A summary of all the information needed to answer questions on the psychodynamic approach for the unit 1 exam of WJEC AS Level Psychology. Includes: - Assumptions (Influence of Childhood Experiences, The Unconscious Mind, Tripartite Personality) - Application to relationships - Therapy (Dream Analy...
Psychodynamic
Assumptions
Influence of childhood experiences
o Psychological development takes part in psychosexual stages each one with a libido
(a fixation of energy on an area of the body
An issue in a developmental stage can cause fixation at this stage causing an
impact on adulthood personality
o Frustration – the needs of the child have not been met and the child is under
satisfied
o Overindulgence – the child has been over stratified, they become too comfortable
and do not wish to move on to the next stage
Stage Libido and Source Key Events Outcome of Fixation
of Pleasure
Oral (0-18 Mouth = Sucking, Breast feeding -Frustration – pessimism, envy and sarcasm
months) chewing and > solid food Overindulgence – putting food in your
biting mouth, optimism and neediness
Anal (18 Anus = holding Potty training Frustration – possessive, overly tidy and
months – 3 and expelling controlling
years) faeces Overindulgence – messy, unorganised and
reckless
Phallic (3-6 Genitals = Oedipus/Electra Self-assured and vain if not fully completed –
years) masturbation Complex struggle with maintaining and building
relationships
Latency (5 Little to no sexual Gaining an No fixations as there is no pleasure focus
years - motivation understanding
puberty) of the world
Genital Genitals = Well-developed adult personality – want a
(puberty
on to
adulthood)
heterosexual
intercourse
The Unconscious Mind
X relationship with the opposite sex
o Freud proposed that the mind was like an iceberg
o Conscious – what we are currently
aware of
o Preconscious – what we could be
aware of if we though about it
o Unconscious – thoughts and feelings that
are inaccessible to us
, o The ego defence mechanisms are the way the ego protects itself from the
unconscious thoughts and feelings
Repression - pushing bad experiences or negative emotions into the
unconscious so you no longer think of them
Displacement - transferring undesirable impulses to another object/person
Projection – attributing undesirable thoughts or emotions to someone else
Tripartite Personality
o The id – governed by instinctual drives like food, drink and sex. It wants to satisfy
these desires (‘the devil’)
o The superego – governed by the need to behave in a way that our parents would
approve of – when we don’t, we are punished with guilt and anxiety (‘the angel’)
o The ego – concerned with reality. It tries to satisfy both the id and super ego
Application to Relationships
Overindulgence in the oral stage could lead to an unhealthy dependency on others (being
too needy)
Fixation in the phallic stage could result in the person not being able to love another and
form relationships OR they may develop the want to be in a homosexual relationship
Therapy – Dream Analysis
The unconscious mind expresses itself through dreams and its bad nature is disguised here.
Dream analysis decodes the story the unconscious mind creates.
Traumatic childhood experiences are pushed down by the unconscious mind and may come
to the surface during dreams
During dreams we can act out the demands of the id as when sleeping the ego defence
mechanisms are low and the id can come to life.
Dreams as wish fulfilment
o All dreams are the fulfilment of wishes that are not allowed to be expressed by the
conscious mind
Dreams protect the sleeper
The symbolic nature of dreams
o The real meaning of the dream (latent content) is transformed into a more
innocuous form (manifested content)
o For example - Penis -> snake or gun Vagina -> tunnel or cave
o Important to note that Freud also said “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”
Dreamwork
o Condensation
Dream thoughts are rich in detail and content
These are condensed into brief images
o Displacement
Objects are changed so that the conscious mind does not reveal the
thoughts of the unconscious mind
o Representation
Thoughts are translated into images
o Symbolism
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