psychodynamic

• Behaviour is controlled by a large part of the unconscious mind - sigmund freud
• The id - in the unconscious and operates according to the pleasure principle - demands immediate satisfaction
• the ego - mediates between impulsive ID and reality of external world. Compromises
• The superego - divided into conscience and ego-ideal: internalisation of societal rules and determines which behaviours are permissible and causes guilt. Ego-ideal is what a person strives towards
• The ego ideal is probably determined by parental standards of good behaviour
• Defence mechanisms operate unconsciously and distort reality to reduce anxiety - stops an individual being aware of unpleasant thoughts/feelings associated with trauma
• Repression - unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses - influence behaviour whilst person is unaware
• Denial - refusal to accept reality to avoid having to deal with painful feelings - act as if the traumatic event has not happened
• Displacement - redirecting of thoughts/feelings where the person feels unable to express them in the presence of the person they should be directed towards and it is instead taken out on a helpless victim/object - giving hostile feelings a route for expression ~
• oral stage - 0-2 - mouth is the focal point of sensation (early sexual energy) e.g sucking
• anal 2-3 - beginnings of ego development - child aware of demands of reality and need to conform .
• Phallic 3-6 - sexual energy focused on genitals - oedipus complex where male child unconsciously wishes to possess mother and get rid of father = castration anxiety
• Latent 6-12 - child masters world around them and conflicts/issues of previous stages are repressed (unable to remember early years)
• Genital 12+ - culmination of psychosexual development and fixing sexual energy on genitals - directs towards intercourse
• Freuds views on women were less well developed than his views on male sexuality - he was ignorant
• Psychoanalysis has little relevance for people of non-western culture