PA AO1

• the role of the unconscious , conscious and preconscious

  • freud suggested that the part of our mind we know about and are aware of - the conscious
  • most of our mind is made up of unconscious - has biological drives and instincts
  • unconscious also contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed - can be accessed through dreams
  • preconscious - contains thoughts and memories which arent currently in conscious awareness but we can access if denied
• Id


  • primitive part of personality
  • operates on pleasure principle - id gets what it wants
  • unconscious drives and instincts
  • only Id is present at birth
  • entirely selfish and demands instant gratification of its needs
• The Ego


  • works on reality principle
  • mediator between other two parts of the personality
  • does this by employing number of defence mechanisms
  • develops around age two
• The Superego


  • formed at end of phallic stage
  • around age five
  • internalisation sense of right and wrong
  • based on morality principle - represents moral standards of the childs same gender parent and punishes ego for wrongdoing
• psychosexual stages


  • child dev occurred in five stages
  • each stage is marked by different conflict that child must resolve to progress to next change
  • any unresolved conflicts leads to fixation where child becomes stuck and carries certain behaviours and conflicts associated with that stage through to adult life
• Oral stage


  • 0 - 1 yrs
  • focus of pleasure - mouth - mothers breast can be object of desire
  • consequence of unresolved conflict - oral fixation - smoking , biting nails , sarcastic , critical
• anal stage

  • 1 - 3 yrs
  • focus of pleasure - anus - child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
  • consequence - anal retentive - perfectionist , obsessive
  • anal expulsive - thoughtless and messy
• phallic stage


  • 3 -6 yrs
  • focus of pleasure is gential area
  • consequence - phallic personality - narcissistic , reckless
• latency stage


  • earlier conflicts are repressed
• genital stage


  • sexual desires become conscious alongside onset of puberty
  • consequence - difficulty forming heterosexual relationships