Psychology: Approaches
The Psychodynamic Approach:
Perspective that the unconscious operates on the mind and can shape our human behaviour
and experience.
Assumptions:
Unconscious mind leads to behaviour
Exposed to things we may forget, but they somehow continue to influence us
Most influences occur at an early stage of our lives before we can form our unconscious
mind.
Trauma can grow within and affect behaviour
Conscience—inner sense of rightness or wrongness of an action
Conscious mind—Aware of the present moment; aware of something on the outside as well
as some mental functions happening on the inside. For example, being aware of your
surroundings.
Preconscious mind—Accessible information in your mind that can be remembered once you
draw attention to it.
Unconscious mind—Consists of primitive and instinctual wishes as well as information we
cannot access.
The role of the unconscious:
Our behaviour might indicate the unconscious forces that drive them- we don’t have easy
access to, as our unconscious mind controls our behaviour.
The structure of personality:
Freud believes that our personality can be split in 3 ways:
Id—entirely unconscious, the id is made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand
immediate gratification- “I want it now”.
Ego—The one that balances the conflicting demands of the id and the superego. - “I need to
do a bit of planning to get it”.
Superego—The moral part of our personality which represents our ideal self- “You can’t
have it, it’s not right”.
Defence mechanisms:
Ego has a difficult job balancing id and super-ego.
Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and
superego.
However, they often involve some form of distortion of reality and as a long-term solution
they are regarded as psychological unhealthy and undesirable.
3 defence mechanisms are listed below:
Repression—Forcing a distressing memory out of the unconscious mind
Denial—Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement—Transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion to a substitute
target.
The Psychodynamic Approach:
Perspective that the unconscious operates on the mind and can shape our human behaviour
and experience.
Assumptions:
Unconscious mind leads to behaviour
Exposed to things we may forget, but they somehow continue to influence us
Most influences occur at an early stage of our lives before we can form our unconscious
mind.
Trauma can grow within and affect behaviour
Conscience—inner sense of rightness or wrongness of an action
Conscious mind—Aware of the present moment; aware of something on the outside as well
as some mental functions happening on the inside. For example, being aware of your
surroundings.
Preconscious mind—Accessible information in your mind that can be remembered once you
draw attention to it.
Unconscious mind—Consists of primitive and instinctual wishes as well as information we
cannot access.
The role of the unconscious:
Our behaviour might indicate the unconscious forces that drive them- we don’t have easy
access to, as our unconscious mind controls our behaviour.
The structure of personality:
Freud believes that our personality can be split in 3 ways:
Id—entirely unconscious, the id is made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand
immediate gratification- “I want it now”.
Ego—The one that balances the conflicting demands of the id and the superego. - “I need to
do a bit of planning to get it”.
Superego—The moral part of our personality which represents our ideal self- “You can’t
have it, it’s not right”.
Defence mechanisms:
Ego has a difficult job balancing id and super-ego.
Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and
superego.
However, they often involve some form of distortion of reality and as a long-term solution
they are regarded as psychological unhealthy and undesirable.
3 defence mechanisms are listed below:
Repression—Forcing a distressing memory out of the unconscious mind
Denial—Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement—Transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion to a substitute
target.
