psychodynamic approach

• Sigmund Freud 


  one of first psychologists to acknowledge that our unconscious minds can control our behaviour

  suggested behaviours determined by psychological factors more than biological and environmental factors
• 4 parts to Freund's theory

  1 - the role of the unconscious

  2 - the structure of personality

  3 - defence mechanisms

  4 - psychosexual stages
• the role of the unconscious

  iceberg metaphor

  Freudian slips = unconscious mind revealing itself , during dreams or slips of the tongue

  = when the ego cant censor the id
• the structure of personality

  ID - desires/instincts

  EGO = balance

  SUPEREGO = conscience
• the Id


  present from birth

  only in unconscious

  follows pleasure principle , demands immediate satisfaction regardless of circumstance
• the Ego

  next part of personality to develop = around 2 years old

  resolves conflict between id and superego

  follows reality principle, must compromise between the impulsive id and moralistic superego

  uses defence mechanisms
• the superego

  develops at about 5 years old

  sense of right and wrong

  based on the morality principle

  it punishes the ego for any 'wrongdoing' through ego
• abnormality 


  imbalance in the 3 parts of the mind leads to abnormality

  id too strong = destructive and immoral behaviour

  superego too strong = phobias and OCD
• defence mechanisms

  ego defence mechanisms - operate unconsciously and work by distorting reality to anxiety is reduced - stops the individual from becoming aware of unpleasant thoughts and feelings associated with a traumatic situation
• 3 defence mechanisms

  repression - unconscious blocking unacceptable thoughts and impulses, continue to influence behaviour without individual being aware of reasons behind their behaviour

  denial - refusing to acknowledge some aspects of reality

  displacement - redirect feelings to another target
• psychosexual development 


  Freud believed personality develops through childhood - need to pass through the 5 stages successfully to develop a strong EGO

  each stage sexual energy (libido) is expressed and discharged in different ways through different parts of body

  conflict that's unresolved leads to fixations
• stage 1 - oral 


  birth - 1 year

  only id present

  focus of pleasure = mouth

  object of desire = mothers breast

  key conflict = weaning

  symptoms of oral fixation = smoking, nail biting
• stage 2 - anal stage 


  focus of pleasure - anus

  child experiences pleasure from the withholding and expelling faeces

  key conflict = potty training , restricts on when and where child can defecate

  fixation can lead to anally retentive/expulsive personality
• stage 3 - phallic stage

  3-5 years

  focus of pleasure - genital area

  conflicts = Oedipus / Electra conflict

  Oedipus = castration anxiety , boys sexually attracted to mothers, father is love rival - learn to identify with him and use him as model for moral behaviour

  Electra = penis envy , girls have penis envy and in love with father , replaces envy with desire to have a child , leads to identification with mother

  fixation can lead to phallic personality
• fixation at phallic stage

  men - anxiety and guilty feelings about sex, fear of castration and narcissistic personality

  women - implied women never progress pass this stage and will always have penis envy
• stage 4 - latency 


  age 6-pubety

  earlier conflicts are repressed to allow children to focus energy on other aspects of life

  sexual urges directed to sports and hobbies

  focus on developing same sex friends
• stage 5 - genital 


  puberty (12+)

  task is to develop healthy adult relationships

  should happen if earlier stages have been negotiated successfully
• strength


  development of psychodynamic approach as an explanation of human behaviour represented a huge shift in psychological thinking and was very influential at the time , led to greater acceptance of abnormality due to its view that everyone suffered internal conflicts
• strength 


  has positive application , Freud proposed a new form of therapy called psychoanalysis which uses a range of techniques to access the unconscious mind - free association and dream analysis
• weakness


  Sue and Sue argues that it has little relevance for people from non-western cultures
• weakness


  Freud based his research on in-depth detailed analysis of his own limited number of patients - cant genialise to other people , unlikely that one patent is representative of the wider population
• weakness


  philosopher of science , Karl Popper argued it doesn't meet the scientific criterion of falsification . lots of his concepts occur in the unconscious mind - making it impossible to test. 'pseudoscience' rather than a real science