freud's theory of aggression Flashcards
what was Freud’s psychodynamic explanation for aggression?
- he said that we have an unconscious drive that causes aggressive behaviour
- its caused by an internal force, our natural instinct that Freud names ‘Thanatos’
what does thanatos drive us towards?
self destruction
what is thanatos?
our natural instinct
over time what does Thanatos create?
over time Thanatos builds up, creating pressure which we can’t control and makes us do something aggressive
what is the conscious?
the small amount of mental activity we know
what is the preconscious?
things we could be aware of if we wanted or tried
what’s the unconscious?
things we are unaware of and can’t become aware of
what is repression?
blocking unconscious thoughts and placing them in the unconscious
what are the 3 parts of freud’s personality theory?
ID
ego
superego
describe how each part of freud’s theory look in relation to an iceburg? top to bottom
ego (reality)
super ego (morality)
ID (instintcs)
describe the EGO in relation to the iceburg
- the EGO is reality and is at the top of the iceberg
- this includes our thoughts and perceptions
- it it our conscious (the small amount of mental activity we know)
describe the SUPEREGO in relation to the iceburg
- the superego is morality
- it is mixed with the preconscious and the unconscious and it goes from top to bottom of the iceberg
- the pre-conscious involves stored knowledge and memories
- the unconscious includes bad things such as fears, violent motives, unacceptable sexual desires, irrational wishes
describe the ID in relation to the iceburg
- this is our instincts
- it is part of repression (when we block unconscious thoughts and placing them in the unconscious)
- this includes really bad things such as selfish needs, shameful experiences, traumatic experiences, immoral urges
what is our ID?
-our unconscious
-it’s pleasure orientated and selfish
-insatiable instincts are present from birth
what is the ego?
-our conscious
-driven by the reality principle
-balances conflicting demands of the ID and superego