Psychoanalytic theory

who were some of Freud’s influences?

Josef Bruer: referred patients to Freud

Jean-Martin Charot: focus on treating ‘hysteria’ emerging from trauma, hypnosis

Who was Anna O?

patient treated by Bruer for paralysis, vivid dreams, and hallucinations

she made full recovery

who was Frau Emmy von. N?

Freud’s first patient, dealt with ‘hysteria’

has physical and verbal tics, was very susceptible to hypnosis

suffered relapse after care

Psychic determinism

one of the key ideas of psychoanalysis

all mental processes and behaviors are determined by the unconscious mind and past experiences

internal structure of psychoanalysis

mind: made up of separate parts that function independently and can conflict with each other

id: irrational and emotional

ego: rational

superego: moral

modern research contradicts this

compromise formation

the mind can conflict with itself and needs compromise

compromise formation is the ego’s main job resulting in conscious thought and behavior

this is used in modern psychanalytic thought

mental energy

assumption - mind needs energy (LIBIDO)

amount of energy is fixed and finite

what are psychoanalytic fundamental motive?

Libido (Eros)

Thanatos

libido

creation, protection, and enjoyment of life

creativity, production, and growth

Thanatos

similar to entropy

introduced later to account for destructive activity for the fact that everyone dies

the doctrine of opposites

life and death, happiness and sadness

what are the stages of psychosexual development?

Oral (0-1)

Anal (1-3)

Phallic (3-6)

Latency (6-12)

Genital (12+)

Physical and psychological focus at each stage

Describe the oral stage

0-18 months

physical focus: mouth, lips, tongue

psychological theme: dependency, passivity

only the id exists

adult character type: overly independent vs passive

anal stage

18 months-3 years

physical focus: anus and organs of elimination

psychological theme: self-control and obedience

ego develops

adult character type: overcontrolled vs under controlled

phallic stage

3 ½ - 7 years

physical focus: sexual organs

basic task: coming to terms with physical sex differences and their implications (oedipal crisis)

psychological themes: gender identity, sexuality, and identification

development of superego, conscience, and morality,

adult character type: rigid moral code vs lack moral code; asexual vs promiscuous

Latency stage

7 years to puberty

concentrate on the tasks of childhood, break from development

Genital stage

puberty on (stage is attained)

physical focus: genitals, sexuality in the context of a mature relationship

focus on creation and enhancement of life

psychological theme: maturity

achievement: psychologically well adjusted and balanced

fixation

remaining at a stage

regression

falling back into a stage

topographic model

model for thinking and the levels of consciousness

includes conscious mind, preconscious, and unconscious

conscious mind

process of introspection, includes some of the ego, least important

preconscious

ideas, motives, thoughts, and feelings one is not currently aware of but could bring into conscious

unconscious

all of the id, nearly all of the superego, most of the ego

most important, difficult to bring to the surface

often reliance is on hypnosis, free association, and looking for clues in Freudian slips

Parapraxes

forgetting (the result of repression) and Freudian slips (from belief in psychic determinism, often in speech, more likely occurs when tired)

defense mechanisms

put in place to prevent anxiety from outside world or from psychic conflict

ex: denial, repression, reaction formation, rationalization, intellectualization, displacement, and sublimation

How is psychoanalysis used in therapy?

It is a route towards understanding. Problems can be resolved by bringing unconscious conflicts to the surface so the ego can deal with them

• painful, time consuming

what are some criticisms of psychoanalysis?

low cure rate, length of treatment, dislike of emphasis on sex, unscientific

can be used as a tool for understanding human nature rather than as a therapy

what are critiques on the fact that the case study method is used in psychoanalytic theory?

theories are based on introspection and insight from specific cases; high likelihood of bias

how do critiques of psychoanalytic theory describe definitions within it?

vague; concepts are not defined in terms of operational definitions

Is psychoanalytic theory testable?

no, it cannot be proven false

Is psychoanalytic theory sexist?

Yes, males are considered the norm; females are seen as deviations from the male model

Why study Freud?

Influence on modern conceptions of the mind, influence on the practice of psychotherapy, many ideas in popular culture

Who were the Neo-Freudians?

Psychoanalytic theorists who differed from Freud

Placed less emphasis on libido, unconscious mind, and instinctual drive

Maintained Freud’s most important contribution: talking cure

What did Alfred Adler think of Freud’s theory?

thought it emphasized sex too much

he emphasized social interest more

masculine protest

describes behaviors that reject the feminine role as a means to assert masculinity

proposed by Alfred Adler

Carl Jung’s contributions to psychoanalytic theory

collective unconscious: idea that a segment of the deepest unconscious mind is genetically inherited and not shaped by experience

archetypes: universal symbols and themes that represent some of the most fundamental human behaviors, emotions, and motivations (earth mother, hero, devil, supreme being)

persona

social mask that individuals present to the world

false to some degree, possible danger

anima and animus

cause a masculine and feminine side in everyone

shape responds to the other sex

how do introverts differ from extroverts according to psychanalytic theory?

in ways of thinking: rational, feeling, sensing, and intuiting

a balance is ideal

what were Karen Horney’s thoughts on psychoanalytic theory?

disagreed with penis envy and women’s desire to be male

her theory discusses basic anxiety and neurotic needs

neurotic needs

excessive demands that arise from basic anxiety (stems from early life experiences and interpersonal relationships)

How did Erikson differ from Freud?

says he follows all of Freud’s teachings, but did not see unconscious as the most important parts of a person

What are the 8 stages of Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages?

