Psychodynamic approach

• Identify three basic assumptions of the psychodynamic approach.


  The unconscious drives human behaviour e.g. through sexual and aggressive drives and repressed memories.

  Children progress through a series of psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital) which determine their adult personality.

  Personality is made up of three structures: the id (impulsive), ego (rational) and superego (moralistic).

  Individuals may engage in defence mechanisms (e.g. denial, repression and displacement) when faced with a situation they cannot rationally cope with.
• Outline the role of the unconscious in human behaviour.


  The unconscious stores sexual and aggressive drives.

  The unconscious also stores repressed memories.

  These are stored in the unconscious to prevent the feelings of distress we would feel if we became aware of them, though they can still affect our behaviour.
• Outline the use of the psychosexual stages when explaining behaviour.

  The psychosexual stages refer to a series of 5 stages that children progress through due to their need to express sexual energy.

  A fixation at any of these stages (due to too much or too little gratification) can affect their adult personality.
• Outline the first psychosexual stage.


  Oral stage (0-1yrs): Sexual energy is focused on the mouth so child gains pleasure from sucking, biting etc. A fixation could lead to oral habits as an adult such as smoking.
• Outline the second psychosexual stage.


  Anal stage (1-3yrs): Sexual energy is focused on the anus so the child gains pleasure from withholding or expelling faeces.

  A fixation at this stage could lead to a perfectionist personality (if too little gratification) or a messy personality (if too much gratification).
• Outline the third psychosexual stage.


  Phallic stage (3-5yrs): Sexual energy is focused on the genitals.

  Boys experience the Oedipus complex while girls experience the Electra complex to determine their gender identity and morals.
• Outline the fourth psychosexual stage.


  Latent stage (6-12yrs): There is no sexual energy driving behaviour so fixations cannot occur. Previous conflicts are repressed, meaning early years are largely forgotten.
• Outline the fifth psychosexual stage.


  Genital stage (12+yrs): Sexual energy becomes conscious alongside the onset of puberty. This leads to a focus on romantic relationships.
• Outline the structure of the id.


  The id is responsible for pleasure-seeking behaviour and so demands instant gratification.

  It is an unconscious part of the personality that is formed from birth to 18 months.
• Outline the structure of the ego.


  The ego is responsible for assessing what is realistic, meaning it balances the conflict between the id and the superego.

  It is a conscious part of the personality that is formed between 18 months and 3 years.
• Outline the structure of the superego.


  The superego is responsible for moral behaviour, meaning it strives for perfection and punishes misbehaviour by making us feel guilty.

  The superego is a part of the conscious and unconscious mind and develops during the phallic stage (3-5yrs) when children identify with their same-sex parent and internalise their morals.
• Outline the role of defence mechanisms in human behaviour.


  Defence mechanisms are unconscious processes that individuals use when faced with a situation their ego cannot rationally cope with.

  They aim to reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

  Examples include repression, denial and displacement.
• Outline repression. 


  Repression refers to when an individual will bury an unpleasant memory into their unconscious so that it no longer be remembered and cause distress. E.g. an individual may repress their memories of childhood abuse so that they no longer remember it happening.
• Outline denial. 


  Denial refers to when an individual will refuse to accept reality by acting as it if has not happened/is not true. E.g. an individual suffering from alcoholism may refuse to accept that they have a drinking problem.
• Outline displacement. 


  Displacement refers to when an individual will take their emotions out on a substitute object/person rather than the true source of their frustration. E.g. a person who has been told off by their boss may go home and should at their children.
• Outline the psychodynamic approach/explain how it has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour.


  The psychodynamic approach proposed how behaviour is driven by the unconscious mind (the inaccessible part of the mind).

  This is because the unconscious mind is proposed to store things such as repressed memories (e.g. of childhood abuse) that can still affect behaviour (e.g. by making it difficult to form relationships).
• Outline the psychodynamic approach/explain how it has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour.


  The psychodynamic approach also proposed how we progress through a series of psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital) and how a fixation in these stages could affect our adult personalities and behaviour.

  For example, a fixation in the oral stage (where sexual energy is expressed through the mouth) could lead to oral habits as an adult such as smoking.
• Outline the psychodynamic approach/explain how it has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour.


  The psychodynamic approach also proposed how our personality is made up of the id, ego and superego and how we employ defence mechanisms when faced with a situation that the ego cannot cope with.

  For example, an individual may show denial (whereby they refuse to accept reality), repression (where they bury unpleasant memories into the unconscious so that they are forgotten) or displacement (where they take their frustrations out on a substitute source).
• Evaluate the role of the unconscious in human behaviour: unfalsifiable.

