Lecture 2

Fred's psychoanalytic approach

role of unconsciousness, developed first of therapeutic procedures for understanding & modifying structure of one’s basic character.

Five basic models in psychoanalysis:

structural, dynamical, topographic, developmental.

Structural model

id, ego, and superego.

Dynamical model

theory of drives

Economical model

psychic energy

Topographic model

levels of consciousness, including the conscious and unconscious.

Developmental model

psychosexual stages of development

The ID

demanding child, ruled by the pleasure principle and driven to satisfy desires and reduce tension.

The Ego

traffic cop, ruled by the reality principle, and solves problems by planning and acting.

The Superego

judge, ruled by the moral principle, and internalizes social norms and moral forces.

Freudian slip

A psychological error in speaking or writing that reveals an unconscious urge, desire, or conflict.

Dream interpretation

Freud believed that every dream has a meaning that can be interpreted, often representing infantile wish fulfillment.

Drive

consists of a source, goal, and object, with the source being internal tension and the goal being to reduce tension and achieve pleasure.

Eros

The life instinct or libido

Thanatos

The death instinct, which accounts for aggressive and self-destructive drives.

Cathexis

The charging of libido's energy.

Psychosexual development of personality

The stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) that shape an individual's personality.

Oral stage:

first year, related to later mistrust and rejection issues.

Anal stage:

2 to 4, related to later personal power and control issues

Phallic stage:

4 to 6, related to later sexual attitudes.

Latency period:

5 to 11, a time of socialization.

Genital stage:

12 to 18, sexual energies are invested in life.

Oedipus complex

A boy's sexual feelings for his mother and rivalries with his father, leading to the formation of personality through identification with the father.

Castration anxiety

The unconscious fear of losing the penis and becoming like a female, often associated with fear of powerful individuals and potential revenge.

Penis envy

A girl's feelings of inferiority and jealousy, redirecting affection from the mother to the father due to the perception of lacking a penis.

Ego-defense mechanisms

Unconscious behaviors that distort or deny reality, helping individuals cope with anxiety and prevent the ego from being overwhelmed.

Type of defense mechanism:

Repression

Reaction formation

Denial

Projection

Displacement

Sublimation

Regression

Rationalization

Repression

Pushing threatening thoughts back into the unconscious.

Reaction formation

Overemphasizing the opposite of threatening impulses in thoughts and actions.

Denial

Refusing to acknowledge anxiety-provoking stimuli.

Projection

Externalizing anxiety-arousing impulses by attributing them to others.

Displacement

Shifting unconscious fears or desires onto different targets, often seen in the form of anger towards someone less threatening.

Sublimation

Transforming dangerous urges into socially acceptable motivations.

Regression

Returning to earlier, safer stages of life.

Rationalization

Providing logical explanations for behaviors driven by internal unconscious motives.

Psychoanalytic techniques

Free association, interpretation, and dream analysis

Transference

The client's reaction to the therapist as they did to an earlier significant person, allowing for the experience of previously inaccessible feelings.

Countertransference

The therapist's reaction towards the client that may interfere with objectivity.

Resistance

Anything that hinders therapy progress and prevents the emergence of unconscious material.

Analysis of resistance

The process of helping the client recognize and understand their avoidance of therapy as a defense mechanism against anxiety.