Psychoanalytic Theory: Id, Ego, Superego, and Psychosexual Stages

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Freud's tripartite model of personality, dynamics of instincts, defense mechanisms, psychosexual development stages, and Erikson's psychosocial stage theory.

Id

The 'great reservoir' of all mental energies, seeking constant release of excitation and tension.

Pleasure Principle

The operating principle of the id that operates solely to pursue pleasure and avoid pain, without regard for consequences.

Immediate Gratification

A characteristic of the id that seeks satisfaction through action or fantasy, ignoring social norms.

Superego

The moral conscience component of personality that generates ethical standards and internalized authority.

Ethical Standards

Moral standards within the superego that generate guilt when violated.

Internalized Authority

A superego dimension representing internalized moral rules from the external social world.

Internal Rewards/Punishments

Mechanisms of the superego that offer pride for 'good' behavior and guilt for 'bad' behavior.

Ego

The executive mediator that balances id impulses, superego demands, and external reality.

Reality Principle

An ego function that delays gratification until realistic opportunities arise.

Reality Testing

An ego function that distinguishes between fantasy and external reality.

Rational Processing

An ego mechanism that creates compromises through logical thought and planning.

Eros

The Life Instinct (Libido) driving toward preservation, growth, and reproduction, encompassing all behaviors that maintain and enhance life.

Thanatos

The Death Instinct, a controversial drive toward returning to an inorganic state, often redirected outward as aggression toward others.

Blocked Expression

An instinctual expression where instincts prevented from direct satisfaction seek alternative outlets.

Modified Expression

An instinctual expression where drive energy is altered, such as sexual energy turning into affection or aggressive energy into sarcasm.

Displaced Expression

An instinctual expression where drive energy is redirected to a different target, such as love for a mother becoming love for a spouse, children, or pets.

Combined Expression

An instinctual expression where sexual and aggressive instincts merge, such as in competitive sports.

Anxiety (Freudian)

A crucial danger signal alerting the ego to psychological danger so it can mobilize defenses.

Id-Superego Conflict

A psychological tension emerging from the clash between instinctual impulses and moral constraints.

Denial

A defense mechanism involving refusal to accept painful or socially unacceptable facts, becoming an unconscious, automatic response to threatening information.

Projection

A defense mechanism in which people defend against recognizing their own negative qualities by attributing them to others.

Isolation

A defense mechanism where thoughts or impulses remain conscious but are stripped of their normal emotional content.

Intellectualization

A defense mechanism involving an overemphasis on rational thought while avoiding emotional engagement with threatening material.

Rationalization

A defense mechanism that reinterprets unacceptable behavior to make it appear reasonable, using logical-sounding explanations for actions driven by irrational impulses.

Sublimation

A defense mechanism where original instinctual energy is redirected toward socially valued, creative achievements.

Repression

The cornerstone of psychoanalytic defense theory in which traumatic thoughts are actively buried in the unconscious to avoid unbearable psychological pain.

Mazzoni and Memon (2003)

A study demonstrating that simply imagining an event increased participants' belief that the event actually occurred, illustrating false memory creation.

Oral Stage

The psychosexual stage from birth to 1 year where sensual gratification centers on the mouth through feeding, sucking, and oral exploration.

Anal Stage

The psychosexual stage from 1 to 3 years where excitation focuses on bowel and bladder control, representing the first major conflict between individual and society.

Phallic Stage

The psychosexual stage from 3 to 6 years where excitement centers on the genitals, involving castration anxiety and the Oedipus complex.

Latent Stage

The psychosexual stage from 6 years to puberty during which the libido remains inactive.

Genital Stage

The psychosexual stage from puberty to death characterized by maturing sexual interest.

Oedipus Complex

A phallic stage dynamic in boys involving a desire to kill the father and marry the mother, viewing the father as a rival, and resolving conflict by identifying with the father.

Castration Anxiety

The fear in young boys during the phallic stage that they will lose their penis, triggered by realizing females lack one.

Penis Envy

A stage in female Oedipal development where girls realize they lack a penis, blame their mother for the deficiency, and choose their father as primary love object.

Watson and Getz (1990)

A study providing empirical support for Freud's Oedipal timeline, showing increased opposite-sex parent preference and same-sex parent antagonism around age four that diminishes by age five or six.

Basic Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's first psychosocial stage (1 year), where positive outcomes lead to feelings of inner goodness and trust, while negative outcomes lead to pessimism and a sense of badness.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Erikson's second psychosocial stage (2-3 years), where positive outcomes build self-control and choice, while negative outcomes produce rigid conscience and doubtful shame.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's third psychosocial stage (4-5 years), where positive outcomes bring pleasure in accomplishments, while negative outcomes lead to guilt over contemplated goals.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's fourth psychosocial stage (Latency), where positive outcomes allow absorption in productive work, while negative outcomes foster a sense of inadequacy.

Identity vs. Role Diffusion

Erikson's fifth psychosocial stage (Adolescence), focused on establishing inner sameness and continuity versus feeling ill at ease in roles.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's sixth psychosocial stage (Early adulthood), characterized by mutual sharing of thoughts and feelings versus avoidance of intimacy.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's seventh psychosocial stage (Adulthood), centered on losing oneself in work and relationships versus loss of interest and impoverished relations.

Integrity vs. Despair

Erikson's eighth psychosocial stage (Later years), where positive outcomes offer a sense of order and meaning, while negative outcomes lead to fear of death and bitterness.

Freud's Psychological Hangover Remedies Comic

A four-panel comic illustrating Denial ('I'm not hungover'), Projection ('You're hungover'), Displacement ('You suck!'), and Reaction Formation ('I feel awesome!').

Freud's Psychosexual Stages Diagram

A timeline diagram mapping out Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latent, and Genital psychosexual stages alongside their age ranges and erogenous zones.

Erikson's Eight Psychosocial Stages Table

Table 3.2 summarizing Erikson's eight psychosocial developmental stages, associated age ranges, positive outcomes, and negative outcomes.