Psychodynamic approach

• Who developed the psychodynamic approach?

  Sigmund Freud
• What does the psychodynamic approach focus on to explain human behavior?

  The role of the unconscious mind
• How does Freud describe the conscious mind in relation to the unconscious mind?

  The conscious mind is the tip of the iceberg
• What is the preconscious mind according to Freud?


  Thoughts and ideas we may be aware of during dreams and slips of the tongue
• What is the unconscious mind described as?

  A vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that influence our behavior
• What are the components of personality according to Freud?


  • Id: Innate, pleasure principle, selfish, completely unconscious (exists from birth)
  • Ego: reality principle, satisfies id in socially acceptable ways, rational part, mediator between id and superego(develops age 2)
  • Superego: Morality principle, concerned with right/wrong, developed through socializing (develops age 5)
• What are the psychosexual stages of progression?


  1. Oral stage (0-18 months)
  2. Anal stage (18-36 months)
  3. Phallic stage (3-6 years)
  4. Latency stage (6-puberty)
  5. Genital stage (adolescence)
• What can unresolved conflicts during the psychosexual stages lead to?


  Fixation, where behaviors associated with that stage carry into adulthood
• What is the source of pleasure during the oral stage?

  The mouth
• What are possible causes of fixation during the oral stage?


  Deprivation of love/food and early weaning
• What are possible results of fixation during the oral stage?


  Biting nails, smoking, sarcasm
• What is the source of pleasure during the anal stage?

  The anus
• What can cause fixation during the anal stage?


  Lax or harsh toilet training
• What are possible results of fixation during the anal stage?

  Obsessiveness, meanness, tidiness
• What is the source of pleasure during the phallic stage?

  The genitals
• What can cause fixation during the phallic stage?

  No father figure or a very dominant mother
• What are possible results of fixation during the phallic stage?


  Envy, sexual anxiety, self-obsession
• What is the Oedipus Complex?


  Males desire their mother and see their father as a rival/threat
• What happens during the latency stage?

  Earlier conflicts are repressed
• What occurs during the genital stage?


  Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
• What was the aim of the Little Hans study?


  • Follow the development of a young child
  • Gather evidence for Freud's ideas on childhood sexuality, origins of phobias, Oedipus complex, and psychoanalysis
• How old was Little Hans during the study?

  5 years old
• What did Little Hans' father believe about his son's phobia of horses?

  It was due to things going on in his unconscious mind
• How did Freud analyze Hans' phobia?


  By analyzing Hans' dreams and messages sent through his father
• What did Freud conclude about Hans' behaviours toward his father?

  Hans wanted his father dead so he could replace him
• What did Freud interpret from Hans' dream about the giraffes?

  It was about Hans taking part in sex with his mother
• What did Freud see as the resolution of the Oedipus complex in Hans' play with dolls?


  When Hans 'became' the father while playing
• What is fixation in the context of psychosexual development?


  • Becoming fixated at any stage due to severe problems or too much pleasure
  • Can result in abnormal behavior later in life
• What is regression in the context of psychosexual development?


  Showing behaviors that gave comfort at an earlier stage during anxiety
• What are the defense mechanisms according to Freud?

  • Denial: Refusing to acknowledge some aspects of reality and certain emotions
  • Displacement: transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target
  • Repression: forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
  • Other types: Projection, sublimation, regression
• What are the advantages of the psychodynamic approach?

  • Introduced psychotherapy (e.g., psychoanalysis)
  • Explanatory power for human behavior
  • Influential in psychology and contemporary thought
  • Explains personality development and origins of psychological disorders
  • Highlights connection between childhood experiences
• What are the disadvantages of the psychodynamic approach?

  • Inappropriate for serious mental disorders
  • Much of the approach is untestable
  • Subjective case studies with non-generalizable conclusions
  • Determinism dismisses free will
• What is psychoanalysis?

  A form of therapy to reach the unconscious to uncover repressed feelings
• Methods of psychoanalysis are:


  Freudian slips, dreams, ink blot tests, free association
• What age do the psychosexual stages occur?


  Oral = 0-18 months

  Anal = 18-36 months

  Phallic = 3-6 years

  Latency

  Genitals = puberty/adolescence
• Why did Hans have a fear of horses?


  The black things around the mouth resembled his father's glasses and moustache.
• What are defence mechanisms used for?


  To help the ego balance the conflicting demands of the id and superego
• Freud proposed the idea that (assumptions)....

  Childhood experiences shape our behaviour in adulthood; the personality is comprised of three components id, superego, ego
• What is the role of the unconscious mind?


  To protect conscious self from threatening, unacceptable thoughts and trauma. It uses defense mechanisms like repression unconsciously.