Psychodynamic approach revision

The psychodynamic approach

The unconscious mind

  • The unconscious mind is a part of the mind that cannot be accessed properly and consistently.
  • The unconscious is a part of the mind that often cannot be controlled
  • The unconscious mind of has a large influence on behaviour

Three parts to the personality

  • Freud suggested the personality consists of three parts:
  1. The Id - This is selfish, set on pleasure no matter the cost, aims to get what it desires no matter what. This may be described as the primitive part of our personality. The id is submerged completely in the unconscious and is the only part of the personality that is developed at birth.
  2. The Superego. This is described as uptight, follows the rules rigidly, wants to be in control. The superego is developed around that age of 5. This has an internalised sense of right and wrong. Based on the parents’ (same sex e.g. father and son) morals. The superego punishes the ego for wrong doing - by feeling guilt.
  3. The Ego. This is considerate, realistic and has a good sense of right and wrong. The ego mediates between the id and the superego. This is done by using defence mechanisms.

Defence mechanisms

  • The ego has the job of balancing the conflicting demands of the Id and the Superego and so uses defence mechanisms. These are unconscious and ensure that the ego is able to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or trauma. However, they often involve some form of distortion of reality and as a long term solution, they are regarded as psychologically unhealthy.
  1. Repression - forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind and onto the unconscious.
  2. Denial - refusal to acknowledge some aspects of reality
  3. Displacement - transferring feelings from the true source of the emotion, to a substitute target/ object.

Psychosexual stages

  • The oral stage - starts from birth to 1. The focus of pleasure is the mouth e.g. sucking biting, feeding. The mothers breast is the object of desire. The cause for conflict is the weaning the baby off of the mothers breast. The consequence for unresolved conflict is that the individual may have issues with dependency. May also have issues with eating, smoking and drinking.
  • The anal stage - starts from age 1-3. The focus of pleasure is the anus. Pleasure is gained from either expelling or withholding faeces. May help to cope with demands for control. The cause for conflict is potty training. Consequences of unresolved conflict is that if the potty training is too strict, then the child may become anal retentive and may grow up to be obsessive. If the potty training is too lenient then the child will be anal expulsive and may grow up to be lazy and thoughtless as an adult.
  • The phallic stage - Starts from 3-5. The focus of pleasure is the genitals. During this time, the child learns the difference between males and females. During the phallic stage, the child is likely to experience the oedipus (for boys) or the electra (for girls) complex. The cause of conflict is getting past the oedipus or the electra complex. The consequence of an unresolved conflict is the child may grow up to show narcissistic behaviour, may be reckless and may even grow up to be homosexual.
  • The latency stage - the child continues development, but sexual urges are quiet. There are no conflicts at this stage. The libido is dormant but Freud argues that this is where we learn to sue defence mechanisms. Any fixations in this stage may lead to an inability to form fulfilling relationships as an adult.
  • The genital stage - this is where sexual urges become conscious. This stage begins along side puberty. Teenagers are now able to balance their most basic urges against the need to conform to the demands of reality. The consequence of any unresolved conflict is that the child may grow up to have difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

The oedipus and electra complex

  • The oedipus complex
    • The son experiences unconscious attraction to their mother.
    • Experiences hatred to their father
    • Experiences castration anxiety - the fear that the father will cut his penis off.
  • The electra complex
    • The daughter experiences unconscious sexual attraction to the father.
    • The daughter experiences penis envy - the daughter becomes jealous that they don’t have a penis.
    • They then replace the desire for their father with the desire for a baby of their own.

Little Hans

  • The little Hans case study is not good evidence of the oedipus complex as there are different ways to identify the source for Hans’ fear of horses e.g. possible prior experiences with horses.
  • The Little Hans study was not a scientific way of investigating phobias because it was trying to explain the unconscious mind which cannot be measured nor tested.
  • A behaviourist may have explained Hans’ phobia of horses by suggesting that Hans has been conditioned (classically) to have a fear of horses.

Evaluation of the psychodynamic approach

  • A strength of the psychodynamic approach is that it has explanatory power. Since the 20th century, it has been used to explain many phenomena including personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development and gender. The approach also draws attention to childhood and how that may affect later development.
  • A weakness for the psychodynamic approach bis the case study methodology., Freuds research was based on the intensive study of single individuals who were often in therapy e.g. Little Hans. However, it can be argued that it is not possible to make such universal claims about human nature based on studies of small numbers of individuals who were psychologically abnormal.
  • Another weakness for the psychodynamic approach is that it is deterministic. Freud believed that there was no such thing as an accident. He believed that even small slips of the tongue had a deeper meaning. This suggests that we have no control over our conscious mind and thoughts.

The humanistic approach

  • Based on free will.
    • Free will - humans can make choices and that we’re not determined by biological and/or external forces. We are all unique and viewed holistically.
    • Determinism - behaviour is shaped and controlled by other forces. The forces influencing the person can be either internal or external.
  • Moslow’s hierarchy of needs
    • 1. self actualisation - the desire to be the best you can be
    • 2. Esteem - self esteem, respect
    • 3. Love and belonging - friendship, intimacy, family
    • 4. Safety needs - personal security, employment
    • Physiological needs - air, water food, clothing, shelter.