The Psychodynamic Approach (Year 13 Booklet 1)

What context was the Psychodynamic approach created in (time period) and why was this important?

• Late 1800s

• Victorian society → Conservative

Define the Psychodynamic Approach

A perspective that describes the unconscious forces that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience

What are the three assumptions of the Psychodynamic Approach?

• Unconscious processes determine behaviour

• There are three parts which make up our personality (Id, Ego and Superego)

• Early childhood experiences determine our adult personality

Explain the importance of the unconscious on behaviour (hint: what does it contain + how much of the mind does it make up?)

• Unconscious makes up vast majority of mind

• Acts as a storehouse for biological drives and instincts

• Contains negative/disturbing memories that have been repressed or forgotten

Explain the tripartite personality including what age each part develops.

1. The ID

   • Operates on a pleasure principle (selfish)

   • Demands instant gratification

   • Present at birth

2. The EGO

   • Operates on reality principle 

   • Mediates to reduce conflict between ID and SUPEREGO through defence mechanisms

   • Forms about age 2

3. The SUPEREGO

   • Operates on morality principle

   • Internalised sense of right and wrong

   • Learned from moral standards of same sex parent

   • Punishes EGO through guilt

   • Develops around age 5

What are defence mechanisms?

• Unconscious strategies the Ego uses to manage conflicts between the ID and the SUPEREGO

• Distorted versions of reality

Explain the three key defence mechanisms of repression, denial and displacement.

• Repression: Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind

• Denial: Refusing to acknowledge an aspect of reality (something that is true)

• Displacement: Transferring feelings from true sources of distressing emotions to substitute target

What are the 5 psychosexual stages? Why did Freud believe these were important for child development?

If the child is unable to resolve that conflict them it results in them becoming ‘stuck’ in that phase and they develop fixations and behaviours associated with that stage

• Oral

• Anal

• Phallic

• Latency

• Genital

Psychosexual stages: Explain the oral stage

• 0-1 years

• Source of pleasure= mouth

• Conflict= being breastfed

• Adult personality= Oral fixation (smoking, drinking,nail biting)

Psychosexual stages: Explain the anal stage

• 1-3 years

• Source of pleasure= anus

• Conflict= toilet trained

• Adult personality= Withhold faeces or expel faeces (perfectionist or chaotic)

Psychosexual stages: Explain the phallic stage

• 3-6 years

• Source of pleasure= genitals

• Conflict= Oedipus complex for boys and Electra complex for girls

• Adult personality

  • Oedipus: Vain, narcissistic, overly ambitious

  • Electra: Want to dominate men by being seductive or really submissive

Psychosexual stages: Explain the latency stage

• 6 years-puberty

• Repress earlier conflicts

• Develop self-identity

• No conflict

Psychosexual stages: Explain the genital stage

• Puberty-adulthood

• Source of pleasure= Sexual desire awareness

• Conflict= Have to have a heterosexual relationship before 18

• Adult personality (girls could never exit this stage):

  • Homosexuality (due to obsession with own genitals)

  • Criminality

  • Mental health issues

  • Overly emotional

Explain the Oedipus complex.

• During phallic stage boys developed incestuous feelings towards mother

• Developed jealousy towards father who they thought as rival

• Feared castration from father, so repressed feelings towards their mother

• So identified with their father, taking his gender role and morals

Explain the Electra complex.

• In phallic stage girls experience penis envy

• Girls desire their father and hate their mother

• Over time the desire for their father becomes a desire to have a baby