Psychodynamic approach

• 3 key assumptions of psychodynamic approach

  1. Behaviour is influenced heavily by the unconscious mind
  2. Our childhood experiences influence our behaviour later in life
  3. Tripartite personality
• what does the tripartite personality consist of

  Id, ego, superego
• Id

  pleasure principle: demands immediate gratification, present from age 0, unconscious
• Ego

  Reality principle: balances conflict between id and superego
• super ego

  morality principle: knows between right and wrong, develops in phallic stage
• psychosexual stages

  Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
• types of defence mechanism

  Repression, denial, displacement
• oral stage

  age 0-1, mouth is erogonous zone, conflict around breastfeeding (too muc or too little)
• fixation in oral stage

  smoking, nail biting, overeating
• anal

  age 1-3, gains pleasure from holding and releasing feces, conflict when toilet training
• fixation in anal

  Retentive: neatness, perfectionism Expulsive: messy, chaotic
• Phallic

  Genital area is focus of pleasure, conflict can arise and cause oedipus or electra complex, age 3-6
• Fixation in phallic

  Vain, narcissististic, homosexual
• Latency

  Sexual conflicts become repressed, child focuses on making friends and school, age 6-puberty, no conflict
• Genital

  Genitals are focus of pleasure, sexual desire develops, age puberty onwards
• denial

  Refusing to believe something is reality
• displacement

  Transferring feelings onto a substitute target
• Repression

  Forcing distressing memories out of the conscious mind