PSYC 301 Exam 3

What is psychoanalysis?

Both a theory of personality and a method of therapy developed by Sigmund Freud. It argues that behavior and personality are shaped by unconscious motives, conflicts, and early childhood experiences.

What is the unconscious in psychoanalytic theory?

Part of the mind that contains wishes, fears, memories, and conflicts outside conscious awareness, but which still influence thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

What are the three parts of personality in Freud’s structural model?

Id, Ego, Superego

What is the Id?

Instinctual drives; seeks immediate pleasure

What is the Ego?

rational mediator; follows reality

What is the superego?

internalized morals and ideals

What is the pleasure principle?

The id operates according to the pleasure principle, meaning it seeks immediate gratification of desires and avoids pain.

What is the reality principle?

The ego operates according to the reality principle, meaning it tries to satisfy the id’s desires in socially acceptable and realistic ways.

What role does childhood play in psychoanalysis?

Freud argued that early childhood experiences are foundational because unresolved conflicts during development can shape adult personality and emotional problems.

What is psychic conflict in psychoanalysis?

The internal struggle between instinctual desires (id), moral rules (superego), and realistic demands (ego). This conflict is central to personality development.

What is fixation in psychoanalytic theory?

A person becomes psychologically “stuck” at a developmental stage because its conflicts were not adequately resolved.

What is the general criticism of Freud’s psychoanalysis?

Freud’s theory is too focused on sexuality, difficult to test scientifically, and not strongly supported by modern empirical research—though it remains historically influential.

What is psychosexual development?

Freud’s theory that personality develops through five stages, each centered on a different erogenous zone and conflict. Successful resolution leads to healthy development; failure may lead to fixation.

What is the oral stage?

Occurs from about birth to age 1. Pleasure centers on the mouth (sucking, feeding, biting). It is associated with dependence and early attachment.

What can oral fixation look like in adulthood?

Linked to behaviors involving the mouth or dependency, such as smoking, overeating, nail biting, or excessive reliance on others.

What is the anal stage?

Occurs from about ages 1–3 and focuses on bowel and bladder control, especially toilet training. It is linked to issues of control, order, and autonomy.

What is an anal-retentive personality.

Overly neat, rigid, controlling

What is an anal-expulsive personality?

Messy, impulsive, disorganized

What is the phallic stage?

Occurs from about ages 3–6 and centers on the genitals. Freud believed children become aware of anatomical differences and develop strong emotional attachments to the opposite-sex parent.

What is the Oedipus complex?

Freud argued that boys in the phallic stage may experience unconscious desire for their mother and rivalry with their father

How is the superego related to the phallic stage?

Develops as the child identifies with the same-sex parent and internalizes moral standards during the phallic stage.

What is the latency stage?

Occurs from about ages 6–12. Sexual impulses are relatively repressed or sublimated, and energy is redirected toward school, friendships, and skill development.

What is the genital stage?

Begins around puberty/adolescence. Sexual drives reawaken and are directed toward mature, reciprocal relationships.

What is the main idea behind Freud’s psychosexual stages?

Each stage presents a conflict between biological drives and social expectations. How these conflicts are resolved helps shape adult personality.

Who was Anna Freud?

Expanded psychoanalytic theory by systematically describing defense mechanisms, which are unconscious strategies used by the ego to reduce anxiety.

What are defense mechanisms?

Unconscious psychological strategies that protect a person from anxiety, guilt, shame, or unacceptable impulses.

What is repression?

Pushing distressing thoughts, memories, or impulses out of conscious awareness. It is considered one of the most basic defense mechanisms.

What is denial?

Refusing to accept a painful or threatening reality because it is too difficult to face.

What is projection?

Occurs when a person attributes their own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else.

What is displacement?

Redirecting an impulse from a threatening target to a safer one.

What is reaction formation?

Behaving in a way that is the opposite of one’s unacceptable feelings.

What is regression?

Reverting to behaviors associated with an earlier developmental stage when stressed.

What is rationalization?

Creating a socially acceptable explanation for behavior that was actually driven by less acceptable motives.

What is sublimation?

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially valued or productive behavior.

Which defense mechanisms are usually considered more mature?

More adaptive or mature defenses often include sublimation, humor, and suppression, because they manage distress without seriously distorting reality.

How did Alfred Adler differ from Freud?

Argued that personality is shaped less by sexuality and more by social motives, goals, and efforts to overcome inferiority.

What is Adler’s concept of inferiority feelings?

All people begin life with feelings of inferiority or weakness, especially in childhood, and personality develops through attempts to overcome these feelings.

What is compensation in Adler’s theory?

Process of trying to overcome a perceived weakness by developing strengths in another area.

What is the inferiority complex?

When feelings of inadequacy become overwhelming and interfere with healthy functioning or self-confidence.

What is the superiority striving in Adler’s theory?

Adler believed people are motivated by a drive toward growth, mastery, competence, and self-improvement.

What is social interest in Adler’s theory?

Healthy personality development involves concern for others, cooperation, and contribution to the community.

Why is birth order important in Adler’s theory?

Can influence personality because children experience different family roles and expectations depending on whether they are firstborn, middle, youngest, or only children.

What is Adler’s “style of life”?

Unique way of pursuing goals, coping with inferiority, and relating to the world.

How did Carl Jung expand psychoanalytic theory?

Accepted the unconscious but emphasized spiritual, symbolic, and collective aspects of the mind, not just sexual drives.

What is Jung’s collective unconscious?

Humans inherit a shared reservoir of universal psychological patterns and symbolic themes.

What are archetypes in Jung’s theory?

Universal symbolic patterns or images found across cultures and myths, such as the mother, hero, shadow, and self.

What is the persona in Jung’s theory?

Social mask or public self people present to the world.

What is the shadow in Jung’s theory?

Darker, hidden, or rejected parts of the self that people often deny or avoid.

What is individuation?

Integrating the conscious and unconscious parts of the personality to become a more complete and balanced self.

What are introversion and extraversion in Jung’s theory?

People differ in whether they are oriented primarily toward the inner world (introversion) or the outer social world (extraversion).

How did Karen Horney challenge Freud?

Criticized Freud’s male-centered theory and argued that personality is shaped more by social relationships, culture, and insecurity than by anatomy alone.

Why is Horney considered an early feminist theorist?

Argued that Freud misunderstood women by interpreting female development through a male-centered lens and ignoring the effects of culture and gender inequality.

How did Horney respond to Freud’s idea of penis envy?

Rejected the idea that women’s development is driven by envy of male anatomy. She argued that women’s struggles often reflect social power differences, not biological inferiority.

What is womb envy?

Envy of women’s capacity for pregnancy, childbirth, and nurturance

What is basic anxiety in Horney’s theory?

Deep feeling of insecurity and helplessness that develops when children do not feel safe, loved, or accepted in relationships.

What are Horney’s three coping styles?

Moving towards people (seeking approval), moving against people (aggression/control), moving away from people (withdrawal/detachment)

What is Horney’s main contribution to personality theory?

Shifted attention from Freud’s biological emphasis to social, cultural, and relational influences, especially the effects of gender expectations and insecurity.

How did Erikson revise Freud’s theory?

Argued that personality develops across the entire lifespan, not just in early childhood, and is shaped by social relationships and identity development.

What is a psychosocial crisis in Erikson’s theory?

Key developmental challenge at each life stage that must be managed in order to support healthy personality growth.

What is Erikson’s first stage?

Trust vs. mistrust (infancy): infants learn whether the world is reliable and whether caregivers will meet their needs.

What is Erikson’s second stage?

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (early childhood): children develop independence and self-control, or they may feel shame about their abilities.

What is Erikson’s third stage?

Initiative vs. guilt (preschool years): children begin initiating activities and asserting themselves; if overcontrolled, they may feel guilt.

What is Erikson’s fourth stage?

Industry vs. inferiority (school age): children develop competence through work and achievement, or feel inferior if they struggle.

What is Erikson’s fifth stage?

Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence): teens explore who they are, what they value, and what roles they want to occupy.

