The Psychodynamic Perspective FREUD

The Psychodynamic Perspective “Psychodynamic” means “active mind”. There is mental struggle – especially in the hidden unconscious mind. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) started it all by coining the term Psychoanalysis to describe his theories and techniques for finding and curing the mental problems of his patients. He spent his life trying to produce a coherent set of theories to explain ALL human behaviour.

Freud’s most important theories about human behaviour are his theories about: 1. The Unconscious Mind The Structure of the Personality – Id, Ego and Superego. The Psycho-sexual Stages of Development Psychological Defence Mechanisms (how we defend ourselves against painful feeling)

Freud’s Theory of the Unconscious The Mind contains 3 areas: The Conscious Mind The Pre-Conscious Mind The Unconscious Mind

Freud described the conscious mind as being like the tip of an iceberg. You are only in touch with a small amount of your memories.

The Conscious mind is the awareness we have when we are awake. The Pre-Conscious mind (the boundary between the Conscious and the Unconscious mind) contains memories of dreams, ‘slips of the tongue’ etc. It gives clues about the Unconscious mind from thoughts and actions that appear there. If you remember a dream, you are not directly revealing unconscious thoughts but recalling highly coded ideas. This symbolism protects us, so we are not upset or disturbed by what our Unconscious is REALLY thinking.

The Unconscious Mind This contains secret wishes and fears; traumatic memories of the past etc. All these thoughts are completely hidden and totally unavailable to us. This is necessary for survival – forgetting past traumas in order to get on with our lives. We can NEVER directly see into the Unconscious.

TO DO Label the diagram in your Workbook with Freud’s 3 different areas of the mind. Write a brief description of them in your own words.

Freud’s Structure of Personality ID – This is the PRIMITIVE area of personality present from birth, filled with instinctual energy constantly demanding recognition and release. A ‘pleasure seeking’ instinct. EGO – Realistic awareness of self and of the world. Has evolved through contact with the external world and is determined by the individual’s own experience. SUPER-EGO – Concern with conscience and moral judgements. These are absorbed through parental influence. The ‘voice of society’ in your mind.

Analysing the roles of different parts of the personality TO DO: On the diagram in your workbook write a brief description of what Freud thought the Id, Ego and Superego represented. Read through the different situations and describe the roles of the Id, Ego and Superego. Write down your ideas on the worksheet.

The Psycho-sexual stages of development Freud proposed 5 different stages of the development of the Personality: 1. The Oral Stage 2. The anal Stage 3 The Phallic Stage 4. The Latency Stage 5. The Genital Stage

The Oral Stage (0-2 yrs) In the first year the ID is dominant, tension is reduced through satisfying basic needs. Pleasure is gained through sucking and body stimulation. Any disturbance of this may result in a permanent fixation on the oral channel for gratification, for example smoking, overeating, thumb-sucking, pencil chewing. Certain personality traits may be related to such fixations such as impatience, passivity, greediness, dependence, preoccupation with issues of giving and taking.

The Anal Stage (2-3 yrs) At the age of about 2yrs the anus becomes the favoured pleasure zone. Pleasure is derived from expelling and withholding faeces. Fixations may be caused by either exceptionally strict toiled training or intense pleasure associated with taboos such as smearing faeces on the wall. The anal/obsessive character wants to make a terrible mess and therefore must build defences against this, for example orderliness, rigidity, hatred of waste. Associated personality traits are obstinacy, stinginess, punctuality, possessiveness. The opposite would be untidiness, hot-temper or destructiveness.

The Phallic Stage (3 – 5 yrs) At around the age of 3 children’s sexual (pleasure) interest focuses on their genitalia and their opposite sex parent. Resolution is through identification with the same sex parent and is important for an appropriate gender concepts and a conscience. The conflicts may result in homosexuality, authority problems and rejection of appropriate gender roles if not resolved.

The Latency Stage Up to the start of puberty little development takes place.

The Genital Stage The final stage of personality development is the development of independence. If some issues remain unresolved the individual can’t shift focus from their immediate needs to large responsibilities involving others.

TO DO: In your workbook match up the stages with the definitions given to you and stick them on with the glue.