psychodynamic approach

• assumptions

  -human behaviour is driven by unconscious motives

  -behaviours & feelings we have as adults are influenced by the psychosexual stages of development we go through during childhood

  -abnormal behaviour is because of conflict in the psyche which is mediated by defence mechanisms

  -humans have a tripartite personality
• who created this approach?

  Freud.
• the role of the unconscious mind

  The unconscious mind drives behaviours and also protects use from traumatic memories by using defence mechanism.
• defence mechanisms

  Defence mechanisms are used by the ego to keep the id 'in check'.

  
  

  There are three types of defence mechanisms:

  
  

  denial = refusing to acknowledge something.

  
  

  repression= trying to forget about threatening/distressing memories - do not want them to be in conscious.

  
  

  displacement = transferring feelings from one source to another.
• iceberg analogy

  conscious: we are aware of.

  
  

  preconscious: things in the preconscious can easily be brought into the conscious.

  
  

  unconscious: thoughts and feeling one is not aware of - is extremely hard to bring these to a conscious level.

  
• tripartite personality

  id = pleasure principle - "i want it now" - 1st part of tripartite personality and is present at birth.

  
  

  ego = reality principle - thinking logically, the ego resolves conflict - 2nd part of tripartite personality and develops around age 2.

  
  

  superego = morality principle - knowing the difference between right and wrong. The superego is based on how we are brought up; not everyone has a fully developed superego. 3rd part of the tripartite personality and develops around age 5.
• psychosexual stages

  oral (ages 0-1) = focus of pleasure is in the mouth.

  oral fixation = smoking, nail biting, sarcastic, critical.

  
  

  anal (ages 1-3) = focus of pleasure is in the anus.

  anal retentive = perfectionists, obsessive.

  anal expulsive = thoughtless, messy.

  
  

  phallic (ages 3-6) = focus of pleasure is in the genital area.

  phallic personality = reckless, narcissistic.

  
  

  latency (ages 6-puberty) = earlier conflicts are repressed.

  
  

  genital (puberty - adulthood) = sexual desires become conscious.
• oedipus complex & electra complex

  The oedipus complex is a Freudian idea. It was introduced in 1899 and depicts the sexual desire children have for their opposite sex parent. It is traditionally used to show the attraction boy have towards their mum and the rivalry they feel towards their father. Boys have castration anxiety and because of this repress their feelings towards their mum, they then identify with their dad and take on his gender roles & values.

  
  

  The electra complex is not a Freudian idea. It was introduced by Jung and depicts the attraction girls have towards their dad and the rivalry they feel towards their mum. Girls have penis envy and then replace the desire for their dad with the desire for a baby - they identify with their mums.
• Freudian slips/parapraxes

  These are slips of the tongue. Unconscious memories can arise and be presented in this way. An example would be calling a teacher mum instead of miss.
• evaluations of the psychodynamic approach (AO3)

  Strength(s):

  -real-world application. The psychodynamic approach introduced a new form of therapy - psychotherapy. This therapy is used to access the unconscious and is highly regarded in psychology.

  -explanatory power - Freud's ideas explain personality development and helps connect childhood experiences to adulthood.

  
  

  Weakness(es):

  -untestable concepts. Since most of Freud's concepts happen at an unconscious level it is hard to test them. The psychodynamic approach does not meet the criteria of falsifiability and is not considered scientific.