Chapter Three: The Freudian Approach

Vocabulary flashcards covering Freud's topographic model, structures of personality, psychosexual stages, defense mechanisms, humor, hypnosis, and methods for accessing the unconscious.

Topographic Model

Freud's structural model of the mind divided into three levels of awareness: the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.

Conscious

In Freud's topographic model, the level of awareness containing material and thoughts currently in one's mind.

Preconscious

In Freud's topographic model, the level of mind containing information that is not currently in awareness but can easily be brought into consciousness.

Unconscious

In Freud's topographic model, the level of mind containing hidden material, impulses, and painful thoughts concealed from awareness.

Id

The structure of personality operating on the pleasure principle and wish fulfillment.

Ego

The structure of personality operating on the reality principle to balance the desires of the id and superego.

Superego

The structure of personality incorporating the values and standards of society or caregivers, associated with feelings of guilt.

Pleasure Principle

The underlying drive of the id seeking immediate gratification through wish fulfillment.

Reality Principle

The operating principle of the ego that accommodates real-world demands while satisfying the id.

Limited Energy Concept

Freud's notion, influenced by the scientific thought of his day, that personality operates with a limited amount of energy.

Freudian Psychotherapy Goal

The objective to help troubled clients release unconscious impulses being held in check, thereby freeing up energy for other needs.

Defense Mechanisms

Psychological tools used to conceal painful thoughts from awareness and provide the ego with ways to fend off anxiety and guilt.

Defense Style

The term modern psychologists sometimes use to refer to an individual's pattern of using defense mechanisms.

Catharsis (in Freudian Humor)

The release of tension caused by the buildup in a joke, allowing sexual and aggressive issues to be handled in a socially appropriate way.

Socio-cognitive View of Hypnosis

The perspective that hypnotized participants are more relaxed and can perform tasks whether hypnotized or not, operating similarly to a placebo effect.

Hypnotic Responsiveness Variables

The three variables that affect an individual's responsiveness to hypnosis: attitude, motivation, and expectancy.

Unconscious Themes

Threatening thoughts and memories hidden in the unconscious, including hatred for one's parents, aggression, incestuous thoughts, and early trauma.

Methods for Accessing Unconscious Material

Techniques used to reveal unconscious content, including dreams, free association, projective tests, Freudian slips, accidents, and hypnosis.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Freud's developmental model consisting of the Oral stage, Anal stage, Phallic stage (including the Oedipus complex), Latency stage, and Genital stage.

Oedipus Complex

A central conflict occurring during the Phallic stage of psychosexual development.

Divided Consciousness (in Hypnosis)

A hypnotic explanation where one part of consciousness is hypnotized while another part acts as a monitor.

Father of Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud, who developed psychoanalytic theory and outlined a comprehensive system for psychotherapy.