Psychoanalytic Approach

Question 1

What are the four key idea of psychoanalysis?

Answer 1

Psychic Determinism, Internal Structure, Psychic Conflict and Mental Energy

Question 2

What is Psychic Determinism?

Answer 2

The assumption that everything psychological has a cause that is identifiable

Question 3

What is the internal structure assumption of the mind according to Freud?

Answer 3

The mind has an internal structure made of parts that can function independently. They are the id, ego and superego

Question 4

What is the id, the ego and the superego?

Answer 4

The id is the unconscious part of the mind that wants everything, now.
The ego is the rational part of the mind that mediates between the id, the superego and reality.
The superego is the individual’s system of internalized rules of conduct, the morality

Question 5

What is the assumption of psychic conflict?

Answer 5

The conflict of the parts of the mind.

Question 6

What is compromise formation?

Answer 6

Tenet of thought that says the ego has the job of a moderator, finding the middle ground between the superego and the id by making compromises.

Question 7

What is mental energy?

Answer 7

An assumption in psychoanalysis that the mind needs energy, psychic energy or libido, and only a fixed and finite amount is available at any given moment.

Question 8

What are the controversies around psychoanalysis?

Answer 8

It changes with the time, before it was too “dirty”, now it’s considered too “unscientific”. A lot of people just don’t like psychoanalysis and Freud.

Question 9

What is Thanatos?

Answer 9

Thanatos was the term given to the drive toward death and destruction by Freud. Opposite to libido.

Question 10

What is the doctrine of opposites?

Answer 10

Freud believed that everything implies or contain its opposite, and the opposites are more similar than the middle ground.

Question 11

What is Freud’s theory of psychosexual development?

Answer 11

It’s Freud’s theory on how the libido, life energy, becomes invested and then redirected over an individual’s early years. The focus point of psychic energy is what determines the phase.

Question 12

What are the phases of Freud’s psychosexual development theory?

Answer 12

Oral (birth to 18 months), anal (18 months to 3.5 years), phallic (3.5 years to 7 years), latency (7 years to puberty) and genital (puberty through adulthood).

Question 13

What are the aspects of the stages of psychosexual development?

Answer 13

Physical focus: where energy is concentrated and gratification is obtained
Psychological theme: Demands on the child from the outside world during development
Adult character type: Resulting personality from being fixated on that stage.

Question 14

What is the physical focus, the mental structure, psychological theme and adult type associated with the oral phase?

Answer 14

Mouth, lips and tongue
Id
Dependence and passivity
Dependent or overly independent

Question 15

What is the physical focus, the mental structure, psychological theme and adult type associated with the anal phase?

Answer 15

Anus and organs of elimination
Ego
Self-control and obedience
Obedient, obsessed with order or messy and anti-order

Question 16

What is the physical focus, the mental structure, psychological theme and adult type associated with the phallic phase?

Answer 16

Sexual organs
Superego
Sexuality and gender identity
Over or under sexualized.

Question 17

What is the latency stage?

Answer 17

Stage until puberty where the child is focused on learning and cognitive development.

Question 18

What is the physical focus, the mental structure, psychological theme and adult type associated with the genital phase?

Answer 18

Sexuality, in a mature relationship, sexual organs not just as a physical organ, but as reproduction.
All are well-balanced
Creation of life, maturity
A mature adult, adulthood is not a phase, but an achievement.

Question 19

How does Freud defines mental health?

Answer 19

To be able to love and work

Question 20

What is a good metaphor used by Freud to explain psychosexual development?

Answer 20

The mind progressing through the development is like an army conquering hostile territory, periodically it encounters opposition and battle ensues. To secure the ground, some troops are left behind, if the battle was particularly bitter, and if the local resistance remains strong, a larger part of the army must stay behind. Moreover, if the main army encounters severe problems later, it is likely to retreat to a stronghold at the site of former battle.

Question 21

What is fixation and regression?

Answer 21

Fixation is leaving libidinal energy behind at an earlier psychosexual development stage.
Regression is the retreat to a psychosexual development stage when under stress.

Question 22

What is primary and secondary process thinking according to Freud?

Answer 22

Primary is the way the unconscious mind operates, thinking without negatives, qualifications, sense of time or danger. Its only goal is the immediate gratification of every desire. Hard to prove because it only exists in consciousness in really young kids, dreams or schizophrenics.
Secondary is the rational, practical thinking, that can delay gratification.

Question 23

What is the topographic model?

Answer 23

Three levels of consciousness, the smallest, the conscious mind that you can observe, the preconscious mind, that is hidden but can be brought to the surface and the unconscious mind which houses most of the mind.

Question 24

What are defense mechanisms? List them.

Answer 24

A short-term solution for the ego to control the anxiety caused by the mind’s conflict.
Denial, repression, reaction formation, projection, rationalization, intellectualization, displacement and sublimation.

Question 25

What is the therapeutic alliance? What is transference?

Answer 25

The bond between patient and therapist. The tendency to bring ways of thinking, feeling and behaving that developed toward one important person into a later relationship with a different person.

Question 26

What are the five important shortcomings in the psychoanalytic field?

Answer 26

Excessive complexity, case study method, vague definitions, untestability and SEXISM!

Question 27

What is the problem with the case study method in the psychoanalysis field?

Answer 27

Freud and psychoanalytic psychologist had, and have, the tendency to formulate theories based on specific cases, patients. These cases are confidential, which poses a problem for analyzing the theory, as the proof might be biased or simply misremembered

Question 28

What is an example of a vague definition by Freud?

Answer 28

Energy as libido.

Question 29

Why do we still study Freud?

Answer 29

Comprehensive theory Compelling Influence on culture Right about some things

Question 30

What are the ideas underlying Freud’s theory?

Answer 30

Psychic energy, instincts and doctrine of opposites

Question 31

what are the principles of the structures of the mind?

Answer 31

Id- Pleasure principle Ego- Reality principle Superego- ego ideal and conscience

Question 32

what are the characteristics of the psychosexual theory?

Answer 32

1- erogenous zone 2- theme 3- barriers to completion of the stage, fixation and regression 4- adult personality depends on successful or unsuccessful negotiation of the stage

Question 33

what are parapraxes?

Answer 33

leakage from the unconscious mind, forgetting, slips, dream, jokes, due to unresolved impulses.

Question 34

What are the 7 things Freud got right?

Answer 34

Unconscious mind Sexual and aggressive impulse’s influence on behaviour Behaviour is often a compromise Childhood experience Mental representation of other guide our relationship with them Personality development involves movement from socially dependent to mature independent way of relating to other Talk and insight can be helpful in solving psychological problems

Question 35

What came after Freud?

Answer 35

Neo-Freudians: retain a lot of the key ideas but made some innovations Ego-psychology: Focuses more on the conscious rational processes and the development of the ego. Objects-relation: Focuses on interpersonal relationships, how we relate to others based on our inaccurate mental image and how that can be shaped by earlier experiences.