Chapter 6: psychodynamic approaches

Psychodynamic theory

Umbrella term for models focussing on personality as a complex relationship of conscious and unconscious motives, thoughts, and feelings

Why do we look at psychodynamic theory

1. Many famous theorists within it

2. Often referenced in pop culture despite it being theoretical, and lacking evidence

3. Freud was generative - his theories influenced/started others theories

4. This meant psychodynamic theory had a big impact on the field

5. Explores worthy ares of interest that are difficult to measure with current technology, it may be able to measure them in the future

Freud

Was a doctor not a psychologist but seen as a famous “psychologist”

Say patients with hysteria (hysteria means uterus in like Greek)

Used hypnosis and free association on Anna O to understand the unconscious root of her hysteria

Anna was not cured but she did inspire Freud to delve into the world of psychological bases for physiological symptoms

Topographical model (freuds models of the mind)

Unconscious mind- guided by the pleasure principle

Preconscious mind- monitors and moderates these unconscious desires to keep them out of the conscious, can sometimes lead to unconscious desires to manifest other ways like through dreams

Conscious mind- governed by the reality principle

Structural model (freuds models of the mind)

3 aspects

• Id (it)- unconscious mind, motivated by pleasure and wish fulfillment

• ego (I)- conscious part of the mind that operates on reality principle, with help from superego

• Superego (above I)- consists of rules from the culture in which you were raised, strict and demanding part of the mind

Freudian slip

When your deepest true thoughts slip out in regular speech

Ex: saying your ex’s name to your current partner

Libido

Means lust or desire

Freud believes libido influences development to shape adulthood personality

Freud believed the libido is highly active in infants Cuz they are all Id and little ego or superego yet

He said libido attaches to different parts of the body in different developmental stages

Cathexis

When the libido attaches to an object, thought, or part of the body

What we know as a fetish

Oral stage (developmental stages)

0-12mths

Breastfeeding/bottle feeding

Suckling and gaining satisfaction from putting different items in their mouth (toys, hands, feet)

Oral fixation: continued libido attachment to the mouth beyond this age

Anal stage (developmental stages)

1-3yrs

Potty training focus - successful navigation to work through and move forward

2 outcomes

• anal retentive- getting pleasure from retaining bowels - tend to be more neat and ordered

• Anal expulsion- getting pleasure from releasing bowels - tend to be more sloppy and disorganized

Phallic stage (developmental stages)

4-6yrs

Libido migrates to genitals, they may be curious about their own or others parts

Crucial to Freud because this is where the oedipus complex comes in for boys

Jung had the Electra complex theory for girls- where daughters love their father and wish for their mothers death

Freud disagreed and said girls have penis envy where they wish to have penises and ultimately want to be male

Suggest Freud does not understand women and his theories are sexist

Oedipus complex

Male child’s love for his mother and wish to kill his father - castration anxiety

Resolution - child grows up and moves on to an appropriate mate like his mother

Issue resolving - buy turns to a man who is overly attached to his mother and can’t form healthy relationships

Far from confirmed as a theory

Dreams

Freud said dreams are ‘the royal road’, wish fulfillment and made up of manifest and latent content

• manifest content is the outward content of the dream

• Latent content is the unconscious meaning of the dream

Day residue

Experiences from the day incorporated into manifest content

Disguised dream

Less disturbing than if the dream was the wish itself

Second form of disguise - hard time remembering the dream

Dream interpretation

To filled with phallic symbols like Freud suggests

Free association can help uncover true meaning

No goof evidence of Freud wish fulfillment but dreams can have meaning

Taking cure

Treatment for hysteria whereby patient lays looking away and just talks about whatever comes to their mind

Defense mechanisms

Psychological protection mechanisms

Aim to protect us from psychological rut or suffering

Can include

• denial

• Projection

• Repression

• Displacement

• Humor

• Reaction formation

• Sublimation

• Defense pessimism

Denial (defence mechanism)

Not acknowledging unconscious content

Can be denial about many things

Ex; death is inevitable

Reaction formation (defence mechanism)

Disguising unconscious content and urges by turning it into its opposite

Beyond denial, not just denying feelings but rejecting and engaging in counter feelings

Projection (defence mechanism)

Projection of own uncomfortable feelings onto others

Projecting your feelings onto someone else

You hate your mother in law so you say ‘my mother in law hates me’

Repression (defence mechanism)

Keeping unconscious impulses out of the conscious by pushing them away

Different from denial, aspect of reaction formation

Repressive coping is atrial people vary in not allowing your anxieties fully become conscious

