Sigmund Freud Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis

A therapeutic approach developed by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes the role of unconscious forces and early childhood conflicts in shaping personality.

Unconscious

The part of the mind that contains drives, urges, and instincts beyond our awareness, influencing behavior.

Preconscious

Elements that are not currently conscious but can become conscious with some effort.

Conscious

The state of mental awareness at any given moment.

Id

The reservoir of instincts that operates on the pleasure principle and has no contact with reality.

Ego

The rational part of personality that operates on the reality principle, managing practical interactions with the environment.

Superego

The moralistic component of personality, representing conscience and idealistic standards.

Drives

Constant motivational forces that drive behavior, often referred to as "Trieb" or instinct.

Libido

The sexual drive or life instinct that motivates behavior and survival.

Cathexis

The investment of libido in objects or ideas.

Anticathexis

The process of balancing the drives of the id with the morals of the superego.

Anxiety

A state of objectless fear, often without a clear source.

Realistic Anxiety

Fear of tangible dangers in the real world.

Neurotic Anxiety

Unconscious fear of punishment for id-dominated behavior.

Moral Anxiety

Fear of one’s conscience, arising from conflicts between the ego and superego.

Repression

A defense mechanism that denies the existence of anxiety-inducing thoughts or memories.

Denial

Refusal to accept reality or the existence of an external threat.

Reaction Formation

Expressing the opposite of one’s true feelings or impulses.

Projection

Attributing one’s own disturbing impulses to others.

Regression

Retreating to an earlier stage of development in response to stress.

Rationalization

Reinterpreting an event to make it more acceptable or logical.

Displacement

Shifting an impulse from a threatening object to a safer one.

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behaviors.

Psychosexual Stages

Developmental phases in Freud's theory, each characterized by different erogenous zones and conflicts.

Oral Stage

The first psychosexual stage (birth to 1 year) focused on the mouth, involving dependency and aggression.

Anal Stage

The second stage (1 to 3 years) centered on the anus, involving control and orderliness.

Phallic Stage

The third stage (3 to 6 years) where the superego develops, involving Oedipus and Electra complexes.

Latency Stage

The fourth stage (6 to puberty) where sexual instincts are dormant.

Genital Stage

The final stage (12 years onwards) focused on mature adult relationships.

Free Association

A therapeutic technique where patients express thoughts freely to uncover unconscious material.

Dream Analysis

Interpreting dreams to reveal unconscious conflicts, distinguishing between manifest and latent content.

Eros

A term synonymous with the sexual instinct in Freud's theory.

Parapraxis

A "Freudian slip" that reveals unconscious thoughts or feelings through apparent accidents.

Psychic Determinism

The principle that all mental activity has a prior cause and nothing happens by chance.

Wish-fulfillment

The process of forming mental images to satisfy needs, primarily driven by the id.

Transference

The unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another, often from the patient to the therapist.

Countertransference

The therapist's unconscious emotional response to the patient, influenced by past relationships.

Insight

Understanding the causes and dynamics of one’s behavior by bringing unconscious material to consciousness.