Psychoanalytic Aspects of Personality

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the basic tenets of Freudian psychoanalysis, the structure of the mind, psychosexual development stages, and defense mechanisms.

Sigmund Freud

($1865$-$1939$) An Austrian Jew trained in medicine who collected data from himself and patients; known for the most heavily cited work in psychology.

Psychic determinism

A fundamental concept in psychoanalysis suggesting that everything that happens in a person's mind has a specific cause.

Libido

The psychic energy or life drive within the psychoanalytic framework.

Thanatos

The psychoanalytic concept of the death drive.

The Unconscious

The part of the mind containing thoughts and feelings that the individual is not aware of; a primary goal of psychoanalysis is to make this material conscious.

Free association

A technique for revealing the unconscious where the patient says whatever comes to mind without censorship.

Insight

An understanding of the unconscious source of problems, gained through a psychoanalyst's interpretations.

Patient resistance

When a patient unconsciously sets up obstacles to progress because the psychoanalyst's interpretations threaten their defenses.

Repetition compulsion

A phenomenon where people recreate their interpersonal problems with different people over and over in their lives.

Patient transference

A process where a patient recreates their interpersonal problems with their therapist.

Parapraxes

Also known as "Freudian Slips," these are leakages from the unconscious mind such as mistakes, omissions, or memory lapses.

Id

The irrational and emotional part of the mind, present at birth, that contains instincts and needs; it operates on the pleasure principle.

Ego

The rational part of the mind that develops through life experience and operates on the reality principle to find compromises.

Superego

The moral part of the mind, derived from parents and society, that contains rules and religion; it operates on the guiding principle of guilt.

Compromise formation

The ego's central task of finding a middle ground between the id's desires and the superego's morality, resulting in conscious thought and behavior.

Oral Stage

The first psychosexual stage (ages $0$-$1$) where the physical focus is on the mouth, lips, and tongue, and the psychological theme is dependency.

Anal Stage

The second psychosexual stage (ages $2$-$3$) where the focus is on the anus and eliminative organs, involving themes of self-control and obedience.

Phallic Stage

The third psychosexual stage (ages $4$-$6$) where the focus for both sexes is the penis, involving Oedipal or Electra conflicts related to gender and love.

Latency Stage

A period from age $6$ to puberty where little psychological development occurs and the child focuses on learning skills necessary for adulthood.

Genital Stage

The final psychosexual stage (puberty through adulthood) where libido is focused on the genitals and the goal is the creation and enhancement of life.

Fixation

Leaving libidinal energy behind at a specific psychosexual stage due to over or underemphasis, causing those stage issues to dominate adult character.

Regression

Reverting to a behavior characteristic of an earlier psychosexual stage, such as thumbsucking, during times of stress.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious techniques used by the ego for anxiety management by burying disturbing thoughts, feelings, or drives.

Denial

A defense mechanism involving the refusal to acknowledge a problem or piece of knowledge to protect oneself from reality.

Repression

A defense mechanism that pushes distressing memories or thoughts into the unconscious mind; it can be partial or complete.

Reaction formation

A defense mechanism where an individual overemphasizes the exact opposite of an unacceptable impulse or feeling.

Displacement

Redirecting an impulse from its original target to a safer, more socially acceptable target.

Projection

Attributing one's own unacceptable impulses or qualities to another person or external source.

Rationalization

Creating a logical, rational explanation for behavior that is actually driven by different unconscious motives.

Intellectualization

A defense mechanism that involves dealing with emotional conflict by using cold, analytical, or technical logic and jargon.

Sublimation

A positive defense mechanism where unacceptable impulses are channeled into productive and socially useful behaviors.

The "talking cure"

Freud's major contribution to psychotherapy, emphasizing the healing power of discussion between therapist and client.