psychodynamic approach

• what is the psychodynamic approach


  it's most closely linked to Sigmund Freud, where this approach explains behaviour as a result of different forces (dynamics) - where many of these dynamics are unconscious
• explain the role of the unconscious


  • Freud assumed that people are born with basic instincts and needs
  • He believed that the behaviour that we know about and are aware of is our conscious mind which is the 'tip of the iceberg'
  • But most of our behaviour and personality is driven by our unconscious forces in our mind - which has a significant effect on our behaviour and personality
• what is the conscious mind 


  is our awareness at the present moment. Where we are aware of something on the outside as well as some specific mental functions happening on the insides - e.g., our thoughts and perceptions
• what is the preconscious mind


  it consist on accessible information. Where we can become aware if this information once you can direct your attention to it almost like memory recall. Like you can walk down the street to your house without having to be alert to your surroundings - e.g, memories, stored knowledge
• explain the unconscious mind


  consists of the primitive, instinctual wishes as well as information we cannot access. Our behaviour might indicate unconscious forces that drive them. Our unconscious desires are also shown in our creativity and neurotic symptoms
• why can’t we remember things from our unconscious mind

  During our childhood, we acquired countless memories and experiences however we cannot recall theses because our brain actively prevents us from remembering traumatic memories - this is called MOTIVATED FORGETTING ( REPRESSION) which is when thoughts and ideas may ’slip’ into the mind through a ‘slip of the tongue’ FREUDIAN PARAPAXES or we become aware of them during dream
• what are the 3 structures of personality

  the id (pleasure principle), the ego (reality principle) and the supergo (morality principle)
• explain the role of the id


  the pleasure principle that operates in the unconscious mind, which contains libido. It is selfish, as it demands immediate gratification regardless of the circumstances - where young children are liklely to have 'bundles of id' as it's present at birth and stays with us the rest of our lives
• explain the ego


  the reality principle operates at a conscious and unconscious level, where it mediates between the superego and the id in order to reduce the conflict between the two. It reduces this conflict by using DEFENCE MECHANISMS ( which is developed at 2) - As it deals with the demands of the 'id' in a socially acceptable way
• explain the superego


  it's based on the morality principle, where our sense of right and wrong is there. It's formed at 5yo after the phallic stage where the child identifies with the same-sex parents and represents the moral values of the child's same sex parent - the superego allows us to feel reward and punishment
• explain the defence mechanism


  the ego has to balance out the demand of the id and the superego, which is difficult to do but this helps protect the ego from being too overwhelmed by threats and unpleasant things - in the short term it helps us but in the long term it's unhealthy as they work unconsciously and distort reality
• what are the three main defence mechanisms


  repression, denial and displacement
• explain repression


  unconsciously forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind, this included unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts of impulses. These thoughts remain in the unconscious but still influence our behaviour - a child is abused by parents, may not remember it but has trouble forming rs with people
• explain denial


  refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality, meaning they do not have to deal with any painful feeling linked to the event and it can look like bizarre behaviour to those around them
• explain displacement


  transferring feelings from the true source of the distressing emotion to a substitute target to take their feelings out of on a helpless object or person
• what are psychosexual stages


  stages that Freud believed every child progresses through, where they all involve conflicts (except latency) that must be resolved before the child can move onto the next stage because if a psychosexual conflict is not resolved then fixation will occur and the child can become stuck and carries certain behaviors with them into their adult personalities - and the libido build up and is expressed in different ways through different parts of the body
• what are the pyschosexual stages

  oral (0-1), anal (1-3), phallic (3-5), latency and genitial
• explain the oral stage(0-1)

  where the focus of pleasure is the mouth and the mothers breast is the object of desire - the consequence of unresolved conflict is : oral-fixation - nail biting, smoking, being sarcastic and very critical
• explain the anal stage(1-3)

  the focus of pleasure is the anus, where the child gains pleasure from withholding or expelling feces - anal fixation : either being anally retentive, where you gain being a perfectionist or being obsessive or being anally expulsive and are thoughtless and messy
• explain the phallic stage (3-5)


  focus of pleasure ins the genital area, where the child experiences the Oedipus or Electra complex. where the phallic fixation is having a phallic personality : narcassistic, reckless and possibly homosexual
• explain the latency stage


  where earlier conflicts are repressed, meaning we can't remember anything about them from our earlier years
• explain the genital stage


  sexual desires become conscious alongside the on set of puberty, and the genital fixation can be difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
• what is the saying to remember the stages


  Old Age Pensioners Like Gardening
• explain the Oedipus and Electra complexes


  they occur during the phallic stage of development (3-5) where the source of libido is concentrated in the erogenous zones of the child, where the children experience an unconscious feeling of desire towards their opposite-sex parent and jealousy and envy to their same-sex parent.
• explain the Oedipus complex


  boys develop incestuous feeligns towards their mother and murderous hatred towards their father, where these hostile feelings towards their father lead to castration anxiety where they fear their father will castrate their penis as punishment for their incestuous feelings so they repress these feelings and identify with the father and adopt his gender and moral identify
• explain the Electra complex

  this starts off with the belief they have already been castrated and they blame their mother for this and experiences penis envy. But in order to develop super ego and female sex role, they need to identify with their mother so they give up the desire for their father and replace it with a desire for a baby so they identify with the mother in the process
• explain the little Hans research

  • Freud saw signs of the Oedipus complex, where little Hans had sexual desires for his mother and a rivalry for his father
  • Little Hans had a fear for his father and projected them in his fears of horses which symbolized his father
  • his deeper anxieties related his father to the horses he was scared of (loaded and black around the mouth type of horses)
  • Freud concluded that his unconscious thoughts and feeling revealed his hidden desires through little Hans' dreams
• one strength of the evaluation of the psychological approach


  it has been very influential in psychological thought. it is controversial and often bizarre explanation; however it has remained a dominant influence in western psychology because it was the first approach to explain personality, abnormal behavior, moral development and gender. It has also been influential in child psychology and relationships with parents. This shows that the approach made a wide contribution to psychological thinking in the 20th century and still continues to influecnce today's society
• What is one strength of the evaluation of the psychological approach?

  It has important practical applications.
• What has the psychodynamic approach led to in terms of therapy?

  It has led to psychoanalysis as a form of therapy.
• What techniques are used in psychoanalysis to access the unconscious mind?

  Dream analysis, free association, and hypnosis.
• How has the psychodynamic approach been used to treat schizophrenia?

  It has been used in family therapy to reduce stress and tension.
• What is the aim of family therapy in the context of treating schizophrenia?

  To reduce stress and tension in the family environment.
• What does the relevance of the psychodynamic approach in today's society indicate?

  It shows that it has led to therapeutic approaches in treating patients.
• What are the key techniques used in psychoanalysis?

  • Dream analysis
  • Free association
  • Hypnosis
• How does family therapy help patients with schizophrenia?

  • Reduces stress in the family environment
  • Aims to prevent relapses
• What is one weakness of the evaluation of the psychodynamic approach?

  The psychodynamic approach has the problem of gender bias.
• How did Freud exaggerate differences between males and females?

  Freud claimed that females do not fear castration like boys do.
• What does Freud believe about the formation of the super ego in females compared to males?

  Freud believes females form a weaker super ego than males.
• What is the implication of Freud's view on females regarding morality?

  Freud's view implies that females are morally inferior to males.