Psychodynamic

• Who came up with the psychodynamic approach?

  Sigmund Freud
• What were Freud's 'Key Assumptions'?


  • the influence of early childhood experiences on personality/psychological disorders
  • unconscious motives and conflicts
  • the methods used to deal with sexual/aggressive urges
• Conscious Mind...


  ...is what we are aware of at any given time, e.g. seeing, smelling, hearing
• Preconscious mind...


  ...is made up of memories that we can recall when we want to
• Unconscious mind...


  ...is made up of memories, fears and desires that cause us extreme anxiety and therefore are repressed. It can still influence us and causes 'Freudian slips' and can be accessed via psychoanalysis
• What does the 'psyche' consist of?


  • the id
  • the ego
  • the superego
• Explain the Id.


  • operates on the pleasure principle
  • mass of unconscious instincts/drives
  • present at birth
  • demands instant gratification - is selfish
• Describe the Ego


  • operates on the reality principle
  • is the negotiator between the id and the superego - reduces the conflict between their demands (via defence mechanisms)
  • develops around the age of 2
• Describe the Superego


  • based on the morality principle - our internalised sense of wrong and right
  • punishes the ego for wrongdoing through guilt
  • develops at the end of the phallic stage, around 5
• What are defence mechanisms?


  unconscious techniques used by the ego to manage the conflict between the id and superego, ensuring that we are protected from trauma reaching the conscious
• What is repression?


  forcing a distressing memory out of the unconscious mind

  e.g. being bitten by a dog as a child and having no memory of it, but having an intense fear of dogs as an adult
• What is denial?


  refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality

  e.g. when a family member has died and you refuse to believe it
• What is displacement?


  transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target

  e.g. when someone has upset you at school and you take it out on someone at home
• What are the five stages (in order) in psychosexual development?


  oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
• How does a child proceed to the next stage?


  when they resolve the conflict involved in that stage
• What happens if a child does not resolve the conflict?


  may lead to fixation where the child becomes 'stuck' and carries on certain behaviours, associated with that stage, into adult life
• What age range is the oral stage?


  0-1 years old
• What is the focus of pleasure at the oral stage?


  mouth - mother's breast can be the object of desire
• What is the major development in the oral stage?


  weaning off of breast milk/formula milk
• What is the adult fixation if the conflict at the oral stage is not resolved?


  smoking, biting nails, overeating, sarcasm, critical
• What age range is the anal stage?


  1-3 years old
• What is the focus of pleasure at the anal stage?


  the anus - child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
• What is the major development in the anal stage?


  toilet trained
• What is the adult fixation if the conflict is not resolved in the anal stage?


  anal retentive - meaning orderly/obsessive

  anal expulsive - meaning thoughtless, messy
• What is the age range of the phallic stage?


  3-6 years old
• What is the focus of pleasure at the phallic stage?


  genital area
• What is the major development in the phallic stage?


  resolving the oedipus/electra complex
• What is the adult fixation if the conflict is not resolved in the phallic stage?


  phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless
• What is the age range in the latency stage?


  6-12 years old
• What is the focus of pleasure in the latency stage?

  there isn't one
• What is the major development in the latency stage?


  developing defence mechanisms - allows earlier conflicts to be repressed
• What is the adult fixation if the conflict is not resolved at the latency stage?


  there isn't one
• What is the age range for the genital stage?


  12+
• What is the focus of pleasure for the genital stage?


  genitals - sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
• What is the major development in the genital stage?


  reaching full sexual maturity
• What is the adult fixation if conflict is not resolved at the genital stage?

  difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
• Explain the Oedipus Complex


  little boys develop unconscious sexual feelings for their mother and a hatred towards their father

  fearing that their father will castrate them due to the feelings towards their mother, they repress those feelings and identify with their father, taking on his gender role and moral values