Week 6 - Psychodynamics (PSYC3026)

Chapters 10 + 11

Core ideas of psychoanalysis

1. Psychic determinism + unconscious processes

2. Internal structures

3. Psychic conflicts

4. Mental energy

Psychic determinism

The idea that everything that happens in a person's mind has a specific cause which can be identified. This then explains everything a person thinks and does, and implies that all problems can be resolved if the cause is dealt with.

Id

The irrational and emotional part of the mind, which is present from birth and has little/no inhibition.

Ego

The rational part of the mind, which mediates between the other two.

Superego

The moral part of the mind, which passes moral judgements on the other parts based on the moral lessons learned from one's identifications.

Compromise formation

The process of the ego brokering an agreement which finds a middle-ground between competing demands of motivation, morality, and practicality.

Libido

The mental or psychic energy required to complete mental processes and tasks. Only a finite amount is available at any time. Not inherently sexual.

OR, the inherent Life drive, which is driven by motives of self and species preservation. Includes creation, protection, and enjoyment of life wth creativity, productivity, and growth.

Thanatos

The inherent Death drive, which is driven by universal forces toward inevitable destruction. Comparable to the idea of entropy, in which all attempts at order are eventually thwarted by the random nature of the universe.

Doctrine of opposites (p. 362)

A doctrine that states that for everything that exists, there must be an opposite without which it cannot exist - Life requires Death.

Psychosexual development

The development of how libido is invested and redirected throughout early life to achieve development. Each stage contains a physical focus, a psychological theme, and an adult character type.

Stages:

1. Oral

2. Anal

3. Phallic

4. Latency

5. Genital

Oral stage

Timeframe: Birth -> 1.5 years

Physical focus: Mouth, lips, tongue

Psychological theme: Dependence, passivity

Adult character types: Dependent or overly independent

Anal stage

Timeframe: 1.5 years -> 3.5 years

Physical focus: Anus and organs of elimination

Psychological theme: Obedience, self-control

Adult character types: Obedient and obsessed with order, or anti-authority and chaotic

Phallic stage

Timeframe: 3.5 years -> 7 years

Physical focus: Sexual organs

Psychological theme: Gender identity, sexuality

Adult character types: Over- or under-sexualised

Latency stage

Timeframe: 7 years -> puberty

Physical focus: (none)

Psychological theme: Learning, cognitive development

Adult character types: (none)

Genital stage

Timeframe: Puberty -> adulthood

Physical focus: Sexuality in the context of a mature relationship

Psychological theme: Creation, enhancement of life, maturity

Adult character types: A mature adult, psychologically well-adjusted and balanced (positive, rarely achieved, must be willingly sought)

Identification

A process of the phallic stage in which a child takes on many of their same-sex parent's attitudes, values, and ways of relating to the opposite sex. Occurs as a means of finding out what it means to be a boy/girl (or what it means to not be one).

Mental health

The ability "to love and to work."

It is equally as important to nurture and care for others as it is to find meaning in doing something constructive for society. It is important to maintain balance and have a life that contains both.

Fixation

The result of incomplete movement through one of the stages of development. Libidinal energy gets left behind in order to continue fighting the core conflict of that stage, maintaining that conflict beyond that stage's completion and making balanced maturity more difficult to attain.

Regression

Tendency to retreat back into areas of unresolved developmental conflict when under stress, due to continued issues from a particular stage of development.

Secondary process thinking

What we mean by conscious "thinking". The rational, practical, prudent thought style of the Ego, which can delay or redirect gratification. Secondary in two ways:

1. Develops second to the Id, is not present from birth

2. Less powerful than primary process thinking

Primary process thinking (p. 375)

Uninhibited unconscious thought. The thought style of the Id, which does not consider negatives, qualifications, time, practicalities, necessities, or dangers. The goal of these thoughts is the immediate gratification of every desire. Primary in two ways:

1. Develops first with the Id, is present from birth

2. More powerful and influential than secondary process thinking

Displacement

The projection of a specific conflict onto a more general idea of a figure or power dynamic, or vice versa.

Condensation

The compression of several ideas into one by the unconscious mind.

Symbolisation

The substitution of one idea or object for another which holds the same implicit meaning. Meanings vary for each individual.

Conscious mind

The part of mental functioning which is observable by turning one's attention inward.

