The psychodynamic approach -A-Level Psychology
The psychodynamic approach
-a perspective that describes how behaviour is affected by unconscious forces that operate on the mind.
The role of the unconscious:
Freud suggested that most of the mind is made up of the unconscious:a vast store of biological drives and instincts that has a large influence on behaviour and personality.The unconscious contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed.The preconscious contains thoughts and memories which are not currently in conscious awareness but we can access if desired.
The structure of personality:
The id-is the primitive part of personality and operates on the pleasure principle.Throughout life the id is selfish and demands instant gratification of its needs.
The ego-works on the reality principle and mediates between the other two parts.Develops around 2 years.Reduces conflict between the demands of the id and the superego through defense mechanisms.
The superego-formed at the end of the phallic stage around 5.It is the sense of right and wrong and is based on the morality principle.It punishes the ego for wrongdoings through guilt.
Psychosexual stages:
Freud claimed that child development occurred in five stages ,each of which is marked with a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage.Any psychosexual conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation where the child carries out certain behaviours associated with that stages through to adult life.
Defense mechanisms:
Repression-forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial-refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement-transferring feelings from true sources of distressing emotion onto a substitute target.
Evaluation:
Untestable concepts-Karl Popper argued that this approach does not meet the scientific criterion for falsification,as it can’t be tested through empirical methods as they are said to occur at an unconscious level.So it can be seen as a pseudoscience.
The case study method-Freud’s interpretations were highly subjective and critics have said that it is not possible to make universal claims about human nature based on studies of such a small number of people who were psychologically abnormal.
The psychodynamic approach is a psychological perspective that focuses on the unconscious mind and its influence on behavior. It was developed by Sigmund Freud and his followers and emphasizes the role of early childhood experiences and the internal conflicts between different parts of the psyche.
The key concepts of the psychodynamic approach include the unconscious mind, the three-part structure of the psyche (the id, ego, and superego), defense mechanisms, psychosexual stages of development, and the Oedipus and Electra complexes.
The unconscious mind is a reservoir of thoughts, feelings, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness. According to the psychodynamic approach, many of our behaviors and experiences are influenced by unconscious processes.
The id is the primitive and instinctual part of the psyche that seeks immediate gratification of our basic needs and desires. The ego is the rational part of the psyche that mediates between the id and the external world. The superego is the moral and ethical part of the psyche that represents internalized values and standards.
Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies that we use to protect ourselves from anxiety and emotional pain. Examples of defense mechanisms include repression, denial, projection, and displacement.
The psychosexual stages of development are a series of stages that we pass through during childhood, each characterized by a focus on a different erogenous zone and a particular developmental task. The stages include the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.
The psychodynamic approach views mental illness as the result of unconscious conflicts and unresolved issues from early childhood experiences. The goal of therapy is to bring these issues to conscious awareness and resolve them.
The psychodynamic approach views personality as the result of interactions between the id, ego, and superego, as well as early childhood experiences. Personality is shaped by unconscious conflicts and defenses, and is divided into conscious and unconscious parts.
Some criticisms of the psychodynamic approach include its lack of empirical evidence, its focus on childhood experiences at the expense of current factors, and its limited scope of applicability to different cultures and populations.
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