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 conflicts originating in
childhood
• Resolution occurs through accessing and coming
to terms with repressed ideas and conflicts
7. 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
part! Repressed
thoughts, memories and
feelings.
Freud’s tripartite model
of personality
8. Are we born with an ego?
• Id is present at birth – a newborn baby is
completely selfish
• Ego develops by the age of three – child
becomes aware that other people will get
cross it can’t always have it’s own way
• Superego appears around age five – sense of
morality (conscience) passed on by parents –
child internalises this
9. • According to
Freud, the id is the
personality construct
that we are born with.
• Its energy is called the
“libido”.
• It operates on the
pleasure principle.
• What does this mean?
• How will the id inform
behaviour?
The Id Need food... need
drink... need
comfort... need
burping... need
sleep... need it
NOW!
10. • The superego is the 'ideal'
force, the civilised, socially
acceptable figure the person
strives to be.
• It includes our understanding
of right and wrong.
• It opposes the id and is
essentially an internalisation
of rules passed down from
our parents.
The Superego
11. • The ego is the reality
principle.
• It must balance the
drives of the id and the
control of the superego.
The ego
12. • The strength of each
individual force is a
factor in personality –
• If a person's superego
is too strong, they are
seen as rigid, anxious
or self righteous.
• If a person's id is too
strong, they are seen
as
delinquent, antisocial
or self centred.
A balancing act
13. The tripartite structure of personality
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkin1Fho
jCo&feature=related
14. Structure Of Personality
ID
EGO
SUPEREGO
UNCONCIOUS, insatiable
instincts which people are born
with. Pleasure orientated
and selfish
CONCIOUS: Rational, driven
by the ‘reality principle’ balances
demands of Id and Superego
Last part of personality to develop.
Concerned with morals, right
and wrong. Develops through
socialisation.
16. Summarise in your notes:
• Describe each part of the
personality – remember the
characters we designed earlier
represent each of the parts
• Selfish id
• Controlling superego
• Reasonable ego
• What do you think might happen if each
part is too strong or weak?
• Which mental conditions might this lead
to?
17. Link to abnormality
• Ego too weak – allows id and superego to
dominate,
• Id too strong – selfish, out of control, could
become psychopathic- destructive tendencies
& uninhibited sexual behaviour
• Superego too strong –
strict, anxious, obsessive –
depression, anxiety, OCD
18. What happens if there is a conflict
between the id, ego & superego?
• ANXIETY
• The ego tries to avoid anxiety & uses ego
defence mechanisms to maintain a balance in
relation to the id & superego
18
19. 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)
20. EGO DEFENCE MECHANISMS
The Ego needs to protect itself against intra-
psychic conflict between the id and the
superego.
It does this in ways which are known as
DEFENCE MECHANISMS.
21. • Denial: You completely reject the thought or
feeling
My Ashley would
never cheat on me…
22. • Projection: You attribute your own socially
unacceptable thought or feeling to someone
else
I can’t believe what Ryan
Giggs has been up to…
what a cheating liar! How
could he do that to his
beautiful wife?
23. • 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.
24. • 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
alright.
25. • 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!
26. • 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!
27. • 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.
28. Proof of the unconscious?
• ‘Freudian slips’
• “A Freudian slip is saying one thing and meaning your mother”
29. The Psychosexual stages:
• Describe the 5 psychosexual stages of
development, including the Oedipus/Electra
Complex
• Explain how fixation at each stage may lead to
abnormality
• Evaluate the psychodynamic approach to
psychopathology
30. 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
sensual (pleasure) urge
31. The FIVE psychosexual stages
• The Oral (Birth - 1 year)
• The Anal (1 - 3 years)
• The Phallic (3 - 5/6 years)
• The Latency (6 - puberty)
• The Genital (adulthood)
32. Stage 1 - the ORAL stage
• Mouth (sucking) is the source of pleasure
• The ID is in control
• Successful completion of this stage is
demonstrated by weaning – eating
independently
33. In the ORAL stage …….
• Fixation caused by
• 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
34. Stage 2 - the ANAL Stage
• Elimination of faeces is the source of
pleasure
• 18 months to 3 years
• Defecation is main source of
pleasure
• Successful completion marked by
potty training
35. In the ANAL stage ….
• Fixation (a) Anal expulsive:
symptoms: giving to
charity, potters, gardeners, (sublimating the wish to
smear), disorganised.
• Fixation (b) Anal retentive
symptoms:
miserly, thrifty, orderly, obstinate, tidy, stubborn, obs
essive.
36. Stage 3 : The PHALLIC stage
• The Superego develops
• The Oedipus conflict (boys)
• The Electra conflict (girls)
37. 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
38.
39. The Electra (female Oedipus) complex
• A girl has a strong affection for her father.
• 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
40. In the PHALLIC stage….
• Fixation caused by failure to resolve the
Oedipus / Electra conflict
• Symptoms include:
homosexuality, exhibitionism, vanity.
– Writer of pornography may be sublimating sexual
preoccupations
41. 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!
42. 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
43. • Old Age Pensioners Love Guinness!
• Oral stage
• Anal stage
• Phallic stage
• Latent stage
• Genital stage
Now use your textbook to
help you complete page 23 of
your workbook (yellow cover)
44. Little Hans
• Freud believed that the case study
of Little Hans supported his theory
of psychosexual stages and the
Oedipus complex in particular
• http://goanimate.com/movie/0Ott
U_subTrM/1
45. • Enormous explanatory power for
both normal and abnormal
behaviour.
• Practical applications: huge impact
on the world of counselling,
psychotherapy and psychiatry.
• Face validity.
• It treats the whole person, the
cause, not just the symptoms.
• Recognises the importance of
childhood.
Strengths of the Psychodynamic
Perspective
46. • Difficult to test the theory of
unconscious motivation – whatever
is not remembered can be said to
be repressed.
• The case study method is
unrepresentative and therefore
there are concerns about
generalisability
• Criticised for too much emphasis
on SEX.
Weaknesses of the Psychodynamic
Perspective
