Psychodynamic approach

Question 1

What is the unconscious?

Answer 1

Part of the mind that we are unaware of but which continues to direct much of our behaviour

Question 2

What does Freud mean by the ‘Tripartite personality’?

Answer 2

That our personality was made up of the id, ego and super ego. These were separate and conflicting forces in the mind

Question 3

What do the id, ego and super ego influence?

Answer 3

Thought, behaviour and personality

Question 4

What is the Id?

Answer 4

• The pleasure principle
• Made up of aggressive and selfish instincts that demand immediate gratification

Question 5

What is the Ego?

Answer 5

• The reality principle
• The mediator that balances the conflicting demands of the Id and Superego

Question 6

What is the Super ego?

Answer 6

• The morality principle
• The moralistic part of our personality
• Our internalised sense of right and wrong

Question 7

What is the definition of repression?

Answer 7

Forcing a distressing/threatening memory out of your conscious mind

Question 8

What is the definition of denial?

Answer 8

Failing or refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality

Question 9

What is the definition of displacement?

Answer 9

Transferring feelings from the true object of anxiety onto a substitute target

Question 10

What do the Psychosexual stages show?

Answer 10

When different parts of the personality are developing

Question 11

What are the 3 first stages we need to remember?

Answer 11

1. Oral
2. Anal
3. Phallic

Question 12

A strength of the psychodynamic approach is that it has real-world application. - Explain this point

Answer 12

• It enabled the introduction of psychotherapy to treat mental disorders.
• It further allowed for techniques such as dream analysis to be introduced to help access the unconscious mind.
• Psychoanalysis has been the forerunner to modern day therapy.
• This shows the value in the psychodynamic approach in creating new approaches to treatment.

Question 13

A strength of Freud’s theory is its ability to explain human behaviour. - Explain this point

Answer 13

• It highlights the key links between childhood experiences and how these go on to later develop into adult behaviours/disorders.
• It is also a key force in psychology for being able to explain certain behaviours such as personality development.
• This suggests that, overall, the psychodynamic approach has had a positive impact on psychology.

Question 14

One limitation of the psychodynamic approach is that much of it is untestable. - Explain this point

Answer 14

• Many of Freud’s concepts are said to occur at the unconscious level, making them impsosible to test.
• Furthermore, his ideas were based on the subjective study of individuals making it difficult to apply the claims universally.
• This suggests that Freud’s theory was pseudoscientific rather than established fact.