  This is because it is inaccessible and so cannot be directly tested. This is a limitation as it means no objective, empirical evidence can be gathered to support the role of the unconscious, thus making it unscientific.
• Evaluate the role of the unconscious in human behaviour: practical applications such as psychoanalysis.

  This is because psychoanalysis is a type of talking therapy that involves

  attempting to uncover what is in the patient’s unconscious mind that is driving their psychological disorder. This is a strength as psychoanalysis has been used as an effective treatment for many psychological disorders including depression.
• Evaluate the use of the psychosexual stages when explaining behaviour: Little Hans.

  Freud noted how Hans had a dream where he took away a medium giraffe from a larger giraffe. He also had a phobia of horses, fearing they would bite him. This is a strength because Freud interpreted the dream as Hans having an unconscious sexual desire for his mother and an unconscious hatred for his father. The fear of horses biting him was proposed to represent the castration anxiety he felt towards his father that he displaced onto horses. This research supports the existence of the Oedipus complex.
• Evaluate the use of the psychosexual stages when explaining behaviour: risk of researcher bias and subjectivity.

  This is because Freud, the proposer of the psychosexual stages, conducted the case study of Little Hans so may have subjectively interpreted Hans’ dreams in a way to support his own theory that the Oedipus complex occurs in the phallic stage. This is a limitation as it means there is a lack of scientific research to support the psychosexual stages.
• Evaluate the use of the psychosexual stages when explaining behaviour: too deterministic.

  This is because it proposes that early childhood fixations cause adult personalities when, in reality, other factors can lead to adult behaviours. E.g. smoking behaviours may not be caused by an oral fixation but by other factors such as peer pressure or stress. This is a limitation as it means it is

  difficult to establish cause and effect between a child’s fixation in a psychosexual stage and their later adult personality.
• Evaluate the structure of personality as used to explain human behaviour: cannot be scientifically tested.

  This is because some elements are in the unconscious mind which, due to its innacessible nature, cannot be directly tested so rely on subjective assumptions. This is a limitation as it means there is no scientific evidence that can be used to support or falsify the structures of personality.
• Evaluate the structure of personality as used to explain human behaviour: led to explanations for offending behaviour.

  This is because the psychodynamic explanation for offending behaviour proposes that it is caused by an inadequate superego. E.g., if a child’s same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child will not be able to internalise their morals. This means they end up with a weak superego that has less control over the pleasure-seeking id. This a strength as it can explain pleasure-seeking crimes such as theft and joyriding.
• Evaluate the use of defence mechanisms as a way of explaining human behaviour: intuitive appeal.

  This is because most people in society recognise them in everyday life e.g. how people with addiction problems can often be seen engaging in denial whereby they refuse to admit they have a problem. This is a strength because this has led to a greater understanding when it comes to explaining and overcoming addictions (e.g. by using CBT to help an individual face reality and overcome tendencies to engage in denial).
• Evaluate the use of defence mechanisms as a way of explaining human behaviour: unfalsifiable.

  This is because they are unconscious processes that cannot be directly tested. This is a limitation as it means there is no scientific evidence that can be used to support or falsify their existence.
• Evaluate the psychodynamic approach’s contributions to our understanding of human behaviour: Little Hans.

  Hans had a dream whereby he took away a medium giraffe from a larger giraffe.

  Hans had a phobia of horses, specifically fearing that they would bite him. Freud interpreted the dream as Hans having an unconscious sexual desire for his mother and his unconscious hatred for his father.

  The fear of horses biting him was proposed to represent the castration anxiety he felt towards his father that he displaced onto horses. This study provides evidence for the existence of the Oedipus complex.
• Evaluate the psychodynamic approach’s contributions to our understanding of human behaviour: risk of researcher bias and subjectivity.

  This is because Freud, the proposer of the psychosexual stages, conducted the research himself. This is a limitation because he may have subjectively interpreted the dreams/horse phobia in a way to support his own theory.
• Evaluate the psychodynamic approach’s contributions to our understanding of human behaviour: psychodynamic concepts cannot be scientifically tested.

  This is because elements of the structures of personality are in the unconscious mind and defence mechanisms are unconscious processes. This is a limitation because the unconscious mind cannot be directly tested/relies on subjective assumptions and so there is no objective evidence that can be used to either support or falsify psychodynamic concepts.
• Evaluate the psychodynamic approach’s contributions to our understanding of human behaviour: led to a talking therapy known as psychoanalysis.

  This is because psychoanalysis involves attempting to uncover what is in the patient’s unconscious mind that is driving their psychological disorder. This is a strength as psychoanalysis has been used as an effective treatment for

  many psychological disorders including depression.