Ch. 16: Psychoanalysis

PSYCH 304

Sigmund Freud — what problem were they trying to solve?

School / Movement: Psychoanalysis. Core Question: How do unconscious conflicts and repressed childhood experiences cause mental illness? Signature Contribution: Development of free association and the id/ego/superego personality model. Why They Matter: He revolutionized psychology by shifting focus from conscious behavior to unconscious motivation.

Sigmund Freud — who did they influence, respond to, or oppose?

Built on: Charcot and Breuer. Reacted against: The mechanistic-positivistic medical establishment of the 19th century. Influenced: Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney. Place in the timeline: Founding figure of psychoanalysis (1856–1939).

Anna Freud — what problem were they trying to solve?

School / Movement: Ego Psychology. Core Question: How can psychoanalytic theory be applied specifically to the development and treatment of children? Signature Contribution: The formal categorization of ego defense mechanisms and the concept of developmental lines. Why They Matter: She shifted focus from the id to the adaptive functions of the ego.

Anna Freud — who did they influence, respond to, or oppose?

Built on: Sigmund Freud. Reacted against: Melanie Klein’s views on pre-Oedipal child analysis. Influenced: Erik Erikson and the broader ego psychology movement. Place in the timeline: Leadership of the Freudian movement after 1939.

Carl Jung — what problem were they trying to solve?

School / Movement: Analytical Psychology. Core Question: How do universal, inherited ancestral experiences (archetypes) influence human personality and self-actualization? Signature Contribution: The concepts of the collective unconscious and introversion/extroversion. Why They Matter: He expanded psychoanalysis beyond sexual drive to include spiritual and teleological dimensions.

Carl Jung — who did they influence, respond to, or oppose?

Built on: Early Freudian theory and Kantian philosophy. Reacted against: Freud’s exclusive focus on sexual motivation (libido). Influenced: Personality testing (MBTI) and modern mythology studies. Place in the timeline: Broke with Freud in 1914.

Alfred Adler — what problem were they trying to solve?

School / Movement: Individual Psychology. Core Question: How do humans strive to overcome feelings of inferiority and find meaning through social interest? Signature Contribution: The concepts of the inferiority complex and the creative self. Why They Matter: He pioneered the focus on conscious, future-oriented goals rather than past traumas.

Alfred Adler — who did they influence, respond to, or oppose?

Built on: Nietzsche’s will to power and Vaihinger’s philosophy of "as if." Reacted against: Freud’s emphasis on biological/sexual determinism. Influenced: Humanistic psychology and social psychology. Place in the timeline: Departed from Freud’s circle in 1911.

Karen Horney — what problem were they trying to solve?

School / Movement: Feminine Psychology / Socio-cultural Psychoanalysis. Core Question: How do social relationships and cultural inequities, rather than biology, create basic anxiety and neurosis? Signature Contribution: The three adjustment patterns (Moving toward, against, and away from people). Why They Matter: She provided the first major feminist critique of Freudian theory.

Karen Horney — who did they influence, respond to, or oppose?

Built on: Freudian clinical techniques. Reacted against: Freud’s concepts of penis envy and biological determinism for women. Influenced: Modern feminist psychology and management leadership theories. Place in the timeline: Prominent in the United States from 1932 to 1952.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER? The transition from academic psychology to clinical practice for the study of the unconscious.

It shifted the focus from experimental design and conscious experience to understanding the underlying causes of mental illness.

PROBLEM -> SOLUTION: Early physicians found no physical origins for some ailments labeled as 'mental illness.'

Solution: Pioneers like Freud argued that unconscious psychological processes must be considered as the primary causes.

How did Leibniz’s 'petites perceptions' influence the concept of the unconscious?

They suggested that levels of awareness exist below the threshold of clear, conscious perception.

According to Herbart, what is 'repression'?

The inhibiting force that keeps incompatible ideas below the threshold of consciousness.

What concept did Schopenhauer anticipate by suggesting humans can escape irrational forces through art or music?

Sublimation

How did Fechner’s 'iceberg' analogy describe the mind?

Consciousness is the mere tip of the iceberg, while the vast unconscious mind remains submerged.

How did Freud apply Helmholtz’s 'conservation of energy' to the mind?

He assumed that a finite amount of psychic energy exists and its distribution accounts for all thought and behavior.

