Psychodynamic Flashcards
(23 cards)
Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach
-Our personality is known as the psyche- composed of the ID, ego and superego
-We possess innate drives that motivates behaviour as we develop through our lives
-Childhood experiences have significant importance in determining our personality when we reach childhood
- unconscious activity is the key determinant of how we behave
The role of the unconscious
Freud believed in the existence of the unconscious mind which is part of the mind that was inaccessible to conscious thought. It is made up of our biological drives and instincts as well as threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed, or locked away.
An example of the role of the unconscious
The psychodynamic approach believes that children who have been abused or neglected, repress the early trauma but that it will eventually resurface in adulthood in the form of depression or anxiety. The unconscious protects the conscious self from anxiety, fear, trauma and conflict
Freud described personality as tripartite composing of three parts
ID, EGO AND SUPEREGO
Explain ID
Pleasure principle, present from birth, entirely selfish and demands immediate gratification. It is irrational and emotional. Unconscious part of the mind
Explain EGO
The reality principle, formed at the age of 2, reduces the conflict between the impulsive demands of the id and the moralistic demands of the superego. Does this by using defence mechanisms. CONSCIOUS PART OF THE MIND
Explain the superego
Morality principle , formed at the phallic stage (5years old). It is our internalised sense of right and wrong and is determined by parental standards of good behaviour. It determines which behaviours are permitted and causes guilt when rules are broken. UNCONSCIOUS part of the mind
Defence mechanisms
The ego balances the conflicting demands of the id and the superego (intrapsychic conflict) and this can cause anxiety. If they can’t deal with the situation rationally, then defence mechanisms may be triggered in order to reduce anxiety
Repression- defence mechanism
Burying an unpleasant thought or desire in the unconscious
Example- traumatic childhood experiences may be repressed and so forgotten but individuals may have trouble forming relationships
Displacement
Emotions are directed away from their source or target towards other things- example: slamming a door instead of hitting a person, arguing at your partner when you are angry with your boss at work
Denial
A threatening thought is ignored or treated as if it was not true- eg- a wife might find evidence that her husband is cheating on her but explain it away using other reasons
Psychosexual stages 1
Oral (0-1years) - pleasure focus mouth the mothers breast is the object of desire
Psychosexual stages 2
Anal (1-3 years) - pleasure focus = anus, the child gains pleasure from withholding and eliminating faeces
Psychosexual stages 3
Phallic- (3-6 years) - pleasure focus- genital area
Psychosexual stages 4
Latency- earlier conflicts are repressed
Psychosexual stages 5
Genital (puberty) sexual desires become conscious
Five psychosexual stages determine adult personality
Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve to move onto the next- any conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation where the child becomes stuck and carries behaviours associated with that stage through to adult life
Oedipus complex
In the phallic stage- little boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and murderous hatred for their father. Later boys repress their feeling for their mother and identify with their father, taking on his gender role and moral views
Electra complex
Freud believed that young girls experience penis envy. For girls Freud believed that penis envy was never fully resolved and that all women remain fixated on this stage to some extent
A strength of the psychodynamic approach
It has practical applications in the form of psychological treatments. Freuds Psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically. Psychoanalysis claims to help clients deal with everyday problems by providing access to their unconscious employing techniques such as dream analysis therefore psychoanalysis is the four Runner to many modern day talking therapies like counselling. 
Counterpoint to psychoanalysis
Although psychoanalysis is claim successful for clients with mild neurosis it is inappropriate even harmful for more serious mental disorders like schizophrenia therefore Freudian therapy may not apply to mental disorders where a client has lost touch with reality . 
A limitation of the psychodynamic approach
It is deterministic as it leaves little room. The idea free will it suggests that adult behaviour is determined by a combination of innate drives in early experiences and there any freewill we may think we have is an illusion . For example, according to this approach if someone was over endorsed or deprived at a psychosexual stage then they would develop an abnormality in adult life also in terms of offending behaviour for example the beliefs that unconscious conflicts rooted in early childhood and determined by interactions with parents would drive future criminal behaviour. This is a weakness because the approach suggests that all behaviour is driven by unconscious forces only ignoring the possibility of free will which also may govern behaviour .
another limitation of the psychodynamic approach
It does not need the scientific criteria of falsification in that it cannot be empirically tested many Freud‘s concepts defence mechanisms psychosexual stages are said to occur at the unconscious level making them difficult if not impossible to test for example when trying to explain a fun behaviour that is the difficulty associated with testing some of the concepts such as inadequate super ego whose existence is difficult if not impossible to prove this means that applications to crime cannot be tested empirically and can only be joked at face value this therefore questions whether it fulfils the criteria psychology of science . 
