psychodynamic approach

Question 1

what is behaviour caused by according to the psychodynamic approach

Answer 1

unconscious factors that are largely unknown to us and beyond our control

Question 2

what is the unconscious mind

Answer 2

• the part of our mind we are unaware of
• makes up most of our mind

Question 3

what does the unconscious mind contain

Answer 3

• repressed ideas and memories
• primitive desires, drives, impulses, instincts

Question 4

what are the 2 main roles of the unconscious

Answer 4

• personality and behaviour
• protects conscious self from anxiety//fear/trauma/conflict

Question 5

what does the psychodynamic approach think about childhood events

Answer 5

• they have a great influence on our adult lives as they shape our personality/behaviour and development of the 3 parts
• they can remain in the unconscious and influence adult behaviour

Question 6

what are the 3 parts of the tripartite structure of personality

Answer 6

id
ego
superego

Question 7

what does each part of the tripartite structure of personality want

Answer 7

• they demand gratification
• frequently in conflict with the other parts

Question 8

id

Answer 8

• birth to18months
• primitive part of personality
• source of unconscious desires, impulses, drives, instincts
• operates on pleasure principle- demands immediate gratification of its needs (hunger, thirst, sex) regardless of circumstances
• focuses on self
• irrational and emotional
• contains Libido (biological energy created by reproductive instincts)

Question 9

ego

Answer 9

• 18 months to 3 years
• rational part of our mind
• its role is to reduce conflict between demands of id and superego
• operates on reality principle (mediates between impulsive demands of id and reality of external world)
• seeks to satisfy the id in socially acceptable ways
• conscious

Question 10

superego

Answer 10

• 3-6 years
• internalised sense of right and wrong based on parental and societal values
• acts as conscience/ moral guide
• superego gradually takes over parental role and tells us how we should behave
• unconscious
• operates on morality principle (our internal representation of the moral standards of the child’s same sex parent, causes guilt when rules are broken)

Question 11

when are defence mechanisms triggered

Answer 11

when an individual is faced with a situation they are unable to deal with rationally

Question 12

how do defence mechanisms work

Answer 12

• unconsciously
• distort reality so anxiety is reduced
• ensure ego is not overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas

Question 13

what are the 3 defence mechanisms

Answer 13

denial
repression
displacement

Question 14

denial

Answer 14

• refusal to acknowledge and accept reality so as to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that might be associated with that event
• person acts as if it never happened

Question 15

repression

Answer 15

• unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses
• distressing memory is forced out of conscious mind
• these repressed thoughts and impulses in the unconscious continue to influence behaviour without the individual being aware of the reasons behind it

Question 16

displacement

Answer 16

• transferring emotions from true source of distress onto a substitute target
• gives hostile feelings a route for expression even though they are misapplied to an innocent person/object

Question 17

what are the psychosexual stages

Answer 17

• Freud believes personality developed through 5 stages
• Freud believed all children are born with a Libido (unconscious sexual urge)
• each stage has a conflict to resolve before passing onto the next

Question 18

what is fixation

Answer 18

• when there is an unresolved conflict in one of the psychosexual stages
• child becomes stuck and carries certain behaviours and conflicts associates with that stage into adult life

Question 19

order of psychosexual stages

Answer 19

oral
anal
phallic
latent
genital

Question 20

oral stage

Answer 20

• 0 to 18 months
• focus of libido is the mouth
• child is breast fed
• focus on exploring with their mouths e.g. pick up and suck objects
• consequence of fixation is smoking, biting nails, sarcasm

Question 21

anal stage

Answer 21

• 18 months to 3 years
• focus of libido is bladder and sphincter muscles
• gain pleasure from controlling expulsion/retention of faeces
• mother toilet trains them
• consequence of fixation is anally retentive (perfectionists, obsessive) or anally expulsive (thoughtless, messy)

Question 22

phallic stage

Answer 22

• 3 to 6 years
• focus of libido is genitals
• curious and examine themselves
• feel sexually attracted to opposite sex parent and jealous of same sex parent
• Oedipus/Electra complex occurs
• resolving this complex leads to development of superego and gender identity
• consequence of fixation is narcissism, recklessness, homosexuality

Question 23

Latent stage

Answer 23

• 6 years to puberty
• child’s sexual desires cool down (become dormant)
• child hangs out with same sex

Question 23

genital stage

Answer 23

• puberty onwards
• conscious sexual attraction to others caused by genital pleasure
• opposite sex is needed to satisfy libido
• consequence of fixation is difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

Question 24

Oedipus complex

Answer 24

- during phallic stage - boys develop sexual desires for mothers - boys see fathers as rivals for mother's attention and wishes to kill him - boys fear that if father finds out about his feelings for mother, he will castrate him - he resolves this conflict by internalising and identifying with father - development of superego occurs - boy substitutes desire for mother into desire for other women

Question 25

Electra complex

Answer 25

- during phallic stage - girls develop penis envy and blame their mothers for removing their penis (superior sex organ) and develop unconscious sexual desires for fathers (who have penis) - girl sees her mother as sexual rival for father - girls resolve this conflict by identifying with their mothers and internalising their moral standards - superego and gender identity develops - girls substitute their desire for their father with a desire to have a baby

Question 26

Little Hans case study

Answer 26

- Freud, 1909 - 5 year old Hans developed phobia of horses after seeing one pulling a carriage that fell over and kicked his feet in the air - Hans was terrified and thought the horse was dead - Freud concluded that he was experiencing Oedipus complex - he displaced his fear of father onto the horse as the horse's blinkers reminded him of father's glasses and its black mouth reminded him of father's moustache - so horses were representation of Hans' unconscious fear of castration

Question 27

assumptions of psychodynamic approach

Answer 27

- all human behaviour can be explained by inner conflicts of the mind - most of our mind is unconscious - behaviour is caused by unconscious factors which are unknown to us and beyond our control - childhood events influence behaviour - relies on caste studies