Psychodynamic

• The psychodynamic approach includes the role of the unconscious, three-part personality (Id, Ego, Superego), defence mechanisms, and psychosexual stages.
• Sigmund Freud, a key pioneer of the psychodynamic approach, theorised that our mental activity is mostly unconscious, and it is this unconscious activity that causes our behaviour.
• A strength of the psychodynamic approach is it’s practical application. Freud explained that traumatic childhood experiences pushed into the unconscious mind can later lead to mental disorders, and developed ‘talking cures’ (psychoanalysis such as hypnosis and dream analysis) to help release problematic repressed memories and relieve symptoms.
• An assumption of the psychodynamic approach is that we possess innate ‘drives’ (or ‘instincts’) that ‘energise’ our minds to motivate behaviour as we develop through our lives.
• An assumption of the psychodynamic approach is that the psyche, or three-part personality is comprised of the ID, Ego and Superego.
• An assumption of the psychodynamic approach is that childhood experiences have significant importance in determining our personality when we reach adulthood.
• The unconscious mind is the part of our mind that we are not aware of, containing repressed threatening and disturbing memories, and can access these through dreams or 'slip of tongue' (parapraxes) according to the psychodynamic approach.
• The structure of personality according to the psychodynamic approach is the Id, Ego and Superego.
• The Id, according to the psychodynamic approach, drives us to satisfy selfish urges, acts according to the 'pleasure principle', and exists from birth.
• A weakness of the psychodynamic approach is that it uses the case study method. It is based on studying single individuals often in therapy, where Freud interpretations were highly subjective. Therefore, it is not possible to make universal generalisations to human nature when studies have only been done on a small group of individuals.
• Freud's methods lack scientific rigour and cannot be replicated as his conclusions were highly subjective.
• The Ego, according to the psychodynamic approach, acts rationally, balancing the Id and the superego, and acts according to the 'reality principle', develops around 2-4 years old.
• The Superego, according to the psychodynamic approach, is concerned with keeping to moral norms, acts according to the ‘morality principle’, and attempts to control a powerful ID with feelings of guilt, developing around 4-5 years old.
• Freud claimed that, during development, becoming fixated on one of these stages would restrict full development and result in displaying specific personality symptoms.
• An 'anal retentive' personality occurs when a person has unresolved conflict at the anal stage due to toilet training, a person could become fixated on cleanliness and orderliness to an extreme.
• Freud claimed that during phallic stage little children blame their same-sex parent for their 'castrated state', which creates great tension. But, these feelings are repressed in order to remove the tension, and instead a child identifies with their same-sex parent and internalises their gender identity, so that it becomes their own.
• Phallic stage - focus of pleasure (libido) is genitals from 3 - 6 years. Girls experience Electra complex and boys experience Oedipus complex. Consequence of unresolved conflict at the phallic stage is a phallic personality.
• Latency stage of personality development involves repressed sexual urges from 6 years - puberty.
• An assumption of the psychodynamic approach is that the unconscious mind is the source of all behaviour.
• Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious, it is a storehouse of biological drives and instincts  
• The psychodynamic approach is a theory that suggests that our behaviour is influenced by unconscious conflicts and desires.
• Defence mechanisms are deployed by the ego to balance the constant conflict between the ID and superego to reduce anxiety.
• 3 key defence mechanisms

  • Repression – burying an unpleasant thought or desire in the unconscious
  • Displacement – emotions are directed away from their source or target, towards other things
  • Denial – a threatening thought is ignored or treated as if it were not true
• Innate drives include hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
• The ego is said to be logical and rational as it seeks to satisfy the ID in socially acceptable ways.
• Defence mechanisms are unconscious strategies.
• Freud believed that humans progress through 5 psychosexual stages, during the development of the psyche. He emphasises that the most important driving force in development is expressing sexual energy (libido). 
• Oral stage – birth to about 18 months old. The child’s libido focuses on the mouth. If gratification is denied, this can lead to oral fixation. This could manifest itself in smoking, overeating, drinking alcohol, biting nails etc.
• Genital Stage - from puberty onwards. Libido becomes focused on opposite gender as sexual urges are awakened. Successful resolution leads to healthy adult relationships. Failure results in neurotic behaviour such as homosexuality or impotence.
• Anal Stage - 18 months to 3 years old. Focus of pleasure (libido) shifts to the anal area from withholding/expelling faeces. Children may become fixated at this stage due to toilet training, leading to anal retentive or anal expulsive personality.
• An ‘anal expulsive’ personality occurs when a person has unresolved conflict at the anal stage due to toilet training, a person could become thoughtless and messy.
• Oedipus complex

  • At around ages 3 to 5, a boy begins to desire his mother and wants her complete attention
  • He sees his father as a rival and wishes he was dead
  • this creates castration anxiety
  • this complex is eventually resolved by boy's identification with his father
• The Electra complex was proposed by Carl Jung
• Electra complex

  • At around ages 3 to 5, a girl desires her father and realises she does not have a penis
  • This leads to the development of penis envy.
  • This is resolved by the girl repressing her desire for her father and substituting the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby. 
  • In the process, the girl identifies with her mother and internalises her mother’s gender identity, so that it becomes her own
• Little Hans Phobia

  • Supports Freud’s concept of Oedipus complex
  • Hans developed a phobia of horses after seeing one collapse in the street
  • Freud suggested that Hans’ phobia of horses was a form of displacement in which his repressed fear of his father was transferred on to horses
  • horses were symbolic representation of Han's real fear of castration
• A weakness of the psychodynamic approach is that it has unfalsifiable concepts. Karl Popper argues that the psychodynamic approach is not open to empirical testing (possibility of being disproved). Many of Freud’s concepts (e.g. the Oedipus complex, the psyche) are said to occur in the unconscious, making them difficult or impossible to test. Therefore, psychodynamic approach falls under the title of being a pseudoscience (fake science).
• A person with a phallic personality is narcissistic, reckless and possibly homosexual.
• The superego arises through identification with the same-sex parent of the child who internalises the morals of the same-sex parent due to resolution of oedipus/electra complex.