Studied by 4 people
psychodynamic theories
patterns in human behaviour can be understood in terms of unconscious drives
personality must be understood developmentally; that is, people are expressions of their histories/traumas
Non-Freudian Theories
reinterpretations of aspects of Freud’s theories
Adler’s Individual psychology
Anna Freud’s Ego Psychology
Jung’s Analytical psychology
Klein’s Object Relations Theory
Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social theory
Post-Freudian theories
independent approach that bring in aspects of psychoanalysis or other psychodynamic approaches
Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theories
Fromm’s Humanistic Psychoanalysis
Erikson’s Developmental Theory
psychoanalysis
theory of personality, approach to psychotherapy, and method of investigation developed by Freud
goal to breakdown disguises and see what is really motivating us
why doesn’t psychology want to affiliate with Freud
psychology has become positivistic, studying by application of natural sciences
freud did not use the scientific method
hysteria
mental disorder marked by conversion of repressed psychical elements into somatic symptoms such as impotency, paralysis, or blindness, when no physiological bases for symptoms exist
early understanding was wandering womb
combined catharsis and hypnosis to treat hysteria
catharsis
process of removing or lessening psychological disorders by talking about one’s problems
seduction theory and why he abandoned it
hysteria thought to emerge as result of childhood sexual experiences, particularly abuse
abandoned because:
no successful treatment with it
fathers would be accused of sexual perversion
believed unconscious mind could not distinguish reality from fiction
unconscious memories of advanced psychotic patients almost never revealed early childhood sexual experiences
Why does Ellenberger describe Freud’s life after his father’s death as creative illness
depression, neurosis, psychomatic ailments, and an intense preoccupation with creative activity
obsessed with his own death
Why didn’t Freud like Americans
he though they would trivialize psychoanalysis by trying to make it popular
the unconscious is a ______ not a location
process
unconscious
all mental elements of which a person is unaware
drives, urges, desires, instincts that motivate us
we experience them in disguised ways if they pass the primary and final censors
drive based (sexual and aggressive)
early childhood behaviours are punished leading to suppression and repression
active force striving for expression
suppression
voluntary stoppage of behaviour; creates anxiety
repression
when we are punished we repress and force unwanted, anxiety-ridden experiences into the unconscious as a defence against the anxiety
phylogenetic imbalance (phylogenetic endowment)
instincts passed down from previous generations and continually repressed
ex., castration complex
preconscious
mental elements that are currently not in awareness, but that can become conscious with varying degrees of difficulty
part of the unconscious
generally non-threatening, not repressed
sources: conscious perception or unconscious
conscious perception
(source of contents of preconcious)
ideas we perceive as conscious for transitory period, but then passes to preconscious when focus of attention shifts
largely free from anxiety and are more similar to conscious images
unconscious (as a source of contents of preconscious)
ideas pass censors into preconscious in disguised form
if not well disguised, anxiety pushes them back down
if do gain admission, disguised through dream, slip of the tongue, or defense mechanism
conscious
those mental elements in awareness at any given time
become conscious in two ways:
through our sensory organs if not threatening (perceptual conscious systems)
disguised forms from unconscious or preconsciousness
provinces of the mind
second topography of the mind, supplemental to the original
id, superego, ego
levels of mental life
first topography
unconscious, preconscious, conscious
id
region of personality that is alien to the ego because it includes experiences never owned by the person
pursuit of pleasure
express basic drives to reduce tension
ex., infants
illogical, simultaneously entertains incompatible ideas
underlying desires from childhood
amoral
the only source of energy
primary process of id
expression of instincts
secondary process of id
shaping instincts in order to be expressed; survival of satisfaction is dependent on whether secondary process can bring instincts to contact with external world through ego
ego
the “I”, or experiences owned by the person
only region in contact with real world
serves reality principle
develops at 1-2 years out of need to contact with real world
when infant can distinguish self from background
can make decisions at any level (conscious, preconscious, unconscious)
balance conflicting demands
reality principle
ego’s need to arbitrate realistically between demands of the id, the superego, and external world
pleasure principle
motivation of the id to seek immediate reduction of tension through the gratification of instinctual drives
superego
moral or ethical process of personality
we have to give up part of selves to the world
responsible for preventing expression of sexual and aggressive urges
strives for perfection
ultimately unrealistic
compulsive perfectionism at extreme
subsystems: conscience and ego-ideal
conscience
subsystem of superego that results from experience with punishment and that, therefore, tells a person what is wrong or improper conduct
ego-ideal
part of superego that results from experiences with reward and that, therefore, teaches a person what is right or proper conduct
result if id dominates
hedonistic, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain
result if superego dominates
guilt-ridden, inferior-feeling, depressed, unable to meet standards
result if ego dominates
psychologically healthy person
very rare because we are always in and out of states of neurosis
______ motivates our behaviours
energy
Freud believed in an energy system
drives
libido: sexual
aggressive
constant motivational force from the id and unconscious, controlled by the ego
have an impetus, source, aim, and object
produce tension that we must reduce
cathexis
investment or attachment of some pyschical energy to an idea, a group of ideas, a party of the body, an object, person, etc.
