Chp 3 - Freud and Psychoanalytic Aspects of Personality

Question 1

Key characteristics of the Psychoanalytic Perspective

Answer 1

1) Influence of the unconscious
2) Unconscious dynamic, conflict with consciousness and with other aspects of unconscious;
3) Critical role of early experience (Stage theory (ppl can get stuck in a stage))

Question 2

Two innate, biological instincts

Answer 2

1. Eros
2. Thanatos

Question 3

Eros

Answer 3

• Sexual, survival
• Psychic energy, libido (sexual)

Question 4

Thanatos

Answer 4

• Instinct to destruction, return to inanimate state
• Aggressive, self-destructive

Question 5

Conservation of Psychic Energy

Answer 5

• Psychic “energy” constant across a person’s life
• Psychic energy can be redirected
  (Transformation of motives)
• Personality development and change a redirection of psychic energy

Question 6

Transformation of motives

Answer 6

Psychic energy is inherently sexual, but can be transformed and redirected
e.g. redirect to food

Question 7

Levels of Consciousness

Answer 7

• Consciousness
• Preconsciousness (usually refer to LTM)
• Unconscious

Question 8

Id

Answer 8

Unconscious
- most primitive of the human mind
- present at birth
- Psychic energy: source of all drives and urges
- Dominates during infancy
- Operates acc to the pleasure principle

Question 9

Pleasure principle

Answer 9

• satisfy desires and reduce inner tension
• Seek immediate release of psychic energy regardless of consequences

Question 10

Ego

Answer 10

Conscious
- Redirects pressure produced by id
- emerge dur early childhood
- As we gain diff experience, the ego can access the preconscious
- Operates acc to the reality principle

Question 11

Reality principle

Answer 11

• Delay discharge of psychic energy until appropriate/ acceptable

Question 12

Superego

Answer 12

• Personality structure that emerges (5yo) to internalize these societal rules
• Like a conscience, but parts of the superego are unconscious
• not bound by reality (People may have personal ideals that are unrealistic: unattainable)
• Source of guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride, moral judgements

Question 13

When the superego/ ego do not do their job well,

Answer 13

elements of the id may slip out and be seen.

Question 14

Ego and Intrapsychic Conflict

Answer 14

Clinical Origins
Dysfunction, why do people have anxiety?
strain on ego
1) constrain id, Keep unacceptable impulses within the id
If the unconscious urges protruded to the conscious, will be conflict
2) intrusions of unconscious into conscious
3) mediates id-superego conflict
4) unresolved conflicts of the ego

Question 15

3 types of diff types of anxiety

Answer 15

As ego risks failure
Creates
1) Neurotic anxiety
2) Moral anxiety
3) Reality anxiety

Question 16

Neurotic anxiety

Answer 16

fear our impulses will lead to punishment, loss of parental love

Question 17

Moral anxiety

Answer 17

superego - guilt

Question 18

Reality anxiety

Answer 18

real threat

Question 19

Ways of accessing the Unconscious

Answer 19

• Free association
• Projective tests
• dreams

Question 20

Free Association

Answer 20

• Complete freedom of thoughts
• Whatever comes to mind
• Initial resistance (until responders stop paying attention to their responses)
• Unacceptable thoughts, wishes expressed

Question 21

Projective Tests

Answer 21

• Ambiguous figures can be interpreted in many ways
• How you are interpreting them come from the unconscious
  e.g. Ink blot, TAT picture

Question 21

Projective Tests

Answer 21

• Ambiguous figures can be interpreted in many ways
• How you are interpreting them come from the unconscious
  e.g. Ink blot, TAT picture

Question 22

Dreams in context of unconscious

Answer 22

• Restraints weakened during sleep,
• Unconscious threaten to enter awareness,
• Protect by expressing in acceptable form.

Question 23

Latent Content (dream)

Answer 23

The meaning of the dream
- Repressed wishes and urges, unresolved conflicts

Question 24

Dream-work

Answer 24

Disguise latent content make acceptable

Question 25

Produce manifest content (dream)

Answer 25

The coded and disguised dream, What is recalled upon waking

Question 26

Dream interpretation

Answer 26

Undo dream work and translate manifest content back into latent (untapped) content Reveals contents of unconscious

Question 27

The best predictor of dream content is what you were ______ about and _____ before you went to sleep.

Answer 27

thinking and doing

Question 28

Psychosexual Development

Answer 28

* stage theory * 5 sequential stages * lasting contribution * sexual gratification * childhood sexuality * If not resolved appropriately then fixation

Question 29

Fixation (Psychosexual Development)

Answer 29

stuck at the stage The earlier the stage the person is fixated at, the more serious the impact on the individual's health

Question 30

What are the 5 stages of Psychosexual Development?

Answer 30

1) Oral 2) Anal 3) Phallic 4) Latency 5) Genital

Question 31

Defence Mechanisms

Answer 31

Ego to reduce neurotic anxiety, conserve or safely discharge psychic energy

Question 32

Repression

Answer 32

- original defense mechanism - basis of all other defense mechanisms to unconscious - keep impulses constrained - Everyone has repression - Keep the psychic energy bottled up

Question 33

Types of defence mechanisms (7)

Answer 33

- Denial - Projection - Dissociation - Regression - Reaction formation - Displacement - Sublimation

Question 34

Denial

Answer 34

* Most primitive * Failure to acknowledge reality * Usually only in extreme situations * may be apparent in daydreams and fantasies *Normal among young, potentially dangerous older (psychoses)

Question 35

Projection

Answer 35

* Project trait, impulse onto others * Can hate, belittle them, instead of self - It's too risky due to the ego to hate indiv themselves e.g. insecure about own's intelligence, call others "stupid"

Question 36

Dissociation

Answer 36

* Separate impulses from consciousness * Abnormal separation of thoughts, emotions, impulses e.g. extreme in DID

Question 37

Regression

Answer 37

Revert to earlier stage of development to escape anxiety e.g. weaner child demanding a bottle when upset (past of the oral stage but goes back to discharge the anxiety) e.g. returning home to parents in response to an emotional trauma

Question 38

Reaction Formation

Answer 38

* Display opposite behaviours to the impulse, because can't do the thing you acc want to do * Excessive, exaggerated * Compulsive performance (Inner drives of such people (the id) are pushing them to) e.g overly kind, courteous, considerate when really angry -Initial urge is to be violent e.g. Feels unattractive so dresses in provocative clothes, flirts excessively

Question 39

Displacement

Answer 39

* Directed at safe target * Not deliberate targeting, unconscious * hydraulic displacement model (pent up anger) e.g. angry with boss, therefore abuses family

Question 40

Sublimation

Answer 40

* Most mature, healthiest - Transforming of dangerous urges into positive, socially acceptable motivations * Effectively reduces energy of repression in a healthy way e.g. sexual impulse expressed as care and nurturance e.g. acts of creativity

Question 41

Hypermnesia

Answer 41

- Excess memory - Reporting memory that wasn't reportable previously

Question 42

Infantile amnesia

Answer 42

- Do not remember much about things before 3/4 - Freud: argued that it was because it was before the development of the Ego, and those thoughts were unacceptable, only from the id, therefore stay unconscious - modern: maturation of the brain/ language