Origins of the Mind Exam #2

Freud’s hypnotic technique

find memories that are only accessible in altered state of consciousness

Freud wanted to create a

natural science of the human mind

Freud thought that when in a hypnotic state, you can recover

dislodged memories

Oedipus story

young kids have erotic strivings towards parents

Castration anxiety (metaphorical)

rather than anxiety about penis being cut off, more about the thing that makes you attractive (eg phallus or head of hair)

What was Freud’s big blow to the human ego

We are not the master in our own house - our actions and thoughts are impacted by the unconscious

Freud says that we do not live, but are being lived by

unruly unknown forces

Model of the human mind as a hydraulic machine

Drives that strive for discharge - not necessarily to have intercourse but to understand or be with someone

Can we discharge uncontrolled?

No - ego is committed to operating by the reality principle and constantly asking super-ego to listen to its normative demands

Hysteria / Conversion disorder

intolerable idea pushed out of consciousness which returns in the form of paralysis or some other physical symptom

How would Freud go about conversion disorders

Uncover the forbidden idea/wish and bring it to full awareness to render the physical symptom obsolete

Seduction Theory

Freud assumed the forbidden thoughts that needed to be dug out of the unconscious (through hypnosis or otherwise) were memories of actual events, often sexual in nature eg patient seduced/harassed

Phantasy Theory

Freud abandoned the idea of a necessary seduction and stated instead that the phantasies, including disavowed wishes and desires could be at the heart of a problem

What do contemporary psychologists think about this?

Regret that freud altered his theory about hysteria - invalidating to victims of abuse

Fundamental rule of psychoanalysis

Say whatever comes to your mind, be honest, don’t dismiss anything because you deem it irrelevant or insignificant

Psychoanalysis is a cure for ____ and constriction of ____

inhibition ; self-consciousness

What is the goal of psychoanlysis?

Integration of the psyche - unified psyche

Through psychoanalysis, where ____ was, the ____ shall be

ID was ; EGO shall be

What did Freud believe about the unconscious as hidden?

Initially thought it was hidden realm of wishes/desires, later believed it was more an alternative manner of thinking or mental activity - ways in which mind interrupts itself

Freud’s Case Studies - Mr. R and a rock

Mr R removes a rock from path which love interest travels, removes it then places it back ; in some ways does want her to trip

Freud’s Case Studies - Mr. R and his father

Father is very sick, says word “not” before prayer ; ambivalent relationship

3 parts of the psyche

ID, EGO, super-ego

ID

unconscious, present from birth - knowns no moral evaluation

The ID is irrational and untouched by

logos

The ID shows ____ and ___ interacting in a struggle

Eros (libidio) and thanatos (death drive)

Ego

has unconscious and conscious parts, has to mediate between ID and super-ego

Ego must satisfy the demands

reality poses

Ego uses _____ to sustain itself amidst pressures and expectations

defenses

Super-ego

also has conscious and unconscious parts - standard for which the ego strives for (progressive perfection)

Child’s super-ego is built after ___, and thus ___

parent’s own super-ego ; carrier of intergenerational tradition and values

Transference

New version of old impulses and fantasies awakened in therapeutic process - with the original person toward whom the patient had these impulses / fantasies replaced by therapist

Hypnosis

Regain memory of repressed impulse/fantasy

What distinguishes psychoanalysis from any other psychotherapy?

Transference

Therapist resists _____ and helps the client

acting in ; recognize her feelings as a repetition

Defenses

Mental operations that serve to keep feelings, ideas, impulses from entering conscious awareness

Defenses are created to push against the _____ Freud mentions

unknown, unruly forces

The defenses refer to the generation of _____ to _____

mental material ; mask other, more painful mental material

Difference between self-injurious behavior or coping behaviors and the defenses?

Conscious awareness of action

Are defenses pathological?

Not necessarily - can be adapative

Purpose of the defenses

protect the ego by keeping anxiety at bay and warding off feelings of guilty, disgust, and shame

Vaillant’s Model

psychotic defenses, immature defenses, neurotic/intermediate defenses, mature defenses

Psychotic defenses examples

denial, passive aggression, distortion

Immature defenses examples

passive aggression, acting out, dissociation, projection, autistic fantasy

Neurotic defenses examples

intellectualizations, isolation, repression, reaction formation, displacement, somatization, undoing, rationalization

Mature defenses examples

suppression, altruism, humor, sublimation

Denial

refusal to accept it is true

Projection

Displace own distressing thoughts outside of the self; place them onto another

Projection helps to justify one’s

fear of external world

Cramer’s article on projection

woman is distrustful of others - thinks they have something against her (delusion of reference)

Defenses as normal vs pathological?

