The psychodynamic approach

Question 1

According to Freud, what is the unconscious mind?

Answer 1

A large storehouse of biological drives, instinct, and repressed memories that influence behaviour.

Question 2

What are parapraxes and what do they reveal?

Answer 2

Slips of the tongue (e.g. calling a teacher “mum”) that reveal the unconscious mind.

Question 3

What is the preconscious?

Answer 3

Part of the mind containing thoughts not currently in conscious awareness but accessible if needed.

Question 4

What are the three parts of Freud’s tripartite personality?

Answer 4

The Id, Ego, Superego

Question 5

What is the role of the id?

Answer 5

It operates on the pleasure principle, is present from birth, and seeks instant gratification

Question 6

What does the Ego do?

Answer 6

Operates on the reality principle, mediates between the Id and Superego, and uses defence mechanisms.

Question 7

What is the Superego?

Answer 7

Develops around age five, follows the morality principle, and punishes the Ego through guilt.

Question 8

What are defence mechanisms in the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 8

Unconscious strategies used by the Ego to manage conflict and reduce anxiety.

Question 9

Why are defence mechanisms considered psychologically unhealthy long-term?

Answer 9

Because they distort reality and can prevent proper emotional development.

Question 10

What stage is (0-1) years?

Answer 10

The oral stage

Question 11

What happens in the oral stage?

Answer 11

Pleasure focus is the mouth; fixation can lead to smoking, nail biting, sarcasm or criticism.

Question 12

What stage is (1-3 years)?

Answer 12

The Anal stage

Question 13

What happens in the Anal stage?

Answer 13

Pleasure is from withholding/expelling faeces; fixation can lead to being either perfectionist (anal-retentive) or messy (anal expulsive).

Question 14

Which stage is (3-6 years)?

Answer 14

The Phallic stage

Question 15

What is the phallic stage?

Answer 15

Pleasure or focus is the genitals, unresolved conflict can cause a narcissistic or reckless personality.

Question 16

What happens during the latency stage?

Answer 16

Earlier conflicts are repressed; no major fixation here.

Question 17

What is the focus on the Genital stage (puberty onward)?

Answer 17

Sexual desires become conscious, fixation may lead to difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

Question 18

What happens if a psychosexual conflict is unresolved?

Answer 18

The individual becomes fixated and may carry related behaviours into adult life.

Question 19

What is repression? (Defence mechanism)

Answer 19

Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind into the unconscious (e.g forgetting a traumatic event)

Question 20

What is denial? (Defence mechanism)

Answer 20

Refusing to accept reality or facts, blocking external events from awareness (e.g. refusing to believe you’ve failed an exam)

Question 21

What is displacement? (Defence mechanism)

Answer 21

Redirecting emotions from the true source onto a substitute target (e.g. taking out anger on a sibling after a bad day at work)

Question 22

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 22

A psychosexual conflict experienced by boys in the phallic stage (3-6 years), involving unconscious sexual desires for their mother and jealousy of their father.

Question 23

How is the Oedipus complex resolved?

Answer 23

The boy represses his feelings and identifies with his father, adopting his morals and gender role (forming the superego).

Question 24

What is penis envy according to Freud?

Answer 24

A psychosexual conflict in the phallic stage where girls desire a penis and feel jealousy towards males.

Question 25

How did Freud believe girls resolved penis envy?

Answer 25

By substituting their desire for a penis with a desire for a baby, and identifying with their mother.

Question 26

Who was Little Hans?

Answer 26

A five-year-old boy studied by Freud who developed a phobia of horses.

Question 27

What explanation did Freud give for Little Hans's horse phobia?

Answer 27

Freud believed Hans's fear of horses was a displacement of his repressed fear of his father, due to the Oedipus complex.

Question 28

How did Freud interpret the horse in Little Hans's case?

Answer 28

As a symbolic substitute for his father - especially horses with black around their mouths (like his father's moustache).

Question 29

What real-world application came from the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 29

Freud reintroduced psychoanalysis, the first psychological treatment for mental disorders.

Question 30

What does psychoanalysis aim to do?

Answer 30

It accesses the unconscious mind (e.g. through dream analysis) to bring repressed emotions into consciousness.

Question 31

Why is psychoanalysis significant in modern psychology?

Answer 31

It is the forerunner of talking therapies like counselling, influencing how mental health is treated today.

Question 32

What is a counterpoint to the usefulness of psychoanalysis?

Answer 32

It is considered unsuitable for serious disorders like schizophrenia due to symptoms like delusions and paranoia.

Question 33

What is a strength of the psychodynamic approach's explanatory power.

Answer 33

It explains diverse behaviours including personality development, mental disorders, and gender identity.

Question 34

How did the psychodynamic approach impact psychology overall?

Answer 34

It remained a dominant force in early psychology and highlighted the role of childhood experiences.

Question 35

What is a limitation of Freud's theory?

Answer 35

It contains many untestable concepts that cannot be empirically measured, like the Id and the Oedipus complex.

Question 36

Why did Karl Popper argue Freud's theory was unscientific?

Answer 36

Because it lacks falsifiability - its claims can;'t be tested or disproved, making it pseudoscientific.