psychodynamic approach

unconscious mind

makes most up of our mind, storehouse for biological drives and instincts, influences behaviour and personality

contains disturbing memories that are repressed

preconsious mind

under the conscious

includes ideas that manifest in dreams or slip of the tongue

tripartite personality development

id, ego, superego

id

entirely conscious and made up of selfish and aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification, present from birth

ego

the mediator that balances the conflicting demands of id and superego, by deploying defence mechanisms, develops age 2

superego

moralistic part of personality, our internalised sense of right and wrong, punishes ego for doing wrong

develops age 5

denial

someone refusing to accept reality or facts because they’re too upsetting, so the mind blocks it out

displacement

someone shifting their feelings from the real target to a less threatening person or object

repression

when unwanted thoughts are pushed out of consious awareness into the unconscious mind to avoid distress

psychosexual stages

personality develops from birth, the child must get enough gratification in order that they’re ready to move on but too much can cause problems in nature later. If someone’s stuck in a stage they may be fixated on the stage

oral

0-1

focus of pleasure is the mouth, mothers breast

oral fixation like smoking, biting nails, sarcastic or critical

anal

1-3 years

focus of pleasure is the anus, gains pleasure from withholding or expelling faesues

anal retentive, perfectionist, obsessive. anal expulsion, narcissistic, reckless

phallic

3-6 years

focus of pleasure is the genital area

narcissist, reckless

latency

earlier conflicts are repressed

genital

sexual desires become conscious alongside puberty

difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

strengths

real world application - introduced psychotherapy used to treat mental disorders, access unconscious mind

ability to explain human behaviour, links between childhood

weakness

not suitable for severe mental disorders

it is pseudoscientific as its not falsifiable