Psychoanalytic and Neoanalytic Theories

According to psychoanalytic theory, what are the (a) components of the mind and personality

• a.) components of the mind and personality: 

  • Topographical model of the mind 

    • Conscious: Thoughts, perceptions, and memories that are currently accessible.

    • Preconscious: Information that is not currently in awareness but can be readily accessed (e.g., stored knowledge).

    • Unconscious: Information that is inaccessible to conscious awareness. It is divided into:

      • Dynamic Unconscious: Stores threatening or repressed information (e.g., fears, violent motives, shameful experiences).

      • Nonconscious: Stores non-threatening information (e.g., automatic processes like breathing).

  • Structural Model of Personality:

    • Id: The primitive part of the mind that operates on the pleasure principle. It seeks immediate gratification of basic drives and instincts (e.g., hunger, sex).

    • Ego: The rational part of the mind that operates on the reality principle. It mediates between the id and superego, ensuring safe expression of id drives. ‘Executive of personality’ 

    • Superego: The moral part of the mind that represents internalized societal and parental values. It operates on the morality principle and includes the conscience and ego ideal.

According to psychoanalytic theory, what are the stages of personality development? (what are the 5 psychosexual stages of development)

• stages of personality development:

  • in each of the first three stages, we experience an unconscious conflict related to our need for sexual gratification

    • successful development occurs when we navigate through the five stages without “fixation”

    • fixation occurs when we do not resolve the unconscious conflict associated with a stage

  • 5 psychosexual stages of development:

  • Oral Stage (0-1.5 years):

    • Erogenous Zone: Mouth.

    • Unconscious Conflict: Weaning.

    • Fixation: Premature or traumatic weaning can lead to oral-incorporative (dependent, gullible) or oral-sadistic (aggressive, exploitative) personality traits.

  • Anal Stage (1.5-3 years):

    • Erogenous Zone: Anus.

    • Unconscious Conflict: Toilet training.

    • Fixation: Lenient or rigid toilet training can lead to anal-expulsive (messy, disorganized) or anal-retentive (orderly, obsessive) personality traits.

  • Phallic Stage (3-5 years):

    • Erogenous Zone: Genitals.

    • Unconscious Conflict: Oedipus complex (boys) or Electra complex (girls).

    • Fixation: cause of fixation is: failure to identify with same-sex parent. + Failure to resolve the Oedipus/Electra complex can lead to poor moral development and gender-related personality traits.

  • Latency Stage (6-11 years):

    • Erogenous Zone: Genitals (dormant).

    • Conflict: None (sexual impulses are repressed).

    • Fixation: No fixation occurs during this stage.

  • Genital Stage (Puberty-Adulthood):

    • Erogenous Zone: Genitals.

    • Conflict: None (if previous stages are resolved).

    • Outcome: Successful resolution leads to psychosexual maturity and the development of the superego.

• discuss sex differences in psychosexual development, as suggested by psychoanalytic theory 

• Oedipus Complex (Boys):

  • Boys desire sexual union with their mother and perceive their father as a rival.

  • Castration anxiety (believes father will retaliate against them through castration) forces boys to identify with their father, internalize his values, and resolve the unconscious conflict.

• Electra Complex (Girls):

  • Girls begin life with an attraction towards their mother → then realise that they (and their mother) lack a penis and blame their mother for their ‘deficiency’ 

  • Thus, shift their affection from their mother to their father, developing a desire to achieve sexual union w/ him 

  • Girls identify with their mother, internalize her values, and resolve the conflict.

• Implications for Personality:

  • Psychoanalytic theory suggests that boys and girls develop different personality traits due to the resolution of the Oedipus/Electra complex, with boys developing stronger superegos due to castration anxiety.

According to psychoanalytic theory, what are the types of anxiety that we experience

• a.) types of anxiety 

  • Reality (Objective) Anxiety:

    • Source: Tangible, real-world dangers.

    • Conflict: Ego vs. constraints of external reality.

  • Neurotic Anxiety:

    • Source: Fear of punishment for expressing id impulses.

    • Conflict: Id vs. ego.

  • Moral Anxiety:

    • Source: Fear of retaliation by the superego (guilt or shame).

    • Conflict: Ego vs. superego.

According to psychoanalytic theory, what are the (9) defense mechanisms that we use to cope with anxiety?

