The Psychodynamic Approach
Key idea
This approach focuses on the different forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the
mind and direct behaviour.
The role of the unconscious
Freud suggested that the human mind is made up of three parts. A small proportion of the mind
contains the information we are aware of and know about. This is known as the conscious mind.
Under the surface of our conscious mind is the preconscious mind which contains information we
may become aware of during dreams or Freudian slips. E.g. calling the female teacher mum.
A large proportion of the mind contains information we are unaware of that drives our behaviour.
This is known as the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is like a storehouse of biological
drives and instincts that have a significant influence on our behaviour and personality. The
unconscious mind also contains traumatic information that has been repressed (pushed into) by
the conscious mind into the unconscious to protect itself as they are too traumatic to deal with.
The structure of the personality
Freud describes personality as tripartite (made of three parts)
1. The id - this part of the personality is entirely unconscious and is gratification. present from
birth. It operates on the pleasure principles and is made up of selfish aggressive instincts
that demand immediate
2. Ego - develops around the age of two years and works on the reality principle that helps
balance and manage the conflict between the id and the superego. In order to manage the
conflict it uses a number of defence mechanisms. Please see the below box.
3. Superego - develops around the age of 5 (towards the end of the phallic stage) and is
based on the morality principle. It is an internalised state of right and wrong that represents
the ideal self that the ego through guilt. stems from the moral standards of the same sex
parent. It punishes
Defence mechanisms:
Repression: Force (push) distressing memories from the conscious to the unconscious mind.
Denial: Refuse to acknowledge some aspect of reality to avoid having to deal with any painful
feelings associated with the event.
Displacement: Transferring feelings (normally hostile) that an individual feels they are unable to
express from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute tar- get.
The psychosexual stages of development
Freud believed that a child's personality developed through five stages which are known as the
psychosexual stages of development. These stag- es place emphasis on the most important
driving force in development, the need to express sexual energy (libido). Freud believed that an
individual experiences tension built up of sexual energy and that pleasure comes from discharge of
these At each stage this energy is expressed in different ways and through different body parts.
,For successful development an individual must resolve the different conflicts within each stage.
Failure to do so will resolve in fixation where the child becomes 'stuck' and carries the
behaviours/associated conflicts into adulthood.
Stage Age Description
Oral 0-2 years The focus/source of pleasure is the mouth at this
stage the mothers breast is the object of desire.
Anal 2-3 years The focus of pleasure is the anus where the child
gains pleasure from withholding or expelling
faeces. The major issue is toilet training. The ego
develops in this stage.
Phallic 3-6 years The focus of pleasure at this stage is the
genitals. The major conflict at this stage is the
Oedipus conflict, male child has unconscious
sexual desires for their mother. They fear their
father will find out and castrate them as a
punishment and in an attempt to resolve this
problem they identify with the father. Electra
complex, girls have sexual desires for their
father, fear their mother will find out so identify
with them to resolve anxieties.
Latency 6-2 years Earlier conflicts are repressed so the child
cannot remember them.
Genital 12+ Sexual desires become conscious directly
towards sexual intercourse and the beginning of
adulthood.
Freudian case studies
Freud developed and tested his ideas through several case studies such
as Little Hans and Rat Man.
Little Hans
The case study of Little Hans, conducted by Sigmund Freud, involved a 5-year-old boy who
developed a phobia of horses after witnessing one collapse. Freud interpreted this fear as a
manifestation of the Oedipus complex, where Hans had unconscious desires for his mother and
saw his father as a rival. He believed Hans’ fear of being bitten by horses symbolized castration
anxiety, reflecting a fear of punishment from his father for these feelings. Through discussions
guided by Freud, Hans’ father helped him resolve these unconscious conflicts, and Hans
eventually overcame his phobia. This case became a key example supporting Freud's theories of
childhood psychosexual development and the role of unconscious conflict in phobias, though it has
faced criticism for its subjective interpretation and lack of scientific evidence.
