Ch 3: Freudian theory, application and assessment

conscious

contains the thoughts that you are currently aware of and the material changes constantly as new thoughts enter your mind and others pass out of awareness

defense mechanisms

techniques of that is used by the ego to deal with unwanted thoughts and desires. some are reviewed and fully developed by some of his followers like his daughter Anna Freud.

name the defense mechanisms of the ego

• repression

• sublimation

• displacement

• denial

• reaction formation

• intellectualization

• projection

projection

When we attribute an unconscious impulse to other people instead of to ourselves.

• frees us from the perception that we are the one who actually holds this thought

intellectualization

When the ego removes the emotional content from the thought before allowing it into awareness to handle threatening material.

• allows us to bring previously difficult thoughts into consciousness without anxiety

reaction formation

When we hide from threatening unconscious ideas or urges by acting in a manner opposite to our unconscious desires.

• as if the thought is so unacceptable that the ego must process how incorrect the notion is

denial

When we refuse to accept that certain facts exist, despite all evidence to the contrary.

• an extreme form of defense

• the more we use it, the less in touch with reality we are and the more difficulty we have functioning

• ego will sometimes resort to this rather than allow certain thoughts to reach consciousness

displacement

Involves channeling impulses to nonthreatening objects, but don’t lead to social rewards

• e.g., directing angers of resentment toward someone else

sublimation

when the ego channels threatening unconscious impulses into socially acceptable actions

• the more it is used, the more productive we become

• the only truly successful defense mechanism

repression

the active effort by the ego to push threatening material out of consciousness or to keep that material from ever reaching consciousness

• not without cost, constant, active process that requires the ego to constantly expend energy = little psychic energy + instability of personality

• ‘the cornerstone on which the whole structure of psychoanalysis rests’

dreams

A type of wish fulfillment and represent what we desire

• provide id impulses with a stage for expression

• the ‘royal road to the unconscious’

• dreams involving penises, sexual intercourse and vaginas might be threatening to the dreamer

• common dream symbols

common dream symbols

• house = human body

• king and queen = parents

• small animals = children

• water = birth

• train journey = dying

• clothes and uniforms = nakedness

• male genitals = represented by objects with a similar shape

ego

the second part of the personality structure that gradually starts developing from interacting with their environment during the first 2 years of life.

it’s primary job is to satisfy the id impulses but while taking into consideration the realities of the world and keep the impulses in the unconscious, and lessen tension. unlike the other parts, it is able to move freely among the conscious, preconscious and unconscious parts of the mind.

actions based on the reality principle

fixation

Occurs when children find a particular stage excessively satisfying and wish to stay there.

• leaves less energy available for normal adult functioning

• adult ends up expressing behaviours characteristic of the stage at which the energy is fixated

free association

When uncensored ideas flow into your awareness

• encouraged to use it when undergoing psychoanalysis to temporarily bypass the censoring mechanism of the ego

• very difficult to experience

freudian slips

Represent the unconscious associations that momentarily slipped out

hypnosis

The ego is somehow put into a suspended state during this event, which allows the practitioner to bypass the ego and get directly to unconscious material

id

the only personality structure present at birth, the selfish part of you that is only concerned with satisfying personal desires.

actions made are based on wish fulfillment and the pleasure principle

latent content

what is really being expressed in dreams

manifest content (of a dream)

what the dreamer sees and remembers

moral anxiety

an ever-present feeling of shame and guilt for failing to reach standards no human can meet. associated with a superego that is too powerful/strong.

pleasure principle

basis of the actions made by the id and focuses on what brings immediate personal satisfaction regardless of physical or social limitations.

preconscious

an uncountable number of thoughts that can be brought into consciousness fairly easily if you desire to

e.g., who was your grade three teacher?

projective tests

when test takers are presented with ambiguous stimuli and are asked to respond by identifying objects, telling a story, or drawing a picture—answers are said to provide insights into what is going on in the unconscious.

psychoanalysis

a system of psychotherapy with its primary goal being to bring crucial unconscious material into consciousness where it can be examined in a rational manner.

psychosexual stages of development

a series of developmental stages that takes place during each child’s first 5 or 6 years of life and each stage is associated with a primary erogenous zone and has a specific influence on the adult personality.

stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital

oral stage

This stage involves the mouth, lips and tough are the primary erogenous zones and it spans approximately the first 18 months of life.

oral personality

The adult tends to be dependent on others and often express and infantile need for oral satisfaction. If fixation occurs after the teething it may instead result in excessive aggression

• can develop from a traumatic weaning or feeding problems first this stage resulting in a fixation.

• may lead to excessive smoking or drinking

anal stage

When the anal region becomes the most important erogenous zone and it begins at the 18 month mark, when children are usually toilet trained.

anal personality

People with these type of fixations can be orderly and rigid, but they can also be stubborn or even generous, depending on how the toilet training progressed.

• can be caused by traumatic toilet training

phallic stage

When the penis or clitoris becomes the most important erogenous zone and it takes place between the ages of 3 and 6.

• key development comes toward the end of the period when children experience the Oedipus complex

Oedipus complex

When children at this age develop a sexual attraction for their opposite-sex parent—young boys have strong incestuous desires towards their mothers, whereas young girls have these feelings toward their fathers

• occurs at the end of the phallic stage

• these desires never truly go away, but are merely repressed—possibly influence future behaviour

results of resolving the Oepidus complex

Adopt the parents’ values and standards paving the way fro the emergence of the superego.

• boys: take on masculine characteristics

• girls: acquire feminine characteristics

castration anxiety

A fear that their father will discover their thoughts and cut off their penis.

• if the boy has seen his sister’s genitals, he will conclude that this fate has already befallen her

penis envy

The desire to have a penis, coupled with feelings of inferiority and jealousy because of its absence.

• develops when girls see male genitals

How boys and girls resolve castration anxiety and penis envy?

The children eventually repress their desire for their opposite-sex parent, whom they realize they can never have as long as the other parent is around.

• a type of reaction formation

• start to identify with the same-sex parent

latency stage

When sexual desires abate during these years, boys and girls are largely uninterested in each other.

genital stage

Puberty begins and the erogenous urges return and are focused in the adult genital region. Normal sexual function is normal if a child progressed to this stage without leaving large amounts of libido fixated at earlier stages.

reality principle

basis of actions of the ego and includes considering the realities of the world to satisfy id impulses

structural model

a model that divides personality into the id, the ego, and the superego—personality is conceived of parts often not at peace with one another.

superego

third and final part of the personality structure that is formed by the age of 5 and represents society’s, i.e. the parents’, values and standards.

places more restrictions on what we can and cannot do. some have roughly translated the concept of it into conscience.

different degrees of the superego and consequences

not properly developed = little inward restraint from stealing or lying

too strong = burdens the ego with impossible standards of perfection and may cause someone to suffer from relentless moral anxiety.

topographic model

Freud’s division of personality into the conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious.

cons: provides a limited description of human personality

unconscious

material that you have no immediate access to and responsible for most of your everyday behaviour.

it makes up the vast majority of thoughts, and makes up the most important psychoanalytic point of view.

wish fulfillment

id uses this to satisfy its needs. if the desired object is not available, the id will imagine what it wants.

e.g., if a baby is hungry and doesn’t see food nearby, the id imagines the food and temporarily satisfies the need.

examples of popular projective tests

evaluation of projective tests

name some strengths of Freud’s theory

name some criticisms of Freud’s theory