psych 55-57

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions -Believed that childhood sexual development and unconscious motives influence personality

Freud's view of the mind

id, ego, superego

Id

seeks pleasure, striving to satisfy sexual and aggressive drives

Superego

seeks morality our conscience

ego

focuses on reality , mediates between the id and superego, lives in reality

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Regression

psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

reaction formation

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.

Projection

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization

defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions

Displacement

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

Denial

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities.

Sublimination (defense mechanism)

transformation of unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behaviors, "healthy behaviors"

Freud's Assessment Techniques

free association and dream analysis (latent content)

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

psychoanalysis pros and cons

pros: 1st theory, most ppl believe childhood and unconscious mind do affect personality. cons: no scientific data, biased sampling

psychodynamic perspective

modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of other motivations behind a person's behavior than sexual motivations

Alfred Adler

Neo-Freudian; introduced concept of "inferiority complex" and stressed the importance of birth order

Karen Horney

anxiety and personality are driven by social tensions in childhood, balanced masculine bias

Carl Jung

neo-Freudian who created concept of "collective unconscious" and focused on archetypes.

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

TAT test

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

psychodynamic theory pros vs cons

pros: childhood influences personality, cons: assessments have low validity and low reliability

humanistic theories

theories that view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth, self actualization, focuses on fulfilled and healthy individuals

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's pyramid of human needs; must satisfy levels below before reaching to next; can go up and down pyramid stages

self-actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential

Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Perspective

-Roger posited that growth-promoting environment characteristics are genuineness, acceptance, and empathy. -Unconditional positive regard and self-concept are key components of theory

ideal self vs. actual self

When the ideal self equals the actual self one's self concept is positive. Conversely, when one's self ideal self does not equal their actual self their self concept is negative. goal is to discover self-concept

Positive self-concept

Ideal-self + Real-self = same

Negative self-concept

Ideal-self + Real-self = different

Pros vs cons of humanistic theories

pros: influential in work, home, and therapy settings. Cons: vague, self centered,