Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
(25 cards)
What’s the oral stage
0-2 years
Mouth is the focus of pleasure
Fication - deprivation of food
- early weaning
Unresolved conflict - smoking, sarcasm etc
Orally passive - infant is overindulged urges are always met, dependent helplessness
Orally aggressive - infant is neglected - grow envious, suspicious so chew gum/Pens
Anal stage
2-3 years
Anus is is focus of pleasure
Fixation - harsh or lax toilet training
Unresolved conflict - anal retentive, obsessive
- anal expulsive, messy/thoughtless
Phallic stage
3-5 years
Genital area is focus of pleasure
Fixation - no father figure or very dominant mother
Unresolved conflict - phallic personality, reckless, narcissistic and an underdeveloped super ego
Child experiences oedipus or electra complex
Latent stage
5/6 years
Earlier conflicts repressed
Less concentration on sexual areas - development of other activities
Little is recalled from childhood
Genital stage
Sexual desires become conscious alongside onset of puberty
Pursuit of heterosexual relationship is the source of pleasure (primary source)
Fixation and conflict difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
The role of the unconscious
Stores traumatic events/memories from childhood that are repressed and kept hidden from conscious awareness
These can be accessed through psychoanalysis
Can reveal itself in several ways - e.g. dreams, fantasies and freudial slips
what’s the ID
Present at birth, pleasure principle gratification, unconscious desires and instincts
What’s the ego
Develops at 2 years, reality principle and mediator in the conscious
What’s the super ego
Morality principle, develops at 3-6 years, acts as a conscious moral code - guilt
What are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach
That personality is made up of 3 structure: Id, ego and super ego
Personality is constructed through the psychosexual stages of development in early childhood
Unconscious mind is important and defence mechanisms are used to mediate unconscious conflict
What are defence mechanisms
Unconscious psychological strategies that ego uses to protect the conscious mind from experiencing overwhelming anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings
Links to debate
Psychic determinism - no free will, beh governed by unconscious drives and early trauma
Not scientific - subjective interpretation of psychoanalyst
What is the psychodynamic approach
Focuses on the mental or emotional forces that develop during early childhood that affect our mental states and beh
What is the conscious mind
Part of the mind that consists of everythingwe are aware of.
This includes our sensations, perceptions, memories and feelings
What is the preconscious mind
Part of the mind that consists of anything that could potentially be brought into your awareness that we aren’t currently aware of/actively thinking about
What is the unconscious mind
Consists of thoughts and feelings, urges and memories that we aren’t aware of and aren’t accessible to us.
Often these thoughts and feelings can’t come to our conscious as they are unwanted / unacceptable
Id
Personality we are born with
Driven by pleasure so is impulsive and strives to fulfill our basic urges- linked to survival
Aggressive and sexual in nature
Id seeks instant gratification for our selfish wants and needs these are unconscious
Ego
Develops at 3 years
It’s rational tries to work out realistic and acceptable way of dealing with the demands of the id
Decision making, considers norms of society
Prevents acting on basic urges all levels of conscious
Super ego
Develops around 5 years
Concerned with morality (right and wrong)
Seeks right answer regardless of its most practical solution so can make us feel guilty if we go against moral standards
All levels of conscious
What are defence mechanisms
Unconscious psychological strategies that ego uses to protect the conscious mind from experiencing overwhelming anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings
What is repression
An unconscious defence mechanism where unpleasant or distressing thoughts are forced out of conscious and into the unconscious
What is denial
Unpleasant or distressing aspect of a situation isn’t acknowledged the person refuses to accept the full reality of a situation
What is displacement
Negative feelings we have towards a person or situation are redirected onto a less threatening object or person
Psychosexual stages
5 stages of personality dev that all children pass through
At each stage a different conflict is experienced
The outcome influences development and adult personality
