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

Psychodynamic approach believes what about childhood experiences?

Behaviour is caused by psychological causes- experiences in childhood are thought to be pivotal

What did Freud believe about the unconscious mind?

-Everything we are aware of is stored in our conscious

-We are only aware of a small part of what makes up our personality. The rest is either in our preconscious or is buried and inaccessible in our unconscious

-Likened mind to an iceberg

What is the conscious?

The small amount of mental activity we know about/are aware of

Examples of what is stored in the conscious?

-Thoughts

-Perceptions

What is the preconscious?

Things we could be aware of if we wanted or if we tried

Examples of what is stored in the preconscious?

-Memories

-Knowledge

What is the unconscious?

Things we are unaware of and cannot become aware of

Examples of what is stored in the unconscious?

-Trauma

-Sexual desires

-Immoral thoughts

-Irrational wishes

What is the tripartite personality?

Freud's division of the mind in to three structures- the Id, the Ego and the Superego

What is the Id?

Instinctive- operates on the pleasure principle

What is the Ego?

Logical- operates on the reality principle

What is the Superego?

Rewards/punishes us internally- based on the morality principle

What are defence mechanisms?

Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the Id and the Superego.

What is the purpose of defence mechanisms?

-Protecting Ego from painful experiences

-Protecting Ego from Id and Superego

What are the three defence mechanisms?

-Repression

-Denial

-Displacement

What is repression?

Unconsciously pushing unwanted/distressing/shameful ideas + thoughts into the unconscious (out of of conscious mind)

What is denial?

Refusing to accept some aspect of reality (normally unpleasant situations)

What is displacement?

Transferring feelings from a true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute person/object

What was Freud's theory about child development?

Children go through different stages of psychosexual development

What are the 5 psychosexual stages?

Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital

Oral stage description?

-Ages 0-1

-Focus of pleasure is the mouth, mother's breast can be an object of desire

Consequences of unresolved conflict during oral stage?

-Oral fixation (smoking, biting nails)

-Sarcastic

-Critical

Anal stage description?

-Ages 1-3

-Focus of pleasure is anus; child gains pleasure from withholding + expelling faeces

Consequences of unresolved conflict during anal stage?

-Anal retentive= perfectionist, obsessive

-Anal expulsive= thoughtless, messy

Phallic stage description?

-Ages 3-6

-Focus of pleasure is genital area

Consequences of unresolved conflict during phallic stage?

-Phallic personality= narcissistic, reckless

Latency stage description?

-Ages 7-11

-Earlier conflicts are repressed

Genital stage description?

-Ages 11+

-Sexual desires become conscious alongside onset on puberty

Consequences of unresolved conflict during genital stage?

-Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

What is the Oedipus complex?

-All boys desire their mother + therefore see father as rival

-Eventually decide to become more like father to stay safe (fearing castration)

What is the Electra complex?

-The unconscious desire of girls to replace their mother and win their father's romantic love

-Eventually this desire is suppressed

How does identification play a role in child development?

-Children begin to identify with same sex parents and therefore imitate similar superego morals to them

Strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

-Highly influential in psychological advances

-SUPERPEEL PT 1 Positive real life application (psychoanalysis, aims to uncover unconscious conflicts into the conscious to resolve them and therefore resolve mental disorders)

-Explanatory power (can explain human behaviour)

-Support from case studies= Little Hans

Weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?

-Unfalsifiable; not possible to empirically test many of Freud's ideas (very little evidence to back it up as a result)

-Purely based on psychic determinism (claim that human behaviour is a result of childhood experiences, not taking into account adult experiences that shape who we are)

-SUPERPEEL PT 2 : Psychoanalysis cannot help everyone with mental disorders; requires clear articulation of thoughts which patients with disorders like schizophrenia may find difficult