AP Psychology Module 4.5a Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories of Personality: Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Theories

Sigmund Freud and Psychodynamic Theories

  • Freud (1856-1939) focused on the unconscious mind and childhood experiences in personality.

  • Psychoanalysis: Freud's theory attributing thoughts/actions to unconscious motives.

Learning Targets

  • Explain Freud's view on the unconscious mind and personality.

  • Describe how Freud believed people defend against anxiety.

  • Identify Freud's accepted and rejected ideas by followers.

  • Discuss contemporary views of psychoanalysis and research on the unconscious.

  • Explain projective tests and their criticisms.

Core Concepts

  • Psychodynamic Theories: View human behavior as interaction between conscious and unconscious minds.

  • Defense Mechanisms: Techniques the ego uses to reduce anxiety by distorting reality (e.g., repression).

Freud's Mind Structure

  • Id: Operates on pleasure principle; seeks immediate gratification.

  • Ego: Reality-oriented; mediates between id and superego.

  • Superego: Represents internalized ideals and standards of morality.

Personality Development

  • Freud theorized personality develops through psychosexual stages:

    1. Oral (0-18 months): Pleasure centers on the mouth.

    2. Anal (18-36 months): Pleasure focuses on bowel control.

    3. Phallic (3-6 years): Pleasure in the genital area; Oedipus/Electra complex.

    4. Latency (6 years-puberty): Dormant sexual feelings.

    5. Genital (puberty onward): Maturation of sexual interests.

Defense Mechanisms

  • Repression: Bans anxiety-arousing thoughts from consciousness.

  • Other mechanisms include denial, projection, reaction formation, subluminating, rationalization, and displacement.

Critiques of Freud's Theories

  • Critics argue Freud's ideas are unscientific and many lack validity and reliability.

  • Modern research does not support notions of fixed childhood development or the universality of the Oedipus complex.

Projective Tests

  • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Individuals create stories about ambiguous images, reflecting their inner feelings.

  • Rorschach Test: Analyzes interpretations of inkblots; criticized for reliability and validity but used in clinical settings.

Contemporary Views

  • Modern psychologists acknowledge the unconscious but view it differently than Freud's model, focusing on unconscious information processing, implicit biases, and emotional responses without repressed memories.