Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
APPROACHES IN PSYCHOLOGY - THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH - Coggle Diagram
APPROACHES IN PSYCHOLOGY - THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH
AO1
ACRONYM
3-
ID,EGO,SUPEREGO
C-
CONSCIOUS
U -
UNCONSCIOUS
D-
DEFENCE MECHANISMS
S -
SEXUAL STAGES
The unconscious mind has an important influence on behaviour
Conscious
- What we are aware of
Pre-conscious
- Memories and thoughts we are not currently aware of but can be accessed
Sigmund
Freud
psychoanalytic theory is an example of the psychodynamic approach. He suggested that the mind is made up of:
Unconscious
- We are unaware of the contents of the unconscious. It is a vast storehouse of biological drives + instincts that influence our behaviour
Three parts of the personality
- Dynamic interaction between the three parts of the personality determines behaviour
ID
- Primitive part of the personality operates on the pleasure principle, demands instant gratification
Ego
- Works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the ID + the Superego
Superego
- Internalised sense of right + wrong, based on the morality principle. Punishes the ego through guilt
Five psychosexual stages that determine adult personality
Any conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation where the child becomes 'stuck' + carries the behaviours associated with that stage through to adult life
ORAL
(0-1 years) - Pleasure focus = mouth, the mother's breast is an object of desire
Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to move on
ANAL
(1-3 years) - Pleasure focus = anus, the child gains pleasure from withholding and eliminating faeces
PHALLIC
(3-5 years) - Pleasure focus = genital area
LATENCY
- Earlier conflicts are repressed
GENITAL
(puberty) - Sexual desires become conscious
The Oedipus complex is an important psychosexual conflict occurring at the phallic stage
Later, boys repress their feelings for their mother and identify with their father, taking on his gender role and moral values
Girls of the same age experience penis envy
In the phallic stage, little boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and a murderous hatred for their father
Defence mechanisms are used by the ego to keep the ID 'in check' and reduce anxiety
Repression
- Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial
- Refusing to acknowledge reality
Unconscious strategies used by the ego:
Displacement
- Transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target
AO3
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH HAS EXPLANATORY POWER
It has been used to explain a wide range of behaviours (moral, mental disorders) and drew attention to the influence of childhood on adult personality
Alongside behaviourism, it was the dominant approach in psychology for the first half of the twentieth century
Although Freud's theory is controversial + often bizarre, it has had a huge influence on Western contemporary thought
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH HAS PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN THE REAL WORLD
Psychoanalysis is most suitable for individuals suffering from mild neuroses but has been criticised as inappropriate for people with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia
That said, psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many modern-day psychotherapies and 'talking cures' that have since been established
Freud introduces a new form of therapy (psychoanalysis). The therapy is designed to access the unconscious mind using a range of techniques such as dream analysis
THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH INCLUDES THE CASE STUDY METHOD THAT FREUD RELIED ON HAS BEEN CRITICISED
Although Freud's observations were detailed and carefully recorded, his interpretations were highly subjective and it is unlikely that any other researcher would have drawn the same conclusions
In comparison with other approaches, Freud's methods lacked scientific thoroughness
Freud's ideas were developed using a small number of case studies e.g. Little Hans. Critics have suggested that it is not possible to make universal claims about human nature based on such a limited sample
THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH IS BASED ON PSYCHIC DETERMINISIM
Even something as apparently random as a 'slip of the tongue' is driven by unconscious forces and has deep symbolic meaning
This is an extreme determinist stance and suggests that free will may have no influence on behaviour
The psychodynamic approach explains all behaviour as determined by unconscious conflicts that are rooted in childhood