Can also b measured through reaction time

Repressive coppers- slower reaction time to disturbing and aggressive phrases

Displacement (defence mechanism)

Moving impulses onto different, less threatening objects - often with anger

Can’t yell at your boss so you go home and yell at your partner - moving the action to a ‘sfer’ outlet

Sublimation (defence mechanism)

Channeling unconscious impulses into our work

Turning unacceptable desires into acceptable one

Channeling negative feelings into art or becoming a boxer if you like fighting

Humour (defence mechanism)

Can be a healthy defense mechanism

Can help diffuse negative situations

Release tension between unconscious and conscious -often sex related or bodily function related

Defense pessimism (defence mechanism)

Thinking negative thoughts to prepare for negative outcomes (not freuds original defence mechanisms)

Some people high in this trait and can encourage extra preparation and effort

Try to keep expectations low so you are no disappointed

Take the negative outcome as a given so all situations are as you expected

Empirical evidence for defence mechanisms

Some empirical evidence for some mechanisms like reaction formation, denial, projection

More likely to serve to protect self esteem rather than defend against unconscious drives

False consensus effect (EE for DM)

Overestimating how many people agree with your opinion to feel good about them

Challenges to Freudian theories

Difficult to prove or disprove

Freuds unconscious is primitive and emotional

• current research suggests it is more cognitive

• Priming can activate unconscious thoughts, can be done consciously or unconsciously

Not parsimonious - very complex explanations when simple ones make just as much sense

Not empirically tested

Jung

Freuds protege

Moved away from Freuds theories and went beyond

Archetypes

Unconscious psychic structures shared by all humanity

Jung said there is a symbolic unconscious that all people share

Ex- Id and super ego are part of a collective individual unconscious

Shadow (archetypes)

Personification of the dark side

• sexual, aggressive, can be opposite of your usual self

• Dr,Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

• Star Wars or lord of the rings

Anima / animus (archetypes)

The soul, which is the other sec

• getting in touch with your feminine or masculine side

The self (archetypes)

Archetype at the enter of collective unconscious

Ego orbits around it

Illustrates relationship between the self and the ego

• ego is a small peripheral aspect of the psyche

• Wise part of us

• Yoda or dumbledore

Ego attitudes and functions

Jung believed the ego had different attitudes and functions

Attitudes- Extraversion vs. Introversion - energy from social situations vs. Energy from being alone

Functons- thinking vs. Feeing (rational) & intuition vs. Sensation (irrational)

Myers-Briggs type indicator based on Jungs work, but added judging vs. Perceiving (planful vs. Spontaneous)

Extraversion vs. Introversion (jungs personality type indicator)

Extroverts energized from interacting with others and introverts are drained by it

Thinking vs.feeling (jungs personality type indicator)

Thinking through issues vs. Relies on feelings to make decisions and come to conclusions

Intuition vs. Sensation (jungs personality type indicator)

Seeing patterns in issues even if it doesn’t fully follow logic, making choices based on intuition VS relying on concrete connections, directing what to do logically but answer depends on how it turns out

Judging vs. Perceiving (jungs personality type indicator)

Planned out vs.spontaneous and on the fly

Individuation

Jung - this involved changing the center of ourselves rom the ego to the self

• the sun as the center rather than the earth

Seen in may movies and tv shows - hero’s embarking on a journey

Collective unconscious can lead to strange experiences like synchronicity

Neo analytic

Off branch from Freud but modified

Alfred Adler

Challenged Freud

Focus more on the drive for power

Everyone has a drive for power

• inferiority complex

• Compensation

• May lead to compensation- reacting against perceived inferiority (ex- Theodore Roosevelt)

Also interested in birth order

Karen Horney

Disagreed with Freuds penis envy theory and countered with her own

• men have a strong desire for the ability to give birth

Anxiety coping personality types

• Moving toward- connecting with others to deal with anxiety

• Moving away- avoiding others to find peace and escape conflict

• Moving against - gaining control over the competitive world through exploitativeness and aggressiveness

Object relations theory

Associated with many theorists - Fairbairn, Klein, Winnicott, Balint

Early relationships impact personalities in a lifelong way

Evaluates people based on how they think about others - relationships with others

‘Objects’ are internal psychological representations of others

Object integration

Whether someone can see other people as complex multidimensional people

A good understanding acknowledges the complexity of others

Split object image

Seeing others in extreme contrasts

No inbetween

Basic fault

Lack of connection between child and mother that later impacts adult relationships