, Rat Man
Rat man had an obsessional neurosis that dated back to his childhood but became worse during
adulthood. He had severe fears that something bad was going to happen to a woman he had
become acquainted with and also feared his father was going to die. His main fear was
surrounding a story he had been told where on the orient a pot of rats would be turned upside
down on the buttocks of criminals and rats would bore their way into the criminals anus. His fear
traced back to his childhood where he had associated sexual pleasure with fears of punishment
towards his father and felt he should be punished for all sexual encounters with women. This
meant hostility towards his father surfaced meaning he feared something bad would happen to his
father. Really Rat man fears punishment for him- self which is displaced onto his father and those
close to him. Freud used psychoanalysis to cure Rat Man of his neurosis.
Evaluating the psychodynamic approach
● Point One:
One of the biggest limitations is that the approaches ideas are not observable and therefore not
testable in a scientific way.
Evidence: For example, concepts such as the unconscious mind and the id, ego and superego
can- not be physically observed and tested in a scientific way. This means the approach relies on
the use of case studies to test its claims which are subjective and based on one individual's unique
characteristics so cannot be generalised.
Therefore, there is little objective evidence to support the approaches' ideas.
● Point two:
Further to this the approaches ideas can be seen as alpha bias
Evidence: Freud devalued females in his theory and focuses on the development of male sexuality
seeing it as more superior. For example, he saw feminity as failed masculinity as females could ing
from the Oedipus complex. go through the Oedipus complex their morals would be weaker due to
the superego developing from the Odeipus complex.
Therefore such bias has resulted in women being devalued and their behaviour not being
accurately represented by the approach. Ultimately this challenges the theories overall accuracy as
an explanation for all human behaviour.
● Point three:
The theory can also be seen as deterministic in its views
Evidence: as Freud suggested that all human behaviour was driven by unconscious forces that are
rooted in the unconscious mind from childhood. Therefore all human behaviour has a cause and is
out of our control.
Therefore this presents a problem as the approach is completely discounting that we do have free
will over our behaviour and make a choice on how to act and behave. For example, some indi-
Key idea
This approach focuses on the different forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the
mind and direct behaviour.
The role of the unconscious
Freud suggested that the human mind is made up of three parts. A small proportion of the mind
contains the information we are aware of and know about. This is known as the conscious mind.
Under the surface of our conscious mind is the preconscious mind which contains information we
may become aware of during dreams or Freudian slips. E.g. calling the female teacher mum.
A large proportion of the mind contains information we are unaware of that drives our behaviour.
This is known as the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is like a storehouse of biological
drives and instincts that have a significant influence on our behaviour and personality. The
unconscious mind also contains traumatic information that has been repressed (pushed into) by
the conscious mind into the unconscious to protect itself as they are too traumatic to deal with.
The structure of the personality
Freud describes personality as tripartite (made of three parts)
1. The id - this part of the personality is entirely unconscious and is gratification. present from
birth. It operates on the pleasure principles and is made up of selfish aggressive instincts
that demand immediate
2. Ego - develops around the age of two years and works on the reality principle that helps
balance and manage the conflict between the id and the superego. In order to manage the
conflict it uses a number of defence mechanisms. Please see the below box.
3. Superego - develops around the age of 5 (towards the end of the phallic stage) and is
based on the morality principle. It is an internalised state of right and wrong that represents
the ideal self that the ego through guilt. stems from the moral standards of the same sex
parent. It punishes
Defence mechanisms:
Repression: Force (push) distressing memories from the conscious to the unconscious mind.
Denial: Refuse to acknowledge some aspect of reality to avoid having to deal with any painful
feelings associated with the event.
Displacement: Transferring feelings (normally hostile) that an individual feels they are unable to
express from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute tar- get.
The psychosexual stages of development
Freud believed that a child's personality developed through five stages which are known as the
psychosexual stages of development. These stag- es place emphasis on the most important
driving force in development, the need to express sexual energy (libido). Freud believed that an
individual experiences tension built up of sexual energy and that pleasure comes from discharge of
these At each stage this energy is expressed in different ways and through different body parts.
