The Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
(18 cards)
What are the three different consciousnesses that Sigmund Freud proposed are in the human mind and what does each of them suggest?
Conscious mind – what we are aware of (tip of iceberg)
Preconscious mind – Thoughts we may become aware of through dreams/ ‘slips of the tongue’
Unconscious mind – A vast storehouse of biological drivers/ instincts that influence our behaviour.
What are the three parts to the Tripartile structure of personality that Sigmund Freud proposed?
Id
Ego
Superego
What is Id part within the Tripartile structure of personality? When is it developed and what part of the mind is it in?
Primitive part of the personality that operates the pleasure principle, demanding instant gratification. It is developed from birth, and occurs in the unconscious mind.
What is the Ego part within the Tripartile structure of personality? When is it developed and what part of the mind is it in?
Works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the Id and superego.
It is developed around 2-3 years of age, and is in the preconscious / conscious mind.
What is the Superego part within the Tripartile structure of personality? When is it developed and what part of the mind is it in?
Internalised sense of right/ wrong, (conscience/ego ideal) and is based on the morality principle, this punishes the Ego through guilt and appears at age 5. It is in the conscious mind.
What was the idea of the 5 psychosexual stages proposed by Freud, and what would happen if any conflict was left unresolved in a child’s development?
He suggested that 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 child becomes ‘stuck’ and carries behaviours associated with that stage through to adult life.
What are the 5 psychosexual stages proposed by Freud? When are they each displayed in children and what do they each mean?
Oral (0-1yrs): pleasure focus = mouth, mother’s breast is the object of desire.
Anal (1-3yrs): pleasure focus= anus, child gains pleasure from withholding + eliminating faeces
Phallic (3-6yrs): pleasure focus= genital area
Latency: earlier conflicts are repressed
Genital (puberty): sexual desires become conscious.
When does the Oedipus Complex occur within boys and what do girls experience at this age?
The psychosexual conflict occurs at the phallic stage.
Girls of the same age experience penis envy
In the Oedipus Complex, proposed by Freud, what did he suggest about boys and how does this change through growth?
Littles boys develop incestuous feelings for their mother and a murderous hatred for their father.
Later, boys repress these feelings for their mother and identify with their father, taking on his gender role/ moral values.
What are the 3 defence mechanisms/ unconscious strategies used by the Ego to reduce anxiety and what do each of them mean?
Repression - forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial - refusing the acknowledge reality
Displacement - transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target.
What are the two strengths to the psychodynamic approach?
— it is introduced psychotherapy
—It has explanatory power
Explain the strength to the psychodynamic approach regarding it having introduced psychotherapy (3 points)
—Freuds psychology was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically.
The approach is used to help clients treat everyday problems by providing access to their subconscious, i.e dream analysis.
—It is used in many modern day therapies— ‘talking therapies’
Explain the strength to the psychodynamic approach that regards it having explanatory power (2 points)
— despite its controversy/bizarreness psychoanalysis has been used to explain lots of behaviours and has drawn attention to childhood affect on adult personalities.
—suggests it has had a positive influence on psychology/ modern day thinking
What is the counterpoint to the strength of the psychodynamic approach that regards it being introduced psychotherapy?
Despite psychoanalysis being successful for mild neuroses, it’s inappropriate/ harmful for more serious disorders (e.g schizophrenia)
Therefore it may not apple to clients who have lost touch of reality.
What is the main limitation to the psychodynamic approach?
It includes untestable concepts.
Explain the limitation to the psychodynamic approach that regards it having untestable concepts. (Falsification etc, 3 points)
—Karl popper argued the approach doesn’t measure scientific criterion of falsification.
—many of Freud’s concepts, ,e.g Id + Oedipus complex occur at an unconscious level, making them almost impossible to test.
—Means that Freud’s ideas lack scientific vigour, making the approach pseudoscientific (‘fake’ science)
Explain the extra evaluation concept of Psychic -Determinism to the Psychodynamic approach (3 points)
—The approach suggests most human behaviour is detained by unconscious conflict, Freud believing there was no such thing as ‘accidents’
—few psychologists accept this view as it leaves no room for free will past early childhood
—Suggests Freud’s views were too extreme as most people have an aspect of control over their behaviour
What is the Electra complex? When does it occur etc?
Girls at the same age as boys experiencing the phallic stage (5 years) experience penis envy: they desire their father, as the penis is the primary love object and hate their mothers.
