or deviant superego, Freud’s theory could include almost any criminal’s background, claiming it as evidence for his theory. This adaptability means that Freud’s concepts lack falsifiability.

Question 29

Evaluation
Lacking scientific credibility

Answer 29

Many of Freud’s ideas lack scientific credibility, as they were developed and supported through case studies and by interpreting his clients’ memories, introspections and dreams. The case study of Little Hanz was used to support the psychosexual stages of development. However, Little Hanz’s parents were fans of Freud’s work and likely recorded events and conversations that would support Freud’s ideas, and Freud’s interpretations were potentially biased.

Question 30

Evaluation
Practical

Answer 30

The effectiveness of Psychodynamics’ practical application, psychoanalytic therapy, a form of talking therapy, has been demonstrated by De Maat’s meta-analysis of 27 studies, including over five thousand participants. As many individuals claim to have been successfully treated, the psychodynamic ideas on which psychoanalysis is based have some validity.

Question 31

Evaluation
Face validity

Answer 31

Freud’s ideas have intuitive appeal (face validity); boys often initially have a stronger attachment their mother, early trauma can influence anxiety. People often identify examples of defence mechanisms such as denial, displacement, and repression, and most people would admit to having desires and anxieties they cannot consciously explain.

Question 32

Evaluation
Outdated yet CP

Answer 32

While now considered outdated, Freud’s theories have had a significant influence on modern scientific psychological theories. His emphasis on the importance of early childhood experiences and the lasting impact of trauma on adulthood influenced Bowlby, who built upon Freudian concepts to develop his attachment theories. Freud was also among the first to develop a somewhat scientific concept of the unconscious mind. Cognitive theorists acknowledge the existence of processes outside of conscious awareness that affect perception, memory formation, and language.