Basics of Personality and

Psychodynamic perspective
Module 1
Personality
• Inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how a person
thinks and acts in an environment.
• The inner characteristics of personality are specific qualities, attributes, traits,
factors and mannerisms that distinguish one individual from others.
• Personality is a pattern of stable states and characteristics of a person that
influences his or her behaviour toward goal achievement. Each person has unique
ways of protecting these states.
• Personality is the fundamental and foremost determinant of individual behaviour.
It seeks to integrate an individual's physiological and psychological facets to put
them into action.
• Personality consists of an individual’s characteristics and distinctive ways of
behaviour.
Definitions - Personality
• Gordon Allport - The dynamic organisation within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.
• William McDougall - The "integrated and organized totality of mental and physical
capacities and traits of an individual."
• Hans Eysenck: Personality consists of three broad dimensions: extraversion-
introversion, neuroticism-stability, and psychoticism. He believed that these dimensions
were rooted in biological processes.
• Albert Bandura: Personality is the interaction between behavior, cognitive factors
(such as thoughts and beliefs), and environmental influences. This is known as
reciprocal determinism.
• Sigmund Freud: Personality is a structure of three components: the id - primal desires,
ego - mediates between the id and the external world, and superego - incorporates
societal and parental standards of right and wrong.
• Carl Jung: Personality is a combination of the conscious and unconscious mind.
• Raymond Cattell: Personality is a set of traits that can be measured and quantified.
• Carl Rogers: Rogers defined personality in terms of the individual's self-concept.
He believed that personality development is driven by the individual's quest for
self-actualization and that a person's behavior is consistent with their self-concept.

• B.F. Skinner: Skinner, a behaviorist, defined personality in terms of observable

behavior. He argued that personality is shaped by environmental factors and
reinforced behaviors, rather than internal traits or unconscious processes.

• Erik Erikson: Erikson defined personality as developing through a series of

stages across the lifespan, each characterized by a specific psychosocial conflict.
Successful resolution of these conflicts leads to the development of a healthy
personality.
Personality Psychology
• Branch of psychology that studies personality and the variation in individual behaviors,
thoughts, and emotions.
• Traditionally distinguished itself from other branches of psychology with respect to three
different emphases: individual differences, motivation, and holism(McAdams, 1997).
• Seeks to understand how and why people differ from one another, as well as the
underlying factors that shape an individual's personality.
• Examines various aspects of personality, including traits, motivations, behaviors, and the
influence of biological, environmental, and social factors.
• Involves the development of theories and models to explain personality, such as trait
theories, psychodynamic theories, humanistic approaches, and social-cognitive
perspectives.
• Includes the assessment and measurement of personality through various tools, like
personality tests and questionnaires.
• The goal is to describe, explain, and predict individual differences and how these
influence people's lives, including their behavior, relationships, and mental health.
Research in Personality Psychology

• In the first half of the 20th century, personality psychologists formulated a large
number of grand theories designed to describe and explain the agential
individuality of whole person. (Hall & Lindzey, 1957).
• Freud, Jung, Adler, Allport, Murray, Goldstein, Murphy, Horney, Fromm, Erikson,
Sullivan, Rogers, Maslow, Kelly, and a few others drew widely from case studies,
clinical experience, philosophy and literature, common sense, and their own
stories to develop all-purpose personality theories.
• More influenced by the conventions of laboratory science, Miller, and Dollard,
Rotter, Cattell, and Eysenck developed grand theories whose inspirations came
largely from existing research findings and/or the general tenets of midcentury
behaviorism.
• Post World War II - concepts of Freud, Jung, and other theorists proved
too general or too ambiguous for empirical tests.
• How do you measure Freud’s Oedipus complex?
• How do you evaluate the Jungian claim that all persons share a collective
unconscious?
The grand theories helped to generate and sustain distinctive research
programs, identified With the particular personality researchers, their
students, and their laboratories.
For example, Murray's (1938) personological theory gave birth to
McClelland's (1961) and Winter's (1973) more focused research
programs for studying achievement and power motivation
• Examples of influential midlevel theories in personality psychology today

• Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969)

• Socioanalytic theory (Hogan. 1982),
• Self-determination theory (Dec! & Ryan, 1991),
• Various theories of self-regulation (Carver & Scheier, 1981),
• Cognitive-affective systems theory (Mischel & Shoda, 1995),
• Loevinger's (1976) theory of ego development
• Block's (1981) theory of ego control and resiliency,
• Tomkins's (1979) script theory,
• the life story model of identity (McAdams, 1985)
• Big Five trait taxonomy (Goldberg, 1993; McCrae & Costa, 1997).
• A central function of personality theories is to propose measurable features of
individual variation.
• These features are often called constructs (Wiggins, 1973), and the effort
expended in developing appropriate measures for these features and exploring
the meanings of these measures in research is essentially the process of
construct validation (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955).
• Constructs are convenient fictions that help us to describe and explain what
cannot be directly assessed.
 Level Definition Examples

