Psychodynamic Approach

• State the three assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

  1, Most of the influences on our behaviour come from the unconscious mind 2, Our psyche is made up of several parts that are continually at war with each other. This conflict is what drives behaviour 3, All children go through a series of psychosexual stages and if they experience unresolved conflict this can affect adult life
• State the three parts of the psyche

  Id, ego, superego
• What is the id?

  The primitive part of our personality which operates on the pleasure principle. It is selfish and demands immediate gratification.
• What is the superego?

  The moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self. It punishes the ego for wrongdoing by making us feel guilty.
• What is the ego?

  Works on the reality principle. It is the mediator between the id and superego by trying to reduce the conflict through the use of defence mechanisms.
• Which components of the psyche are part of your unconscious?

  Id and superego
• What are defence mechanisms?

  Unconscious strategies used by the ego to help balance the conflicting demands of the id and the superego.
• State the 3 main types of defence mechanisms


  1, Denial - Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality 2, Repression - Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind 3, Displacement - transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target
• State the 5 psychosexual stages in order

  1, Oral (0-1 years ) 2, Anal (1-3 years ) 3, Phallic (3-5 years) 4, Latency (5 years to puberty) 5, Genital (Puberty-death)
• State the conflict and consequences of this conflict not being resolved in the oral stage


  x Conflicts = forceful feeding, deprivation or early weaning. x Consequences of fixation = oral fixation - smoking, chewing pens and fingernails, overeating and drinking, sarcasm and verbal hostility
• State the conflict and consequences of this conflict not being resolved in the anal stage


  x Conflicts = too harsh or too lax during toilet training x Consequences of fixation: Too harsh toilet training --> anally retentive personality (obsessive, tidy, neat) Too lax toilet training --> anally expulsive personality (sloppiness, disorganised, defiant, reckless and excessive generosity)
• State the conflict and consequences of this conflict not being resolved in the phallic stage

  x Conflicts = abnormal family set up leading to unusual relationship with mother or father x Consequences of fixation: Phallic personality --> narcissistic, reckless and possibly homosexual
• State the conflict and consequences of this conflict not being resolved in the latency stage

  x Conflicts = interacting with same sex peers x No fixation during this stage
• State the conflict and consequences of this conflict not being resolved in the genital stage

  x Conflicts = Establishing intimate relationships with opposite sex x Consequences of fixation = fixation at this stage is what should happen and indicates a well-adjusted adult.
• In which stage does the oedipus and electra complex occur

  The phallic stage
• In which gender does the Oedipus and electra complex happen in?

  x Oedipus complex = Male x Electra complex = Female
• What is the Oedipus complex?

  x Boys develop a sexual desire for their mother and so see their father as a rival and feel hatred towards them x Fearing that their father will castrate them, boys repress their feelings for their mother and identify with their father x They take on his gender role and moral values.
• What is the Electra complex?

  x Girls experience penis envy - they desire their father as the penis is the primary love object - and hate their mother x Girls then give up the desire for their father over time and replace this with a desire for a baby (identifying with their mother in the process)
• Name the case study which shows support for the Oedipus complex

  x Little Hans --> Had a severe phobia of white horses with black bits around their moth and wearing blinkers x Freud interpreted this phobia as a form of displacement in which his repressed fear of his father was transferred onto horses.