Healthy (flexible, diverse, mature, age appropriate) vs pathological (rigid, repetitive, immature, age-inappropriate)

Most mature defense?

Sublimation - do something creative to make something new

Identification

Adopt qualities of another and make them one’s own - become like teh person we love but cannot have

When is identifcation very relevant?

Adolescence

Projective identification (envy example)

unable to endorse a negative feeling of envy in oneself, so you place it in another by acting in a manner so that they will act as though they envy you, you see the effects of the envy in another and can then identify with them

Dissociation

disruption, in waking state, of one’s self-experience as center of agency and perspective

Dissociation is a response to

trauma

Dissociative disorders

Amnesia, derealization, depersonalization, identity alteration, identity confusion

Dissocation is a -___ concept, with ___ dimensions

overlapping and interrelated

Primary Intersubjectivity

smiling and cooing in interaction with a caregiver

Primary intersubjectivty is _____

dyadic ; just the 2 of them, no object of convo yet

Primary intersubjectivity is referred to as

protoconversation or preverbal dialogue

When does primary intersubjectiivty start?

2-3 months

Deprivation studies on rhesus monkeys

kept in social isolation for 6 months - socially withdrawn, sexually inept, inappropriate fear/anger

When rhesus monkeys later had offspring, they were

neglectful as mothers

Durable effects of social deprivation

lasting imbalances in norepinephrine and serotonin, reduced corpus callosum, less dendritic branching, less cortical thickness/weight

When rat mothers were socially isolated from offspring

increased licking and grooming after reunion which them influenced the offspring’s DNA and changed their maternal behavior

Joint Attention

Shared focus of two people on the same object, event, or activity

What is the relation for joint attention

Triadic - I, you, it

When does the pointing gesture show up?

Towards end of first year of life

Gestures, gaze alternation, showing objects act as

entrygate into other minds

Is joint attention shared with other animals?

No - human unique

Joint attention is the crossroads where

human infants meet the world of collective cognition in which they will reside for the rest of their lives

Dr.Moll’s study on joint attention

experimenter and infant engage in JA for 2 objects, leaves infant to play with 3rd object, comes back and infant can pick out object that is new to experimenter only under conditions of JA

JA demonstrates ____ intersubjectivity or the ____ of minds

secondary ; meeting

2 ways of establishing/entering JA

follow attention ; direct attention

At what age can we follow attention

By 1 year - towards barriers or own bodies

2 types of directing attention/pointing

Imperative and declarative

Imperative pointing

Making a request - infant wants something

Declarative pointing

Pointing to something with a different motive - motive is not imperative but is to share attention

Directing attention begins at

About 12 months

In cases of severe autism, what is missing?

Declarative pointing

Examples of following attention (2)

gaze following, point following

Examples of directing attention (2)

Pointing, showing

Social referencing

typically developing infants look to adults when facing a novel/ambivalent object

Joint attention is associated with

social pretend play, language learning, theory of mind development, autism

Theory of Mind

understand behavior as mediated by mental states

Mental states

desires, wishes, intentions, hopes, beliefs ; prediction and explanation of behavior but also: understanding actions

TOM is related to

empathy, being able to connect with others

Broccoli Test

18 months - Experimenter made positive reaction to broccoli vs negative for cracker, then put both in front of the child and asked “hey can i have some of that” - more kids chose the broccoli and handed that to the adult

Explanations for Broccoli Test

Children understand it’s the adult’s desire to have that ; they just distribute goods according to preference

What is the acid test of TOM in understanding (false) belief

Change of location - thinks others will look for object where location really is, even though they were gone when it was moved

How do children do on the change of location test

Children under 4-5 don’t understand the agent will look in the wrong place

Unexpected content task

Children understand what this container usually contains (eg smarties or mac & cheese)

How do children do on the unexpected content task

children 3 years old will override what they said/thought earlier

Ontogenetic development of TOM

basic teleological understanding at 1 year, desire psych at 2 years, belief-desire psych at 4-5 years

2 main theories about TOM

Theory-theory and simulation theory

Theory theory

human behavior is not explained by states of the world but the mental states of the agent themself

Children have much better prediction of actions by the addition of

more complex concepts (eg beliefs)

Simulation theory

Children understand by simulating their experiences and bringing the case home

In simulation theory, ____ is the model and children project ____

self ; self onto others