Preconscious

The part of mental functioning which consists of ideas which are not curretly present, but can easily bring to consciousness.

Unconscious

The part of mental functioning which is buried deep and cannot be easily accessed. Contains the Id, much of the Superego, and most of the Ego.

Parapraxis

An event indicating a leak of a thought from the unconscious to the conscious, manifesting as a mistake, accident, omission, or memory lapse. Commonly known as a Freudian Slip.

Defense mechanisms

Serve the function of shielding an individual from realities of intense anxiety. Various strategies may be employed by the Ego to achieve this.

Denial

Defense mechanism which prevents perception of the source of anxiety.

Repression

Defense mechanism which prevents recall of anything that might remind the individual of the source of anxiety.

Reaction formation

Defense mechanism which protects the individual against a forbidden thought or impulse by instigating the opposite.

Projection

Defense mechanism which attributes an unwanted impulse or attribute in oneself to other people.

Rationalisation

Defense mechanism which creates a seemingly logical reason for doing something shameful.

Intellectualisation

Defense mechanism which translates a threatening situation into cold, intellectual terms.

Displacement

Defense mechanism which redirects forbidden impulses onto a safer target.

Sublimation

Defense mechanism which converts base impulses into a noble cause.

Transference

The tendency to bring ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that developed toward one important person into a later relationship with a different person. The basis of the theraputic alliance/relationship built with one's therapist.

Neo-Freudian psychology

Psychoanalytic psychology post-Freud, carried on by psychoanalysists who have mostly retained and continued his work, but have deviated in three key ways:
1. Less emphasis on sex, with more emphasis on life and creativity
2. Less emphasis on unconscious mental processes, with more emphasis on conscious thought
3. Less emphasis on instinctual drives and internal thought, with more emphasis on interpersonal relationships

Ego psychology

A branch of neo-Freudian psychology which focusses on perception, memory, learning, and rational conscious thought. Has many overlaps with cognitive psychology.

Social interest

The desire to relate positively and productively with other people.

Organ inferiority

The idea that individuals are motivated to attain equality with or superiority over others to compensate for whatever they felt was their weakest aspect in childhood.

Masculine protest

The particular compensatory desire to act and become powerful due to feelings of inadequacy or inferiority as a child. Often associated with socialised gender stereotypes.

Collective unconscious

Jung’s idea that all humans share innate universal memories and ideas which reside in the unconscious, including archetypes.

Archetypes

Basic images which go to the core of how people think about the world, both consciously and unconsciously. Versions of these archetypes appear repeatedly across mediums, cultures, and time periods, often disguised as symbols.

Persona

The social mask one wears in public, which is always - to some degree - false due to keeping aspects of oneself private, or failing to advertise all aspects of oneself equally.
Similar to the idea of the false self.

Anima

The idealised idea or prototype of a female, as held in the mind of a male. The root of a man’s “feminine side”, which shapes the way he interacts with women.

Animus

The idealised idea or prototype of a male, as held in the mind of a female. The root of a woman’s “masculine side”, which shapes the way she interacts with men.

Introvert

A person who is psychologically oriented toward their internal world.

Extravert

A person who is psychologically oriented toward their external world.

Four basic ways of thinking (Jung)

1..Rational thinking
2. Feeling
3. Sensing
4. Intuiting

Basic anxiety (Horney)

The fear of being alone and helpless in a hostile world. Acquired during childhood.

Neurotic needs

Unrealistic and mutually contradictory needs which are developed as a coping mechanism to avoid or control one’s basic anxiety.
1. To be loved by everybody
2. To dominate everybody
3. To be independent of everybody
4. To find a life partner who will solve everything

Object relations theory

The theory that one can only relate to others via the images one holds of them in their mind. These images do not always match reality, and problems arise when mismatch occurs.
Four themes:
1. Every relationship has elements of both pleasure and pain
2. There will always be some mix of both love and hate in every relationship
3. The love object is distinct from the reality of the person it represents
4. The psyche is aware of an disturbed by these contradictory feelings

Objects

Partially accurate mental images which represent the idea of a person, but not necessarily the reality.

Transitional object

An object a child endows with special emotional meaning so that it can comfort the child when adult company is not available. Over time, the object loses its special meaning as the child becomes better able to handle the world without this kind of emotional support.
Also called a “niffle”.