Topographical Theory Flashcards
What is the topographical theory?
Freud believed the personality operates at 3 different levels of the unconscious: Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious
What is found in the conscious?
All of the thoughts, memories, feelings, and wishes which we are aware of at any given moment
What does the preconscious consist of?
Memories and stored knowledge that could potentially be brought into the conscious mind
What is found in the unconscious? (3)
Feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside our conscious awareness
Such as violent motives, fears, sexual desires, irrational wishes, immoral urges, selfish needs, shameful experiences
The id
What is repression?
It is a defense mechanism - in order to cope with the unacceptable thoughts/feelings/urges our mind pushes them into the unconscious so they no longer cause anxiety and pain
How may repressed material emerge? (2)
Our ego’s ability to repress material is weakened
When we no longer feel threatened by the repressed material
Describe the unconscious mind (3)
We do not have access to it and it is difficult to - still it can be accessed
Contains repressed memories/thoughts/feelings/urges
Some memories are completely erased from the mind but the trauma is still stored in the body
How are unconscious memories passed down through generations?
through epigenetics
How is repressed material accessed? (6)
Introspection
Free association
Dreams
Resistance
Parapraxes
Projection
What is resistance?
A defense mechanism - the way we react when unconscious defenses are threatened by an outside source
e.g., booking a therapy session and always arriving late
What examples of parapraxes? (5)
Freudian slips
Forgetfulness
Misplacement of objects
Joking and dark humor
False perceptions
What is introspection?
The examination of one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings and an in-depth exploration of past experiences from a non-defensive stance
What is free association?
Uncensored talk
e.g., saying the first few things that come to your head without giving any thought
What is the primary purpose of dreams (2)
Leftover thoughts from the day and memories from the past that emerge are incorporated into the dream to keep you from waking up
If the dream is too threatening (too close to what’s really buried inside us), we wake up to protect ourselves
How is the content of the dream divided?
The MANIFEST content - what you see is what you get
e.g., going in for an exam late - you are afraid this will happen in real life
The LATENT content - things about our life, worries, impulses, etc. that are masked into something else
e.g., you’re driving in a flooded street - the water controls the car, not you
