Psychodynamic

• The psychodynamic approach to psychology was developed by Sigmund Feud.
• The conscious mind contains everything you are currently thinking about right now. Whereas the preconscious mind contains everything you are not currently thinking about, but can be easily accessed.
• The common factor between the conscious and preconscious mind is that we can easily access both of them.
• Freud liked to represent this as an iceberg. The bit above the water, the conscious mind, represents what we are thinking about right now. Just below the surface, the preconscious mind represents what we are not currently thinking about, but can easily access. The part deep below the surface, the unconscious mind, represents what we can never access when awake.
• The key assumption of the psychodynamic approach, is that most of our behavior is caused by the unconscious mind.
• In the psychodynamic approach, everyone's personality has a tripartite structure, which means our personality is made up of three parts, the id, ego, and super-ego.
• As the unconscious is most of the mind, this means that the id is responsible for the most of our behaviour.
• The first part of the personality is the id, which is responsible for impulses and urges for instant gratification. According to Freud the id is entirely in the unconscious mind.
• The second part of the personality is the super-ego, which is responsible for morals and following rules. According the Freud it is found in the all of the conscious, preconscious and unconscious mind.
• The third part of the personality is the ego, which is responsible for the mediation and compromise between the id and super-ego. According to Freud the ego can be found in the preconscious and conscious mind.
• The first defense mechanism is displacement, when the ego redirects the id's impulses towards something else.
• The second defense mechanism is regression, when the ego pushed the impulses back into the unconscious mind.
• The third defense mechanism is denial, when the ego gives into the id but refuses to believe it has to avoid guilt.
• What are the five psychosexual stages?

  1. Oral = of the mouth
  2. Anal = of the anus
  3. Phallic = of the penis
  4. Latent = hidden
  5. Genital
• According to the psychodynamic approach, the unconscious mind is affected by repressed childhood experiences. Freud modelled how childhood experiences affect behaviour using 5 psychosexual stages.
• In the oral stage,

  A Childs urge for instant gratification is focused on the mouth.

  Having the impulse to eat.

  Taking place from birth to 18 months.
• In the anal stage,

  A Childs urge for instant gratification is focused on the anus.

  Having the impulse to poo

  Taking place from 18 months to 3 years
• If a child becomes nervous about learning to use the toilet, they become anally retentive . However, if the child becomes super keen to use the toilet, they become anally expulsive .
• In the phallic stage,

  A Childs urge for instant gratification is focused on the penis

  Having an impulse to get a penis

  Taking place from 3 years to 6 years
• The Oedipus Complex is when a boy becomes sexually attracted to his mother, becoming jealous of his father.

  The Electra Complex is when a Girl becomes sexually attracted to her father, becoming untrustworthy of her father.
• We've seen that, during the phallic stage...

  • Boys are sexually attracted to their mother
  • Boys are focuses on the penis
  • Girls do not trust their mother
  • Girls are sexually attracted to their father.

  And, during the phallic stage girls get penis envy while boys get castration anxiety.
• According to the psychodynamic approach, the repressed traumatic experiences in the unconscious mind will influence the child's behaviour throughout their adult life.
• A psychosexual fixation is when repressed psychological trauma affects behaviour.
• An Oral Fixation will cause an adult to be overly dependent, and have habits like smoking and biting their nails.
• An anally retentive fixation will cause an adult to be neat and organized, and careful with their money.
• An anally expulsive fixation will cause an adult to be overly emotional, including becoming very angry.
• A phallic fixation will causes an adult to be jealous and/or anxious.
• Old Age Pensioners Love Golf !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• In the Latent stage,

  A Childs urge for instant gratification is spread out evenly

  Not leading to psychosexual fixation

  Taking place from 6 years to 12 years
• In the genital stage,

  A Childs urge for instant gratification is focused on there own reproduction organs

  Having an desire for sex and the libido

  Taking place from 12 years to adulthood
• What do the genital and latent stages have in common?

  They do not involve psychosexual fixations
• Freud saw little Hans as a case study that fit his model of the psychosexual stages, he was in the phallic stage and was labeled as having an unresolved Oedipus Complex.
• What limitations are there of little Hans case study?

  • Results may not generalise to other people
  • Not based on any objective, empirical evidence (self-report method from father)
  • Didn't test cause and effect (he may have just had a fear of horses nothing to do with his father)
• The Little Hans case study helped Freud confirm his beliefs about psychosexual stages. Because Little Hans was experiencing fear of his father (i.e. castration anxiety), and had developed an Oedipus Complex, Freud believed Hans was displacing his fear onto horses.