• When anxiety is experienced, the ego may employ rational strategies: (a) remove itself from the threatening situation, (b) inhibit the expression of id impulses, and/or (c) adhere to the moral codes of the conscience 

• When rational strategies are not feasible, defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies used by the ego to cope with anxiety by distorting reality.

  • Denial: Refusing to acknowledge threatening information.

  • Repression: Pushing threatening information into the unconscious (motivated forgetting).

  • Projection: Attributing one’s own threatening characteristics to others.

  • Rationalization: Creating logical explanations for unacceptable behavior.

  • Intellectualization: Thinking about threatening information in a cold, analytical manner.

  • Displacement: Redirecting threatening impulses to a safer target.

  • Reaction Formation: Behaving in a manner opposite to one’s true feelings.

  • Regression: Reverting to immature patterns of behavior.

  • Sublimation: Expressing threatening impulses through socially acceptable actions.

• What therapeutic methods have emerged from psychoanalytic theory?

• Psychoanalytic (Psychodynamic) Therapy: Aims to bring unconscious conflicts to conscious awareness, enabling insight and personality restructuring.

  • Techniques:

    • Free Association: The patient says whatever comes to mind, allowing unconscious material to surface.

    • Dream Analysis: The patient recounts dreams through free association, and the analyst interprets the manifest content (narrative of the dream as it is consciously remembered) to uncover the latent content (memories, fantasies, forgotten events/unconscious conflicts that give rise to manifest content).

      

    • Resistance: The patient’s unconscious avoidance of discussing certain topics, which the analyst (therapist) interprets to reveal hidden conflicts.

    • Transference: The patient projects feelings about significant others onto the analyst, which the analyst uses to explore unresolved conflicts.

What are contemporary applications of psychoanalytic theory, as proposed by Freud?

• The influence of psychoanalytic theory on psychology has been pervasive and is ongoing in areas such as:

  • Childhood and Interpersonal Relations: Understanding how early experiences shape personality.

  • Unconscious Experience: Exploring how unconscious processes influence behavior.

  • Psychological Conflict: Examining internal conflicts and their impact on mental health.

  • Defense Mechanisms: Using defense mechanisms to understand coping strategies.

  • Emotional Experience and Expression: Analyzing how emotions are expressed and repressed.

  • Therapeutic Intervention: Applying psychoanalytic techniques in modern therapy.

  • Resistance and Transference: Using these concepts to explore patient-therapist dynamics.

  • Dreams and Fantasies: Interpreting dreams and fantasies to uncover unconscious material.

consider the associations between defense mechanisms and psychological adjustment

• Negative Associations: Defense mechanisms like denial, repression, and projection are linked to lower self-esteem and higher anxiety.

• Positive Associations: Sublimation is associated with healthier psychological adjustment.

• discuss the processes dream work

• Dream Work: The unconscious process that transforms latent content into manifest content through:

• Condensation: the unconscious combining multiple latent elements into a single manifest image.

• Displacement: the unconscious Shifting emphasis from a threatening image to a safer one.

• Symbolism: the unconscious uses common and acceptable images to represent unacceptable latent content.

• Secondary Revision: the unconscious Synthesizing disjointed images into a coherent story (e.g. by adding a setting or plot)

• discuss contemporary applications of psychoanalytic theory

• Psychoanalytic theory is applied in modern psychology to understand unconscious processes, emotional expression, defense mechanisms, and therapeutic interventions. It influences areas like childhood development, interpersonal relationships, and psychotherapy.

• discuss the efficacy of psychoanalytic therapy

• Efficacy: Research shows that psychoanalytic therapy is effective, particularly for complex mental disorders and personality pathology. It has enduring benefits and is supported by empirical evidence, though it is often longer-term compared to other therapies like CBT.

• According to psychosocial theory, what are the stages of personality development? (erik erikson)

• Psychosocial Theory emphasizes social factors and(Erik Erikson) identifies eight stages of personality development, each characterized by a specific crisis and associated ego strength:

  • Infancy (0-1 years):

    • Crisis: Basic trust vs. mistrust.

    • Successful resolution: Infants develop confidence in their caregivers to consistently meet their basic needs

    • Ego Strength: Hope (the enduring belief that one’s needs, desires, and wishes will be satisfied)

  • Early Childhood (2-3 years):

    • Crisis: Autonomy vs. shame and doubt.

    • Successful resolution: Toddlers acquire a sense of independence stemming from their self-control

    • Ego Strength: Will (the determination to exercise free choice as well as self-restraint)

  • Preschool (3-5 years):

    • Crisis: Initiative vs. guilt.

