Psychosocial Flashcards
(73 cards)
critique of Psychoanalysis? (5)
- excessive complexity
- case study method
- vague definitions
- untestability
- sexism
Why is excessive complexity a critique?
theory is complex, violates occam’s razor.
- lot too it that is too hard to explain. oedipus + electra complex
why is case study method a critique?
data wasnt made public, freud couldn’t reveal the case studies to protect patient privacy.
- uncheckable may be biased, unscientific
- only recently have ppl started to test the key ideas.
why are vague definitions a critique?
rare use of operational definitions
- unsure what freud meant by psychic energy.
- doesnt provide answers to some important specific questions
why is untestability a critique?
should be disconfirmable: show why it’s false, or not false. test + parsimony.
- no observations to test
- can hypotheses be tested individually?
why is sexism a critique?
freud considered males the norm + baesd theories off their psychology
- females as aberrations/deviations from male model.
- electra not as well developed as oedipus
- weak superego, but doesnt say why
why should we study freud if there are so many critiques?
- influences psychotherapy
- entered pop culture
- freudian thought = revival in research psychology
- only complete theory of personality
what kind of assessment techniques does freud use?
- some examples?
projective assessment techniques: unconscious themes reveal self will be projected on to ambiguous stimuli
- free association, word association
what is the free association assessment technique?
patient is put into a state of relaxation while reclining on a couch. asked to freely associate by telling whatever thoughts come to mind
what is word association assessment technique?
respond as wuickly as possible to 100 words + report whatever comes to mind.
what is dream analysis? theory name?
unconscious conflicts expressed through themes inherent in our dreams.
- dream symbolism theory: certain objects represent male + female forms of sexuality
what are two types of content in dream analysis?
manifest: sensory images in the dream
latent: deeper meaning or significance of the dream
what is latent content effected by?
- sensory stimulation
- current concerns, occupations in waking daily life.
- unconscious impulses-
freud’s universal symbolic code
- universal symbolic code of the unconscious mind
- certain symbols meant the same thing to everybody.
- later decided, meanings vary for every individual
Focus after freud?
- not as emphasized
- focus on interpersonal aspects of life (early relationships affect other relations)
two reasons to dislike freud?
- his ideas are a threat to ego + narcissism.
2. uncomfy to talk about his ideas.
names of latter day theoriests?
- anna freud
- bettelheim
- erikson
- jung
- adler
- horney
- stack sullivan
- klein
- winnicott
- murray
common deviations in neo-freud from freud.
- sex is less important
- less emphasis on unconscious mental processes
- less emphasis on drives and mental life
discuss why neo-freudians put less emphasis on sex
- reinterpret libido as general motivation toward life + creativity
- freud believed deemphasizing sex did so bc of own anxieties
discuss why neo-freudians put less emphasis on unconscious mental processes
more on conscious thought.
- interest in processes driving perception + conscious comprehension of reality
loevinger + ego
ego’s function is to make sense of everything a person experiences
- story of development = story of ego development through relating to self, others society, autonomy.
discuss less emphasis on drives + mental life in neo-freudians
focus on interpersonal relations > drives + mental life as source of difficulties
- adler, erikson
- object relations theorists: ppl replay certain relationship patterns throughout life.
Adler’s ideas
- thought freud focused too much on sex.
- social interest
- organ inferiority
- masculine protest
- style of life
what is adler’s social interest?
desire to relate positively and productively with other people