Personality, the Unconscious mind, and Humanistic perspective

Freud and Neo Freudians

Psychodynamic Theories

The diverse theories, descended from the work of Sigmund Freud, that focus on unconscious mental forces.

Psychoanalysis

long term verbal interactions used to treat mental disorders

unconscious mind

filled with unacceptable thoughts/wishes/feelings.

free association

used to untap the unconscious by having patients say whatever came to their mind

SUPEREGO

morality principle

EGO

reality principle

ID

unconscious pleasure principle

latent content of dreams

symbolic meaning of dream images; what your unconscious mind is thinking

Freudian slip

not something you meant to say, but was brought out by your unconscious thoughts.

polymorphous perversity

pure desire for sexual pleasure (? why)

reality principle

satisfy/give up on pleasures; decide between ID and SUPEREGO

Freud’s Psychosexual stages

During these stages, the id’s (devilish) pleasure seeking energies focus on pleasure sensitive body areas called erogenous zones.

fixation

being stuck/struggling through a particular psychosexual phase

Odepius Complex

unconscious desire for one parent and jealous/hate for the other

identification

cope with threatening feelings by repressing them, and identifying with rival parent.

defense mechanisms

methods used by ego to unconsciously protect itself against anxiety caused by conflict between id’s demands and superego’s constraints

repression

avoid painful thoughts by forcing into back of mind

regression

retreat to behaving/thinking like a child in order to avoid adult issues

denial

refusal to perceive reality in order to protect ourselves from it; often in face of the obvious truth

displacement

divert sexual/aggressive impulses to a more acceptable person/object.

projection

disguise threatening impulses by attributing them to others

sublimation

expend energy on prosocial activities in order to avoid unwanted activities

reaction formation

making unacceptable impulses into the opposite, acceptable form

rationalization

creating logical explanations of our behavior in order to justify it

inferiority complex

striving for superiority and power (Alfred Adler)

compensation

efforts to overcome real/imagined inferiorities

overcompensation

to conceal feelings of inferiority, even from oneself

psychoanalytic social theory

we need childhood experiences in order to shape personality

collective unconscious

our memories contain a common reservoir of images derived from our species’ past

complexes

a collection of feelings, thoughts, attitudes, and memories that center around a particular concept.

archetypes

universal symbolic images that appear across cultures in myths, art, stories, and dreams.

humanistic personality perspective

emphasized that people control their own behavior; positive outlook on psychological growth, free will, and personal awareness.

self-actualizing tendency

innate inclination towards growth that motivates people.

self concept

how we think of ourselves

Maslow’s growth theory

we strive towards a hierarchy of needs; basic needs at bottom, self-actualization at top