    • Successful resolution: Young children feel that they can take action to pursue their desires or urges

    • Ego Strength: Purpose. (the courage to pursue valued goals without fear of punishment)

  • School Age (6-11 years):

    • Crisis: Industry vs. inferiority.

    • Successful resolution: Children feel that they can master tasks of the “tool world” (i.e., tasks associated with the practical work-related world, including tasks at school)

    • Ego Strength: Competence. (the belief that one has the dexterity and intelligence required to complete meaningful tasks)

  • Adolescence (12-20 years):

    • Crisis: Identity vs. role confusion.

    • Successful resolution: Adolescents develop an integrated and consistent self-view (i.e., one that is seen similarly by oneself and others)

    • Ego Strength: Fidelity. (the ability to be true to oneself and to significant others despite contradictions in value systems across roles and relationships)

  • Young Adulthood (21-35 years):

    • Crisis: Intimacy vs. isolation.

    • Successful resolution: Young adults feel that they can merge with another individual without losing their identity

    • Ego Strength: Love. (a mutual devotion with another individual that is greater than any antagonism between the identities of each individual in the partnership)

  • Adulthood (36-60 years):

    • Crisis: Generativity vs. stagnation.

    • Successful resolution: Adults feel that they are able to guide, nurture, and contribute to the development of the next generation

    • Ego Strength: Care. (a broad concern for others that extends beyond the narrowness of self-concern)

  • Old Age (61+ years):

    • Crisis: Ego integrity vs. despair.

    • Successful resolution: Older adults feel a sense of emotional integration or satisfaction with their choices and life experiences

    • Ego Strength: Wisdom. (a detached but active concern with life in the face of death)

According to attachment theory, what attachment styles are observed among infants and adults?

• Infant Attachment Styles (Ainsworth, 1978):

  • Secure (66% of infants):

    • Normal distress when parent leaves, joy when parent returns.

  • Avoidant (20% of infants):

    • Little distress when parent leaves, indifference when parent returns.

  • Anxious/Ambivalent (14% of infants):

    • Extreme distress when parent leaves, ambivalence when parent returns (characterized by approach and rejection behaviors) 

  • Disorganized/Disoriented (Main & Solomon, 1990):

    • Odd, confused behavior with no coherent coping pattern.

• Adult Attachment Styles:

  • Secure:

    • Comfortable with intimacy and dependence.

  • Preoccupied:

    • Desires intimacy but worries about being undervalued.

  • Dismissing:

    • Values independence and avoids closeness.

  • Fearful:

    • Desires closeness but fears being hurt.

• describe the strange situation

• • The Strange Situation is a procedure developed by Ainsworth to assess infant attachment styles. It involves observing an infant’s behavior when separated from and reunited with their caregiver.

• discuss the development and influence of internal working models

• Internal Working Models (Bowlby, 1973, 1980, 1982) are unconscious expectations about relationships, formed through early interactions with caregivers. They influence how individuals perceive and behave in relationships throughout their lives

• Research has demonstrated: a positive correlation between parent-infant attachment style and adult attachment style + for most people, attachment classification in infancy corresponds to attachment classification in adulthood

• discuss the measurement of adult attachment styles

• Adult attachment styles are measured using self-report questionnaires, such as:

  • Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ): Assesses secure (56%), avoidant (25%), and anxious/ambivalent styles (19%).

  • Relationship Questionnaire (RQ): Assesses secure (47%), preoccupied (14%), dismissing (18%), and fearful styles (21%) + Based on the assumption that the AAQ conflates two theoretically distinct forms of avoidance: fearful- avoidance and dismissing-avoidance

• define model of self and model of other

• Model of Self: How one views oneself in relationships (positive or negative).

• Model of Other: How one views others in relationships (positive or negative).

• 

• distinguish between adult attachment styles and adult attachment dimensions

• Attachment Styles:

  • Secure, preoccupied, dismissing, fearful.

• Attachment Dimensions:

  • Attachment Anxiety: Fear of abandonment or rejection.

  • Attachment Avoidance: Discomfort with closeness and dependence.

• 

consider the associations between adult attachment styles and the five-factor taxonomy

• Secure: Low neuroticism, high agreeableness, high extraversion.

• Avoidant: Low agreeableness and extraversion.

Anxious/Ambivalent: High neuroticism.

The four attachment styles reflect variation on two dimensions: attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance