Psychodynamic approach (app)

Question 1

What does the psychodynamic approach argue?

Answer 1

Behaviour is caused by 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 which we are unaware of.

Question 3

What does the unconscious mind contain?

Answer 3

repressed ideas and memories, and primitive desires, drives, impulses and instincts. These then influence most of our everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

Question 4

Who proposed the psychodynamic approach and what metaphor was used for the unconscious mind?

Answer 4

Freud - and iceberg metaphor.

Question 5

What are the two main roles of the unconscious?

Answer 5

Personality and behaviour are caused by unconscious factors which are largely unknown to us and beyond our control.
The unconscious also protects the conscious self from anxiety/fear/trauma/conflict.

Question 6

What are the 3 parts of the tripartite structure of the personality?

Answer 6

Id, ego and the superego

Question 7

What is the Id?

Answer 7

Primitive and selfish part of the personality and acts according to the pleasure principle
Develops first (0-18 months)
Is unconscious

Question 8

What is the ego?

Answer 8

The realistic part of the personality and acts in accordance to the reality principle
Develops second (18 months - 3 yrs)
Is conscious
Mediates between the id and superego

Question 9

What is the superego?

Answer 9

The role following part of the personality and acts in accordance to the morality principle
Develops last (3 - 6 yrs)
Is unconscious but is out conscience

Question 10

What are defence mechanisms?

Answer 10

If an individual is faced with a situation that they are unable to deal with rationally, defence mechanisms may be triggered. These tend to work unconsciously and work by distorting reality so that anxiety is reduced. They ensure that the ego is not overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas.

Question 11

DM (denial)

Answer 11

This is the refusal to acknowledge and accept reality so as to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that might be associated with that event. The person acts as if the event never happened.

Question 12

DM (repression)

Answer 12

This is the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses. The distressing memory is forced out of the conscious mind. However, these repressed thoughts and impulses in the unconscious continue to influence behaviour

Question 13

DM (displacement)

Answer 13

This is transferring your emotions from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target. The thoughts or feelings are redirected onto someone or something else.

Question 14

Strength of defence mechanisms

Answer 14

Defence mechanisms have face validity - they seem to logically make sense to people as part of their everyday experience e.g. Why people can’t remember the impact of a car crash as they’ve repressed it –> might be a valid explanation of behaviour.

Question 15

What are the psychosexual stages?

Answer 15

Freud believed that children are born with a libido – an unconscious sexual (pleasure) urge.
Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage.
Any unresolved conflict leads to fixation where the child becomes ‘stuck’ and carries certain behaviours and conflicts associated with the stage into adult life.

Question 16

How do children pass through psychosexual stages?

Answer 16

Pleasure seeking id energy filters to the erogenous zones. To move onto the next stage, a conflict between the id and superego must be resolved.

Question 17

What is the oral stage?

Answer 17

0 – 18 months
The focus of libido is the mouth. The child is being breast fed and weaned. The mother’s breast is the object of desire. They are passive, receptive and dependent.
They also focus on exploring with their mouths. They will pick up and suck objects. The mouth is the way in which the child expresses early sexual energy.

Consequence:
Freud suggested that an individual could become fixated in this stage if they were either under or over fed as a baby. A fixation here could lead to smoking, biting nails, being sarcastic and critical as an adult.

Question 18

What is the anal stage?

Answer 18

18 months – 3 years
The focus of Libido is on the anus as this is when potty training takes place. The ego develops as parents impose restrictions and the child becomes aware of the demands of reality and the need to conform to the demands of others. It is the first time the child experiences any sort of control (expulsion/retention of faeces) and the child gains pleasure from these activities.

Consequence:
Too strict or too lax potty training can result in the child becoming fixated in this stage. The child may also come to realise that they can exercise power over the parents by the retention or expulsion of faeces. There are two possible outcomes to this fixation, either an anally retentive or an anally expulsive personality. Anally retentive people are perfectionists and obsessive (anal). Anally expulsive people are thoughtless and messy.

Question 19

What is the phallic stage?

Answer 19

3 – 6 years
The focus is on the genitals. Curiosity and examination. The child becomes fully aware of gender differences; it becomes obsessed with its own genitals. The superego develops through resolution of the Oedipus or Electra complex. Identification with same sex parent leads to formation of gender identity.

Consequence:
Phallic personality – narcissistic and reckless. Freud also suggested that this may lead to homosexuality.

Question 20

What is the latent stage?

Answer 20

6 – 12 years
In this stage sexual desires remain dormant. Earlier conflicts and issues are repressed with the consequence that children are unable to remember much of their early years. Children want nothing to do with the opposite sex, as social and intellectual development occurs. The child develops mastery of the world around them.