,For successful development an individual must resolve the different conflicts within each stage.
Failure to do so will resolve in fixation where the child becomes 'stuck' and carries the
behaviours/associated conflicts into adulthood.
Stage Age Description
Oral 0-2 years The focus/source of pleasure is the mouth at this
stage the mothers breast is the object of desire.
Anal 2-3 years The focus of pleasure is the anus where the child
gains pleasure from withholding or expelling
faeces. The major issue is toilet training. The ego
develops in this stage.
Phallic 3-6 years The focus of pleasure at this stage is the
genitals. The major conflict at this stage is the
Oedipus conflict, male child has unconscious
sexual desires for their mother. They fear their
father will find out and castrate them as a
punishment and in an attempt to resolve this
problem they identify with the father. Electra
complex, girls have sexual desires for their
father, fear their mother will find out so identify
with them to resolve anxieties.
Latency 6-2 years Earlier conflicts are repressed so the child
cannot remember them.
Genital 12+ Sexual desires become conscious directly
towards sexual intercourse and the beginning of
adulthood.
Freudian case studies
Freud developed and tested his ideas through several case studies such
as Little Hans and Rat Man.
Little Hans
The case study of Little Hans, conducted by Sigmund Freud, involved a 5-year-old boy who
developed a phobia of horses after witnessing one collapse. Freud interpreted this fear as a
manifestation of the Oedipus complex, where Hans had unconscious desires for his mother and
saw his father as a rival. He believed Hans’ fear of being bitten by horses symbolized castration
anxiety, reflecting a fear of punishment from his father for these feelings. Through discussions
guided by Freud, Hans’ father helped him resolve these unconscious conflicts, and Hans
eventually overcame his phobia. This case became a key example supporting Freud's theories of
childhood psychosexual development and the role of unconscious conflict in phobias, though it has
faced criticism for its subjective interpretation and lack of scientific evidence.
, Rat Man
Rat man had an obsessional neurosis that dated back to his childhood but became worse during
adulthood. He had severe fears that something bad was going to happen to a woman he had
become acquainted with and also feared his father was going to die. His main fear was
surrounding a story he had been told where on the orient a pot of rats would be turned upside
down on the buttocks of criminals and rats would bore their way into the criminals anus. His fear
traced back to his childhood where he had associated sexual pleasure with fears of punishment
towards his father and felt he should be punished for all sexual encounters with women. This
meant hostility towards his father surfaced meaning he feared something bad would happen to his
father. Really Rat man fears punishment for him- self which is displaced onto his father and those
close to him. Freud used psychoanalysis to cure Rat Man of his neurosis.
Evaluating the psychodynamic approach
● Point One:
One of the biggest limitations is that the approaches ideas are not observable and therefore not
testable in a scientific way.
Evidence: For example, concepts such as the unconscious mind and the id, ego and superego
can- not be physically observed and tested in a scientific way. This means the approach relies on
the use of case studies to test its claims which are subjective and based on one individual's unique
characteristics so cannot be generalised.
Therefore, there is little objective evidence to support the approaches' ideas.
● Point two:
Further to this the approaches ideas can be seen as alpha bias
Evidence: Freud devalued females in his theory and focuses on the development of male sexuality
seeing it as more superior. For example, he saw feminity as failed masculinity as females could ing
from the Oedipus complex. go through the Oedipus complex their morals would be weaker due to
the superego developing from the Odeipus complex.
Therefore such bias has resulted in women being devalued and their behaviour not being
accurately represented by the approach. Ultimately this challenges the theories overall accuracy as
an explanation for all human behaviour.
● Point three:
The theory can also be seen as deterministic in its views
Evidence: as Freud suggested that all human behaviour was driven by unconscious forces that are
rooted in the unconscious mind from childhood. Therefore all human behaviour has a cause and is
out of our control.
Therefore this presents a problem as the approach is completely discounting that we do have free
will over our behaviour and make a choice on how to act and behave. For example, some indi-
