Psychodynamic

• The psychodynamic approach assumes that conflicts in the unconscious mind influence our beh and personalities.
• Freud argues that the mind is divided into 3 structures - id, ego and the superego, each of which demand gratification, but is frequently in conflict with the other parts. Conflicts are often affected by our childhood.
• The id is formed from birth to 18 months. It is based in the unconscious mind and is the most primitive and instinctive part of the personality. It is irrational and emotional and it deals with feelings and needs. It's the pleasure principle and demands immediate gratification regardless of the circumstances
• The ego is formed from 18 months to 3 years. It is the reality principle and works out realistic ways to meet its demands. It is rational and acts as a mediator between the superego and the id. It aims to reduce conflict between them. Ego defence mechanisms alleviate conflict
• The superego is formed between 3 and 6 years. It is the morality principle and develops through identification with the same sex parent and internalisation of their moral standards. It acts as a moral guide to control instinctive impulses of the id in line with society's norms and morals. It punishes the ego through guilt if it succumbs to the id's demands
• Ego defence mechanisms help the ego manage the conflict between the id and the superego. Provides compromise solutions (usually) on an unconscious level which deal with unresolvable conflict which alleviates anxiety. This distorts our perception of reality which can be psychologically unhealthy.
• Three examples of defence mechanisms: Repression, denial and displacement
• Repression is the blocking of unacceptable or unpleasant memories, thoughts or impulses from conscious awareness and moving it to the unconscious. It doesn't stay quietly in the unconscious as the repressed memories, thoughts and impulses continue to influence behaviour and cause distress without the individual being aware of it.
• Denial is the refusal to accept reality to avoid any painful feelings associated with that event. Acts as if the traumatic event has not actually happened
• Displacement is redirecting of thoughts or feelings (usually hostile). It happens in situations where a person feels unable to express them to the cause of the feelings. Instead, they "take it out" on an innocent substitute person or object
• Freud claimed that children developed through a sequence of five stages. At each stage, individuals experiences cause unconscious conflict. To resolve these conflicts, they have to gratify their erogenous zones. Unresolved conflict (lack of gratification or too much which can cause a fixation) where they are stuck in a stage. Conflict is carried forward and expressed in beh as an adult
• Oral 0-1 yrs: 


  • Focus of pleasure = mouth
  • Children learn feeding beh by feeding through mother's breast
  • Fixation could lead to over-dependency in adult rs e.g. separation anxiety disorder
• Anal 1-3 yrs:


  • Focus of pleasure = anus
  • Children gain pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
  • Fixation is caused by too strict potty training and leads to an obsession with cleanliness and later, perfectionism
• Phallic 3-5 yrs:


  • Focus of pleasure = genitals
  • Males exp the oedipus complex - unconsciously desires mother. Develop anxiety worrying the father is going to find out and castrate them
  • [Females exp the elektra complex (Core Jung) - unconsciously desires father. Penis envy causes feelings of inadequacy + anxiety. Over time, give up desire for father + identify with mother]
  • Resolve this by repressing unconscious desires + identifying with father.
  • Morality development occurs
  • Identifying with same sex parent and develop super ego
• Latency 6-12yrs:

  • Earlier conflicts are repressed + sexual urges become less active
  • Focus on social + intellectual dev
  • Fixation in this stage leads to social difficulty in later life
• Genital 12+:

  • Sexual desire becomes conscious alongside the onset of puberty
  • If erogenous zone (genitals) aren't gratified - difficulty forming intimate rs later in life
• EVALS

  • S - practical application for therapy in form of psychoanalysis (Bergin)
  • S - influential in creating paradigm shifts in psych
  • W - gender biased in its view adopted towards female sexuality
  • W - difficult to test scientifically