Dispositional Broad dimensions of psychological individuality that The Big Five,

Traits describe assumedly internal, stable, and global Cattell's (1943) 16 personality traits,
individual differences in behavior, thought, and feeling. Gough's (1987) folk concepts (the CPI)
Traits account for consistency in individual functioning
across different situations and over time.
Characteristic Features of psychological individuality that describe Ego resiliency and ego control,
Adaptations personal adaptations to motivational, social-cognitive, Motives and goals
and developmental challenges and tasks. Characteristic Values and beliefs,
adaptations are usually contextualized in time, place, Cognitive schemas and styles,
situation, or social role. Relational modes and styles,
Coping strategies,
Life Stories Internalized and evolving narratives of the self that Self-defining memories, Nuclear scripts,
people construct to integrate the past, present, and Recurrent life narrative themes: agency and
future and provide life with some sense of unity, communion
purpose, and meaning.
Life stories address the problems of identity and
integration in personality, especially characteristic of
modern adulthood.
Research Methods in Personality Psychology
• Wide array of methods for observation and analysis to test hypotheses drawn from
personality theories
Emphasis Questions Traditional Concepts Method Preferred
Individual Differences How are persons different Temperament, traits, types Correlational studies
from each other?
What is the structure of
human individuality?
Motivation Why do persons do what Instincts, needs, values, Laboratory experiment
they do? What do persons goals, conflicts, complexes,
want? What energizes and defenses, self-actualizing
directs the person's tendencies
behavior? What are the
dynamics of human action?

