Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory: Superego and Dynamics of Personality

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Superego, subsystems of conscience and ego-ideal, drive dynamics, Eros, Libido, Thanatos, and various manifestations of sexual and aggressive drives from Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory.

Superego

The aspect of personality that represents moral and ideal aspects, guided by moralistic and idealistic principles, which grows out of the ego and has no energy of its own or contact with the outside world.

Conscience

A subsystem of the superego that develops from experiences with punishment and tells us what we should not do.

Ego-ideal

A subsystem of the superego that develops from experiences with rewards and tells us what we should do.

Drives

Internal stimuli operating as constant motivational forces, originating from basic drives to seek pleasure and reduce tension/anxiety.

Eros

The sex drive category of internal drives aimed at pleasure, which is not limited to genital satisfaction.

Libido

The psychic energy associated with the sex drive.

Erogenous Zones

Areas of the body that are particularly sensitive to libido investment, specifically the mouth, anus, and genitals.

Primary Narcissism

An infant's self-centered libido investment.

Object Libido

Libido that is invested in others as the ego develops.

Secondary Narcissism

A preoccupation with self that occurs during puberty.

Love

The investment of libido in an object other than oneself, which is often aim-inhibited (such as familial love).

Sadism

Sexual pleasure derived through inflicting pain on others.

Masochism

Sexual pleasure derived through suffering pain.

Thanatos

The aggression drive category introduced later in Freud's theory, elevated to equal importance with sex, aimed at returning the organism to an inorganic state.