The psychodynamic approach

Created by

Aaliyah Priest

Cards (52)

Who created the psychodynamic approach ? 
Sigmund Freud
what is the psychodynamic approach?
Deals with the movements of the mind
what is approach one of assumptions of the psychodynamic approach ?
the unconscious mind
what is the unconscious mind ( approach 1)
the driving force behind our behaviour is the unconscious mind
any mental problems or difficulties can only be solved by solving the problems in the unconscious mind
what is approach 2 of assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
Instincts/ drives
what is approach 2 instincts/ drives ?
instincts and drives motivate behaviour - our development an personality are driven by instincts we have
there are two instincts:
Libido - life instinct, keeps us alive and causes positive forces like creativity
Thanatos - death instinct, leads to destruction
what is the third approach of the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach ?
early childhood experiences
what is approach 3 early childhood experiences?
early childhood is believed to be pivotal in making us the person that we are
most of our psychological development is thought to happen prior the age of 6 years
what are the parts of the mind ?
conscious mind
sub-conscious mind
unconscious mind
what is the conscious mind ?
what we are currently thinking about
what is the sub-conscious mind?
what we are to thinking about right now but we can think about
what is the unconscious mind ?
thoughts and feelings that we do not have direct access to
this is because they would cause too much trauma to the conscious mind
biggest part of the mind
contains instincts and drives
What are the 3 parts that structure our personality ?
id
Ego
Superego
what is the id?
present at birth
uses pleasure principle
childlike, selfish and hedonistic
doesn’t understand knowledge
impulsive
what is the ego?
develops at about 18 months old
uses reality principle
balances id and superego
sense of who you are
what is the superego ?
starts to develop at about 3 years and is formed at 6
uses morality principle and is the conscience
pushes ego with guilt if it lets the id do something wrong
what is the pleasure principle?
id’s instinctive needs -> tension is created when wishes are unfulfilled ->pleasure is experienced when wish is fulfilled
what are defence mechanisms?
the ego uses this to protect itself from anxiety
what are the three main defence mechanisms?
repression
displacement
denial
what is repression?
pushes traumatic memories and unacceptable thoughts into the unconscious
they don’t disappear and continue to motivate and affect behaviour
what is displacement ?
an emotion that is redirected away from the true target onto a neural object or person
what is denial ?
refusing to accept the reality of the situation
what are the other two defence mechanisms?
reaction formation
sublimation
what is reaction formation?
acting strongly n the opposite way to your true feelings
what is sublimation?
channelling unacceptable thoughts/feelings into acceptable activity
what are the psychosexual stages of development?
Oral stage (0-18months)
Anal stage (18months-3 years)
Phallic stage (3-6 years)
latent stage (6-11 years)
genital stage
what is the definition of the psychosexual stages ?
a series of stages that every individual develops through from birth to puberty
the drives in the unconscious mind dictate the experiences that we have at various points in development
each stage has a conflict that needs to be resolved for normal development to occur, if the conflict isn’t resolved it can result in fixation where a persons development can get stuck
what does your personality reflect (psychosexual stages)?
the fixation
What is the oral stage 0-18months?
Pleasure experienced through the mouth because of feeding
What are the two subtypes of the oral stage ?
Oral passive : sucking , when breastfeeding
Oral aggressive : biting and chewing, when teething
what is the fixation with oral passive ?
weaned too early, results in being gullible and accepting of others and dependent on others
what is the fixation of oral aggressive ?
being overfed, results in sarcasm and being aggressive with others
what behaviours can be a result of oral fixation?
smoking
biting finger nails
chewing pens
what is the anal stage 18months-3years?
Pleasure experienced though retention and expulsion Of faeces
Conflict with parents over toilet training
what are the two subtypes of the anal stage ?
Anal expulsive
anal retentive
what is the fixation in anal expulsive ?
fixation on toilet training being too relaxed, this can mean generosity and demonstrative with emotions as an adult
what is the fixation in the in the anal retentive?
fixation on toilet training being too strict resulting in anxiety and child trying to retain faeces
this can mean miserliness, neatness and obstinacy
what is the phallic stage 3-6 years ?
the focus of the pleasure is on the genitals
children learn their gender
identification with same sex parents allow internalisation of societies norms and values and the superego develops
superego is stronger in males as they had more trauma
what are the two subtypes of the phallic stage?
Oedipus complex ( boys )
Electra complex ( girls )
what is the Oedipus complex ?
.boys experience intense sexual feelings for his mother
.his farther is seen as a rival, the boy wants rid of his father so he can have his mother all to himself
.the boy is scared of his father because he is bigger and more powerful
.the boy is worried that his father will castrate him as punishment and experiences castration anxiety
.this conflict is resolved by the defence mechanism of identification where a boy looks up to his dad and act similarly to him
.freud believed if there was no father present he’d grow up to be a homosexual