The 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 are the parts that make up the mind as according to Freud ?

The conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious.

What is the conscious?

The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which directs much of our behaviour. What most of our mind is made up of.

What is the pre-conscious?

Parts of the mind that we are not ware of, but we can become aware of them through dreams and ‘slips of the tongue‘.

What is the conscious?

The part of our mind that we know about and are aware of.

How did Freud describe personality?

As ‘tripartide‘; composed of three parts.

What are the three parts of personality as described by Freud?

The Id, Ego and Superego.

What is the Id?

The part of our personality that operates on the pleasure principle and demands instant gratification. It is present from birth and is entirely unconscious.

What is the Ego?

The ‘reality check‘ that acts as a mediator between the Id and Superego. It works on the reality principle and develops around the age of two. It manages them by employing a number of defense mechanisms.

What is the Superego?

The moralistic part of personality that represents the ideal self. It is formed at the end of the phallic stage, is our internalised sense of right and wrong, and is based on the morality principle. It represents the moral standards of the child’s same-sex gender parent and punishes the ego for wrongdoing through guilt.

What did Freud claim about child development?

That it occurred in five stages, called psychosexual stages.

What are psychosexual stages?

Five developmental stages that all children pass through. At each stage, there is a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development.

What are the five psychosexual stages?

Oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital.

What is the genital stage?

When the focus of pleasure is the mouth and the mother’s breast can be the object of desire.

What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the oral stage?

Oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, being sarcastic and critical.

What is the anal stage?

When the focus of pleasure is the anus. Child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces.

What is the result of unresolved in the anal stage?

• Anal-retentive - perfectionist, obsessive.

• Anal-expulsive - thoughtless, messy.

What is the phallic stage?

When the focus of pleasure is the genital area.

What is the result of unresolved conflict in the phallic stage?

Phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless.

What is the latency stage?

When earlier conflicts are repressed.

What is the genital stage?

When sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty.

What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the genital stage?

Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

What are defence mechanisms?

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

What are the three defence mechanisms?

Repression, denial and displacement.

What is repression?

Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind.

What is denial?

Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality.

What is displacement?

Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target.

what are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

• Real-world application.

• Explanatory power.

How is real-world application a strength of the psychodynamic approach?

It introduced the idea of psychotherapy as opposed to physical treatments. Freud brought to the world a new form of therapy - psychoanalysis. This was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically. The new therapy employed a range of techniques designed to access the unconscious. Psychoanalysis claims to help clients by bringing their repressed emotions into their conscious mind so they can be dealt with. It is the forerunner to many modern day ‘talking therapies‘.

What does the real-world application mean for the psychodynamic approach?

It shows the value of the psychodynamic approach in creating a new approach to treatment.

What is the counterpoint to the real-world research?

Although Freudian therapists have claimed success for many clients with mild neuroses, psychoanalysis is regarded as inappropriate, even harmful, for people experiencing more serious mental disorder, such as schizophrenia. Many of the symptoms of schizophrenia, such as 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 analysis.

What does the counterpoint mean for the real-world application?

That Freudian therapy and theory may not apply to all mental disorders

How is explanatory power a strength of the psychodynamic approach?

Freud’s theory is controversial in many ways, and occasionally bizarre, but it has nevertheless had a huge influence on psychology and contemporary thought. Alongside behaviourism, the psychodynamic approach remained a key force in psychology for the first half of the 20th century and has been used to explain a wide range of phenomena including personality development, the origins of psychological disorders, moral development and gender identity. The approach is also significant in drawing attention to the connection between experiences in childhood ad, such as our relationship with our parents, and our later development.

What does the explanatory power suggest about the psychodynamic approach?

That, overall, the psychodynamic approach has had a positive impact on psychology - and also on literature, art and other human endeavours.

What is the limitation of the psychodynamic approach?

Untestable concepts.

How is untestable concepts a limitation of the psychodynamic approach?

Much of it is untestable; 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. Manny of Freud’s concepts such as the Id are said to occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult, if not impossible, to test. Furthermore, his ideas were based on the subjective study of single individuals such as little Hans, which it makes it difficult to make universal claims about human behaviour.

What does untestable concepts suggest about Freud’s theory?

That it was pseudoscientific, (not a real science) rather than established fact.