Psychodynamic

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

An Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who developed a therapy known as ‘psychoanalysis’, which deals with conflicts within the mind that have developed through traumatic experiences.

He challenged the popular biological approach to psychopathology at the time by said that abnormal behaviour is caused by unconscious, underlying psychological forces and motives.

Main assumptions

Unconscious mind is the driving force behind much of our behaviour so if we have behavioural problems we must delve into the unconscious mind

Instincts/drives motivate our behaviour. We are driven by instincts as we go through a series of stages of development for behaviour and personality.

Early childhood experience is crucial in making us the person that we are. Traumatic events can ‘resurface’ in adulthood. Ego not fully developed.

Interactionist (nature and Nurture): Focuses on instinctual (innate) drives (Eros & Thanatos),childhood experiences shape adult personality.

Freud believed that life was built round tension and pleasure and that this tension was due to the build- up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from its discharge

Explaining abnormal behaviour

Traumatic events are repressed into the unconscious as they are too painful to deal with. However, as these conflicts are unresolved they find expression through dreams and irrational behaviour and can lead to psychological disorders.

Proof of the unconscious

Freudian slips “an unintentional error regarded as revealing subconscious feelings”

Known as faulty actions by Freud

He deemed them notable for revealing an unconscious' thought, belief, wish, or motive.

"Almost invariably I discover a disturbing influence from something outside of the Intended speech. The disturbing element is a single unconscious thought, which comes to light through the special blunder."

Conscious: The part of the mind we are aware of - everyday thoughts and feelings.

Preconscious: Thoughts and memories not accessible at all times, but easily recalled.

Unconscious: The deep dark shameful part that holds repressed thoughts, memories and feelings. This can include traumatic/unpleasant memories. Even though repressed they drive much of our behaviour.

The Tripartite Personality mind

Id

(forms from birth-18 months) – unconscious, primitive and destructive. It’s the ‘pleasure principle’ as it demands immediate satisfaction and is childlike, selfish and hedonistic.

Ego

(forms 18months-3yrs old) – known as the ‘reality principle’. It’s our consciousness andability to think rationally. It arbitrates between the demands of the Id and Superego.

Superego

(develops around the age of 5)– known as ‘morality principle’ that develops through socialisation. Opposite to the Id as it feels morality, however, it is rigid, punishing and repressive so can create neurosis such as anxiety, phobias and OCD.

These 3 parts of our personality are shaped through experiences and will affect how our personality develops and how we behave.

It’s believed most of our psychological development is formed prior to the age of six.

What causes fixation to occur?

If the needs of the individual are not met at a particular stage, this leads to frustration.

A person's needs may have been so well satisfied that he/she is reluctant to leave the psychological benefits of a particular stage in which there is overindulgence.

Oedipus complex and the electra complex

During the Phallic stage of development, boys experience the Oedipus complex

Boys develop intense sexual feelings towards their mother and resent their fathers for monopolizing on her time (fathers are seen as a love rival).

Fearing that their fathers will castrate them if they realise this (‘castration anxiety’), boys repress their sexual feelings for their mothers and instead befriend their fathers to reduce this anxiety. This is done by taking on his values and beliefs through an ACTIVE identification process (the Oedipus complex is resolved and a boy begins to develop his superego).

The Case of Little Hans (1909)

Hans (a 5 yr old) had a phobia of horses, and this was how

Freud explained his phobia:

1) Hans was fascinated with his penis. He noticed that many animals had larger penises than him. This interest in penises indicated that he was in the phallic stage of development.

2) Hans’ father went away and he enjoyed his mothers attention. When he returned Hans was jealous. This was evidence of the Oedipus complex.

3) Hans felt a sexual attraction for his mother and saw his father as a rival. This was evidence that Hans experienced castration anxiety.

Electra Complex

It is during the Phallic stage of development that girls realise they are simply castrated males

They believe their mothers have castrated them, and so they develop penis envy (around age 3).When that desire is not fulfilled it is expressed through the desire to have a baby instead.

Little girls develop sexual desires for their fathers but these are repressed in favour of identifying with her mother.This is done passively – the girl accepts her role as a girl due to already losing their penis.

Significance

These complexes occur at the Phallic stage

If successfully resolved, boys strongly identify with their fathers which allows for the creation of their superego (morality)

Freud said girls have an under-developed superego as their identification with their mother is weaker (as there’s no real motivation) and so females are morally inferior to men

If there is a lack of positive parental figure at the phallic stage, a child has no one to identify with and so has an under-developed conscience

Defence mechanisms

The constant disagreements between the id and the superego can lead to a lot of anxiety.

E.g. You want that bar of chocolate (id) but you know you’re meant to be on a diet(superego) – you feel guilty if you have it but unsatisfied if you don’t – anxiety either

was

So the ego develops various methods of defending ourselves from being overwhelmed – for example, you tell yourself that it’s ok to eat the chocolate because it’s good for you (rationalisation).

We all use defence mechanisms on a daily basis.Anxiety weakens the ego so defence mechanisms are needed to protect it.

They are used unconsciously – we aren’t aware of what we’re doing.

They all involve some distortion of reality and as a long term solution can lead to damage to our psychological health.

Defence Mechanism Definition

Repression. Forcing a distressed memory out of the conscious mind.

Denial Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality

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

Evaluation

strength

The psychodynamic approach introduced psychotherapy

Freud’s psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically

Psychoanalysis claims to help clients deal with problems by providing access to their unconscious, using techniques such as dream analysis

Therefore psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many modern-day ‘talking therapies’ e.g. counselling.However, whilst psychoanalysis is claimed to be successful for clients with mild problems,it is not appropriate (and even harmful) for more serious mental disorder such as schizophrenia.Therefore, Freudian therapy and theory may not apply to mental disorders where a client has lost touch with reality

The psychodynamic approach has explanatory power

Freud’s theory is controversial but it has had a huge influence on Western contemporary thought

It has been used to explain a wide range of behaviours (moral, mental disorders) and drew attention to the influence of childhood on adult personality

This suggests that, overall, the psychodynamic approach has had a positive influence on psychology and modern-day thinking

weakness

The psychodynamic approach includes untestable concepts

Karl Popper (philosopher of science) argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification (as it cannot be disproved)

Many of Freud’s concepts, such as the Id or the Oedipus complex, occur at an unconscious level making them difficult, if not impossible, to test

This means that Freud’s ideas lack scientific rigour and the theory is pseudoscience (‘fake’ science) rather than real science.