Psychodynamic approach

• Freud adopted the use of psychic determinism = This is the idea that all behaviour is caused by unconscious internal conflicts, over which we have no control
• Levels of consciousness


  • The conscious
  • The preconscious
  • The unconscious
• We are only aware of our conscious. Contents of the preconscious are revealed through parapraxes, slips of the tongue and dreaming
• Since we are completely unaware of our unconscious, inferences of its workings can be made through the psychoanalysis (analysing symbols in dreams) and psychotherapy
• The unconscious stores our biological drives and instincts (e.g. hunger, thirst and sex) as well as upsetting and disturbing thoughts repressed from the conscious
• Freud's Tripartite Personality


  The personality is made up of three components: the Id, ego and superego
• Id


  The innate part of the personality, and operates on the pleasure principle. Therefore, the Id constantly demands instant gratification (e.g. to fulfill innate, biological instincts, such as hunger and thirst) and so is in conflict with the superego
• Ego


  Formed during the first 3 years of life, and operates on the reality principle. The ego helps to resolve the conflict between the Id and superego
• Unconscious


  Our unconscious thoughts and desires are revealed through parapraxes, slips of the tongue and dreaming
• Psychoanalysis


  Analysing symbols in dreams to make inferences about the unconscious
• Psychotherapy

  Making inferences about the unconscious through therapy
• Unconscious


  Stores our biological drives and instincts (e.g. hunger, thirst and sex) as well as upsetting and disturbing thoughts repressed from the conscious
• Freud's Tripartite Personality


  • Made up of the Id, Ego and Superego
• Id


  The innate part of the personality, operates on the pleasure principle, constantly demands instant gratification
• Ego


  Formed during the first 3 years of life, operates on the reality principle, helps resolve conflict between Id and Superego using defence mechanisms
• Superego


  Formed at the end of the phallic stage, operates on the morality principle, contains the child's internalised sense of right and wrong
• Psychosexual Stages


  • A series of developmental stages through which all children progress, characterised by conflicts that must be resolved to pass to the next stage
• Oedipus and Electra Complexes

  • Based on case studies of Little Hans, where Freud suggested his phobia of horses stemmed from a fear towards his father due to sexual desires for his mother
• The psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsifiability, leaving it unfalsifiable and a pseudoscience
• Freud's theories suffer from limited applications and generalisability due to being based on individual case studies and interviews
• Freud's concept of psychic determinism, where all behaviour is the product of unconscious internal conflicts, is not in line with scientific methods of investigating behaviour
• Psychotherapy and psychoanalysis rooted in the psychodynamic approach still have modern uses, such as Functional Analytic Cognitive Therapy