What is Erikson’s sixth stage?

Intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood): the task is to form close, committed relationships without losing one’s sense of self.

What is Erikson’s seventh stage?

Generativity vs. stagnation (middle adulthood): adults seek to contribute to others and society through work, caregiving, or mentorship.

What is Erikson’s eighth stage?

Integrity vs. despair (late adulthood): older adults reflect on life with either satisfaction and meaning or regret and despair.

What is Erikson’s major contribution to personality theory?

Expanded psychoanalytic theory by emphasizing identity, culture, relationships, and lifelong development, not just childhood sexuality.

What is object relations theory?

Psychoanalytic approach that explains personality development through a child’s early emotional relationships—especially with primary caregivers.

What does “object” mean in object relations theory?

An important other person, especially someone emotionally significant like a parent or caregiver.

How does object relations theory differ from Freud’s drive theory?

Freud emphasized biological drives like sex and aggression, while object relations theorists emphasize relationships and emotional attachment as the foundation of personality.

Why are early caregiver relationships important in object relations theory?

Early interactions with caregivers become internalized mental models of self and others, which later shape trust, intimacy, self-worth, and relationship patterns.

What are internalized object relations?

These are the mental representations a person develops of themselves and important others based on early relationship experiences.

How does object relations theory explain adult personality?

Adult personality reflects how people learned to relate to others in early life—whether they experienced others as safe, rejecting, nurturing, controlling, or inconsistent.

What is the central idea of object relations theory in one sentence?

Personality develops through early relationships, and those relationships become the template for the self and future intimacy.

Freud = personality shaped by what three big things?

Unconscious conflict, childhood experience, and instinctual drives.

Neo-Freudians generally changed Freud by emphasizing what more?

Social relationships, culture, identity, goals, and lifelong development.

Which theorist is associated with inferiority and compensation?

Adler

Which theorist is associated with the collective unconscious and archetypes?

Jung

Which theorist is associated with feminist critiques of Freud and basic anxiety?

Horney

Which theorist is associated with eight psychosocial stages?

Erikson

Which approach says personality is built from early caregiver relationships?

Object relations theory

B: Psychic Determinism

B: The assumption that everything psychological has a cause that is, in principle, identifiable.

B: id

B: The repository of the drives, the emotions, and the primitive, unconscious part of the mind that wants everything now.

B: Ego

B: The relatively rational part of the mind that balances the competing claims of the id, the superego, and reality.

B: Super Ego

B: Consists of the conscience and the individual’s system of internalized rules of conduct or morality.

B: Compromise Formation

B: The main job of the ego is to find a compromise among the different structures of the mind and the many different things the individual wants all at the same time. What they actually think and do is the result of this compromise.

B: Libido

B: The drive toward the creation, nurturing, and enhancement of life (including but not limited to sex), or the energy stemming from this drive.

B: Thanotos

B: The drive towards death, destruction, and decay.

B: Doctrine of Opposites

B: The idea that everything implies or contains its opposite

B: Oral Stage

B: From birth to 18 months, during which the form of the libido is located in the mouth, lips, and tongue.

B: Anal Stage

B: From about 18 months to 3 or 4 years, in which the physical focus of the libido is located in the anus and associated eliminative organs.

B: Phallic Stage

B: From about 4 to 7, in which the physical focus of the libido is in the penis (for boys) and its absence (for girls).

B: Identification

B: Taking on the values and worldview of another person (e.g., a parent)

B: Genital Stage

B: Starts at puberty, and is the last stage. Physical focus of the libido is on the genitals, with an emphasis on heterosexual relationships. It is only fully attained when a person reaches psychological maturity.

B: Mental Health

B: Ability to both love and work.

B: Fixation

B: Leaving a disproportionate share of one’s libido behind at an earlier stage of development.

B: Regression

B: Retreating to an earlier, more immature stage of psychosexual development, usually because of stress, but sometimes in the service or play and creativity.

B: Secondary Process Thinking

B: Rational and conscious processes or ordinary thought.

B: Primary Process Thinking

B: Strange and primitive style of unconscious thinking manifested by the id.