Psychodynamic Approach

• Who is Sigmund Freud?

  He is a psychiatrist, neurologist, and key pioneer of the psychodynamic approach.
• What did Freud theorize about mental activity?

  He theorized that our mental activity is mostly unconscious and that this unconscious activity causes our behavior.
• How did Freud explain the impact of traumatic childhood experiences?

  He explained that they can be pushed into the unconscious mind and later lead to mental disorders.
• What therapeutic method did Freud develop to address repressed memories?

  He developed 'talking cures', also known as psychoanalysis or psychotherapy.
• What are the key assumptions of the Psychodynamic Approach?

  • Unconscious activity is the key determinate of behavior.
  • We possess innate drives that motivate behavior.
  • Our personality is comprised of the ID, ego, and superego.
  • Childhood experiences significantly influence adult personality.
• What are the three parts of the psyche according to Freud?

  • ID: Satisfies selfish urges (pleasure principle), exists from birth.
  • Ego: Balances ID and superego (reality principle), develops from ages 2-4.
  • Superego: Concerned with moral norms (morality principle), develops from ages 4-5.
• What are the five psychosexual stages proposed by Freud?

  1. Oral: Sucking behavior (0-18 months)
  2. Anal: Holding or discarding faeces (18 months – 3.5 years)
  3. Phallic: Fixation on genitals (3.5 – 6 years)
  4. Latency: Repressed sexual urges (6 years - puberty)
  5. Genital: Awakened sexual urges (puberty onwards)
• What happens if a person becomes fixated on a psychosexual stage?

  It can restrict full development and result in displaying specific personality symptoms.
• What is an example of a personality symptom related to fixation in the anal stage?

  An 'anally retentive' personality, characterized by extreme cleanliness and orderliness.
• What are the three key ego defense mechanisms proposed by Freud?

  • Repression: Burying unpleasant thoughts in the unconscious.
  • Displacement: Redirecting emotions away from their source.
  • Denial: Ignoring or treating a threatening thought as untrue.
• What research methods did Freud use in his psychoanalytical theory?

  • Case studies to gather detailed information.
  • Psychoanalysis to bring unconscious activity to consciousness.
  • Techniques like free association and dream interpretation.
• What is the aim of psychoanalysis according to Freud?

  The aim is to bring unconscious mental activity to the conscious to release anxiety.
• What are some strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

  • Highlights the link between childhood experience and adult characteristics.
  • Uses case study methodology for rich, idiographic data.
  • Some evidence supports the existence of ego defense mechanisms.
  • Modern psychiatry still utilizes Freudian techniques.
• What are some weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?

  • Overemphasizes childhood experience as the source of abnormality.
  • Lacks controlled experiments for empirical evidence.
  • Difficult to generalize case study evidence.
  • Many ideas are considered non-falsifiable.
• Who argued that a theory is not scientific if it is not falsifiable?

  Karl Popper.
• What does it mean for a theory to be non-falsifiable?

  It means that the theory cannot be tested scientifically to prove it wrong.