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CH 2 Psychoanalytic Theory

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind in shaping personality and behavior, focusing on instincts related to sex and aggression. It introduces concepts such as the Id, Ego, and Superego, along with various defense mechanisms and stages of development. The theory has faced controversy and criticism but remains influential in understanding human psychology and therapeutic practices.

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17 views4 pages

CH 2 Psychoanalytic Theory

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind in shaping personality and behavior, focusing on instincts related to sex and aggression. It introduces concepts such as the Id, Ego, and Superego, along with various defense mechanisms and stages of development. The theory has faced controversy and criticism but remains influential in understanding human psychology and therapeutic practices.

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hammeringqt1123
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Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

● Sigmund Freud (proponent)


● Sex and aggression (concept)
● Controversial theory
● Freud attracted many followers due to his unique theories
➔ The group (Fruedian) fallen out due to biases in some of his theories
● Explored the unconscious

Levels of Mental Life


1. unconscious ● Instincts (innate, natural)
● Motivations
● The key of understanding the patient’s
personality is through their unconscious
mind
● Unconscious mind is revealed through
dreams
● Repressed as they are not socially
accepted
● Also revealed through Freudian slip
● Includes:
○ Repression = forgetting
unconsciously, repressed thoughts
(e.g. trauma)
○ Phylogenetic endowment = inherited
from the ancestors

2. Preconscious ● Thoughts you forget as they are not that


significant
● Can be found in the unconscious

3. Conscious ● Present (awareness)


● Perceptual conscious = censorship
❖ Thoughts, actions will be brought to
the conscious psyche if it is
disguised (e.g. repressed sexual
urges brought to the conscious
through green jokes–defense
mechanism)
● Perceptual of external stimuli = stimulated
by the senses
● If conscious is not disguised, it is not
repressed

Provinces of the Mind


1. Id = instincts, pleasure principle, motivation
2. Ego = reality principle, master to the Id
● Follows what is realistic
3. Superego = conscience principle, morality principle

Dynamics of Personality
1. Instincts
● Sex and aggression
● Sexual instinct gained through erogenous zone
● Sexual instinct brings sexual pleasure
● Sexual and aggressive drives:
❖ Sadism
❖ Masochism
➢ Kinds of sexual and aggressive drives:
a) Normal = not causing distress to others
b) Abnormal = distress, dysfunctional, dangerous

2. Anxiety
● Only the ego feels anxiety because it has a direct contact in reality
● Function of Ego’s defense mechanism = to shield from anxiety
● Three kinds of anxiety:
1. Neurotic anxiety = problem with id
2. Moral anxiety = problem with superego
3. Realistic anxiety = problem with ego

Defense Mechanisms
1. Repression ● Present in all defense mechanisms
● Affects all of your actions
● Keywords: unconscious and forgetting

2. Reaction formation ● Exact opposite of an impulse

3. Sublimation ● Keyword: rechanelling


● To convert/transform an impulse into
something acceptable

4. Displacement ● Keyword: redirect


● Redirecting an action into a less
threatening object

5. Fixation ● Keyword: fixated


● Even if you progress to another stage you
carry a fixated action all throughout the
developmental stages
● You are “stuck” in satisfying a certain
stages
● Reasons of fixations:
1. Excessive satisfaction
2. Lack of satisfaction

6. Regression ● Going back to formative (childhood) stage


● Occurs when frustrated or in times of
anxiety

7. Projection ● Ascribing unwanted feelings towards


someone
● One’s own negative trait projects onto
others
● Once it becomes extreme, it becomes
paranoia

8. Introjection ● Opposite of projection


● Positive qualities of an individual are being
incorporated to others

Additional Defense Mechanisms:


1. Denial = denying the existence of some external threat or traumatic event that has occurred
2. Rationalization = making excuses for the real reason
❖ Sour grapes = justify difficult or unacceptable feelings with seemingly logical reasons and
explanations
❖ Sweet lemons = an explanation that makes the situation seem more palatable, opposite of
sour grapes
3. Compensation = make up for something you are lacking for (indirectly or directly)

Stages of Development
1. Infantile Period
a) Oral Phase = erogenous zone (gives pleasure) is found at the mouth
b) Anal Phase = erogenous zone at the anus, toilet training occurs in this stage
❖ Fixations:
● Anal Character = grows up generous
● Anal triad = too much organized
c) Phallic Phase = erogenous zone is at the genitals
❖ Oedipus Complex = anxiety in the form of castration anxiety; develops rivalry of
boys against their fathers due to the fear of getting their penis taken away from their
father
❖ Female Oedipus Complex = girls transfers their affection from their mother to their
father thinking they can share their father’s penis
➢ Penis Envy = wish to be a boy or desire to have a man
2. Latency Period = no erogenous zone is present (active) at this period
3. Genital Period = erogenous zone comes back
4. Maturity = achieves physical maturity

Applications of Psychoanalytic Theory


1. Free association = verbalizes what comes to your mind when seeing or hearing an object
2. Transference = patient’s feelings towards their therapist
❖ Counter-transference = therapist’s feelings towards to their patient
3. Freudian Slip = a.k.a. Parapraxes; you said something that you do not consciously thinking but
reveals your unconscious mind
4. Dream Analysis
❖ Manifest content = conscious/surface meaning of the dream
❖ Latent content = unconscious material

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