Adolescence Part 2: Theory of Freud - Unit 3

Sigmund Freud

Founder of the concept of an “Unconscious Mind,” which he accessed through hypnosis, which is one of the methods he used when trying to discover someone’s unconscious thoughts through various techniques, one of them being his focus on psycho-development

Unconscious Mind

Thoughts that are outside of one’s state of awareness

Unconscious Motivation

Rejects the idea that we know what we are doing, and that some desires and motivations govern our behavior that we may not be aware of. For example, unconsciously, we tend to look for our parents or for someone to fill the voids our parents may have left us with, like if our father was absent, we tend to look for older men with stability, as that is something that was lacking during adolescence.

Building Blocks of the Mind: Id, Ego, and Superego

ID (aka the devil side) - Works on the pleasure principle = Pleasure seeking, doing what benefits you without considering who it affects, and not caring about the consequences

EGO (balance w/ confliction) - works on the reality principle = Knows that there’s going to be consequences and follows accordingly

SUPEREGO (aka the angel side) - Works on the morality principle = Chooses not to do something wrong, not only because of the consequences but also because it is morally wrong for them to do.

Psychosexual Stages of Personality

Five stages of personality development, each associated with a particular erogenous zone.

Fixation

When you get “fixed” at a stage, you attempt to achieve pleasure as an adult in ways that are similar to how it was achieved in these stages.

Oral Stage: Birth -1st year

Mouth is the zone of sexual pleasure, and if not held properly, weaning a child can lead to fixation at this stage, which can lead to oral activities in adulthood, such as smoking

Anal Stage: 1st - 3rd year

Anus is the zone of sexual pleasure, and if not held properly, toilet training can lead to fixation at this stage, which could lead to retentive or extensive activities in adulthood

Retentive

Stubborn, stingy, rigid, and neat

Expulsive

Messy and wasteful

Phallic Stage: 3rd - 5th year

Genitals are the zone of sexual pleasure, where Oedipus or Elektra can occur, which leads to excessive masculinity in males and the need for attention or domination for females

Latency Stage: 5th year-puberty

Sexual feelings get repressed, and children get socialized: they go to school, keep themselves busy with hobbies, and make same-sex friends.

Genital Stage: Puberty on

Sexual feelings reemerge, but this time they are oriented towards others, and psychologically healthy adults find pleasure in love and work, while psychologically unhealthy adults get stuck at earlier stages and have their energy wasted in unsolved childhood issues

Causes of Autism (5 Causes)

1. Some genetic cause

2. Testosterone

3. Old age of parents

4. Prenatal Infection

5. Diathesis stress hypothesis

Anxiety Disorders (3 main disorders)

1. Social Anxiety Disorder - fear of social evaluation

2. Generalized Anxiety Disorder - Too much worry about many topics

3. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - Clusters of symptoms that cause obsessive-compulsive behaviors

Eating Disorders (2 main disorders)

1. Anorexia Nervosa - body weight voluntarily maintained at below normal level, along with intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, and amenorrhea (in females).

2. Bulimia Nervosa - Large uncontrolled eating binges at least twice weekly, along with inappropriate compensatory behavior like forcing yourself to vomit, and self-esteem closely linked to body weight/ shape

Psychological Problems in Childhood & Adolescence

A Brief Story of the Oedipus Complex

Freud is sexist, especially given the time and place this occurred, so he primarily focused on Males using the Oedipus Complex, which is when the prophecy is real, and Freud used this methodology to test out his theories