PSYTHEO Quiz 1: Psychodynamic Perspective

Id

The unconscious part of personality that operates on the pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification of instinctual drives.

Ego

The rational part of personality that operates on the reality principle and mediates between the demands of the id, superego, and reality.

Superego

The moral part of personality that represents internalized ideals and strives for perfection.

Pleasure Principle

The instinctual drive of the id to seek pleasure and avoid pain.

Reality Principle

The tendency of the ego to delay gratification until it can be obtained appropriately.

Conscience

The part of the superego that punishes the ego through guilt for wrongdoing.

Ego-Ideal

The part of the superego that rewards the ego through pride for moral behavior.

Conscious

The level of mental life that contains what we are aware of at any given moment.

Preconscious

The level of mental life that contains experiences not currently in awareness but can easily become conscious.

Unconscious

The level of mental life that contains repressed memories, instincts, and desires outside of awareness.

Repression

The defense mechanism that forces painful or unacceptable thoughts into the unconscious.

Projection

The defense mechanism that attributes one’s unacceptable impulses to another person.

Reaction Formation

The defense mechanism that expresses an impulse by showing exaggerated behavior in the opposite form.

Displacement

The defense mechanism that transfers an impulse from a threatening target to a safer one.

Regression

The defense mechanism that reverts behavior to an earlier, less mature stage of development.

Sublimation

The defense mechanism that channels unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable actions.

Fixation

The persistent focus of psychic energy at an earlier psychosexual stage due to unresolved conflict.

Oral Stage

The stage of psychosexual development where pleasure is centered on the mouth.

Anal Stage

The stage of psychosexual development where pleasure focuses on bowel control and elimination.

Phallic Stage

The stage of psychosexual development where pleasure centers on the genitals and the Oedipus or Electra complex occurs.

Latency Stage

The stage of psychosexual development where sexual instincts are dormant and energy is directed toward learning and social activities.

Genital Stage

The stage of psychosexual development where sexual instincts mature and individuals seek relationships outside the family.

Oedipus Complex

The unconscious desire of a boy for his mother and rivalry with his father.

Electra Complex

The unconscious desire of a girl for her father and hostility toward her mother.

Dream Analysis

The psychoanalytic technique for uncovering the latent content of dreams through interpretation.

Free Association

The psychoanalytic technique where the patient verbalizes all thoughts to uncover unconscious material.

Catharsis

The release of emotional tension that accompanies the recall of repressed thoughts.

Freudian Slip

An unintentional error in speech or behavior that reveals unconscious thoughts.

Phylogenetic Endowment

The inherited portion of the unconscious passed down through generations.

Striving for Superiority

The fundamental motivation to overcome inferiority and achieve mastery or success.

Inferiority Feelings

Normal feelings of weakness or inadequacy that motivate striving and growth.

Inferiority Complex

A condition characterized by an exaggerated sense of weakness and helplessness.

Superiority Complex

A condition characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance that mask inferiority.

Final Goal

The ultimate fictional goal that gives direction and purpose to behavior.

Fictional Finalism

The guiding self-created ideal that influences behavior as if it were true.

Style of Life

The unique pattern of personality developed early in life that expresses how one strives toward goals.

Social Interest

The feeling of oneness with humanity and the desire to contribute to the welfare of others.

Creative Power

The inner capacity of individuals to shape their personality and life experiences.

Organ Inferiority

A physical weakness or defect that prompts compensatory striving for strength.

Organ Dialect

The idea that the body expresses the individual’s psychological goals through physical symptoms.

Birth Order

The concept that the order in which a child is born influences personality traits.

Pampered Child

A child who is overindulged and develops dependence and entitlement.

Neglected Child

A child who is unloved or ignored and develops mistrust and hostility.

Ego

The center of consciousness that provides a sense of identity and continuity.

Personal Unconscious

The level of the unconscious that contains forgotten experiences and repressed material unique to the individual.

Collective Unconscious

The deepest layer of the unconscious shared by all humanity and containing archetypes.