1. Basic Trust vs Mistrust: 1st year of life

2. Autonomy vs Doubt: 2nd year

3. Initiative vs Guilt: 3-5

4. Industry vs Inferiority: 6-puberty

5. Identity vs Confusion: adolescence

6. Intimacy vs Isolation: early adulthood

7. Generative vs Self-absorption: middle age

8. Integrity vs Despair: aging years

Describe Basic trust vs Mistrust

learn whether needs are met, ignored, or overindulged

development of hope and confidence

Describe Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt

figuring out who is in charge

Describe Initiative vs Guilt

anticipating and fantasizing about life as an adult

develop a sense of right and wrong

Describe Industry vs Inferiority

develop skills and abilities to succeed in the world of work and contribute to society

Must begin to control imagination and unfocused energy

Describe Identity vs Identity Confusion

Figure out who I am and what is important

Choose consistent, meaningful, and useful values and goals

Describe Intimacy vs isolation

find an intimate life partner

Describe Generativity vs Stagnation

Turn concerns to the next generation or become passive

Describe Integrity vs Despair

brought on by the prospect of death

based on feelings about one’s life

What are some main contributions of Erikson’s theory?

psychological development is based on developmental tasks at different phases of life

consistent with current theorizing that personality development is an ongoing life task

Who came up with object relations theory?

Melanie Klein and DW Winnicott

objects

any person or part of a person we take into our psychic structure and later project onto other people

begins in infancy

object relations theory

concerned with the way a person relates to others in a conscious and unconscious way

we relate to others via the images of them in our minds

What are the four principal themes of object relations theory?

1. Every relationship has elements of satisfaction and frustration, or pleasure and pain

2. the mix of love and hate

3. distinction between parts of the love object and the whole person

4. the psyche is aware of and disturbed by these contradictory feelings

Describe ‘good breast, bad breast’ in terms of object relations theory

A mother’s breast is the first relatable object to the baby and it is both good and bad (milk = satisfaction, not available = frustration)

Eventually the baby views the breast as part of the mother and whole person

Neurotic defenses

splitting of love objects into good and bad parts

transitional objects

sentimental objects for adults

the False self

prevents exposure of the true self

false self = need to comply and accommodate at the expense of self-expression

what are the types of false selves?

Extremely Maladaptive (MASK): true self completely hidden

Moderately: Caretaker - permitted secret life

Minimally Adaptive: Defender - waits for safe/desirable conditions

Moderately: Imitator - identifies with caring objects as model

Adaptive: Facilitator - normal socialization

True self: aliveness of all functions and feelings (I can exist on my own)

What is the purpose of object relations theory?

minimize discrepancies between true and false selves, help the rational resources of the mind work through irrational defenses, and help the client see important people in their life the way they actually are

How does Klein’s object relations theory differ from Freudian theory?

1. More emphasis on interpersonal relationships

2. Stresses infant’s relationship with the mother rather than the father

3. Suggests that people are motivated primarily for human contact rather than for sexual pleasure

Describe Winnicott’s Object Relations Theory

Relation between the subject and their internalized objects, as well as with external objects (have a relationship with internal mother and an external one)

Says we are driven to form relationships with others. Failure to form successful early relationships leads to later problems

good enough mother

‘no such thing as a baby’

According to Winnicott, infants become a personal self through the protective care of the good enough mother. The initial close identification of mother and baby fosters the illusion of oneness. Once the mother begins to take up her own life again, the baby learns to develop their own resources

what 3 ways does a mother protect baby?

Holding, handling, object presenting

Holding

How the mother carries, moves, feeds, speaks, and responds to her baby

Baby can remain in a state ‘unintegration,’ a relaxed and undefended openness where their experiences can join together in an unbroken stream → true self

has to protect against the experience of unintegration without holding → false self protection

Handling

Sensitive touch and responsive care

Experiences of this help build a stable unity of mind and body

If bodily functions managed impersonally or baby left alone for too long, the infant may attempt to cope by identifying with their mind rather than body

Object presenting

How the mother brings outside world to baby (usually in form of feeding)

Baby can develop a sense of oneness with the world which grows into an appreciation of both their concerns with others and separateness

What are some criticisms of Winnicott’s theory?

Euro-centric theory, limited evidence, not all mothers have maternal instinct, and idealized notion of mothers (did he want mothers back in home after war time employment?)

perceptual defense

the unconscious part of the mind can perceive things without the conscious mind’s awareness

to prevent anxiety

parallel distributed processing (PDP)

unconscious thought

conceptual framework inspired by the structure and functioning of the human brain that emphasizes the use of interconnected networks of simple processing units

defense and catharsis

traits associated with having an anal or oral character correlate with each other as theorized