ex., pleasure from kissing a shoe where sexual object displaced from person to shoe
anticathexis
energy that the ego draws from the id to block and repress those desires struggling for expression and investment
impetus of drive
amount of force exerted
source of drive
erogenous zone implicated in the tension
aim of drive
to release the tension thus seeking pleasure
object of drive
person or thing that by which the aim is satisfied
libido
anything we derive pleasure from
sexual drive wants broad bodily pleasure
free-floating tension not invested in anything
self-directed, self as sexual object
narcissism, love, sadism, masochism
narcissism (primary and secondary)
(form of pleasure)
pathological narcissism is perpetual investment of libido, natural narcissism is expected
primary: healthy, self-directed for infants trying to please themselves to stay calm, invested in own ego
ultimately given up through psychosexual stages
secondary: adolescence, re-invested energy into self
love
(form of pleasure)
when people invest libido energy into others
first sexual object is mother where we obtain nutrition
gradually repressed and transformed into aim-inhibited love
aim-inhibited love
love for siblings and parents as our sexual love is repressed
sadism
(form of pleasure)
pleasure through pain or humiliation of another person
only pathological if aggression becomes priority over experience of pleasure
masochism
(form of pleasure)
pleasure from suffering ourselves
pathological if desire to experience pain overcomes pleasure
healthier than sadism as we don’t depend on others for it
aggression
the outward manifestation of the death instinct
aim to return to an inorganic state, to die
self-destruction
deal with it through reaction formation
anxiety
a felt, affective, unpleasant state accompanied by the physical sensation of uneasiness
ego is constantly mediating between drives which leads to anxiety
warning against impending danger
neurotic, moral, and realistic anxiety
exist in combination
ego-preserving, help us survive against psychological threats
neurotic anxiety
anxiety from the id
feeling of unease about unknown danger
manifests covertly in feelings of hostility and anger towards authority figures
moral anxiety
anxiety from superego
not meeting our moral standards
conflict between realistic needs and dictates of superego
realistic anxiety
unpleasant, nonspecific feeling involving a possible danger
real world, objective daily experiences
ex., sliding on icy highway
defense mechanisms
techniques whereby the ego defends itself against pain of anxiety
developed mostly by Anna Freud
can become pathological if we hyper rely on them
drains energy
we eventually need to confront anxiety or we will create neurotic symptoms
repression
(defense mechanism)
forcing of unwanted, anxiety-laden experiences into the unconscious as a defense against the pain of that anxiety
most common defense
starts in childhood for sexual behaviours
cannot fully repress anything
repression perpetuated for lifetime
what happens when impulses are repressed to unconscious?
may remain unchanged in unconscious
may force way into consciousness in unaltered form causing anxiety
expressed in displaced or disguised forms (could be somatic like chronic cough, impotence)
reaction formation
defense mechanism in which a person represses one impulse and adopts the exact opposite form of behaviour, which ordinarily is exaggerated and ostentatious
ex., homosexual politicians being anti-gay
displacement (defense mechanism)
defense mechanism in which unwanted urges are redirected onto other objects or people in order to disguise original impulse
ex., boss yells at dad and dad yells at family
regression
defense mechanism whereby a person returns to an earlier stage of development to protect ego against anxiety
common in children
ex., thumb sucking under stress or fetal position for adults
temporary
projection
defense mechanism whereby the ego reduces anxiety by attributing an unwanted impulse to another person
paranoia in extremes
paranoia
mental disorder characterized by unrealistic feelings of persecution, grandiosity, and suspicious attitude toward others
introjection
defense mechanism whereby people incorporate positive qualities of another person into their ego
opposite of projection
compensating for internal feeling of inferiority
developmentally important, helps superego
sublimation
defense mechanism that involves the repression of the genital aim of eros and its substitution by a cultural or social aim
healthiest defence mechanism
infantile stage
first 4-5 years of life characterized by autoerotic or pleasure-seeking behaviour and consisting of oral, anal, and phallic stages
most crucial period for personality formation
oral phase
earliest stage of infantile period characterized by attempts to gain pleasure through mouth (sucking, eating, biting)
12-18 months
oral-receptive and oral-sadistic phases
oral-receptive phase
fixated on sexual object, want to take sexual object into self
mothers nipple but invested in whole person
first 6 months it is easy
after parents are less anxious and responsible, as child weans they reach ambivalence
marker of psychological maturity
oral-sadistic phase
develop teeth, respond more directly to the environment
cooing, smiling, crying, teething
most notable autoerotic: thumb sucking, pacifier
aggressive drive emerges
anal phase
second stage of infantile period characterized by child’s attempts to gain pleasure from excretory function, destroying or losing objects, stubbornness, neatness, and miserliness
2 years
learn to control bodies and emerging aggressive tendencies
early and late periods
no gender differentiation
early anal period
destructive, sadistic, terrible twos
aggression stronger than libido
directed towards parents
late anal period
finding success with toilet training
