Psychodynamic Approach

• The psychodynamic approach is based on the ideas of Sigmund Freud, who believed that our behaviour was determined by unconscious processes, and is formed through childhood experiences
• Sigmund Freud suggested we have three levels of conscious- the conscious, the pre-conscious and the unconscious. The conscious is thoughts and feelings and we are aware of them, the pre-conscious is things we aren't aware of but we can be eg- memories. And the unconscious we can never be aware of, and includes things such as fears and dark sexual desires
• He also suggested the structure of personality is split into 3, the Id, the Ego and the Superego. The Id represents the pleasure principle (instant gratification) and babies are born with them. The ego is the reality principle and focuses on mediating the superego and the Id, and develops around 2. The superego is your morality principle, which forms at the age of 5 and develops from the same sex parent.
• Defence mechanisms are created by the ego when the Id and Superego conflict too much. There are 3 defence mechanisms. The first being repression, the second is denial and the third is displacement. Repression is where the situation is so traumatic/upsetting/anxiety inducing that it gets pushed from the conscious to the unconscious. Denial is where the individual does not acknowledge that a situation has occured in order to protect themselves. and Displacement is where the negative feelings are transferred to a person/object.
• While the sequences of psychosexual stages are determined by maturation (it is biologically programmed), what is crucial is how the child is treated by others, especially the parents. Either excessive gratification or extreme frustration can result in an individual getting emotionally stuck (fixated) at a particular stage, producing associated adult personality traits. In this way Freud was able to explain how individual differences arise from common developmental patterns.
• there are 5 psychosexual stages. The first is 0-1 years and the oral stage. This mostly includes breastfeeding. If there is overindulgence it may lead to gullibility and a talkative personality or smoke/bite their nails. Whereas being underfed or frustration may lead to an adult might become pessimistic.
• The second stage is the anal stage which is from 1-3. early potty training can lead to an anal retentive personality- organised and punctual. However being too liberal can lead to an anal-expulsive personality which can mean they are messy or rebellious as an adult
• the 3rd stage is the phallic stage, which is at age 5. Freud believed that boys develop an Oedipus complex and Girls develop an Electra complex. Boys are jealous of their fathers for being able to be with their mothers, but they have a fear of being castrated if their father discovers their obsession. However they then begin to identify with their father which creates their masculine identity.
• For girls Freud states that they experience penis envy from their father, and dislike their mother. However once they begin to identify with their mothers they no longer experience penis envy, and instead would like a child, which develops their feminine identity
• the next stage is the latency stage, which is from 6-puberty which states that the child has no fixations and focuses on creating a social circle and increasing confidence
• The last stage is the genital stage, which occurs after puberty. This states that any previous fixations may cause sexual perversions or trouble forming sexual relations. However fixation on finding a partner in the genital stage is positive and creates a mentally healthy adult
• One strength of the psychodynamic approach is it has real life applications. One of which being the psychoanlysis therapy, which includes hypnosis and dream analysis. It was one of the first talking therapies and was proven useful for mild neuroses eg anxiety and depression. However it may be harmful for more serious mental conditions eg schizophrenia
• One weakness of the psychodynamic approach is it lacks scientific rigour. Firstly Freud's theories are neither provable/disprovable and therefore untestable. He is also unable to falsify results as there is no empirical proof. He also uses case studies, it is impossible to generalise based on one person eg little hans
• However another strength is Freud does have explanatory power. Although bizarre, his theories have had a large affect on psychology and explanation for behaviour. Including personality disorders, origins of mental dysfunction and the role of the unconscious.