5- psychodynamic approach

What is the psychodynamic approach?

A perspective that describes the different forces (dynamics), most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience

What did Sigmund Freud argue regarding the role of the unconscious?

Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious - the part of our mind that we are unaware of but which directs much of our behaviour

What does the unconscious contain?

Threatening and disturbing memories that have been suppressed, or locked away and forgotten. These can be accessed during dreams or through “slips of the tongue” (what Freud referred to as parapraxes)

What is under the surface of our conscious mind?

The preconscious which contains thoughts and memories which are not currently in conscious awareness but we can access if desired

What did Freud describe personality as?

Tripartite (composed as three parts)

What is the Id?

• The primitive part of our personality. It operates on the pleasure principle - the Id gets what it wants. It is a seething mass of unconscious drive and instincts

• Only the Id is present at birth. Throughout life, the Id is entirely selfish and demands instant gratification of its needs

What is the Ego?

• The Ego works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the other two parts of the personality

• The Ego develops around the age of two years old and its role is to reduce the conflict between the demands of the Id and the Superego. It manages this by employing defence mechanisms

What is the Superego?

• The Superego is formed at the end of the phallic stage (the third stage of psychosexual development), around the age of five. It is our internalised sense of right and wrong

• Based upon the morality principle, it represents the moral standards of the child’s same-gender parent and punishes the Ego for wrongdoing (through guilt)

What are the psychosexual stages?

• Freud claimed that child development occurred in five stages. Each stage (apart from latency) is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage

• Any psychosexual conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation where the child becomes “stuck” and carries certain behaviours and conflicts associated with that stage through to adult life

What is the first psychosexual stage?

Oral (0-1 years)

• Description: focus of pleasure is the mouth, mother’s breast can be the object of desire

• Consequence of unresolved conflict: oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical

What is the second psychosexual stage?

Anal (1-3 years)

• Description: focus of pleasure is the anus. Child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces

• Consequence of unresolved conflict: anal retentive (perfectionist, obsessive) and anal expulsive (thoughtless, messy)

What is the third psychosexual stage?

Phallic (3-6 years)

• Description: focus of pleasure is the genital area

• Consequence of unresolved conflict: phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless

What is the fourth psychosexual stage?

Latency

• Description: earlier conflicts are repressed

What is the fifth psychosexual stage?

Genital

• Description: Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty

• Consequence of unresolved conflict: difficulty forming heterosexual realtionships

What are defence mechanisms?

• These are unconscious strategies that ensure the Ego is able to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas

• However, they often involve some form of distortion of reality and as a long-term solution, they are regarded as psychologically unhealthy and undesirable

What are the three defence mechanisms that you need to know?

• Repression - forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind

• Denial - refusing to acknowledge some aspects of reality

• Displacement - transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target

What real world application does the psychodynamic approach have?

• The psychodynamic approach introduced the idea of psychotherapy (as opposed to physical treatments). Psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically

• It employed the technique of dream analysis, where psychoanalysts aims to help clients by bringing their repressed emotions into their conscious mind so they can be dealt with

• Psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many modern-day “talking therapies”, such as counselling that have since been established

What is a limitation of psychoanalysis?

• It is regarded as inappropriate, even harmful, for people experiencing more serious mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia)

• Many symptoms of schizophrenia (e.g. paranoia and delusional thinking) mean that those with the disorder have lost their grip on reality and cannot articulate their thoughts in the way required by psychoanalysis

• This suggests that Freudian therapy (and theory) may not apply to all mental disorder

What is one limitation of the psychodynamic approach, regarding its untestable concepts?

• The philosopher of science Karl Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification. It is not open to empirical testing (and the possibility of being disproved)

• Many of Freud’s concepts (e.g. the Id and the Oedipus complex) are said to occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult, if not impossible to test

• Furthermore, Freud’s ideas were based on the subjective study of single individuals (e.g. Little Hans), which makes it difficult to make universal claims about human behaviour

• This suggests that Freud’s theory was pseudoscientific (not a real science) rather than established fact

What type of determinism does the psychodynamic approach have?

Psychic determinism:

• The approach suggests that much of our behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood

• Freud believed there is no such thing as an “accident”. Even something as random as a “slip of the tongue” is driven by unconscious forces and has deep meaning

• Critics claim this is an extreme view as it dismisses any possible influence of free will on behaviour

What is a mnemonic to remember the sequence of psychosexual stages?

Old = Oral

Age = Anal

Pensioners = Phallic

Like = Latency

Grapes = Genital

During the Oedipus complex, boys will experience this as a result of having sexual feelings for their mother and fearing their father will find out.

Castration anxiety

A defence mechanism in which we refuse to acknowledge some aspect of reality.

Denial

A defence mechanism in which we transfer feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target.

Displacement

The reality principle in which the consequences are considered, and a balance is made between what the individual wants and what is right.

Ego

This occurs in girls during the phallic stage and leads to the development of the female gender identity.

Electra complex

Freud used this in order to reflect the way the largest and most significant factor is beneath the surface.

Iceberg analogy

The pleasure principle that is based on biological instinctual drives without any thought to the consequences.

Id

A process by which children engage in the attitudes and behaviours of their same sex parent.

Identification

A case study that has been used to support the idea of the Oedipus complex.

Little Hans

This occurs in boys during the phallic stage and leads to the development of the male gender identity.

Oedipus complex

According to the Electra complex, girls experience this and blame their mothers which leads to them fearing the mother and later identifying with her.

Penis envy

The therapy that was developed by Freud including the use of dream analysis and free association.

Psychoanalysis

According to Freud, there are five of these representing the different ways in which sexual energy is fulfilled.

Psychosexual stages

A defence mechanism in which we force a distressing memory out of the conscious mind.

Repression

The morality principle in which the individual will experience guilt if they act in a certain way. It acts like the conscience.

Superego

A key term for the division of our personality into three components of id, ego and superego

Tripartite personality

According to Freud, this is the driving force behind our behaviour, referring to that which we are not aware of.

Unconscious

Where an individual adopts the attitudes and/or behaviours of another e.g. when a boy adopts the male gender identity of his father following identification.

Internalisation