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Summary Psychodynamic approach
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Notes on the psychodynamic approach
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The psychodynamic approachKey terms
- Psychodynamic approach: a perspective that describes the different forces (dynamics),
most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour
and experience
- id: entirely unconscious, the id is made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand
immediate gratification
- Ego: the ‘reality check’ that balances the conflicting demands of the id and the superego
- Superego: the moralistic part of our personality that represents the ideal self: how we
ought to be
- Defence mechanisms: unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict
between the id and the superego
- Psychosexual stages: according to Freud, five developmental stages that all children
pass through. At most stages there is a specific conflict, the outcome of which
determines future development
The psychodynamic approach
The role of the unconscious
Freud suggested that the part of our mind that we know about and are aware of - the conscious
mind - is merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’
- Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious, a storehouse of biological drives and
instincts that has a significant influence on our behaviour and personality
- The unconscious also contains threatening and disturbing memories which have been
repressed
- These can be accessed through dreams or through ‘slips of the tongue’ (what
Freud referred to as parapets)
- An example of such a slip is calling a female teacher ‘mum’ instead of
‘miss’
Just bubbling under the surface of our conscious mind is the preconscious, which contains
thoughts and memories which are not currently in the conscious awareness but which we can
access if desired
The structure of personality
Freud described personality as ‘tripartite’ (composed of three parts)
- The id is the primitive part of our personality which operates on the pleasure principle -
the id gets what it wants
- It is a mass of unconscious drives and instincts
- Only the id is present at birth (Freud described babies as being ‘bundles of id’)
- Throughout life, the id is entirely selfish and demands instant gratification of its
needs
- The ego works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the other two parts of
the personality
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