Personality Development

Question 1

What are 2 processes that support personality development?

Answer 1

Identification
Displacement

Question 2

What are sublimations? Give an example

Answer 2

displacements that produce social and cultural achievements

e.g., sports - channeling our energy into something constructive

Question 3

What are defense mechanisms and their functions (2)?

Answer 3

Mental processes that have the goal of reducing our anxiety

They protect us from feeling overwhelmed and sources of threat

They also operate unconsciously and distort reality

Question 4

How are defense mechanisms both functional and dysfunctional?

Answer 4

Functional: an infant’s ego would be too weak to cope with the inner tension

Dysfunctional: prolonged and excessive use might hinder the ego from gaining sufficient strength for it to grow

Question 5

What are 8 defense mechanisms?

Answer 5

Repression
Rationalization
Reaction Formation
Projection
Intellectualization
Denial
Displacement
Regression

Question 6

What is rationalization?

Answer 6

Reasoning out/justifying things or distorting the truth that we do not like through the use of logic and reason

e.g., when a person is asked to resign, he convinces himself that he was going to quit soon anyway

Question 7

What is regression? Give an example

Answer 7

Reverting to immature patterns of behaviors pertaining to an earlier stage of development

We retreat under stress to an earlier stage of development as during it other were available to help

e.g., after a fight with her husband, a young woman returns to her parents’ home where she allows her parents to cater for her every whim

Question 8

What is reaction formation?

Answer 8

When we adopt attitudes and behaviors that are opposite to our true thoughts and feelings, to hide thoughts and feelings that arouse anxiety

Question 9

What is intellectualization?

Answer 9

an attempt to gain detachment from a stressful situation by dealing with it in abstract, intellectual terms

e.g., medical students who work on cadavers intellectualize the gruesome situation by looking at it as purely an assignment

Question 10

What are the 5 psychosexual stages (Freud)?

Answer 10

1. Oral Stage
2. Anal Stage
3. Phallic Stage
4. Latency Stage
5. Genital Stage

Question 11

Describe the oral stage (4)

Answer 11

0-1 years

Characterized by feelings of dependency as the baby relies totally on others for survival

Major pleasure center is the oral cavity - hence infants enjoy activities which involve their mouth, lips, and tongue

Baby operates from the id position - ego not yet developed

Question 12

What is the developmental task of the oral stage?

Answer 12

moving from infantile dependency towards self sufficiency on the basis of a core event such as weaning

Question 13

What causes fixation at the oral stage and what is the result?

Answer 13

Cause: rapid weaning, over/under indulgence

Result: oral receptive character OR oral aggressive character

Question 14

Distinguish between oral receptive personality and oral aggressive personality

Answer 14

Oral receptive: very trusting and dependent on others

Oral aggressive: aggressive and dominating with envy for the success of others

Question 15

Describe the anal stage (5)

Answer 15

1-2 years

Child learns that they cannot depend on the parent for everything

Parental focus should be on helping the child distinguish between right and wrong decisions

Involves anal areas as the main source of satisfaction

Ego develops as the child delays gratification

Question 16

What is the developmental task of the anal stage?

Answer 16

Learning to exercise control over our body and impulse, hence postponing the pleasure of relieving anal tension (toilet training)

Question 17

What causes fixation at the anal stage and what is the result?

Answer 17

Cause: harsh punishment during toilet training process

Result: anal retentive character OR anal expulsive character

Question 18

Distinguish between anal retentive personality and anal expulsive personality

Answer 18

Anal retentive: mean, stubborn, and obsessively tidy

Anal expulsive: careless, very generous and giving

Question 19

Describe the phallic stage (3)

Answer 19

2-6 years

Preoccupation with genital organs (penis and clitoris) and sexual fantasies start to appear

Intensification of sexual longing for the parent (Oedipus and Elektra complexes)

Question 20

Explain the Oedipus complex (3)

Answer 20

Boys are sexually attracted to their mothers and hostile towards their fathers

Resolution through identification with their fathers and repression of their sexual feelings

Boys experience castration anxiety - afraid his father will castrate him

Question 21

What is the result of fixation at the phallic stage? (2)

Answer 21

Men: vain and self assured
Women: fight hard for superiority over men

Question 22

What is the developmental task for the phallic stage

Answer 22

Mastering competitive urges and acquiring gender role related behaviors

Question 23

Explain the Elektra complex (3)

Answer 23

Girls are sexually attracted to their fathers and are hostile towards their mothers

Girls experience penis envy and blame the mother for it

Resolution through repression of sexual feelings, displacement of sexual feelings to other men, and identification with the mother

Question 24

Describe the latency stage (5)

Answer 24

6-12 years

Major pleasure centers are dormant, sexual feelings for the opposite sex

Sexual energy is directed towards external sources e.g., hobbies and friends

Identification with the same sex parent becomes strong

Superego develops

Question 25

What is the developmental task for the latency stage?

Answer 25

Development of ego defense mechanisms

Question 26

Why are there no fixations associated with the latency stage?

Answer 26

there is little psychosexual development

Question 27

Describe the genital stage (4)

Answer 27

12-18 years

Main source of pleasure are the genitals, with another person

Characterized by an intense overdrive of sexual tension

Intense sexual drives are restrained by social demands for adherence to moral values

Question 28

What is the developmental task for the genital stage? (2)

Answer 28

A person becomes mature, able to love and be loved

A person goes from having total self interest to developing altruistic motives for others

Question 29

What causes fixation at the genital stage and what is the result?

Answer 29

Cause: failure to establish a sense of genital sexuality

Result: selfish involvement with others to satisfy one’s own sexual needs and inability to commit and form emotional bonds in relationships

Question 30

What are 3 flaws in Freud’s theory of psychosexual development?

Answer 30

He considers the male genital stage normal but the female genital stage as hysterical and manic

He considers homosexuality a result of fixation in the phallic stage

His stages stop at age 18 when in reality sexual development continues into old age