Psychodynamic Approach | Sigmund Freud | AQA Psychology

Summary

This video delves into Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic approach to psychology, highlighting the unconscious mind's influence on behavior. It explores the id, ego, and superego as the tripartite structure of personality, constantly in conflict, and Freud's psychosexual stages of development, emphasizing childhood's impact on adult life. The video also discusses defense mechanisms like repression, denial, and displacement, which the ego uses to manage the id-superego conflict, often distorting reality as a coping strategy.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Freud's psychodynamic theory suggests that human behavior is influenced by unconscious processes and childhood experiences.
• 💭 The mind, according to Freud, can be divided into the conscious, pre-conscious, and unconscious, with the unconscious being the most influential part.
• 🤔 Freud proposed that the unconscious mind can be revealed through Freudian slips, dreams, and childhood memories.
• 🌊 The structure of personality consists of the id, ego, and superego, which are in constant conflict and determine our behavior.
• 🍼 Freud's psychosexual stages of development include oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages, with each stage presenting a conflict that can impact adult behavior if unresolved.
• 👶 The resolution of the Oedipus complex in boys and the Electra complex in girls is crucial for normal development and formation of the superego.
• 🛡 Defense mechanisms like repression, denial, and displacement are unconscious strategies used by the ego to manage conflicts between the id and superego.
• 🚫 Freud's theories, while influential, have been criticized and are not universally accepted, highlighting the importance of a critical approach to psychological theories.
• 🔍 Understanding Freud's work provides a framework for appreciating how unconscious processes might influence our behavior and personality development.
• 🌱 Freud's emphasis on the impact of childhood experiences on adult behavior has been influential in the field of psychology and beyond.

Q & A

How did Sigmund Freud use the image of an iceberg to describe the mind?

Freud compared the mind to an iceberg, where the conscious mind represents the tip of the iceberg above water, the pre-conscious is the part just under the water and still partly visible, and the unconscious is the largest part beneath the surface, which we cannot see and is the most significant in influencing our behavior.

What are the two roles of the unconscious mentioned in the script?

The two roles of the unconscious are: 1) It serves as the driving and motivating force behind our behavior and personality, containing our biological instincts and drives. 2) It protects the conscious self from anxiety, fear, trauma, and conflict by storing painful or distressing memories or ideas that are too much for the conscious mind to deal with.

Name each part of Freud's structure of personality and the principle associated with each.

The three parts of Freud's structure of personality are the Id, Ego, and Superego. The Id operates on the Pleasure Principle, demanding instant gratification. The Ego operates on the Reality Principle, mediating between the Id and Superego. The Superego operates on the Morality Principle, representing our morals, ideals, and standards.

If someone had a dominant Id and a weak Superego, what behaviors might they display?

A person with a dominant Id and a weak Superego might display impulsive behavior, lack self-control, and potentially engage in criminal behavior due to their strong drive for immediate satisfaction without the moral constraints that a strong Superego would provide.

Name all the psychosexual stages of development in order.

The psychosexual stages of development in order are: Oral Stage (0-1 years), Anal Stage (2-3 years), Phallic Stage (3-5 years), Latency Stage (6-12 years), and Genital Stage (from 13 years into adulthood).

If a child was fixated at the Oral stage, how might this show itself in their adult behavior?

An adult who was fixated at the Oral stage might exhibit behaviors such as thumb-sucking, smoking, excessive drinking, or overeating as a way to gain oral stimulation, reflecting their unresolved dependency on the caregiver for satisfaction.

What conflict do boys and girls go through during the Phallic stage?

Boys go through the Oedipus complex, where they see their same-sex parent as a rival for the opposite-sex parent's affection, leading to castration anxiety. Girls go through the Electra complex, where they develop penis envy and see their mother as a rival for the father's affection.

What two key processes happen during the successful resolution of the Oedipus and Electra complexes?

The two key processes are identification and internalization. The child identifies with their same-sex parent and internalizes their moral standards, values, and characteristics, which helps resolve the conflict and leads to normal development through the Phallic stage.

Define what is meant by defense mechanisms.

Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies used by the ego to manage the conflict between the id and superego. They involve some form of distortion of reality and serve as coping mechanisms, although they are not considered healthy or desirable as long-term solutions.

Identify which defense mechanism is being used in each of the following scenarios: a) A child refuses to believe their parents are getting a divorce. b) A person who is constantly late for work blames traffic.

a) Denial: The child is refusing to accept the reality of their parents' divorce to avoid the painful feelings associated with it. b) Displacement: The person is redirecting their feelings of anxiety or inadequacy about being late onto an external factor, such as traffic.