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APPROACHES- the psychodynamic approach - Coggle Diagram
APPROACHES- the psychodynamic approach
the founder of the psychodynamic approach- Sigmund freud
key assumptions
unconscious mind= driving force behind our behaviour is our unconscious mind and if we have problematic behaviour we need to access the unconscious
instincts/drives= we are born with instincts and drives which are developed through a series of sexual stages
early childhood experiences= its important in making us who we are. freud argues most of our psychological development is completed at age 6
mind
conscious is visible to everyone
unconscious is bigger and has a bigger influence than consciousness
preconscious mind- just under surface, things like memories that we can call on if needed
structure of the personality
superego- 3y-6y. morality principle- stops you from doing wrong
ego- 18m-3y. reality principle. Delays ID's drive for pleasure and creates balance
ID- birth-18m- pleasure principle
behaviour is a result of conflict between all 3 of these personalities
defence mechanisms
these are used unconsciously to reduce anxiety. aixiety reduces the effectiveness of the ego, which needs to be strong to mediate between the ID and superego
repression=
unpleasant memory pushed into unconscious where it cant be accessed (no anxiety). does still affect behaviour in the unconscious mind. Causes there to be no recall of the event or situation
denial=
refusal to accept reality of unpleasant situation- reduces anxiety caused by situation. someone might believe the situation isnt negative and therefore shouldnt cause anxiety- resistance to accept reality
displacement=
when the focus of a strong emotion is placed onto a neutral person/object. reduces anxiety by allowing expression of that emotion. someone may exhibit a very strong emotion but focus it onto an uninvolved person or object.
psychosexual stages of development
all based on a case study of a little boy called hans
oral stage- birth. pleasure from oral activities like biting/sucking. Fixation could be caused by something like stopping breastfeeding too early. as an adult- biting nails, smoking
anal stage- 18 months, pleasure from defacating. if over keen= anally expulsive. if parents strict about potty use= anally retentive. as adult= organised and neat
phallic stage- 3-6y/o. pleasure moved to genitals. boys- oedipus complex. girls- electra complex
electra and oediupus complex
oedipus= phalic stage, boy experiences intense sexual feelings for mother. father is seen as rival. wants dad to leave for mums affection. boy feels threatened because dad is big and boy gets "castration anxiety". boy realises he cant compete so he befriends him to reduce anxiety. then acts like father= identification process
electra complex= at stage girls realise they have no penis and they believe having one is important. they think mother removed it and develop penis envy of males. when desire isnt fulfilled, desire becomes desire for baby. according to freud- girl desires father in the same way that boy desires mother and she eventually identifies with mother
latent stage- 6-11y/o. sexual pleasure spread accross whole body. calm time for development
genital stage- 12y/o. libido focused on genitals and will be forever. any fixations in first three stages are with personality for life
evaluation
NEGATIVE- eyesenk conducted meta-analysis of thousands of psychoanalytic patients. found it worked for around 60% but 70% suffering with neurotic disorders and didnt receive treatment recovered. this indicates that psychoanalysis at treating neurotic disorders is limited which casts doubt on freuds ideas. neurotic disorders are a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but not delusions etc and behaviour isn't outside socially acceptable norms, like depression
POSITIVE- there are practicing therapists who use freuds ideas to treat patients.
NEGATIVE- hard to test reliability and therefrore how scientific it is
NEGATIVE- lots of evidence comes from case studies (idiographic). unique individuals that he then tries to generalise and make nomothetic so creates issues with his generalisation