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The Psychodynamic Approach
Description
A Level PY1 Psychology Mind Map on The Psychodynamic Approach, created by HeyThereIAmKyle on 15/05/2013.
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Resource summary
The Psychodynamic Approach
Assumptions
Behaviour is influenced by different levels of consciousness and ego defences
Mind is like an iceberg, most of it is hidden
Conscious, Preconscious and Unconscious
Conscious mind is logical, unconscious is ruled by pleasure-seeking
Conflicts between the tripartie, causes anxiety. Ego Defence Mechanisms try to resolve these
DISPLACEMENT Transfer of impulses from one thing to another
PROJECTION undesirable thoughts are transferred to someone else
REPRESSION pushing memories deep into our unconscious
Behaviour is influenced by the 'tripartite personality'
Id
Present at birth
Demands satisfaction; PLEASURE PRINCIPLE
Main aim is to gain pleasure
Ego
Develops at 2 y/o
Rational thinking; REALITY PRINCIPLE
Balances the demands of the Id to be viewed as socially acceptable
Superego
Develops at 4 y/o
Sense of right and wrong
Seeks to perfect and civilise behaviour
Freud's Theory of Personality Development
Core of the Personality
Id, Ego and Superego are constantly conflicting
EGO STRENGTH is how well your ego deals with the conflicts of the Id and Supergo
Can be damaged or enhanced by childhood experiences
Dominated by the Id = antisocial
Freud says a healthy personality has a balance between the 3
Psychosexual Stages
At each stage a LIBIDO is attached to an organ
1. Oral
0-1.5 y/o
Pleasure is gained from suckling and eating
Accept affection, better relationships
Oral aggressive (aggressive, envy) Oral Receptive (optimistic, gullible)
2. Anal
1.5-3 y/o
libido = anus. Pleasure from excreting
Deal with authority, organised
Anal Retentive (stingy, neat) Anal Expulsive (messy, careless)
3. Phallic
3-6 y/o
Libido = genitals
Oedipus/ Electra complex. Resolution through coming to identity with same sex parent
Development of a conscience and mature moral development
Phallic character (reckless, self-assured, problems with sexual identity. Could lead to homosexuality)
5. Genital
puberty
libido = genitals. Focus on developing independence
Genital Character (ideal, mature adult)
4. Latency
6-puberty
Nothing happens
Experiences through these stages would result in different personality traits.
Leads to fixation in a stage if one doesn't progress properly
Ego Defence Mechanisms and Personality
Ego defences may affect personality
'Normal' ego defences are humour, sublimation and suppression
Ego defences associated to mental illnesses are denial and distortion
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Nature and Nurture
Takes into account both nature and nurture
Personality is explained in terms of innate drives (nature) but also childhood experiences (nurture)
Interactionist makes it a key strength as it considers both views
Usefulness
Highlights the fact that childhood plays a key role in behaviour
Psychoanalysis has been widely used.
Freud has pioneered understanding mental disorders and their causes
Weaknesses
Determinist
Freud's idea of innate forces deciding our behaviour shows we have no free will in choosing our behaviour
This is a weakness as we are able to change our behaviour if we want to
Impies people can not be held responsible for their behaviour
Falsifiability
Freud's theory cannot be proven wrong
Popper (1935) said falsification is the only way to determine whether something is true or not
All males repressing homosexuality cannot be disproved for example
However, not impossible to generate testable hypotheses. Study into guilt and wrongdoing (MacKinnon 1938)
Dream Analysis
Unconscious mind expresses itself in dreams
Reveals what's in a person's unconscious
AIM: applying meaning to dreams
Dreams as Wish Fulfilment
Fulfilling desires that can not be fulfilled in the unconscious mind
Dreams protect the sleeper
Dreams as repression
Id = primary process thought
instinct-driven unconscious thoughts
Unconscious thoughts unacceptable for our conscious are repressed into dreams
Freud: If we didn't dream, the repression of these thoughts would lead us to insanity
Using dream analysis in therapy
Reversing the process of the manifest content
Free association can be used to uncover latent content
Discussing dreams with a psychoanalyst
Psychoanalysts don't give their interpretation
They relate it to the P's life experiences, and give them the choice to make sense
Research evidence
Solms (2000) used PET scans to see what parts of the brain are active during dreaming
Rational part of the brain inactive during REM sleep, meaning the Id is given a free reign
Hopfield et al (1983). Neural networks condenses memories which supports Freud's idea that unconscious desires are repressed
The symbolic Nature of Dreams
Manifest Content
The things we remember. Images, thoughts
Latent Content
Real meaning of the dream. Hidden unconscious desires
In order to understand dreams, you have to relate it in terms of the P's life
Dreamwork
the process in which Latent content is transformed into manifest content
5 processes are used to find the content of repressed thoughts
Condensation
Thoughts are rich in detail, but are condensed to images, which can stand for many ideas/thoughts
Displacement
Emotional content of a dream is separated from it's real meaning to avoid us experiencing disturbed thoughts
Representation
A thought is translated into visual images
Symbolism
A symbol replaces an action, person or idea
Secondary Elaboration
Unconscious collect different thoughts/images and translates them into a logical story
Methodology
Case Studies
Idiographic, focus on the individual
Individuals are unique
Little Hans
Developed a fear that his father would castrate him for having incestuous thoughts towards his mother
Oedipus Complex
Interviews with his father, with questions supplied by Freud
Hoped to combat his phobia of horses
Strengths
A true insight into behaviour is obtained; rather than a 'snapshot'
Rich, qualitative data is obtained, which we can infer stronger conclusions
Idiographic research emphasises the uniqueness of an individual
Weaknesses
Almost impossible to generalise
Results are subjective to the experiementer, as data is qualitative. Prone to bias.
Freud's sample were taken from middle-class Viennese women, with mental problems and in a sexually supressed culture
Gender, culture and historical bias
Clinical Interviews
Psychoanalysis uses clinical interviews, where the P is encouraged to talk about their emotions
P's are asked predetermined Q's, and then the rest of the Q's are based on their replies
Freud used this technique during dream analysis and free association
Strengths
Good relationships are created, therefore the P is more likely to open up
Psychologists can analyse both verbal/non-verbal communication
Qualitative data is obtained
Weaknesses
Hard to summarise as qualitative data makes it hard to distinguish trends. Generalisability problems
Subjectivity and interviewer bias, as the interviewer will interview the way he sees fit, and interpret the answers according to their hypothesis
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