Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Theory

This theory focuses on how our unconscious mind and childhood experiences shape our personality and behavior

Our mind has three parts

ID - the child who seeks immediate pleasure

EGO - the referee who tries to balance what we want and reality

SUPEREGO - the strict parent who tells us what is right and wrong

Defense Mechanisms

Regression

Repression

Displacement

Denial

Reaction Formation

Rationalization

Projection

Sublimation

Regression

Acting like a child when stressed

Repression

pushing away bad memories

Displacement

taking your anger out on someone/something else

Denial

Refusing to accept reality

Reaction Formation

Acting the opposite way than you feel

Rationalization

Making excuses to feel better

Projection

Imposing your feelings on someone else

Sublimation

turning bad feelings into something positive

Strengths of Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic

most comprehensive and influential

early experiences shape personalities

Weaknesses of Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic

Difficult to test

Not representative

Too much emphasis on the unconscious

Freud

he gave approximate age ranges and labels to key stages when conflicts between ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO occur, called psychosexual stages