No consequence

Question 21

What is the genital stage?

Answer 21

Puberty onwards
This stage marks the beginning of mature adult sexuality. Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty. The calm of latency is disrupted as the id makes powerful demands in the form of heterosexual desires. The opposite sex is now needed to satisfy the libido. This eventually directs us towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of adult life.

Consequence:
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

Question 22

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 22

Develop sexual desires for mother and murderous feelings for fathers, as they see their father as a rival for their mothers attention, gain castration anxiety (in phallic stage from father).
Resolve this by identifying with their fathers and internalising their moral standards.
Superego develops and how gender identity develops , thus boys substitute their desires for their mother with desire for other women

Question 23

What is the Electra complex?

Answer 23

Girl starts to sexually desire her father who has a penis.
Penis envy develops, blaming their mothers for removing their penis (superior sex organ) so get a desire for father (as they have a penis) and want to get mum out of the picture as she sees her as a rival (in phallic stage)
Girls resolve this by identifying with their mother and internalising their moral standards
This is how superego develops and how gender identity develops, girls substitute their desires for their mother with a desire to have a baby.

Question 24

What is fixation? Give some examples of the consequences of becoming fixated.

Answer 24

Result of getting too much or too little of pleasure during each stage e.g. fixated in the anal stage means you may be too particular (anal retentive - ‘being anal’)

Question 25

Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 25

* According to the psychodynamic approach, all human behaviour can be explained in terms of inner conflicts of the mind (think about the tripartite structure of the personality - id, ego and superego are always in conflict). * Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious – the part of our mind that we are unaware of. The unconscious contains repressed ideas and memories, and primitive desires, drives, impulses and instincts. These then influence most of our everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Therefore, behaviour is caused by unconscious factors which are largely unknown to us and beyond our control. * The unconscious extends its influence into every part of our waking and sleeping lives. Psychodynamic theory states that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality. Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and influence our behaviour as adults. * Psychodynamic theory stresses the importance of relationships, particularly those with family members. The relationship between parent and child is of particular importance. * It is a perspective that emphasises change and development in the individual. It often relies on case studies.

Question 26

Weakness of psychodynamic approach (women)

Answer 26

Freud’s views of women and female sexuality were less well developed than his views on male sexuality. Despite his theories focusing on sexual development, he remained ignorant of female sexuality and how it may differ from male sexuality. Dismissing women and their sexuality in such a way is problematic, not only because he treated many female patients, but also because his theories are still so influential today.

Question 27

Weakness of the psychodynamic approach (psychic determinism)

Answer 27

The psychodynamic approach suffers from psychic determinism (a type of hard determinism) meaning that it believes that unconscious factors beyond our control are responsible for our behaviour and therefore we have no free will over our behaviour. This includes ideas such as defence mechanisms, unconscious conflicts between the id, ego and superego etc. This could have the negative consequence of people not taking responsibility for their actions. (criminals) As such, whilst the psychodynamic approach may be a valid explanation of behaviour, it may not be particularly palatable in society.

Question 28

Weakness of the psychodynamic approach (falsifiability)

Answer 28

Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach doesn’t meet the scientific criterion of falsification. This is because it is not open to empirical testing, and therefore the possibility of being disproved. Many of Freud’s concepts, such as the id, Oedipus complex and defence mechanisms, are unconscious and so cannot be studied directly. They can only be inferred from behaviour or from reported thoughts or experiences. Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach is therefore a pseudoscience (‘fake’ science) rather than real science. Therefore it is a less credible and scientific approach than many of the other approaches.

Question 29

Weakness of the psychodynamic approach (unique)

Answer 29

Freud’s theory was based on intensive case studies of individuals who were often in therapy. Although the observations were detailed and carefully recorded, critics have suggested that it is not possible to make universal claims about human nature based on studies of such a small number of individuals who were psychologically abnormal. In comparison to the other approaches, Freud’s methods lack scientific rigour and so from the research we are unable to strongly support the psychodynamic approach.

Question 30

Supporting evidence (Little Hans)

Answer 30

Developed a phobia of horses at 5yrs after seeing a horse pulling a carriage fall over. According to Freud, Little Hans was experiencing the ‘Oedipus Complex’ – wanting to possess his mother, and saw his father as a rival. He displaced the fear of his father onto horses. The blinkers on the horse reminded Little Hans of his father’s glasses, and the black around the horse’s mouth reminded Little Hans of his father’s beard and moustache! Thus, horses were merely a symbolic representation of Han’s real unconscious fear of castration experienced during the Oedipus Complex. supporting evidence - supports validity of psychosexual stages and defence mechanisms.