The Psychodynamic Perspective

1. The Psychodynamic Perspective G544: Perspectives

2. Who am I? I used hypnotism to treat patients I was a Mechanist I am Austrian I worked alongside the leading neuro- scientists of the day I worked alongside Charcot I wrote a paper on “Male Hysteria”

3. Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach Much of our behaviour is driven by unconscious motives Childhood is a critical period in development Mental disorders arise from unresolved, unconscious conflictsoriginating in childhood Resolution occurs through accessing and coming to terms with repressed ideas and conflicts

4. Task 1. • Read the sheet – boxes 1 to 4. • Stop before ‘mental imbalances’ • In pairs create 4 questions to which the answer is “Freud”.1 per box. • E.g. “Who was an Austrian-Jewish Psychologist from Vienna? • A: SIGMUND FREUD! 5 minutes! Go!

5. Consolidation Okay, okay guys, look we’ll sort something out. Sheesh! Id:Pleasure principle Superego:Morality principle Ego:Reality principle Conscious:The part of the mind we are aware of – everyday thoughts and feelings Preconscious:Thoughts and memories not accessible at all times, but easily recalled Unconscious:The deep dark shameful part! Repressed thoughts, memories and feelings We’d better not, we don’t want to get fat! FEEED MEEE NOWWW!!! ARRRRGH!

6. Another way to think about it… Yeah, but when are we eating!?! Hey you guys…. smart-alec comment etc…. Oh my Gahd Rachel! Oh my Gahd dinosaurs! Oh my Gahd etc… EGO ID Superego

7. Task 2 10 minutes! Go! • Read through Sources of abnormality 1 and 2 • Create 5 summary cards • Outline Freud’s theory of mind. • Describe how mental imbalances cause abnormality • Give example of a mental imbalances abnormality. • Describe the defence mechanism idea. • Give an example of a Defence mechanism abnormality. • Extension. • If you finish, on the back of cards 1, 2 and 4 evaluate the theory: • Pros and cons. • Do you ‘buy’ it? • Why? • Assumptions?

8. Personality Summary [Mental imbalances] Ego too weak – allows id and superego to dominate Id too strong – selfish, out of control, could become psychopathic Superego too strong – strict, anxious, obsessive – depression, anxiety, OCD How might bipolardisorder be explained using this approach?

9. Defence mechanisms The constant disagreements between the id, the ego and the superego can lead to a lot of anxiety E.g. You want that bar of chocolate but you know you’re meant to be on a diet – you feel guilty if you have it but unsatisfied if you don’t – anxiety either way! So the mind develops various methods of defending itself – for example you tell yourself that it’s ok to eat the chocolate because it’s good for you (rationalisation)

10. We all use defence mechanisms on a daily basis They are unconscious – we aren’t aware of what we’re doing But… if we over use them they can lead to mental abnormalities – psychosis?

11. Denial: You completely reject the thought or feeling My Ashley would never cheat on me…

12. Projection: You attribute your own socially unacceptable thought or feeling to someone else I can’t believe what Vernon Kay has been up to… what a cheating liar! How could he do that to his beautiful wife?

13. Suppression: You are vaguely aware of the thought or feeling, but try to hide it. Hmmm, perhaps Ashley isn’t as perfect as I thought. Can’t think about that now… got to go and buy some new shoes instead.

14. Displacement: you redirect your feelings to another target It’s not my fault my marriage is over. It’s the newspapers’. And those women for selling their stories… And Cheryl’s for not being there enough… And my mum’s for not breastfeeding me. I hate them all!

15. ‘m Regression: You revert to an old, usually immature, behaviour I’m going home to me Mam, so she can cook me beans on toast, and stroke me hair and tell me that everything is going to be alreet.

16. Sublimation: You redirect the feeling into a socially productive activity e.g. art, poetry, sport I’m going to make another album, and learn how to tap dance, and take up scuba diving!

17. Rationalisation: You try to justify uncomfortable thoughts or feelings with socially acceptable motives I don’t hate women… I love them… that’s why I can’t keep it in my pants!

18. Reaction formation: You turn the feeling into its opposite I’m not at all upset or humiliated. In fact, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

19. Psychosexual stages There are a number of stages of childhood, during which the child seeks pleasure from a different ‘object’ To be psychologically healthy, we must successfully complete each stage Mental abnormality can occur if a stage is not completed successfully – the person becomes ‘fixated’ • Freud believed that children are born with a libido – a sexual (pleasure) urge

20. The oral stage Birth to 18 months approximately The mouth is the main focus of pleasure during this stage The child enjoys tasting and sucking Successful completion of this stage is demonstrated by weaning – eating independently Oral receptive (not allowed to suck freely) – passive, needy, sensitive to rejection – overeats and drinks, bite nails, may smoke Oral aggressive (allowed to suck too often/too long) – hostile and verbally abusive, sarcastic

21. The anal stage 18 months to 3 years Defecation is main source of pleasure Successful completion marked by potty training Anally retentive - very tidy, stubborn, likes order and being in control Anally expulsive - generous but disorganised , doesn’t like to follow rules

22. The Oedipus complex Occurs during the phallic stage Around age 3-5 Boy wants his mother as his ‘primary love object’ Wants his father out of the way Fears that his father knows this and will castrate him as punishment Identifies with father to stop castration anxiety

23. The Electra (female Oedipus) complex A girl also desires her mother But she realises she doesn’t have a penis like her father! Becomes hostile towards her mother because she believes her mother has castrated her Develops attraction to father instead because she believes he can give her a baby, which will act as a penis substitute • Eventually resolves feelings towards mother and identifies with her – doesn’t want to lose her mother’s love

24. The latency stage Age 6 to puberty approximately Sexual urges sublimated into sports and other hobbies Focus on developing same sex friendships No particular requirements for successful completion Lull before the storm of puberty!

