Psychodynamic Approach

• What are the psychosexual stages?

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  • Oral- 0-1 years old
  • Anal- 1-3 years old
  • Phallic- 3-5 years old
  • Latency- 6-12 years old
  • Genital- 12+ years old
• What is the oral stage?

  Pleasure through their mouth from breastfeeding. Fixation: results in immature personality
• What is the anal stage?

  Pleasure from holding on to and expelling faeces. Fixation: results in an overly organised and fussy adult.
• What is the phallic stage?

  Boy’s experience of the oedipus complex, resulting in unconscious castration anxiety and leading to male personality. Jung’s female equivalent, the Electra complex, describes girl’s attachment to their father and dislike of their mother (Although this is not as supported).
• What is the latency stage?

  Freud suggests sexual energy (libido) is dispersed across the body, previous conflicts are repressed into the unconsciousness.
• What is the genital stage?

  Part of puberty, and sexual desire is now conscious and in the final adult form.
• What are the three main defence mechanism?

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  • Repression
  • Denial
  • Displacement
• What is psychodynamic approach?

  Study of the unconscious mind, the mental drives that develop in childhood, their interactions, and how these forces influence behaviour/ personality/ mental drives.
• What are the strengths of psychodynamic approach?

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  • Although occasionally controversial, it has nevertheless had a huge impact on psychology and western contemporary thought
  • Key force in psychology alongside behaviourism for the first half of the 20th century
  • Explains personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development and gender identity
• What is the practical application of the psychodynamic approach?

  Another strength of the psychodynamic approach is it brought the idea of psychotherapy
• What are the evaluation strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

  Strengths

  • Has intuitive appeal (face validity). People often identify examples of coping mechanisms linked to anxiety
  • The effectiveness of psychoanalytic therapy so has some validity
• What are the evaluation weaknesses of psychodynamic approach?

  Weaknesses

  • Lack of scientific credibility, developed through case studies
  • Lacks falsifiability
• What are the general evaluatio points in psychodynamic approach?

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  • Outdated
  • Had significant influence on modern scientific psychological theories
• What is the conscious mind?

  Includes thoughts we are aware we can talk about, ideas/ decisions/ emotions
• What is the preconscious mind?

  thoughts not immediately accessible but can be brought into conscious awareness.
• What is the unconscious mind?

  Holding thoughts and memories, but influence our thoughts and behaviours/ feelings
• What is psychic determinism?

  Our behaviours are shaped by unresolved unconscious conflicts among different parts of our personality
• What is the ID?

  The pleasure principle. A selfish aspect of the mind, focused on satisfying its needs/ desires.
• What is the EGO?

  The reality principle. Primarily conscious component of personality, rational thinking to manage ID’s demands.
• What is the SUPEREGO?

  The morality principle. Third, primarily unconscious, component of personality. Emerges as child learns values and norms.