The Psychodynamic Approach
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- Created by: EmilyZNorton
- Created on: 13-09-17 22:27
Key Assumptions
- Freud
- Behaviour is: Role of unconscious drives- to store repressed urges.
- influenced by unonscious mind
- early childhood experiences
- motivated by instintual drives (sex & aggression).
- The need to satisfy this behaviour leads to our personality.
- Research- HARRIS & CAMPBELL (1999)
- 3 groups: planned, unplanned and not. (pregnant)
- 'Unplanned'- unconsciously intentional due to potential secondary gains.
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Structure of Personality
- ID- 1st
- Unconscious.
- Pleasure principle.
- Selfish desires.
- Irrational.
- Innate.
- EGO- 2nd [2yrs- anal stage]
- Reality principle.
- Rational and logical.
- Balances Id and Superego finding an acceptable solution.
- SUPEREGO- 3rd [5yrs- phallic stage]
- Sense of right & wrong.
- Morality principle.
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Mental Illness
- EGO- too weak:
- ID overpowers EGO = psychotic disorders
- Loss of grip on reality
- i.e. schizophrenia
- SUPEREGO overpowers EGO = neurotic disorders
- Anxiety & guilt
- i.e. OCD
- ID overpowers EGO = psychotic disorders
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Defence Mechanisms
- Help EGO balance ID & SUPEREGO.
- Unconscious stratergies used by EGO- prevent anxiety in unpleasant situations.
- Distort reality- protected from confronting unpleasant feelings.
- Repression: Forcing a distressing memory inot unconscious so no longer aware. (i.e. unable to recall events from an accident)
- Denial: Refusal to acknowledge/ admit some aspect of reality (i.e. still turning up for work even though you've been sacked.)
- Displacement: Transferring unacceptable emotion from source onto a more acceptable subsitute target. (i.e. slamming door after an argument)
- Regression: Returning to a form of behaviour from earlier stage in life. (i.e. stamping feet in an arguement)
- Sublimination: Acting out unacceptable impulse more acceptably. (i.e. person w history of violence starts kickboxing)
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Psychosexual Stages
- Libido focused on certain erotogenic zone.
- Organ pleasure from stimulating this zone.
- Conflict must be resolved if not a fixation is formed.
- Pleasure is then derived from the same zone- manifests into personality traits.
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Psychosexual Stages. cont.
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The Oedipus Complex
- Phallic stage
- Libido unconsciously directed on first member of 'opposite sex'- mother.
- Conflict arises- reality that boy's sexual pleasure won't be satisfied by mum- dad is rival.
- Boy develops unconscious fear that dad will stomp out comp by removing penis- castration anxiety.
- Naturally resolved at end of stage when dad identifies w dad- resolving conflict giving him gender identify.
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The Elektra Complex
- Girls desire father.
- Realises she has no penis.
- Penis envy- wants to be a boy.
- Resolve= repress desires for father- wants baby not penis.
- Tension- blames mother for 'castrated state'.
- Repress feelings on tension, identify w mum- female role.
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Research- Little Hans
- Through written correspondence:
- 5 yrs old.
- Phobia of horses (espec. white w/ blinker) terrified of going out in case he was bitten by one.
- Developed phobia after being denied parents' bed.
- Preoccupied w his penis. (often touching it, wants mum to too)
- Threatened that if he touched it, it'd be cut off.
- Dreams where a plumber fitted him w/ a bigger penis 'just like daddy's'
- No longer afraid of horses.
- libido for mum- identified w dad in end.
- Displacement- fear of dad transferred to horses.
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Evaluation points- Strengths
- Practical Application
- Psychoanalysis- treatment for mental illness derived from this approach.
- uses hypnosis & dream interpretation.
- Credited for forming basis of most psychotherapy.
- Evidence for success- Bergin: 82% had improved symptoms.
- Valuable in Real-life.
- Psychoanalysis- treatment for mental illness derived from this approach.
- SE
- Harris & Campbell: pregnancy research. (unconscious mind motivates behaviour for secondary gain)
- Freud's Little Hans. (oedipus complex- fear of father displaced onto horse.)
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Evaluation points- Weaknesses
- SE- for being unscientific- may not be valid
- Evidence from case studies- one individual- unrepresentative of gen. pop.
- 'Little Hans' had opedipus complex doesn't mean all 5yro experience this.
- Findings are subjective.
- 'Little Hans' could have oedipus and displaced it onto a horse, or be classically conditioned to fear them (Learning theory).
- Concepts cannot be directly observed. (i.e. unconscious mind.)
- Cannot be proven to exist or not (not falsifiable).
- Evidence from case studies- one individual- unrepresentative of gen. pop.
- Determinist view
- Behaviour determined by factors out of our control.
- e.g. "Freudian slip"- (calling a teacher mum not miss) has hidden meaning- 'Psychic determinism'- Free will is an illusion.
- Should be regarded with caution.
- Behaviour determined by factors out of our control.
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