pleasure from defecating
meeting expectations of caregiver
associate pleasure with toilet
anal character
developed in late anal period if parents are dismissive or punitive
person is satisfied by keeping and possessing objects, hyper stingy, difficult to calm
holding back feces
leads to anal triad
anal triad
orderliness, stinginess, obstinacy
phallic phase
genitals become most important erogenous zone
age 3-4
gender difference emerges
anatomy was destiny
early masturbatory activity punished and repressed
male phallic phase
oedipus complex (sexual desires for mother/hostility towards father)
castration complex (castration anxiety shatters Oedipus complex)
identification with father
strong superego replaces nearly completely dissolved Oedipus complex
female phallic phase
castration complex in form of penis envy
Oedipus complex in attempt to obtain penis (sexual desires for father/hostility for mother)
gradual realization that Oedipal desires are self-defeating
identification with mother
weak superego replaces partially dissolved Oedipus complex
Freud thinks we have inherent _______
bisexuality
leads to ambivalence, sometimes we have hostility for opposite gender parent and lust for same gender parent
complete Oedipus complex (male)
ambivalent condition in boy where hostility and lust coexist for both parents due to the bisexual nature of a child
through unconscious
castration anxiety
fear of losing the penis after becoming aware that girl’s don’t have one and thought they lost theirs due to castration
quickly repressed
penis envy
envious desire to have what men have
desire for status of the patriarchal society
lasting desire to be in a relationship with man and reproduce
may last for years
girls rebel in one of three ways during Oedipal complex
give up sexuality and develop intense hostility towards mother
cling defiantly to masculinity, hoping for a penis
develop normally, take their father as sexual choice and undergo simple Oedipus complex
why is boy’s superego stronger than girls?
males had immediate trauma from castration complex which builds their ego, girls is more gradual and leads to more fixation at this period
infantile amnesia
repression and sublimation of sexual desires leads us to forget about sexual impulses we had as a child
fixations
anxiety may need the ego to permanently invest energy into a particular zone as a defensive tactic
oral: pleasure of the mouth (sarcasm, over-eating)
anal: anal character (opposing tendencies, hyper disorganization)
phallic: concern for appearance
women more likely fixated at phallic
latency period
6+
after superego emerged
period of dormant psychosexual development
large friend group
sexual drive inhibited by parents, sexual activity redirected into friendships, school, and hobbies
genital period
starts at puberty
reawakening of sexual desire
start directing sexual energy towards other people
girls value reproductive organs more
object of desire is the sexual organs of the other
fulfill sexual aim overtly
maturity
nobody is psychologically mature
consciousness more important to mature people who have minimal need to repress sexual and aggressive urges
more in control of psychic energy and functioning ego
pressure technique
(early technique)
put hand on forehead and envision something behind his hands, that is what is creating pressure in their life
patient visualizes their source of tension and pressure
problem: Freud elicited false recollections of sexual experiences
free association
(later technique)
therapist instructs patient to verbalize every thought that comes to mind, no matter how irrelevant
typically, something aggressive or sexually charged comes up
transference
displacing libido onto therapist
Freud believed this was inevitable
ex., admiration, romanticism, desire to kill
healthy unless:
overtly sexual
aggressive
if it can be worked through, transference is good
negative transference: if hostility is recognized and explained to patient, they can overcome resistance
countertransference
cathexis of the therapist to the patient
reason why therapists should be in therapy as well
limitations to psychoanalytic treatment
dangerous procedure
psychoanalysis doesn’t work for psychoses
insurance companies worry that there is no end to psychoanalysis
dream analysis
therapeutic procedure designed to uncover material by having a patient freely associate to dream images
every dream has a wish fulfillment
extreme cases of trauma have repetitive compulsion where they remember the event over and over
emotions within dreams disguised with opposite effect or neutral affect
manifest content
surface meaning or conscious description of the dream
latent content
underlying, unconscious meaning of a dream revealed via dream interpretation
condensation
(basis of dream disguise)
unconscious material is abbreviated
expressed in narrow, specific way like a single image or symbol
displacement (dream disguise)
(basis of dream disguise)
dream image disguised by other ideas not connected to latent idea
also uses symbols
secondary revision
(basis of dream disguise)
when we wake up after a dream, we censor aspects of our dream
anything immediately stressful or anxiety provoking
free association (dream analysis)
ask patient about dream, any connection they feel while recounting the dream
dream interpretation
looking through symbols to uncover unconscious content being condensed
most reliable
“royal road” to knowledge of uncosncious
embarrassment dream of nakedness
(anxiety dream)
indifference of spectators fulfills infantile wish that they weren’t scolded as a child
nakedness fulfill wish to exhibit oneself
death of a beloved person
(anxiety dream)
death of younger person expresses wish for destruction of younger siblings
death of older person fulfills Oedipal wish for death of parent
Note
Flashcard