Unit 7 - terms

Varying levels of consciousness (sleep/wakefulness)

Different states of awareness ranging from full alertness (wakefulness) to reduced awareness (sleep), including altered states like dreaming and hypnosis.

Example: Being fully alert in class vs. being drowsy right before falling asleep.

Psychodynamic therapies

Therapies based on Freud’s ideas that aim to uncover unconscious conflicts influencing behavior.

Example: A therapist helps a patient explore childhood experiences affecting current anxiety.

Free association

A technique where clients say whatever comes to mind without filtering, revealing unconscious thoughts.

Example: A patient says random words that lead to memories of unresolved conflict

Dream Interpretation

Analyzing dreams to uncover unconscious wishes or conflicts.

Example: Repeated dreams of falling may reflect feelings of losing control.

Circadian Rhythm

The body’s internal 24-hour biological clock that regulates sleep and wake cycles.

Example: Feeling sleepy at night and alert in the morning.

Stages of sleep

Distinct phases of sleep that repeat in cycles, including NREM and REM sleep.
Example: A sleeper moves from light sleep to deep sleep and then REM multiple times per night.

Spindles and Delta

• Sleep spindles: Brief bursts of brain activity during NREM-2

• Delta waves: Large, slow brain waves during deep sleep (NREM-3)
  Example: Delta waves dominate during deep restorative sleep.

EEG patterns for each stage

Brain waves measured by EEG differ across sleep stages (theta, spindles, delta, REM-like waves).

Example: REM sleep EEG resembles wakefulness.

EEG Pattern - Awake and alert

Beta

• fast, low amplitude

• problem solving, concentration

EEG Pattern - Awake but Relaxed

Alpha

• slower than beta

• meditating, or resting

EEG Pattern - NREM 1

Theta

• light sleep

• hypnagogic sensations

• drifting in and out of sleep

EEG Pattern - NREM 2

Theta waves + spindles + k complexes

• spindles = short bursts of rapid activity

• asleep but easily awakened

EEG Pattern - NREM 3

Delta Waves

• slow, high amplitudes

• deep sleep

• sleepwalking, night terrors

EEG Stage - REM (paradoxical sleep)

Kind of like Beta

A sleep stage where the brain is active, eyes move rapidly, but muscles are paralyzed.

Example: Vivid dreaming occurs even though the body cannot move.

Hypnagogic sensations

Hallucination-like experiences during the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
Example: Feeling like you’re falling just as you fall asleep.

Dreaming and REM

Most vivid and emotional dreams occur during REM sleep.

Example: Complex story-like dreams happen late in the night.

REM increases throughout the night

REM periods get longer with each sleep cycle.

Example: Most REM sleep happens in the early morning hours.

REM rebound

The tendency to experience increased REM sleep after being deprived of it.

Example: After pulling an all-nighter, REM sleep increases the next night.

Activation-synthesis theory (dreams)

Dreams result from the brain trying to make sense of random neural activity.

Example: The brain turns random signals into a story-like dream.

Consolidation theory (dreams)

Dreams help process and store memories.

Example: Dreaming about a test after studying all day.

Wish-Fulfillment (Freud & dreams)

Dreams represent unconscious desires, often symbolic.
Example: Dreaming of success reflects hidden wishes.

Latent Content

The hidden, symbolic meaning of a dream.
Example: A journey symbolizing personal growth.

Manifest Content

The literal storyline of a dream.
Example: Dreaming you’re climbing a mountain.

Sleep & memory consolidation

Sleep strengthens learning and memory storage.
Example: Getting sleep improves recall after studying.

Sleep & physical restoration

Sleep allows the body to repair tissues and restore energy.
Example: Growth hormone is released during deep sleep.

Insomnia

Persistent difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Example: Lying awake for hours every night.

Narcolepsy

A disorder involving sudden sleep attacks and REM intrusion.
Example: Falling asleep during a conversation.

