Psychodynamic Approach

• Parts of the mind

  • The conscious
  • The preconscious
  • The unconscious
• The conscious


  Part of the mind we are aware of, everyday thoughts and feelings, smallest part of the mind
• The preconscious


  Memories and thoughts, things we could become aware of if we wanted or tried (ex. dreams)
• The unconscious


  Things we are unaware of and cannot be aware of, ex. Biological drives, instincts and repressed memories
• The role of the unconscious mind


  • Freud believed that the part of the mind that was inaccessible to conscious thought was called the unconscious - he used the metaphor of an iceberg to represent the mind
  • Freud believed that our everyday actions and behaviour are not controlled consciously but by the unconscious mind - this is called psychic determinism
  • The unconscious mind influences into every part of our waking and sleeping lives, for example in Freudian slips or dreams
  • Stores biological drives and instincts which influence our behaviour and personality
  • Mind actively prevents traumatic disturbing memories in our unconscious from reach conscious awareness
  • Psychotherapy uses a range of strategies to reach hidden memories in the unconscious memories and uses strategies like dream analysis and free association
• Tripartite Personality


  • Id
  • Superego
  • Ego
• Id


  The Pleasure Principle, Selfish part of the personality, Primitive biological part of the mind, Present in the new born infant + consisted of basics biological impulses or drives such as hunger, thirst, sex etc, Contained in the unconscious part of the mind
• Superego


  The Morality Principle, conscience and ego ideal, Instists we do the right thing, Opposes the desires of the id to enforce moral restrictions, Develops in childhood around 5 years old through identification with a parent, Is the point the child internalises the moral rules and social norms of society
• Ego


  The Reality Principle, Executive of the personality, Uses its cognitive abilities to manage and control the id and balance its desires against the restrictions of reality and the superego, Ego defends itself from id-superego struggles via various defence mechanisms, Part of the unconscious mind
• Defence Mechanisms


  • Repression
  • Denial
  • Displacement
• Repression


  Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind and into the unconscious, Example: An adult who experienced neglect at the hands of their parents as a child may have no conscious awareness that this trip sums occurred, though the may show distrust others in later life
• Denial


  Refusing to believe something because it is too painful to acknowledge the reality, acting as if nothing distressing happened, Example: Someone with a gram bling addiction may deny that they have a problem with their finances despite being in a large amount of debt
• Displacement


  Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target, Example: Someone who was bullied at school may go home and take it out by being mean towards a sibling
• Psychosexual development


  Events in our childhood influence adult lives, shaping our personality, Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious and cause problems as adults, In childhood ego is not fully developed enough to mediate the intra-psychic conflict with the demand of the id, Experiences may include maternal absences, parental shortcomings, or any confusing or traumatic events, Children pass through a series of age dependent stages during development, Each stage has a designated "pleasure zone" and "primary activity" which is the focus of the "libido", Each stage requires resolution of a particular conflict/task, Failure to successfully navigate a stage's particular conflict/task is known as fixation
• Psychosexual development stages


  • Oral Stage (0-1 years)
  • Anal Stage (1-3 years)
  • Phallic Stage (3-5 years)
  • Latency Stage (5 years-puberty)
  • Genital Stage (puberty-death)
• Oral Stage (0-1 years)


  The mouth - the child enjoys feeding, sucking, swallowing, putting things in mouth etc., Conflict: Forceful feeding, Deprivation, Early weaning, Consequences of Fixation: Smoking, Chewing pens and fingernails, Overeating and drinking, Sarcasm, Verbal Hostility
• Anal Stage (1-3 years)


  The anus - the child derbies pleasure from expelling or withholding faeces, Conflict: Too harsh/too lax toilet training, Consequences: Anal retentive (obsessive, tidiness, neatness, intolerance and passive aggression) or Anal expulsive (sloppiness, disorganised, defiant, recklessness and excessive generosity)
• Phallic Stage (3-5 years)


  The penis or clitoris, Conflict: Abnormal family set up leading to unusual relationship with mother or father, Consequences of Fixation: Men (feelings of anxiety and guilt about sex, Fear of castration, Vanity, Self obsession and narcissism) and Women (Feelings of inferiority and envy - Penis Envy and Oedipus)
• Latency Stage (5 years-puberty)


  Sexual desires are repressed, Conflict: Interacting with same sex peers, Fixation does not happen at this age
• Genital Stage (puberty-death)


  The genitals - the adult derives pleasure from masturbation and sexual intercourse, Conflict: Establishing intimate relationships with opposite sex, Fixation at this stage is what should happen and indicates a well adjusted adult
• Oedipus Complex (Boys)


  Develop incestous feelings towards mother, Hatred for father as he is love rival, Fear castration by father, Repress feelings for mother and identify with father, Take on his gender roles and moral values, Case study of 'little Hans' - 5 year old boy developed phobia of horses, Freud suggested phobia was due to displacement - repressing feat of father on to the horse due to unconscious fear of castration
• Electra Complex (Girls)


  Girls experience Penis Envy, Desires father and hates mother, Replace their desire for a need to have a baby and identify with mother
• Psychodynamic approach


  • Has led to psychoanalytical therapies such as dream analysis and free association that have been used to treat several disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders
  • Briggs et al. (2019) finding that there was a significant reduction of suicidal behaviour and self-harm for patients undergoing psychoanalytical therapies
  • The use of psychodynamic principles within society is viewed as a strength of the approach as it supports the assumptions of the approach and is considered a strength because, ultimately, psychologists conduct research and develop theories to improve the world we live in
  • However, it appears to be ineffective for people experiencing more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia because of their delusional thinking - cannot articulate thoughts in the way psychoanalysis requires so Freudian therapy may not apply to all mental disorders
• Psychodynamic approach


  • As the psychodynamic approach largely focuses on the unconscious, it makes it untestable
  • It cannot be proven that the id, ego, and superego do not exist and we cannot disprove the existence of the psychosexual stages of development, therefore the theory of personality development cannot be falsified
  • Theory is based on case studies and techniques that are subjective and open to bias (such as Little Hans)
  • Psychology aims to produce scientific and objective theories which can be falsified and supported by research evidence
  • Without this element of scientific rigour, the theory and assumptions that underpin it could be questionable, being a weakness of the approach as it does not meet modern scientific standards of validity
• Real World Application - Evaluation

  • Lead to psychoanalytical therapies such as dream analysis and free association - used to treat several disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders.
  • Briggs et al. found that there was a significant reduction of suicidal behaviour and self-harm for patients undergoing psychoanalytical therapies
  • However, it appears to be ineffective for people experiencing more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia because of their delusional thinking - Freudian therapy may not apply to all mental disorders
• Idiographic and Nomothetic - Evaluation


  • The psychodynamic approach can be said to be nomothetic as the tripartite personality and psychosexual stages are universal and can be applied to everyone
  • It is also idiographic as the way in which these universal processes are applied are subjective and unique to individual
  • There is a great amount of emphasis on the subjective and unique experience of an individual
  • Considering both idiographic and nomothetic elements is a strength of the approach as it develops a more comprehensive understanding of society which increases value
• Lacks Scientific Validity - Evaluation

  • As the psychodynamic approach largely focuses on the unconscious, it makes it untestable
  • Theory is based on case studies and techniques that are subjective and open to bias (such as Little Hans)
  • Psychology aims to produce scientific and objective theories which can be falsified and supported by research evidence
  • Without this element of scientific rigour, the theory and assumptions that underpin it could be questionable, being a weakness of the approach as it does not meet modern scientific standards of validity