the psychodynamic approach

Question 1

what is the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

a perspective that describes the difference forces (dynamics), most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind & direct human behaviour & experience

Question 2

what is the unconscious?

Answer 2

the part of the mind that we are aware of but which directs much of our behaviour

Question 3

what is the role of the unconscious?

Answer 3

Freud suggested the mind is made up of:
conscious - what we are aware of,
preconscious - thoughts we may become aware of through dreams & ‘slips of the tongue’,
unconscious- a vast storehouse of biological drives & instincts that influence our behaviour

Question 4

what is the id?

Answer 4

entirely unconscious, the id is made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification

Question 5

what is the ego?

Answer 5

the ‘reality check’ that balances the conflicting demands of the id & the superego

Question 6

what is the superego?

Answer 6

the moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self - how we ought to be

Question 7

what are defence mechanisms?

Answer 7

unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id & the superego

Question 8

what is the structure of personality?

Answer 8

Freud saw it as having 3 parts,
id - primitive part of the personality operates on the pleasure principle, demands instant gratification,
ego - works on the reality principle & is the mediator between the id & the superego,
superego - internalised sense of right & wrong, based on morality principle, punishes the ego through guilt, appears at age 5

Question 9

how do the psychosexual stages determine adult personality?

Answer 9

each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve to move on to the next,
any conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation where the chid becomes ‘stuck’ & carries behaviours associated with that stage through to adult life

Question 10

what are the psychosexual stages?

Answer 10

1. oral (0-1yrs) - pleasure focus = mouth, the mother’s breast is the object of desire,
2. anal (1-3yrs) - pleasure focus = anus, the child gains pleasure from withholding & expelling faeces,
3. phallic (3-6yrs) - pleasure focus = genital area,
4. latency - earlier conflicts are repressed,
5. genital (puberty) - sexual desires become conscious

Question 11

what are the consequences of unresolved conflict?

Answer 11

1. oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical
2. anal retentive- perfectionist, obsessive or anal expulsive - thoughtless, messy
3. phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless
4. latency - none
5. genital - difficulty forming homosexual relationships

Question 12

what is the oedipus complex?

Answer 12

in the phallic stage little boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother & a murderous hatred for their father,
later boys repress their feelings for their mother & identify with their father, taking on his gender role & moral values,
girls of the same age experience penis envy

Question 13

how do defence mechanisms reduce anxiety?

Answer 13

unconscious strategies used by the ego:
repression - forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind,
denial- refusing to acknowledge reality,
displacement- transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target

Question 14

what is the real-world application strength?

Answer 14

-it introduced the idea of psychotherapy,
-Freud psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically, -psychoanalysis claims to help clients deal with everyday problems by providing access to their unconscious, employing techniques such as dream analysis,
-this shows the value of the psychodynamic approach in creating a new approach to treatment.

Question 15

what is the counterpoint to real-world application?

Answer 15

-harmful for serious mental disorders,
-although psychoanalysis is claimed successful for clients with mild neuroses, it is inappropriate, even harmful, for more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia,
- therefore Freudian therapy may not apply to mental disorders where a client has lost touch with reality

Question 16

what is the explanatory power strength?

Answer 16

-the approach has explanatory power,
-Freud’s theory is controversial & often bizarre, but it has had huge influence on contemporary thought,
-it has been used to explain a wide range of behaviours (moral, mental disorders) & drew attention to the influence of childhood on adult personality,
-this suggests that, overall, the approach has had a positive influence on psychology & modern-day thinking.

Question 17

what is the untestable concepts limitation?

Answer 17

-the approach includes untestable concepts,
-Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification, in the sense that it cannot be disproved,
-many of Freud’s concepts, such as the Id or the Oedipus complex, occur at an unconscious level making them difficult to test,
-this means that Freud’s ideas lack scientific rigour.

Question 18

what is the psychic determinism limitation?

Answer 18

-the approach suggest that much of out behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts, Freud believed there was no such thing as an ‘accident’,
-however, few psychologists would accept this view as it leaves no room for free will beyond early childhood,
-this suggest that Freud’s views were too extreme as most people do not have a sense of control over their behaviour.