psychodynamic

Cards (34)

  • what approach did Freud create?
    psychodynamic
  • what is the psychodynamic approach?
    The psychodynamic approach is a psychological perspective that focuses on the unconscious mind and the influence of childhood experiences on behavior and mental processes.
  • what are the main assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
    • unconscious mind
    • instincts / drives
    • early childhood experience is crucial
    • interactional
    • tension and pleasure
  • in the main assumptions what is the unconscious mind?
    the driving force behind much of our behaviour
  • in the main assumptions, what do instincts and drives do
    motivate our behaviour
  • in the main assumptions, why is early childhood crucial?
    it shapes who we are. traumatic events can resurface in adulthood
  • what did Frued believe tension was a result of?
    built up libido
  • in the iceburg metaphor for the human mind, what is the conscious?
    the part of the mind that we are aware of - our everyday thoughts and feelings
  • in the iceburg metaphor for the human mind, what is the preconscious?
    thoughts and memories not accessible at all times but easily recalled
  • in the iceburg metaphor for the human mind, what is he unconscious?
    the dark shameful part. holds repressed memories, thoughts and feelings that still drive much of our behaviour
  • what is the evidence for the unconscious?
    freudian slips
  • in the tripartite personality mind what are the three components?
    Id, ego, superego.
  • what is the id?
    birth - 18 months -> unconscious, primitive and destructive. Pleasure principle
  • what is the ego?
    18 months - 3 years -> reliability principle. our consciousness and ability to think rationally
  • what is the superego?
    5 years old + -> morality principle that develops through socialisation. it is rigid, punishing and repressive
  • what are the key features of the Oedipus complex?
    • during the phallic stage of development
    • sexual feelings towards their mother and resent for their father
    • castration anxiety and so befriend their father
  • what was the case study of little Hans?
    • phobia of horses
    • fascination with his penis and noticed many animals had larger ones
    • hans was jealous of his father who got to enjoy his mother's attention
    • hans felt a sexual attraction to his mother
  • what are the key features of the electra complex?
    • during the phallic stage
    • girls realise they are just castrated males
    • they have penis envy
    • when that desire isn't fulfilled they desire a baby
    • little girls have sexual desires for their fathers but these are repressed in favour of identifying with their mother
  • what are the three defence mechanisms?
    • repression
    • denial
    • displacement
  • what is repression?
    forcing a distressed memory out of the unconscious mind
  • what is denial?
    refusing to accept some aspect of reality
  • what is displacement?
    transferring feelings from the true source of distress onto a substitute target
  • what are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach?
    • introduced psychotherapy which can help MILD mental disorders by providing access to their unconscious - dream analysis
    • it has explanatory power - controversial but it has had a large impact on western contemporary thought. it draws attention to the importance of childhood experience
  • what are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?
    • psychoanalysis only works with mild problems and can be harmful to those with more serious issues
    • unstable concepts - Karl Popper argued that it doesn't meet the scientific criteria of falsification. id and oedipus complex occur at an unconscious level which makes hem difficult to test
  • what are the psychosexual stages?
    • oral 0-18 months
    • anal 18-36 months
    • phallic 3-6 years
    • latency 6-12 years
    • genital
  • description of the oral stage
    the infant's main source of pleasure is the mouth. it gets pleasure from biting and sucking
  • description of the anal stage
    pleasure is derived from expelling or retaining faeces
  • description of the phallic stage
    child focuses on own genitals and becomes aware of anatomical sex differences
  • description of latency stage
    sexual desires are repressed as libido is dormant
  • description of the genital stage
    sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure rather than self pleasure
  • what are the results of fixation at the oral stage?
    Oral fixation can result in dependency, oral aggression, or oral passivity.
  • what are the results of fixation at the anal stage?
    Anal retentiveness or anal expulsiveness.
  • what are the results of fixation at the phallic stage?
    self assured, vain, reckless, impulsive
  • what are the results of fixation at the latency stage?
    lack of libido as an adult