Psychodynamic Approach

• key assumptions of the psychodynamic approach


  • the unconscious mind is the source of all human behaviour - contains repressed memories and innative drives like sex and aggression
  • behaviour is strongly influenced by childhood - events that happen in childhood remain in our unconscious and cause problems as adults, and our personality is shaped by conflicts during development
  • tripartite personality - id, superego and ego
• what is the role of the unconscious


  • a part of the mind we are not aware of, and is inaccessible
  • holds traumatic memories that would cause us anxiety if we were aware of - which is why our mind uses defence mechanisms
• tripartite personality

  • superego - suppresses urges that are socially unacceptable, unconscious, develops at age 3 to 5, and is also known as our moral guide
  • ego - rational, sorts out what is real and compromises the demands of the id, is conscious and develops from 18 months to 3 years
  • id - unconscious, works to satisfy urges and desires, develops from birth and is irrational and emotional
• defence mechanisms

  • to protect us from anxiety due to conflict
  • repression - burying unpleasant thoughts in our unconscious
  • denial - refusing to accept reality
  • displacement - redirecting an impulse onto a powerless substitute target
  • hard to study scientifically as it is in our unconscious
• what are the psychosexual stages of development

  • oral, 0-1 yrs
  • anal, 1-3 yrs
  • phallic, 3-6 yrs
  • latency, 6yrs - puberty
  • genital, puberty - death
• oral stages

  • 0 to 1 year old
  • erogenous zone is the mouth
  • conflict to be resolved - weaning
  • id is dominant
  • can lead to oral fixation if not resolved, such as smoking or nailbiting
• anal stages

  • 1 to 3 years old
  • pleasure from holding and expelling feces
  • conflict is toilet training
  • ego develops
  • impact:
  • anal - retentive = perfectionist
  • anal - expulsive = messy, disorganised
• phallic stages

  • 3 to 6 years old
  • erogenous zone is genitals
  • superego develops
  • conflict is the oedipus or electra complex
  • phallic fixation - sexual aggression in men, and overly dominant or submissive in women
• latency stages

  • 6 to puberty
  • sexual urges repressed
  • pleasure from school and relationships
  • no conflict
• genital stages

  • puberty to death
  • pleasure from heterosexual relationships
  • conflict is maintaining the heterosexual relationships
  • can lead to sexual perversion or difficulty forming relationships
• Oedipus complex

  • boys have sexual desire for their mothers
  • they see their father as a rival and wish to kill him
  • castration anxiety
  • conflict is resolved by identifying with the father and internalising his gender identity and morals
• Electra complex

  • girls have penis envy
  • they believe their mum castrated them and want to kill them as a result
  • they have sexual desire for their fathers, as they have penises
  • conflict resolved by identifying with the mother, internalising their gender identity and morals
  • penis envy is replaced with desire to have a baby
• little hans case study

  • aim to investigate why he had a phobia of horses, and how to treat it
  • case study - used interviews
  • hans was afraid of horses with black bits around their mouths, as it represented his father and his moustache, as well as this the horse had a large penis
  • hans feared the horse (his dad) would bite (castrate) him - displacement onto father (castration anxiety) as he was attracted to his mum
  • suggested hans resolved the conflict by imagining him married to his mum, with large genitals (identify with father)
• evaluation of the psychodynamic approach

  • supporting evidence - little hans
  • opposing theories - other approaches
  • deterministic
  • alternative explanations - other approaches
  • applications to psychodynamic therapies - focusing on unconscious mind and memories from childhood