How does the psychodynamic approach explain behaviour?
The psychodynamic approach: the role of the unconscious, the structure of personality (id, ego and superego), defence mechanisms (repression, denial, displacement), psychosexual stages.
Covers AQA 4.5 the psychodynamic approach: the unconscious, the id, ego and superego, defence mechanisms (repression, denial, displacement) and the psychosexual stages.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to describe Freud's psychodynamic approach: the unconscious, the id, ego and superego, defence mechanisms and the psychosexual stages. The recurring exam skill is to describe the structures and stages precisely while being ready to evaluate the approach's biggest weakness, its lack of falsifiability.
The unconscious and structure of personality
The central claim of the approach is that most of the mind is unconscious, and that these hidden drives, conflicts and repressed memories are the real causes of behaviour, even though we are unaware of them. Freud likened the mind to an iceberg, with the small conscious part above the surface and the vast unconscious below. Within this, personality is structured as three competing parts. The id is the primitive, unconscious source of instinctual energy, present from birth, demanding immediate gratification on the pleasure principle. The ego emerges around age two and works on the reality principle, mediating between the unrealistic demands of the id and the constraints of the real world. The superego forms around age five through identification with the same-sex parent and works on the morality principle, acting as the conscience. Healthy behaviour depends on the ego successfully balancing these forces; when the conflict becomes too great, anxiety results and the ego deploys defence mechanisms.
Defence mechanisms and psychosexual stages
Defence mechanisms operate unconsciously to keep anxiety out of awareness, but because they distort reality they are only useful in the short term. Development, meanwhile, runs through five psychosexual stages, each centred on a different bodily focus of pleasure. In the oral stage (0 to 1) pleasure centres on the mouth; in the anal stage (1 to 3) on control of the bowels; in the phallic stage (3 to 6) on the genitals, during which the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls) are resolved through identification with the same-sex parent, forming the superego; latency is a period of calm; and the genital stage (puberty onward) directs sexual energy towards mature relationships. If a conflict at a stage is not resolved, the child becomes fixated, carrying its concerns into adult personality, for example an "anally retentive" adult who is excessively orderly. This developmental account is the most detailed of any approach, which is a comparison point worth making.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20194 marksOutline the structure of personality in Freud's psychodynamic approach.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark AO1 description item. Markers want all three parts with their governing principles.
Freud proposed three parts. The id is present from birth, is entirely unconscious, and operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification of instinctual drives. The ego develops around age two, operates on the reality principle, and is the rational mediator that balances the demands of the id and the superego against reality, partly using defence mechanisms. The superego forms around age five and operates on the morality principle, acting as the internalised conscience that punishes wrongdoing with guilt.
A full-mark answer names all three, states the principle each works on (pleasure, reality, morality), and notes the ego's mediating role. Omitting the principles or the mediating function loses marks.
AQA 20216 marksDescribe defence mechanisms in Freud's theory and explain their function.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark item, roughly 4 AO1 (describe three mechanisms) and 2 AO2 (function).
Defence mechanisms are unconscious strategies the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and the superego and to protect itself from anxiety. Repression is forcing a threatening or distressing memory out of conscious awareness into the unconscious. Denial is refusing to accept an unpleasant aspect of reality, behaving as if it is not true. Displacement is redirecting strong feelings (often aggression) from their true target onto a safer substitute, such as shouting at a sibling after being told off by a teacher.
Function: they reduce immediate anxiety, but because they distort reality they are only a short-term solution and, if overused, can lead to psychological problems. Markers reward three correctly described mechanisms plus a clear statement of their protective but reality-distorting function.
Related dot points
- Origins of psychology: Wundt, introspection and the emergence of psychology as a science.
Covers AQA 4.5 origins of psychology: Wundt's first psychology lab, introspection, structuralism, and the emergence of psychology as a science.
- The behaviourist approach, including classical conditioning and Pavlov's research, operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and Skinner's research.
Covers AQA 4.5 the behaviourist approach: classical conditioning (Pavlov), operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and punishment, and Skinner's research.
- Social learning theory, including imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement, the role of mediational processes and Bandura's research.
Covers AQA 4.5 social learning theory: imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement, the four mediational processes and Bandura's Bobo doll research.
- The cognitive approach: the study of internal mental processes, the role of schema, the use of theoretical and computer models to explain and make inferences about mental processes. The emergence of cognitive neuroscience.
Covers AQA 4.5 the cognitive approach: internal mental processes, schemas, theoretical and computer models, inference, and the emergence of cognitive neuroscience.
- The biological approach: the influence of genes, biological structures and neurochemistry on behaviour. Genotype and phenotype, genetic basis of behaviour, evolution and behaviour.
Covers AQA 4.5 the biological approach: genes, biological structures and neurochemistry, genotype and phenotype, the genetic basis of behaviour, and evolution.
- Humanistic psychology: free will, self-actualisation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs, focus on the self, congruence, the role of conditions of worth. The influence on counselling psychology.
Covers AQA 4.5 humanistic psychology: free will, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and self-actualisation, the self, congruence, conditions of worth and the influence on counselling.
Sources & how we know this
- AQA A-level Psychology (7182) specification — AQA (2015)