The psychodynamic approach
The role of the unconscious
- conscious mind is the tip of the iceberg
- The unconscious is a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that has a
signi cant in uence on our behaviour and personality
- The unconscious contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been
repressed and these can be accessed during dreams or through ‘slips of the tongue’
- Just under the surface of our conscious mind is the preconscious which contains
thoughts and memories that are not currently in conscious awareness but we can
access if desired
The structure of personality
Id
- the primitive part of our personality
- Operate on the pleasure principle – it gets what it wants
- It is a seething mass of unconscious drives and instincts
- Only the id is present at birth and throughout life it is entirely sel sh and demands
instant grati cation of its needs
Ego
- Works on the reality principle
- Is the mediator between the other two parts of the personality
- Develops around two years old
- Its role is to reduce the con ict between the demands of the Id and the superego
- It manages this by employing a number of defence mechanisms
Superego
- Formed at the end of the phallic stage (around the age of ve)
- It is our internalised sense of right and wrong
- Based on the moral principle it represents the moral standards of the child same-sex
parent and punishes the ego for wrongdoing (through guilt)
Psychosexual stages
Stage Description Consequence of unresolved
con ict
Oral (0-1 years) Focus of pleasure is the mouth, mother’s breast is Oral fixation- smoking, biting
the object of desire. The child enjoys feeding, nails, sarcastic and verbal
sucking, swallowing, putting things in mouth etc. hostility, critical
Anal (1-3 years) Focus of pleasure is on the anus. The child derives Anal retentive- perfectionist,
pleasure from expelling or withholding faeces. It obsessive
happens when parents are overly controlling and Anal expulsive- thoughtless,
obsessive messy
Phallic (3-5 Focus of pleasure is the genital area. Child Phallic personality- narcissistic,
years) experiences the Oedipus or Electra complex. A child reckless, possibly homosexual
falls in love with its opposite sex parent and is
jealous of its same sex parent. Instead of displaying
anger towards same sex parent, they identify with
them so they can experience the opposite sex
through their other parent.
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The role of the unconscious
- conscious mind is the tip of the iceberg
- The unconscious is a vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that has a
signi cant in uence on our behaviour and personality
- The unconscious contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been
repressed and these can be accessed during dreams or through ‘slips of the tongue’
- Just under the surface of our conscious mind is the preconscious which contains
thoughts and memories that are not currently in conscious awareness but we can
access if desired
The structure of personality
Id
- the primitive part of our personality
- Operate on the pleasure principle – it gets what it wants
- It is a seething mass of unconscious drives and instincts
- Only the id is present at birth and throughout life it is entirely sel sh and demands
instant grati cation of its needs
Ego
- Works on the reality principle
- Is the mediator between the other two parts of the personality
- Develops around two years old
- Its role is to reduce the con ict between the demands of the Id and the superego
- It manages this by employing a number of defence mechanisms
Superego
- Formed at the end of the phallic stage (around the age of ve)
- It is our internalised sense of right and wrong
- Based on the moral principle it represents the moral standards of the child same-sex
parent and punishes the ego for wrongdoing (through guilt)
Psychosexual stages
Stage Description Consequence of unresolved
con ict
Oral (0-1 years) Focus of pleasure is the mouth, mother’s breast is Oral fixation- smoking, biting
the object of desire. The child enjoys feeding, nails, sarcastic and verbal
sucking, swallowing, putting things in mouth etc. hostility, critical
Anal (1-3 years) Focus of pleasure is on the anus. The child derives Anal retentive- perfectionist,
pleasure from expelling or withholding faeces. It obsessive
happens when parents are overly controlling and Anal expulsive- thoughtless,
obsessive messy
Phallic (3-5 Focus of pleasure is the genital area. Child Phallic personality- narcissistic,
years) experiences the Oedipus or Electra complex. A child reckless, possibly homosexual
falls in love with its opposite sex parent and is
jealous of its same sex parent. Instead of displaying
anger towards same sex parent, they identify with
them so they can experience the opposite sex
through their other parent.
fl fi
fifl fl fi fi
