Psychodynamic Approach

• The Role of the Unconscious

  Freud suggested that the part of the mind that we are aware of, the conscious mind is merely the 'tip of the iceberg'. Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious- a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts which has a significant influence on our behaviour and personality. It contains threatening and disturbing memories which have been repressed using defence mechanisms. They are accessed through dreams or parapraxes. Under the conscious mind is the preconscious which contains memories and thoughts that we can access if desired.
• Defence Mechanisms

  Repression: forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind.

  Denial: refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality.

  Displacement: transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target.
• The Structure of Personality- The Id

  Describing the personality as tripartite.

  The primitive part of our personality, operating on the pleasure principle. It is a mass of unconscious drives and instincts. Only the Id is present at birth (Freud describes babies as 'bundles of Id'). Throughout life the Id is entirely selfish and demands instant gratification of its needs.
• The Structure of Personality- The Ego

  Describing the personality as tripartite.

  Works on a reality principle and is the mediator between the other two parts of the personality. The Ego develops around the age of 2 years. Its role is to reduce the conflict between the demands of the Id and Superego. It manages this by employing a number of defence mechanisms.
• The Structure of Personality- The Superego

  Describing the personality as tripartite.

  Formed at the phallic stage, around the age of 5. It is our internalised sense of right and wrong. Based on the morality principle, it represents the moral standards of the child's same-gender parent and punishes the Ego for wrongdoing (through guilt).
• Psychosexual Stages

  Freud claimed that child development occurred in 5 stages. Each stage, apart from latency, is marked by a conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage. Any psychosexual conflict that is unresolved leads to a fixation where the child becomes stuck and carries certain behaviours and conflicts associated with the stage through to adult life.
• Stage: Oral

  Age 0 to 1 years

  Description- focus of pleasure is the mouth, the mother's breast can be the object of desire.

  Consequence of Unresolved Conflict- 'Oral Fixation': smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical.
• Stage: Anal

  Ages 1 to 3 years

  Description- focus of pleasure is the anus, child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces.

  Consequence of Unresolved Conflict- 'Anal Retentive': perfectionist, obsessive; 'Anal Expulsive': thoughtless, messy.
• Stage: Phallic

  Ages 3 to 6 years

  Description- focus of pleasure is the genital area.

  Consequence of Unresolved Conflict- 'Phallic Personality': narcissistic, reckless.
• Stage: Latency

  Earlier conflicts are repressed.
• Stage: Genital

  Final Stage

  Description- sexual desires become conscious, alongside the onset of puberty.

  Consequence of Unresolved Conflict- difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.
• Defence Mechanisms

  The Ego has a difficult job balancing the conflicting demands, but it does have help in the form of defence mechanisms. These are unconscious and ensure that the Ego is able to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas. However, they also involve a form of distortion of reality as a long-term solution they are regarded as psychologically unhealthy and undesirable.
• AO3: Real-World Application

  A strength is that it has introduced the idea of psychotherapy (as opposed to physical treatments). Freud brought a new form of therapy- psychoanalysis which was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically. It involved a range of different techniques designed to access the unconscious, such as dream analysis. It claims to help clients by bringing their repressed emotions into their conscious minds so they can be dealt with. It is the forerunner of many modern talking therapies, such as counselling.
• AO3: Counterpoint to Real-World Application

  Although Freudian therapists have claimed success for many clients with mild neuroses, psychoanalysis is regarded as inappropriate and even harmful for those experiencing more serious mental disorders (such as schizophrenia). Many of the symptoms of schizophrenia are paranoia and delusional thinking, meaning the individual has lost their grip on reality; they cannot articulate their thoughts in the way required for psychoanalysis. Meaning it cannot be applied to all mental disorders.
• AO3: Explanatory Power

  A strength is its ability to explain human behaviour- though it is controversial, it has had a huge influence on psychology and contemporary thought. Alongside behaviourism, the approach remained a key force in psychology for the first half of the 20th century and has been used to explain a wide range of phenomena (like personality development, origins of psychological disorders, moral development, and gender identity). Its significant in drawing attention to the connection between childhood experiences and our later development. It has then had a positive impact.
• AO3: Untestable Concept

  Much of it remains untestable. Popper argued that this approach doesn't meet the scientific criterion of falsification. It isn't open to empirical testing (and the possibility of being disproved). Many of the concepts are said to occur on an unconscious level. Freud's ideas were also based on the subjective study of case studies- such as Little Hans; making it difficult to make universal claims about human behaviour. Suggesting that Freud's theory is pseudoscientific (not a real science) rather than an established fact.
• AO3: Psychic Determinism

  The psychodynamic approach suggests that much of our behaviour is determined by our unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood. Freud believed there wasn't such thing as an 'accident'. Even something as random as the 'slip of a tongue' is driven by unconscious forced which have deep meanings. Critics claim that this is an extreme view as it dismisses any possibility of free-will on our behaviour.