Flashcards
Understanding Human Behaviour - Psychodynamic Perspective
Cards in this deck (21)
- 1Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)Freud based his thinking on clinical observation, research and reflections to form his famous and controversial theory
- 2Freud's Theory of DevelopmentFreud believed that the human personality is organised through three major systems:
1. The Id
2. The Ego
3. The Superego
Freud's theory - development is influenced by unconscious motivations - 3The Id"The sole function of the id is to provide for the immediate discharge of quantities of excitation that are released in the organism by internal or external stimulation"
The id focuses on the pleasure principle - relief from tension - 4The EgoThe ego focuses upon the transactions between the person and the world at large
The ego balances the id with the superego - 5The SuperegoThe superego "is the moral or judicial branch of personality"
The id focuses upon the pleasure principle, the ego on the reality principle, and the superego on what is ideal - the morality principle - 6Psychosexual Stages of Development
- 7Freud's Defence MechanismsThese exist in order to protect the ego which can be very fragile, especially if it has been weakened. This may happen because of problems encountered as a child failing to successfully negotiate one of the key stages of psychosexual development
In order to protect itself from anxiety, the ego uses defence mechanisms - these are ways in which desires can be pushed out of conscious thought (protection from the superego and its overly high standards or transferring the desire into something safer (meeting the id's demands by meeting the need, but in an acceptable way) - 8Defence MechanismsRegression
Repression
Rationalisation
Reaction Formation
Denial
Displacement
Projection
Sublimation - 9RegressionReverting to earlier times when faced with threat
- 10RepressionForcing unpleasant memories into subconscious
- 11RationalisationJustifying guilty feelings
- 12Reaction FormationChanging an emotion into its overemphasised opposite
- 13DenialRefusing to accept reality
- 14DisplacementRedirecting feelings to substitute object/person
- 15ProjectionAttributing own unacceptable feelings to someone else
- 16SublimationPositive way of redirecting feelings and behaviours
- 17Evaluation of Freud's TheoryThe first theory of development, ground breaking
The first theory to focus on the importance of childhood experiences shaping our development
The importance of the unconscious was recognised which may help explain certain behaviours such as repressed memories
But...
Unfalsifiable - cannot prove or disprove this theory as it cannot be tested vie scientific methods
Some of his proposals are highly implausible
The sexual nature of his theory may be due to the era in which he developed his theory - a Victorian agee of high sexual repression - 18Application of Freud's TheoryFreud's theory is supported by Bowlby's theory of attachment which describes attachment to a parent happening during early feeding (oral stage) where the infant associates the pleasure of feeding with the person that feeds them
But - there is evidence that infants do not necessarily attach to the feeder, rather attachment in a maturational process - 19Application - Pro & Antisocial BehaviourFreud suggested moral belief are acquired by the superego during the phallic stage when the child begins to identify with the same sex parent.
Freud explained individual differences in moral behaviour down to moral beliefs of parents varying.
Moral behaviour is also influenced by the strength of the individuals id & superego
BUT – Freud ignored the role of everyone but the father – boys who don’t have fathers still develop morals!!
There is no evidence that woman are morally weaker.
Studies show warm supportive fathers have better morally developed sons rather than fathers who are feared. - 20Application - GenderFreud proposed that during the Phallic stage the child identifies with the same sex parent - There is evidence that children often grow up with their parent's interest
But children brought up without a same sex parent still display gender differences - 21Implication for Child RearingImplies that the role of the parent is vital to healthy development
Also implies that parents should try and avoid conflict during breastfeeding/weaning & toilet training