Psychodynamic Approach

• Specification:

  Role of unconscious

  Structure of personality: id, ego, superego

  Defence mechanisms

  Psychosexual Stages
• Who is the Father of the approach?

  Sigmund Freud
• What is it briefly about?

  How the conscious and unconscious minds link to behaviour.
• Freud believed that the behaviour that we know and are aware of is our conscious mind. This is only a small part of our behaviour, 'tip of the iceberg.'
• Most of behaviour and personality is driven by unconscious forces in our mind.
• Unconscious conflicts are mediated by defence mechanisms.
• Conscious mind?


  The awareness of your thoughts and the present moment.
• Pre-conscious mind?

  You are not currently thinking about it in your pre-conscious but you can access the information e.g. shopping list.
• Unconscious mind?


  Largest part of the mind that is difficult to access, for example this is where painful, traumatic, embarrassing or upsetting memories are kept.

  Hidden away to protect conscious mind.

  Can contain our sexual desires too.
• Unconscious mind accessed through?


  Dreams, Freudian Slips and Fantasies.
• Contains the drives of Eros and Thanatos.
• Contains all our basic drives and instincts e.g. hunger, sex drive(libido)- the need to procreate and anger.
• Personality is structured through?


  id, ego and superego.
• Id?


  'Pleasure Principle'

  Gets what it wants, it demands immediate gratification regardless of the situation.

  Present from birth- babies cry for food.
• Id found?


  Unconscious part of the brain
• Ego?


  Deals with the demands of the id, in a socially acceptable mannered way.

  Developed at the age of 2.
• Super Ego?


  Sense of right and wrong
• Ego aim to do?


  reduce conflict between id and superego
• Super ego formed at?


  Age of 5
• Super Ego develop through?


  child identifying itself with the same sex parents' morals
• Super ego allows us to?


  Act in a respectful, responsible and well mannered way.
• Repression?


  Unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and these drive behaviours.
• Denial?


  Refusal to accept reality to avoid pain, so that they would act as if the event never happened.
• Displacement?


  Taking out any thoughts or feelings on someone else.
• Psychosexual Stages?


  Freud believed that children go through 5 stages and each stage involves a conflict that must be resolved before child can move onto the next stage.

  If they don't, they become fixated.
• 5 stages?

  1. Oral- Pleasure through mouth= sucking
  2. Anal- Undergo potty training to control bowel movements.
  3. Phallic- Boys must come over their sexual desire for their mothers by identifying with mother.
  4. Latent- Becomes latent, individuals can focus on world around them.
  5. Genital-Helps form adult relationships by sexual energy taking residence in genitals.
• Fixations of each stage?

  Oral- Engage in behaviours like smoking, biting nails etc

  Anal- Anal retentive: Obsessive/ Perfectionist behaviour

  Anal Expulsive: Messy and Thoughtless.

  Phallic- Person might be envious, vanity or self obsessive.

  Latent- N/A

  Genital- Struggle to form adult relationships
• Places where it happens?

  Oral - Mouth

  Anal- Anus

  Phallic- Genitals

  Latent- Hidden

  Genital- Forming heterosexual relationships
• Oedipus Complex?


  Boys have unconscious desire for their mother.

  They fear their father will castrate them as seen as a threat for mother's affection.

  Resolve conflicts through accepting he has a penis too, therefore taking on his morals/views.

  Repress feelings for their mothers.
• Electra Complex?


  Girls have an unconscious desire for their father.

  Angry at mother for not having a penis.

  Desire fades away and they replace this desire with a baby.

  Identify with their mothers.
• Two strengths of Psychodynamic?

  1. Very influential in psychological thought
  2. Important practical applications to have arisen
• Two weaknesses of Psychodynamic?

  1. Approach is gender bias
  2. Approach is not scientific
• Boys/ Girls have stronger superego?


  Boys
• Evidence Freud used?


  Little Hans Experiment
• Little Hans Experiment?


  Boy was scared of horses.

  Freud believes unconscious mind has linked to father of child as a horse.

  This is because father had a moustache which looked like a horse's mane.

  The horse and the father has similar penis size as well.

  So he concluded that boy was scared as he had a sexual desire towards his mother and was scared his father would castrate him.
• Psychodynamic approach is an example of psychic determinism