Psychodynamic perspective of personality

Psychoanalytic theory

attempts to explain personality by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts, and sexual urges.

Pychoanalytic theory controversies

• Lack of Free Will: Freud argued that behavior is controlled by unconscious forces, suggesting that people are not fully in control of their own minds

• Determinism: He claimed that early childhood experiences and unconscious conflicts shape personality, implying that people cannot easily change their destinies,

• Focus on Sexuality: His emphasis on sexual and aggressive drives was controversial, especially during the conservative Victorian era, as many found his ideas inappropriate or overstated.

Structure of personality

divided personality into three structures the id, superego and the ego

the ID

• The id - is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle.

• Freud referred to the id as the reservoir of psychic energy. By this he meant that the id houses the raw biological urges (to eat, sleep, defecate, copulate, and so on) that energize human behavior.

• The id operates according to the pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification of its urges.

• The id engages in primary-process thinking, which is primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy oriented.

the ego

Freud’s concept of the ego describes it as the rational, decision-making part of personality that balances the id’s impulsive desires with the constraints of reality and social norms.

• It follows the reality principle, delaying immediate gratification until an appropriate time.

• It mediates between the id (instinctual urges) and the external world to avoid negative consequences.

• It engages in secondary-process thinking, meaning it is rational, problem-solving, and goal-oriented, ensuring that long-term rewards outweigh short-term impulses.

Essentially, the ego acts as the practical, logical mediator that helps individuals navigate social expectations while still seeking personal satisfaction.

the superego

The superego is the moral component of personality that internalizes social standards of right and wrong.

• It develops between ages 3–5 as children learn societal rules and moral values.

• It acts as the conscience, guiding behavior based on cultural and parental expectations.

• In some cases, an overly rigid superego can lead to excessive guilt and an unrealistic pursuit of moral perfection.

Freud believed the id, ego, and superego operate at different levels of awareness, influencing behavior both consciously and unconsciously.

levels of awareness (conscious)

The conscious consists of whatever one is aware of at a particular point in time. For example, at this moment, your conscious may include the train of thought in this text and a dim awareness in the back of your mind that your eyes are getting tired and you’re beginning to get hungry.

levels of awareness (preconscious)

• The preconscious contains material just beneath the surface of awareness that can easily be retrieved.

• Examples might include your middle name, what you had for supper last night, or an argument you had with a friend yesterday.

levels of awareness (unconscious)

• The unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness, but that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior.

  eg: trauma from childhood, fears, impulses, emotionally harmful thoughts

Defense mechanisms (DEFINED)

• The arousal of anxiety is a crucial event in Freud’s theory of personality functioning.

• Anxiety is distressing, so people try to rid themselves of this unpleasant emotion any way they can.

• This effort to ward off anxiety often involves the use of defense mechanisms

• Defense mechanisms are largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions, such as anxiety and guilt.

Rationalisation

• creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior

• eg - after cheating someone in a business transaction, you might reduce your guilt by

  rationalizing that “everyone does it.”

Repression

• Repression is keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious.

• People tend to repress desires that make them feel guilty, conflicts that make them anxious, and memories that are painful.

• eg: a traumatized soldier has no recollection of the details of a close brush with death.

Projection (self deception)

• Projection is attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another. Usually, the thoughts one projects onto others are those that would make one feel guilty.

• For example, if lusting for a co-worker makes you feel guilty, you might attribute any latent sexual tension between the two of you to the other person’s desire to seduce you.

Displacement (self deception)

• is diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from their original source to a substitute target.

• If your boss gives you a hard time at work and you come home and slam the door, kick the dog, and scream at your spouse, you’re displacing your anger onto irrelevant targets.

Reaction formation

• is behaving in a way that’s exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings.

• a parent who unconsciously resents a child spoils the child with outlandish gifts.

• The telltale sign of reaction formation is the exaggerated quality of the opposite behavior.

Regression

• is a reversion to immature patterns of behavior.

• When anxious about their self-worth, some adults respond with childish boasting and bragging (as opposed to subtle efforts to impress others).

• For example, a fired executive having difficulty finding a new job might start making ridiculous statements about his incomparable talents and achievements.

• Such bragging is regressive when it’s marked by massive exaggerations that virtually anyone can see through.

Identification

• is bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group.

• Young people often shore up fragile feelings of self-worth by identifying with rock stars, movie stars, or famous athletes.

• Adults may join exclusive country clubs or civic organizations as a means of boosting their self-esteem via identification.

Psychosexual stages of development

Freud proposed a stage theory of development suggesting that personality is largely formed by age 5.

• He believed children experience immature but powerful urges for physical pleasure, which he broadly referred to as sexual urges.

• These urges shift focus as a child progresses through different psychosexual stages of development.

• Each stage is centered around a different erogenous zone, and how conflicts are resolved at each stage influences adult personality.

psychosexual stages - are developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personality.

• Freud made the claim that the basic foundation of an individual’s personality has been laid down by the tender age of 5. 

• He emphasized how young children deal with their immature but powerful sexual urges these urges shift in focus as children progress from one stage to another.

• are based on where children are focusing their erotic energy during that period. 

Fixation

• The notion of fixation plays an important role in this process. Fixation involves a failure to move forward from one stage to another, as expected.

• Fixation can be caused by excessive gratification of needs at a particular stage or by excessive frustraion of those needs.

• Either way, fixations left over from childhood affect adult personality.

Oral stage

• The oral stage encompasses the first year of life.

• During this period, the main source of erotic stimulation is the mouth (in biting, sucking, chewing, and so on).

• In Freud’s view, the way the child’s feeding experience is handled is crucial to subsequent development.

• According to Freud, fixation at the oral stage could form the basis for obsessive eating or smoking (among many other things) later in life.

Anal stage

• In the anal stage (1-3 years),

• children derive pleasure from controlling bowel movements. Toilet training is the key event, as society starts to regulate the child’s biological urges.

• Punitive toilet training can have negative consequences. Excessive punishment may cause hostility toward the mother, and this hostility may generalize to all women.

• Additionally, severe punishment may create an association between genital concerns and anxiety, leading to sexual anxiety later i

Phallic stage

• Phallic stage (3-5)

• children's erotic energy is focused on the genitals, with self-stimulation becoming prominent.

• During this stage, the Oedipal complex emerges. Little boys develop a sexual attraction to their mother and see their father as a rival. Similarly, little girls form a special attachment to their father and, upon realizing the anatomical difference, experience penis envy, feeling hostility toward their mother for their perceived "deficiency."

• The resolution of the Oedipal conflict is crucial in Freud's theory. Children must overcome their sexual desires for the opposite-sex parent and hostility toward the same-sex parent. failure to resolve this conflict could prevent healthy development, as it would hinder identification with the same-sex parent, which is essential for progressing through later stages of development.

Latency and genital stages

• In the latency stage (around age 5 to puberty), children's sexual urges are largely suppressed and focus shifts to developing social skills and relationships outside of the family.

• Puberty marks the transition to the genital stage, where sexual energy re-emerges, now directed toward peers of the opposite sex.

• He argued that unconscious conflicts from childhood, particularly sexual ones, are the primary cause of psychological disorders.

evaluating Psychodynamic Perspectives

• Poor Testability: Psychodynamic theories often lack clear, testable hypotheses, making it difficult to scientifically validate them.

• Unrepresentative Samples: Freud's theories were based on a narrow sample of upper-class, neurotic Viennese women, which were not representative of broader populations or other cultures.

• Overemphasis on Case Studies: Psychodynamic theories rely heavily on case studies, which may be subject to bias. Freud's own clinical work has been criticized for distorting patient histories to fit his theories.