Archetypes

Universal images and thought forms inherited from ancestral experience.

Persona

The social mask that represents how individuals present themselves to the world.

Shadow

The dark, repressed side of personality containing instincts and desires that are socially unacceptable.

Anima

The feminine side of a man’s psyche.

Animus

The masculine side of a woman’s psyche.

Self

The central archetype that represents unity, integration, and wholeness of the total personality.

Individuation

The process of integrating conscious and unconscious elements to achieve self-realization.

Complex

A group of emotionally charged thoughts and memories organized around a common theme.

Synchronicity

The meaningful coincidence of two or more events that are not causally related.

Introversion

The psychological attitude characterized by orientation toward the inner world.

Extraversion

The psychological attitude characterized by orientation toward the outer world.

Thinking Function

The function of judging by logic and reason.

Feeling Function

The function of judging by subjective values.

Sensing Function

The function of perceiving through the senses and concrete reality.

Intuitive Function

The function of perceiving possibilities and relationships through unconscious processes.

Object

Any person or part of a person that is the target of instinctual drives.

Internal Object

The mental representation of an external object that has been taken into the self.

Good Object

The internalized image of the gratifying and loving aspect of a relationship.

Bad Object

The internalized image of the frustrating or rejecting aspect of a relationship.

Phantasy

The unconscious mental image of instinctual drives and their objects.

Splitting

The defense mechanism that separates good and bad feelings toward an object.

Projection

The defense mechanism that attributes one’s own impulses to another object.

Introjection

The defense mechanism that takes in qualities of an external object into the self.

Projective Identification

The process of projecting feelings into another and then reabsorbing them after interaction.

Paranoid-Schizoid Position

The early developmental position where infants split experiences into good and bad objects.

Depressive Position

The later position where infants integrate good and bad qualities in the same object, leading to guilt and concern.

Reparation

The desire to repair or make amends for perceived harm done to loved objects.

Internalization

The process of incorporating external experiences and relationships into the inner world.

Position

A configuration of feelings and defenses that characterize a developmental phase.

Basic Evil

Parental indifference, rejection, or hostility that undermines a child’s security.

Basic Hostility

The repressed anger a child feels toward neglectful or rejecting parents.

Basic Anxiety

The feeling of being small, helpless, and insecure in a hostile world.

Neurotic Needs

Compulsive attempts to reduce basic anxiety through specific coping strategies.

Moving Toward People

A coping strategy characterized by seeking affection and approval.

Moving Against People

A coping strategy characterized by striving for power, recognition, and admiration.

Moving Away from People

A coping strategy characterized by withdrawal and independence.

Idealized Self-Image

An unrealistic self-concept based on perfection and glory.

Tyranny of the Shoulds

The compulsion to live up to an unrealistic, idealized image of oneself.

Neurotic Pride

False pride derived from identification with the idealized self rather than real accomplishments.

Neurotic Search for Glory

The compulsive drive toward perfection and superiority to compensate for insecurity.

Self-Hatred

Hostility toward the real self for failing to meet the standards of the idealized self.

Real Self

The genuine, spontaneous, and healthy part of the personality that strives for growth.

Feminine Psychology

The study of the cultural and social factors that shape women’s psychological experiences.

Power Envy

The desire for equal social power rather than envy of male anatomy.

Human Dilemma

The conflict between being part of nature and being aware of oneself as separate from it.

Basic Human Needs

The psychological requirements necessary for human growth and sanity.

Relatedness

The need for union with others through love and care.

Transcendence

The need to rise above the passive state of existence by creating or destroying.

Rootedness

The need to establish a sense of belonging and connection to the world.

Sense of Identity

The need to be aware of oneself as a distinct and unique individual.

Frame of Orientation

The need for a consistent system of thought to make sense of the world.

Escape Mechanisms

Ways individuals avoid the anxiety of freedom through submission, destruction, or conformity.

Authoritarianism

The escape mechanism characterized by either submitting to or dominating others.

Destructiveness

The escape mechanism characterized by eliminating others to escape feelings of powerlessness.