psychodynamic theory

• what does freud say the structure of the mind is

  the unconscious, the preconscious, the conscious
• what is the unconscious

  contains thoughts, memories and desires which we are unaware of - material is also repressed here to protect us from things
• what is the preconscious

  the thoughts and ides that we may become aware of in dreams or slips of the tounge
• what is the conscious


  things we know and are aware of
• in what three ways did Freud explain aggression

  1 - resulting from our innate drives

  2 - resulting from personality development

  3 - as a process of catharsis
• what are the two instincts we have

  the eros (life instinct) and thanatos (death instinct)
• what is human behaviour caused by

  interaction between the opposing instincts which tries to prevent us from hurting ourselves
• how did freud say aggression is caused from our innate drives

  when we direct the energy of thanatos away from ourselves and towards others
• what are the three stages of personality development

  1 - the id

  2 - the ego

  3 - the superego
• the id description


  operates on the pleasure principle, is present at birth, demands immediate gratification, driven by urges of the eros and thanatos so has no thought of consequences/morals. makes aggression unavoidable
• the ego description


  works on reality principle, develops around 2yrs old, logical and rational so controls and delays urges of the id, acts as a mediator between unrealistic id desires and social reality
• the superego description


  operates as morality principle, forms around 5 yrs old, represents our conscious and moral sense of right and wrong, opposes ids aggressive drives, punishes ego for wrongdoings
• what can issues with the development of the ego or superego result in

  problems managing the urges of the id meaning the id would have dominance which leads to aggression
• why do we want the ego and superego to be well developed

  so urges remain in the unconscious mind so we don't act on them
• what are aggressive urges specifically controlled by

  the defence mechanisms of the id
• what are the defence mechanisms of the ego

  1 - displacement

  2 - reaction formation

  3 - denial

  4 - repression
• what is displacement


  redirecting emotions from the person that caused them onto another object/person
• what is reaction formation

  denial of feelings is replaced by adopting an attitude that is opposite of our genuine feelings
• what is denial


  refusing to accept reality
• what is repression


  an unconscious defence mechanism which keeps disturbing or threatening thoughts from entering the conscious mind
• what is catharsis


  a process where we release negative energy from the mind to let us vent aggression, let off steam, satisfy our violent impulses
• what does catharsis allow us to do

  make ourselves feel better in a safer way than acting with aggression
• what does expressing anger do

  releases psychic energy which reduces aggressive drives but makes further aggression more likely
• what can preventing catharsis do

  cause a build up of energy which eventually would produce destructive aggression directed either inwards or outwards
• evidence in catharsis


  verona and sullivan
• what was the aim of Verona and Sullivan

  to find out whether acting aggressively is cathartic for individuals
• Verona and Sullivan procedure

  . ppts placed in a frustrating situation

  . half were allowed to act aggressively by pressing the button which gave a shock

  . other half acted non aggressively by pressing a non shock button

  . later a blast of hot air was given to them

  . heart rate was monitored in ppts
• Verona and Sullivan results

  the half who originally were aggressive showed a reduction in their aggression = suggests aggressive behaviour is cathartic

  . however they were still more aggressive to the blast than the other group
• Verona and Sullivan conclusion

  acting aggressively reduced tension but didn't reduce aggressive drive
• evaluation - evidence strength

  Verona and Sullivan - provided an objective method to study a mechanism that works on an unconscious level = provides some support for the theory
• evidence counterargument


  the evidence disputes catharsis as showed the overall aggressive drive has not reduces, it is very hard to measure hypothetical constructs like the unconscious mind so is hard to provide credible evidence
• application


  can prevent a build up of destructive aggressive energy - can use Freudian concepts eg displacement to give people harmless ways of expressing anger - theory offers practical solutions to reduce aggression which has potential benefit for individuals and wider society
• strengths

  1 - accounts for role of both nature and nurture - id present fro birth, ego develops with socialisation = highlights the innate tendency for aggression and role of parenting in development of aggression

  2 - explains individual differences in the development of aggression
• shortcomings


  1 - not scientific - can't objectively measure these parts of our personality so can't falsify it

  2 - reductionist - explains aggression stems from dominant id = ignores other factors eg brain structure