psychodynamic approach- the basic assumptions

Question 1

what are the 6 AO1 points you must know on the basic assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

-Unconscious Mind
-Tripartite Personality Structure
-Psychic Determinism
-Defence Mechanisms
-Psychosexual Stages of Development
-Importance of Childhood Experiences

Question 2

What is the role of the unconscious in the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 2

The unconscious mind holds drives, wishes, and memories outside conscious awareness but strongly influences behaviour.

Question 3

What are the three parts of personality according to Freud?

Answer 3

Id: present at birth, operates on the pleasure principle (seeks immediate gratification).

Ego: mediates between id and reality, operates on the reality principle.

Superego: the moral conscience, internalised societal and parental standards.

Question 4

What is psychic determinism?

Answer 4

The belief that all behaviour has an unconscious psychological cause, with no free will—even trivial acts are driven by deeper motives.

Question 5

What are defence mechanisms?

Answer 5

Unconscious strategies the ego uses to reduce anxiety from conflicts between id and superego, including repression, denial, and projection.

Question 6

What are Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?

Answer 6

Five stages—oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital—each focusing on a different erogenous zone; fixation can produce adult personality traits or disorders.

Question 7

Why are childhood experiences important in the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 7

Early interactions, especially with parents, shape the adult personality and can create unconscious conflicts that influence later behaviour and mental health.