25. The genital stage Puberty into adulthood Focus on genitals but not to same extent as phallic stage Task is to develop healthy adult relationships This should happen if earlier stages have been negotiated successfully

26. Old AgePensionersLove Guinness! Oral stage Anal stage Phallic stage Latent stage Genital stage

27. Psychosexual stages of development:

28. The Oedipus Complex • Oedipus (taken from the Greek tragedy), killed his Father & married his Mother. • The child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences. Boys & girls both go through this conflict, however Freud concentrated mostly on boys resolving the conflict. • Girls resolve the conflict known as the Electra complex.

29. Weaknesses of the Psychodynamic Perspective • It is very difficult to test the theory of unconscious motivation – whatever is not remembered can be said to be repressed – this is non-falsifiable. • The case study method utilises unrepresentative samples and therefore there are concerns about generalisability • The clinical (therapeutic) interview method has problems with bias and there has been accusations of implanting false memories by therapists leading to reconstructed memories.

30. Strengths of the Psychodynamic Perspective • The psychodynamic perspective has enormous explanatory power for both normal and abnormal behaviour. • Practical applications: it has had a huge impact on the world of counselling, psychotherapy and psychiatry. • The idea of the motivated unconscious has had a huge impact on Western thought and literature. • It treats the whole person, not just the problem.

31. Strengths & Limitations • Strengths • Reflects the complexity of human behaviour • It can be used to explain a wide range of behaviour. In fact, many supporters of this perspective would argue that it can be used to explain all behaviour. • It has been incredibly influential in therapy and the use of psychodynamic-based therapies is still widely used today. • Limitations • It is highly subjective and it is extremely hard, if not impossible, to test its ideas scientifically. • It makes generalisations about human behaviour based on small and often atypical samples. E.g. Case study of Little Hans used to confirm the idea of an Oedipus complex that all boys are said to go through. • Similarly to the first weakness, some of the tests used are subjective and unreliable. E.g. The Rorschach inkblot test

32. Free will vs determinism Determinism is the belief that everything – including human thought and behaviour – is predetermined by the law of nature (fate, God, evolution, etc.) Free will is the belief that we have total control over our own lives Psychodynamic theory is deterministic because it states that behaviour is controlled by the unconscious mind – something we don’t have control of

33. Usefulness A main strength of the psychodynamic perspective is the way it can be used to explain a wide variety of phenomenon. In fact some followers of the psychodynamic perspective believe that all human life can be explained from a psychodynamic approach. However, you will find even more psychologists who argue that the psychodynamic theory cannot explain anything. One of the many criticisms of the psychodynamic perspective is that is highly subjective and its ideas are hard to test scientifically. For example, most of the ideas are based on case studies of individuals and are not easily tested experimentally. Furthermore the psychodynamic approach does make many generalisations based on these case studies of individuals.

34. Evaluation of the psychodynamic approach to psychopathology Influential Unscientific – how can it be tested? Retrospective data – case studies Doesn’t consider adult experiences Blames parents! Deterministic • Is it a strength or a limitation? • Is there any evidence to support this point? • Is there a counter- argument? How might Freud have defended himself?

35. Comparison Psychodynamic Physiological • The psychodynamic approach suggests that our adult personality and behaviour are determined by our childhood experiences. • behaviour can be explained in terms of the inner conflicts of the mind. • Freud believed that the unconscious mind determines much of our behaviour and that we are motivated by unconscious emotional drives. Freud believed that the unconscious contains unresolved conflicts and has a powerful effect on our behaviour and experience. Physiological psychology focuses on the relationship between our biological makeup and our behaviour and experiences.   They are reductionists saying that behaviours and experiences can be explained in terms of brain structure and chemicals. For example, the study by Raine (1997) attempts to investigate the relationship between brain structure and function and violence.

36. Possible Section B Questions a. Using your knowledge of psychology, briefly outline the Psychodynamic perspective. (4 marks) b. Describe two pieces of psychological research that use the Psychodynamic perspective. (8 marks) c. Discuss the strength and limitations of the Psychodynamic perspective to explain behaviour. Use examples of psychological research to support your answer. (12 marks) d. Compare the Psychodynamic perspective with the Physiological approach in psychology using examples of psychological research to support your answer. (8 marks) e. Discuss how the Psychodynamic perspective can help our understanding of everyday life. (8 marks)