REM sleep behavior disorder

Loss of muscle paralysis during REM, causing people to act out dreams.
Example: Punching or kicking while dreaming.

Sleep apnea

A disorder where breathing repeatedly stops during sleep.
Example: Loud snoring followed by gasping

Somnambulism

Sleepwalking during deep NREM sleep.
Example: Walking around the house while asleep.

Pineal Gland (Melatonin)

A gland that secretes melatonin, regulating sleep cycles.
Example: Melatonin increases at night to induce sleep.

Psychodynamic view of personality

Personality is shaped by unconscious conflicts and early childhood experiences.
Example: Adult fears rooted in childhood trauma.

Psychosexual Stages

Freud believed personality develops through conflicts at each stage, each centered on an erogenous zone.

If conflicts are not resolved, a person becomes fixated, meaning part of their personality remains stuck at that stage.

oral - anal - phallic - latency - genital

oral stage (birth - 1 year)

Erogenous zone: Mouth (sucking, biting, chewing)
Primary conflict: Weaning from the breast or bottle
Key theme: Dependence vs. independence

• Pleasure comes from oral activities.

• The infant relies on caregivers for nourishment and comfort.

• Fixation occurs if needs are over- or under-gratified.

Possible adult fixations:

• Smoking, nail-biting, overeating

• Excessive dependency or passivity

• Sarcasm or verbal aggression (oral-aggressive)

anal stage (1 - 3 year)

Erogenous zone: Anus (bowel and bladder control)
Primary conflict: Toilet training
Key theme: Control vs. flexibility

• Pleasure comes from controlling bodily functions.

• Parents’ responses to toilet training are critical.

• Too strict or too lenient training can cause fixation.

Possible adult fixations:

• Anal-retentive: overly neat, rigid, perfectionistic, stubborn

• Anal-expulsive: messy, careless, impulsive

phallic stage ( 3 - 6 years)

Erogenous zone: Genitals
Primary conflict: Sexual desire toward opposite-sex parent

• Children become aware of anatomical sex differences.

• Development of sexual identity occurs.

Key concepts:

• Castration anxiety (boys): fear of losing the penis due to attraction to mother

• Electra complex / penis envy (girls): attraction to father and resentment toward mother

Resolution:

• Child identifies with same-sex parent, adopting their values → formation of superego

Possible fixation outcomes:

• Vanity, recklessness

• Difficulty with authority or relationships

latency stage (6 years - puberty)

Erogenous zone: None (sexual energy is dormant)
Primary focus: Social, academic, and skill development

• Sexual impulses are repressed.

• Energy is redirected toward friendships, hobbies, and learning.

• Important for developing communication and coping skills.

Fixation:

• Freud believed fixation is unlikely at this stage.

genital stage (puberty +)

Erogenous zone: Genitals
Primary focus: Mature sexual relationships

• Sexual urges reawaken in socially acceptable ways.

• Successful resolution of earlier stages leads to healthy adult relationships.

• Emphasis on intimacy, reproduction, and balance between love and work.

Outcome:

• Psychological health if earlier conflicts were resolved

• Difficulty with intimacy if fixations remain

Unconscious

A vast reservoir of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, urges, and traumatic memories that are actively kept out of awareness because they create anxiety. Freud believed this level strongly influences behavior.

Example: Repressed childhood conflicts shaping adult relationships.

Preconscious (subconscious)

Information not currently in awareness but easily retrievable when needed; acts as a bridge between conscious and unconscious.
Example: Recalling your address when asked.

Id

Primitive, unconscious part of personality driven by the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of instincts (sex, hunger, aggression).
Example: Wanting something immediately without considering consequences.

Ego

Rational, mostly conscious part that operates on the reality principle, mediating between the id, superego, and real-world demands.

Example: Delaying gratification to avoid punishment.

Superego

Moral conscience that internalizes societal norms and values, striving for perfection and producing guilt when standards are violated.
Example: Feeling guilty for lying.

Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies used by the ego to reduce anxiety caused by conflicts between the id and superego.

compensation

Overemphasizing strengths to cover weaknesses.
Example: Excelling academically to offset poor social skills.

repression

Pushing distressing thoughts out of awareness.
Example: Forgetting traumatic events.

Denial

Refusing to accept reality.
Example: Ignoring a serious diagnosis.

Displacement

Redirecting emotions to a safer target.
Example: Yelling at a sibling instead of a boss.

Projection

Attributing one’s feelings to others.
Example: Accusing others of jealousy.

Rationalization

Creating logical excuses for behavior.
Example: “I failed because the test was unfair.”

Reaction formation

Acting opposite to true feelings.
Example: Being overly nice to someone you dislike.

Regression

Reverting to earlier behaviors under stress.
Example: Thumb-sucking.

Sublimation

Channeling impulses into socially acceptable actions.
Example: Aggression into sports.

intellectualization

Avoiding emotion by focusing on facts.
Example: Analyzing illness clinically

identification

Adopting traits of others.
Example: A child mimicking a parent.

Carl Jung

Neo-Freudian who emphasized spirituality and shared unconscious elements.

Collective Unconscious (Jung)

Shared universal memories across humanity. Archetypes, symbols, myths, stories. Collectively shape how humans think, feel, dream, and tell stories
Example: Common mythological themes.

Archetypes (Jung)

Universal symbolic patterns.
Example: The hero or mother figure.

Inferiority Complex (Alder)

Feelings of inadequacy motivating behavior.
Example: Overachieving to prove worth.

Womb Envy (Horney)

Men’s envy of women’s reproductive ability.
Example: Seeking dominance to compensate.

Hypnosis in therapy -pain and anxiety reduction; does not recover repressed memories or allow for regression in age

Used to reduce pain and anxiety; does not recover repressed memories or enable age regression.
Example: Hypnosis for chronic pain relief.

Hysteria/ Hysterical Fits

Physical symptoms without medical cause, believed to result from unconscious emotional conflict. Tied to the conversion disorder

• fainting

• paralysis

• blindess
  Example: Sudden paralysis without injury.

Emil Kraepelin

Early psychiatrist who classified mental disorders scientifically.

Normal vs Psychosis

normal: contact with reality
Psychosis: loss of reality testing
Example: Delusions or hallucinations indicate psychosis.

Neurotic vs Psychotic

Neurotic: distressed but reality-based
Psychotic: detached from reality

Neurosis

chronic anxiety without loss of reality.
Example: Phobias.

psychoanalytic theory

Behavior is driven by unconscious conflicts and childhood experiences.

how to treat neurosis: Psychoanalysis to uncover unconscious conflict.

Iceburg metaphor

Mind is mostly unconscious beneath awareness.

Illustrates that most mental life occurs below awareness; the conscious mind is only the visible tip, while unconscious forces drive behavior.

Example: Conscious thoughts are just the “tip.”

castration anxiety

Freud’s idea that boys fear punishment during the phallic stage.

electra complex/ penis envy

Girls’ attraction to father and envy of males (Freud).

consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

• Example: Knowing you’re tired and deciding to go to sleep.

divided consciousness

Mind can process information simultaneously.
Example: Driving while daydreaming.

daydreaming (evolutionary perspective)

Mental simulation for planning and problem-solving.
Example: Imagining future scenarios.

night terrors

Intense fear during NREM-3, no memory afterward.
Example: Screaming during sleep

REM w/o atonia

During REM sleep, the muscle paralysis (atonia) does not occur

• talk, shout, punch, kick in bed

restless leg

Uncomfortable sensations causing urge to move legs at night.

alfred adler

Neo-Freudian who emphasized social interest and inferiority.

Karen Horney’s

Neo-Freudian who emphasized social and cultural factors, rejected Freud’s views on women.

Freud’s treatment of neurosis

• Free association

• Dream analysis

• Bringing unconscious conflicts into conscious awareness