psychodynamic approach

• What assumption is made about behavior in relation to the unconscious mind?

  Behavior is caused by unconscious drives that develop during childhood.
• What are the components of the tripartite model of personality?

  • Id: Present from birth, operates on the pleasure principle, demands immediate gratification.
  • Ego: Develops around ages 2-3, operates on the reality principle, compromises between id and superego.
  • Superego: Develops around ages 5-6, operates on the morality principle, based on conscience and ego-ideal. (behaviour a person strives towards)
• At what age is the id present according to the psychosexual stages?

  From birth to age 2.
• At what age does the ego develop?

  Around ages 2-3.
• At what age does the superego develop?

  Around ages 5-6.
• What are the psychosexual stages of development and their corresponding age ranges?

  • Oral: 0-2 years
  • Anal: 2-3 years
  • Phallic: 3-6 years
  • Latency: 6 years to puberty (12)
  • Genital: Puberty to death
• What causes anxiety according to the study material?

  Anxiety is caused by the conflict between the id and the superego.
• How does the ego deal with anxiety caused by the conflict between the id and the superego?

  The ego uses defense mechanisms to deal with anxiety.

  • Denial
  • Displacement
  • Repression
• What is denial as a defense mechanism?

  Denial is the refusal to accept reality.
• What is displacement in the context of defense mechanisms?

  Displacement is the redirection of thoughts or feelings when a person feels unable to express them.
• What is repression as a defense mechanism?

  Repression is the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts or impulses.
• Oral stage

  • exploring and pleausre being derived through the mouth- particularly breastfeeding (associated with love and bond with mother)
  • To progress they must be weaned off breastfeeding
• What realization does a child have during the anal stage of development?

  They are in control of their bowel movements
• What must occur for a child to progress through the anal stage?

  Successful potty training
• What is an anal-retentive personality characterized by?


  Being stingy, not generous, neat, and organized
• What is an anal-expulsive personality characterized by?


  Being messy, creative, and generous
• What realization occurs during the phallic stage of development?

  Children derive pleasure from touching their genitals
• What is the main conflict during the phallic stage?

  The Oedipus complex or Electra complex
• What is the Oedipus complex?

  1. Boys are in love with their mother and want to possess her
  2. Intense hatred towards their father for being a love rival-want to kill their father.
  3. Penis envy of their father’s bigger penis

  4. Thing stopping them is castration anxiety prevents them from acting on these desires.
• What do girls experience in the Electra complex?

  1. desires her father and realises that she does not have a penis blame their mothers for their 'castrated state',.

  2. This leads to the development of penis envy and the desire to be a boy.

  3. This is resolved by the girl repressing her desire for her father and substituting the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby
• What is necessary for children to progress beyond the phallic stage?

  Identifying with their same-sex parent and internalizing their morals
• What happens to sexual drives during the latent stage?

  They are repressed into activities like friendships and hobbies
• What is the focus of the genital stage of development?

  • Deriving pleasure from genitals again
  • Sexual drives and id are re awoken and remainder of adult life is dedicated to pursuit of sex and sexual relationships.
• • If they are over fed it is called a’sucker’ who is usually a gullible person and orally receptive (over eating)
  • Underfed are usually cynical people who believe nothing and are orally aggressive
  • Both can lead to habit formation, biting nails or smoking or being orally fixated
• This theory is culturally biassed

  Sue and sue argue it Has little value for those from non western cultures 

  Western cultures value insight and talking therapies

  And psychoanalysts believe in giving the individual a chance to free and deal with the trauma in the unconscious mind

  In china people prefer to avoid thoughts which cause distress rather than discuss them openly, therefore it lacks population validity  
• • Many claims of psychoanalysis have been tested and confirmed using scientific methodology 
  • fisher and greenberg 
  • Summarised 2500 of these and Concluded that studies of psychoanalysis compared well with studies relevant to other major areas of psychology

   Therefore showing psychoanalysis could be Equally as effective as other therapy

  Therefore showing the validity of this theory 

  However it may not work for everybody
• • gender biased 
  • Predominantly his research is around men- for this theory his main research was on a boy - little hans 
  • which lacks populational validity as it cannot be successfully applied to the whole population - eg. adult women who have very different characteristics.
  • It is beta biassed as freud  had little knowledge about female sexuality  and seemed ignorant to how this differs from male sexualitiy , minimising gender differences 
  • many psychologists criticised his work and views about women,
  • this is problematic as he treated female patients and his theories are still so influential