What did Brentano teach Freud regarding the nature of reality?

He emphasized a major distinction between objective reality and subjective reality.

According to von Hartmann, what are the three types of unconsciousness?

Processes governing the universe, the physiological unconscious, and the psychological unconscious.

Why did Freud initially advocate for the use of cocaine?

He believed it cured indigestion and depression with no negative side effects.

Who successfully applied Freud's observation of cocaine to ophthalmology as an anesthetic?

Carl Koller

DEFINE + SIGNIFICANCE: Cathartic Method

Definition: Alleviating hysterical symptoms by tracing them to their origin and allowing emotional release. Significance: It was the foundational technique that led to the development of psychoanalysis.

In the case of Anna O., what is 'transference'?

The process where the patient responds to the therapist as if they were a significant person from the patient's past (e.g., a father).

In the case of Anna O., what is 'countertransference'?

The process where the therapist becomes emotionally involved with the patient.

COMPARE / CONTRAST: The 'Talking Cure' vs. Hypnosis.

The talking cure (free association) allows the patient to remain conscious and rationally process memories, whereas hypnosis often results in forgotten or rejected insights.

What observation by Charcot regarding hysteria challenged the medical views of his time?

He insisted that hysteria occurred in males as well as females.

What did Freud learn about 'posthypnotic amnesia' from the Nancy school?

Memories forgotten after hypnosis could return if the patient was strongly encouraged to remember.

What is 'resistance' in the context of free association?

The tendency of a patient to stop talking or change the subject when approaching a traumatic memory.

What was the core assertion of Freud's 1896 'Seduction Theory'?

Hysteria is invariably caused by actual childhood sexual molestation by an adult.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER? Freud’s abandonment of the Seduction Theory.

It led to the development of the Oedipus complex, as he concluded the stories were often fantasies reflecting internal desires.

DEFINE + SIGNIFICANCE: Manifest Content

Definition: The literal events or images a dreamer remembers upon waking. Significance: It serves as a disguised cover for the true, anxiety-provoking meaning of the dream.

DEFINE + SIGNIFICANCE: Latent Content

Definition: The true, hidden meaning of a dream representing repressed wishes. Significance: Interpreting this content is considered the 'royal road' to the unconscious.

What is 'condensation' in dream work?

A mechanism where one dream element represents several people or events from waking life.

What is 'displacement' in dream work?

Substituting an anxiety-provoking object in a dream with something symbolically similar and less threatening.

What is 'parapraxis'?

Minor errors in everyday life, like slips of the tongue or forgetting, that reveal unconscious motives.

What does 'overdetermination' mean in Freudian theory?

The idea that a single behavioral or psychological act often has multiple underlying causes.

According to Freud, why do people create the concept of God?

To overcome feelings of helplessness and insecurity by creating a powerful, protective father figure.

What is the 'pleasure principle'?

The id's drive for immediate gratification of all instinctual needs and desires.

What is the 'reality principle'?

The ego's effort to delay gratification until a real, environmental object is found to satisfy a need.

The _ is the moral arm of the personality, consisting of the conscience and the ego-ideal.

Superego

What are the two divisions of the superego?

The conscience (internalized punishments) and the ego-ideal (internalized rewards).

What is 'Thanatos'?

The death instinct, which seeks to terminate life and manifests as aggression or self-destruction.

COMPARE / CONTRAST: Neurotic Anxiety vs. Moral Anxiety.

Neurotic anxiety is the fear of being overwhelmed by the id, while moral anxiety is the guilt felt when violating internalized values.

What is the fundamental ego defense mechanism involved in all others?

Repression

DEFINE + SIGNIFICANCE: Sublimation

Definition: Substituting a nonsexual, socially acceptable goal for a sexual urge. Significance: Freud viewed it as the very basis of civilization and higher human achievement.

What is 'reaction formation'?

The defense mechanism of doing the exact opposite of what one truly desires to do to avoid anxiety.

During which psychosexual stage does 'castration anxiety' occur in boys?

Phallic stage

According to Freud, what is the 'Electra complex' (Female Oedipal complex)?

The female child's attraction to the father and jealousy of the mother, often involving penis envy.

What is the 'latency stage' of development?

A period from age six to puberty where sexual activity is repressed and replaced by school and peer activities.

Why does Elizabeth Loftus argue that most 'repressed memories' of abuse are false?

