Psychodynamic Model of Abnormal Psychology Study Notes

Session Overview

  • Topic: Psychodynamic Model of Abnormal Psychology
  • Instructor: Dr. Saya Karavadra

Theory of the Mind

  • Components of the Mind:
    • Conscious Mind: The thoughts and feelings of which we are currently aware.
    • Preconscious Mind: Thoughts that are not currently in conscious awareness but can be accessed easily.
    • Unconscious Mind: Contains thoughts, feelings, memories, and desires that are not accessible to consciousness.

Psychodynamic Theory of Personality

  • Components:
    • Id:
    • Definition: Part of the personality that operates on the pleasure principle. Present at birth. Entirely unconscious, instinctive, and primitive.
    • Function: Seeks immediate gratification of needs and drives, avoiding pain. Driven by sexual and aggressive urges.
    • Ego:
    • Definition: Functions on the reality principle.
    • Function: Ensures that the id's impulses are expressed in socially acceptable ways. Balances the demands of the id and the superego.
    • Level of operation: Functions in conscious, preconscious, and unconscious realms.
    • Superego:
    • Definition: Represents the moral aspect of personality and the ideal standard.
    • Function: Evaluates actions and thoughts against moral standards, leading to feelings of pride or guilt based on compliance or violation.
    • Emerges around age 5.

Comparison of Freud's Three Systems of Personality

  • Id:

    • Nature: Biological aspect.
    • Level: Unconscious.
    • Principle: Pleasure.
    • Purpose: Seek pleasure and avoid pain.
    • Aim: Immediate gratification.

  • Ego:

    • Nature: Psychological aspect.
    • Level: Conscious, Preconscious, and Unconscious.
    • Principle: Reality.
    • Purpose: Adapt to reality while balancing id and superego.
    • Aim: Safety, compromise, and delayed gratification.

  • Superego:

    • Nature: Societal and parental aspect.
    • Level: Conscious, Preconscious, and Unconscious.
    • Principle: Moralistic and idealistic.
    • Purpose: Represents right and wrong.
    • Aim: Perfection.

Illustration of the Id, Ego, and Superego Dynamics

  • Id: Represents immediate desires, illustrated by the phrase "I WANT IT NOW!"
  • Ego: Represents the planning and processing, indicated by "I NEED TO DO A BIT OF PLANNING TO GET IT."
  • Superego: Represents moral judgment, stated as "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT. IT'S NOT RIGHT."