Aproaches - Psychodynamic Flashcards
(17 cards)
Who was Sigmund Freud
Austrian neurologist born in 1856
Founded psychoanalysis
Developed influential theories about the unconscious mind
Iceberg model of the mind
Conscious mind: Tip of the iceberg (aware thoughts)
Preconscious: Just below surface (retrievable memories)
Unconscious: Largest part, below water (hidden drives/desires)
Role of the unconscious
Driving force behind behaviour + personality
Contains biological instincts + drives
Protects conscious self from anxiety and trauma
Tripartite structure of personality: Id
Present at birth
Operates on pleasure principle
Demands instant gratification
Entirely unconscious
Libido - psychic energy
Tripartite structure of personality: Ego
Develops as child interacts with world 1-2 years
Operates on reality principle
Mediates between id and superego
Partly conscious, partly unconscious
Tripartite structure of personality - Superego
Develops around age 3-6
Represents internalised morals and standards
Acts as conscience
Mostly unconscious but can influence conscious thoughts
Psychosexual stages of development
Oral (0-1): mouth - weaning
Anal (12): bladder+bowels - toilet training = analy expulsive/retentive
Phallic (3-5): genitals - Oedipus + electra complex
Latency stage (6-puberty): dormant/not active - generally calm, defence mechanisms develop
Genital stage (puberty onwards): sexual desires
Old Age Pensioners Love Guinness
Fixated - stuck at a particular stage due to unresolved conflict at one of the stages
Normal development - to pass through one stage successfully and onto the next - conflict that needs to be resolved at each stage
Oedipus complex
Occurs during during phallic stage
Boy desires mother, sees father as rival
Develops castration anxiety
Resolves by identifying with father
Electra complex
Female equivalent of Oedipus complex
Girl desires father, sees mother as rival
Develops ‘penis envy’
Resolves this by identifying with mother
Defence mechanisms - repression
Pushing distressing thoughts into unconscious
Protects conscious mind from anxiety
Can continue to influence behaviour unknowingly
Defence mechanisms - denial
Refusing to accept reality
Avoiding painful feelings or events
Acting as if a painful event never happened
Defence mechanisms - displacement
Transferring feelings from one source to another
Redirecting thoughts or emotions to a safer target
Often occurs when unable to express feelings directly
Freud’s lasting impact
Recognised importance of childhood experiences
Emphasised role of unconscious in behaviour
Influenced development of talking therapy/psychotherapy/psychoanalysis
Revolutionised understanding of the mind
Many concepts still influential in psychology today - influence of childhood on future relationships
Sparked ongoing debates about nature of human psyche
Criticisms + limitations
Lack of scientific evidence for many theories (lacks falsifiability)
Highly subjective
Overemphasis on sexual and aggressive drives
Gender bias in theories
Limited consideration of cultural differences
Psychic determinism
Based on case studies - difficult to generalise
Evaluation: Little Hans
Evidence for Oedipus complex:
5 year old boy who had fear of horses due to seeing horse collapse outside his home
Was very interested in his penis when younger - threatened with castration so pleasure was repressed due to this fear
Conflict with father developed at the same time as fear of horses
Fear of horse (castration anxiety) = fear of father
Dreams + fantasies (desire of mother + replacing father) = resolution of conflict (identified with father)
Evaluation: deterministic
All behaviour caused by unconscious forces
No free will to choose behaviour
Free will an illusion
Removes responsibility + accountability from peoples actions
Compare psychodynamic with humanistic
Psycho: pessimistic - negative view (what’s gone wrong in psychosexual stages)
Fixation leads to problems as an adult
Conflict within personality
Behaviour determined by unconscious forces
Humanistic: optimistic - personal growth
Motivation
Achieving full potential
Free will - self actualisation