She contends they are often suggested by therapists or manufactured to explain painful, but unrelated, adult feelings.

What is Karl Popper’s primary criticism of Freudian theory?

It is unscientific because it lacks falsifiability, explaining any possible behavior after the fact.

How did Melanie Klein believe child analysis should be conducted?

By analyzing a child’s playful activities, which she believed revealed unconscious conflicts.

What is the 'Stockholm syndrome' in the context of Anna Freud's work?

A contemporary term for 'identification with the aggressor,' where a victim adopts the values of a feared person.

How did Jung's 'collective unconscious' differ from Freud's 'personal unconscious'?

It contains inherited ancestral experiences common to all humans, rather than repressed personal memories.

DEFINE + SIGNIFICANCE: Archetype

Definition: Inherited predispositions in the collective unconscious to respond emotionally to universal experiences. Significance: They explain the recurrence of common myths and symbols across diverse cultures.

What is the 'Persona' archetype?

The public mask or part of the personality that individuals present to the world.

What are the 'Anima' and 'Animus' archetypes?

The female component of the male psyche and the male component of the female psyche, respectively.

What is 'synchronicity' according to Jung?

A meaningful coincidence where unrelated events converge in a person's life.

COMPARE / CONTRAST: Jung's view of Libido vs. Freud's view.

Freud saw libido as specifically sexual energy, whereas Jung saw it as a creative life force for all types of personal growth.

According to Adler, what is 'overcompensation'?

The process of converting a physical or psychological weakness into a remarkable strength.

What is an 'inferiority complex'?

A condition where a person is overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy rather than motivated by them.

What are 'guiding fictions' in Adler's theory?

Future goals created by a child to navigate the world as they perceive it.

What is 'social interest' according to Adler?

The concern for other humans and society that characterizes a healthy lifestyle.

How did Horney define 'basic anxiety'?

The all-pervading feeling of being lonely and helpless in a hostile world.

What is the 'Moving Toward' adjustment pattern in Horney's theory?

The compliant type who seeks safety by pleasing others and 'giving in.'

What is the 'Moving Against' adjustment pattern in Horney's theory?

The hostile type who seeks safety through power and prestige to ensure no one can hurt them.

What is the 'Moving Away' adjustment pattern in Horney's theory?

The detached type who seeks safety by emotionally withdrawing from others.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER? Horney’s concept of 'Womb Envy.'

It flipped Freud's penis envy, suggesting men are actually envious of women's biological capacity for motherhood.

What was the purpose of Freud’s 'Project for a Scientific Psychology'?

To explain psychological phenomena in purely neurophysiological terms.

Which philosopher likened the mind to an iceberg before Freud adopted the analogy?

Gustav Fechner

According to the text, what was the 'Freudian Legend'?

The portrayal of Freud as a solitary hero fighting a bigoted medical establishment, while downplaying his predecessors' contributions.

What is 'altruistic surrender'?

An ego defense mechanism where a person avoids personal anxiety by living vicariously through another's achievements.

What are 'developmental lines' in Anna Freud's theory?

The child's gradual transition from external dependence to internal mastery of reality.

What is the 'Shadow' archetype in Jungian theory?

The immoral and aggressive tendencies inherited from prehuman ancestors.

How did Adler’s view of 'trauma' differ from Freud’s?

Adler believed we make out of experiences whatever suits our purposes, rather than being passively shocked by them.

What is 'penis envy' in Freudian theory?

The female child's desire to possess the male organ, which Freud believed led to a weaker superego.

What are 'primary processes' in the id?

Irrational methods of satisfying needs, such as reflex actions and wish-fulfilling mental images.

What are 'secondary processes' in the ego?

Rational, realistic efforts to satisfy needs through interaction with the physical environment.

Why did Freud move the couch out of his sight during therapy sessions?

He wanted to enhance free association and could not tolerate being stared at for eight hours a day.

What is 'postdiction' in the context of criticizing psychoanalysis?

Explaining events after they have occurred rather than making testable predictions about the future.

What major award did Elizabeth Loftus receive in $2003$ from the APA?

Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology.

In Horney's view, what is the 'basic evil'?

Parental indifference, inconsistency, or hatred that frustrates a child's need for safety.

Which neo-Freudian emphasized birth order as a significant influence on personality?

Alfred Adler