psychodynamic approach

The world’s first lab for experimental psychology was set up by

Wilhelm Wundt

When did Wundt set up his lab

1879

What method did Wundt use

The scientific method

Wundt studied the mind using

Stimuli presented to the participants in the lab

Before using the scientific process psychology had only been in the realm of

Philosophy

Wundt believed he could study the mind by applying….

Reductionism

By studying the mind with reductionism Wundt could …

Explain the mind in terms of its simpler parts

Wundt used introspection when studying his participants responses to stimuli, where participants…

Examine and described their own mental processes

What did Wundt do

Apply reductionism to the human mind

Start the first experimental psychology lab

Used introspection to understand participants responses

Variables in the environment other than what the researchers are manipulating that might affect the participants behaviour are called

Situational variables

When situational variables are controlled we call this

Standardisation

how did Wundt make his studies replicable

He wrote down the methods of his studies

Wundt applied the scientific method by…

Controlling all situational variables

Making his studies replicable

Wundts results were not consistent, so his studies lack…

Reliability

Wundt did not use direct observation in his research so…

His results were not based on empirical evidence

The psychodynamic approach to psychology was developed by

Sigmund Freud

The conscious mind contains

Everything you are currently thinking about right now

Preconscious mind

Everything you are not currently thinking about but can be easily accessed

Common factor between the concourse and precocious mind is that

We can easily access both of them

Key assumption of the psychodynamic approach

Most behaviour is caused by unconscious mind

In the psychodynamic approach everyone’s personality has a ….

Tripartite structure,which means our personality is made up of three parts the id, ego and superego

Id is responsible for

urges for instant gratification and impulses

The id is entirely in the …. Mind

Unconscious mind

The superego is in the … mind

Unconscious, precocious and conscious

The superego is responsible for

Morals and following rules

The ego is aware of decsions being made, so it’s in the…. mind

Conscious mind and preconscious

what does the ego do

Mediates between the id and superego, either compromises or sides with one

Defence mechanisms

Displacement, repression, denial

Displacement

When the ego redirects the id’s impulses towards something else

Repression

When the ego pushes away the impulse into the unconscious

Denial

When the ego gives into the id, refusing to believe it has

When are defence mechanisms used

When we feel an impulse from our id, the ego uses them to defend against our unconscious and when the impulses are desirable

According to the psychodynamic approach, the unconscious mind is affected by…

Repressed childhood experiences

Freud modelled how childhood experiences affect behaviour using…

5 psychosexual stages

In the oral stage a child’s urge for instant gratification is focused on the…

Mouth

In the anal stage, a child’s urge for instant gratification is focused on the…

Anus

The oral psychosexual stage takes place from…

Birth to 18 months

Main impulse of the oral stage

Eating

The anal psychosexual stage takes place from…

18 months to 3 years old

Anal stage main impulse

To poo

Anally retentive

If a child becomes nervous about learning to use the toilet

Anally expulsive

If a child becomes super keen to use the toilet

Oedipus complex

When a boy becomes sexually attracted to his mother, becoming jealous of his father

Electra complex

A girl’s unconscious competition with her mother for her fathers affection and attention

Phallic psychosexual stage takes place from…

3 to 6 years old

During the phallic stage….

Boys are focused on the penis and sexually attracted to their mother

Girls do not trust their mother and are sexually attracted to their father

During the phallic stage what do boys and girls get

Girls get penis envy, boys get castration anxiety

A psychosexual fixation is

When repressed psychological trauma affects behaviour

If a patient had a habit of smoking/ biting nails, Freud might conclude…

They had repressed psychological trauma from when they were between 0 and 18 months

An anally retentive fixation can lead to

An adult being neat and organised, and careful with their money

An an anally expulsive fixation can lead to

An adult being overly emotional, including becoming angry

A phallic fixation can lead to

An adult being jealous or anxious

The latent stage takes place from…

6 to 12 years old

The genital stage manifests at…

Age 12 and continues to adulthood

What does the latent and genital stage have in common

They do not involve psychosexual fixations

During the latent stage the id is…

Not focused on any one part of the body

The genital stage is when…

The id focuses on the genitals

Freud analysed patients dreams because

He believed that dreams give us insight into the unconscious mind

Feud saw little hans as a case study that…

Fit his model of the psychosexual stages

Freud was in the correct stage for his age …. and had an unresolved….

The phallic stage, Oedipus complex

How did Freud gather information about little Hans

Through letters and reports from his father

What Freudian defence mechanism was seen in Hans fear of horses

Displacement

According to Freud what did horses represent in little Hans

Hans’s father, a displaced fear due to Oedipus complex

Little hans case study

Hans had a fear of horses which was a displaced thing

Hans father sent Freud notes about Hans dreams and behaviour

Hans didn’t like sharing his mothers attention

Freud concluded that Hans had an Oedipus complex

Limitations of little Hans case study

The results may not generalise to other people

It uses self report, so not based on any objective empirical evidence

Case studies are non-experimental method so can’t establish cause and effect