Holism How do we understand the Ego, self, proprium, style of Case Studies
whole person? What does a life, unity thema, identity,
person's life mean? What life structure -
integrates a life?
• 1. Self-Report Surveys and Questionnaires
• Description: These are the most common methods used in personality research, where participants provide information about themselves
through standardized questionnaires.
• Examples: The Big Five Inventory (BFI), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
• Advantages: Easy to administer, can gather data from large samples, and allow for quantitative analysis.
• Limitations: Subject to biases such as social desirability and self-deception.
• 2. Observer Reports
• Description: In this method, information about a person’s personality is gathered from people who know the participant well, such as friends,
family, or colleagues.
• Examples: The NEO Personality Inventory uses observer ratings to assess personality traits.
• Advantages: Can provide a more objective view of the participant’s personality, reducing the impact of self-report biases.
• Limitations: May be influenced by the observer's relationship with the participant and their own biases.
• 3. Behavioral Observations
• Description: This method involves observing participants' behavior in naturalistic or controlled settings to infer personality traits.
• Examples: Observing how someone interacts in social situations to assess traits like extraversion or agreeableness.
• Advantages: Provides direct data on how personality manifests in behavior, can be used to study real-time responses.
• Limitations: Time-consuming, can be difficult to control for all variables, and may not capture internal personality traits.
• 4. Projective Tests
• Description: Projective tests involve presenting ambiguous stimuli to participants and interpreting their responses to uncover unconscious
aspects of their personality.
• Examples: Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
• Advantages: Can provide insights into unconscious processes and internal conflicts.
• Limitations: Highly subjective, and the validity and reliability of these tests are often questioned.
• 5. Experimental Methods
• Description: These methods involve manipulating variables in a controlled environment to observe how changes affect personality-related
outcomes.
• Examples: Experiments that test how situational factors influence behaviors associated with personality traits like aggression or altruism.
• Advantages: Allows for cause-and-effect conclusions, can isolate specific variables.
• Limitations: Laboratory settings may not reflect real-world environments, and findings may lack ecological validity.
• 6. Longitudinal Studies
• Studying the same individuals over an extended period to observe how their personality traits change or remain stable over
time.
• The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which follows individuals from birth into adulthood.
• Provides valuable insights into personality development and stability.
• Requires a long-term commitment, can be expensive and time-consuming, and may suffer from participant attrition.
• 7. Cross-Cultural Studies
• Compares personality traits across different cultures to understand the role of cultural influences on personality.
• Comparing levels of extraversion or neuroticism in different countries.
• Highlights the universality and cultural specificity of personality traits.
• Challenges include language translation issues and ensuring cultural equivalence in measurement.
• 8. Twin and Genetic Studies
• Examine the genetic basis of personality traits by comparing similarities between monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins,
adopted children.
• Examples: Research exploring the heritability of traits like conscientiousness or openness.
• Helps in understanding the genetic and environmental contributions to personality.
• Findings may not generalize to the broader population.
• 9. Neuroimaging and Psychophysiological Methods
• Involve using brain imaging techniques like fMRI or EEG to study the biological bases of personality traits.
• Studies linking brain activity patterns to traits such as impulsivity or risk-taking.
• Provides insights into the neural mechanisms underlying personality traits.
• Expensive, requires specialized equipment, and findings are often correlational rather than causal.
• 10. Qualitative Methods
• In-depth interviews, case studies, or thematic analysis to explore personality in a detailed and nuanced way.
• Interviews exploring an individual's life history to understand their personality development.
• Rich, detailed data that can provide deeper insights into personality. - Time-consuming, researcher interpretation bias
Scientific Foundation of Personality
• Many different theoretical and methodological approaches to
understanding individual differences in human nature.
• Personality predicts a range of important life variables including
vulnerability/resilience for psychiatric disorders (Lahey, 2009), health
behavior (Roberts, Walton, & Bogg, 2005), mortality (Bogg &
Roberts, 2004), and job performance, etc.
Natural Science
• Involves studying the biological and physiological processes that influence personality
traits. This includes understanding the role of genetics, brain chemistry, and hormonal
systems in shaping individual differences.
• Biological and Physiological Processes:
• Personality traits are influenced by biological factors such as genetics and brain chemistry.
• Example: Studies have shown that identical twins raised apart still exhibit similar personality traits, indicating
a genetic influence on personality.
• Genetic Influence:
• Genetic predispositions can determine aspects of personality, such as introversion or extraversion.
• Example: The DRD4 gene, associated with dopamine regulation, has been linked to novelty-seeking behavior,
a personality trait.
• Neurotransmitter Activity:
• Neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine influence mood and behavior, affecting traits such as anxiety
or thrill-seeking.
• Example: Low levels of serotonin are often associated with higher levels of neuroticism.
• Hormonal Influence:
• Hormones like cortisol and testosterone play a role in stress responses and aggression, which are aspects of
personality.
• Example: Elevated cortisol levels in stressful situations can lead to traits associated with high anxiety.
Cognitive Neuroscience
• Examines the brain mechanisms underlying personality traits and behaviors. It explores
how different brain regions and neural circuits are associated with specific personality
characteristics, such as impulsivity, emotional regulation, and decision-making.
• Brain Regions and Personality:
• Specific brain areas are linked to different personality traits.
• Example: The prefrontal cortex is involved in self-control and decision-making, influencing traits like
conscientiousness.
• Neural Circuits and Behavior:
• Neural pathways that govern emotional responses, such as the amygdala, are connected to traits like
fearfulness and emotional stability.
• Example: Overactivity in the amygdala is often seen in individuals with high levels of anxiety.
• Techniques Used:
• Tools like fMRI and EEG help researchers study brain activity related to personality.
• Example: fMRI studies have shown that people who score high on openness to experience have more activity
in the default mode network, which is associated with creativity and imagination.
• Cognitive Processes:
• Cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and perception influence personality expression.
• Example: A person with a strong working memory may exhibit high levels of conscientiousness due to their
ability to plan and organize effectively.
• Techniques used to understand personality
• Brain imaging techniques are often used to map personality on human brain
architecture and function including studies using electroencephalography and
positron emission tomography.
• In recent years MRI technologies including structural brain imaging and task
based functional MRI, where the response of a person is recorded while he/she is
following a task in the scanner, and recent advances to understand the functional
connectome in the context of Personality Neuroscience by applying resting state
fMRI is frequently used.
Evolutionary Science
• Provides a framework for understanding how personality traits may have developed as adaptive
responses to environmental challenges. Suggests that certain personality characteristics, such as
extraversion, conscientiousness, or openness to experience, may have evolved because they
provided advantages in survival and reproduction.
• Adaptive Traits:
• Personality traits have evolved to enhance survival and reproductive success.
• Example: Extraversion may have evolved because it aids in forming social alliances, which can be beneficial for
survival.
• Natural Selection and Personality:
• Certain traits have been naturally selected because they confer advantages in specific environments.
• Example: Conscientiousness, characterized by planning and self-discipline, may have evolved in response to the
need for long-term planning in human societies.
• Universal Personality Traits:
• Traits such as agreeableness and openness are found across cultures, suggesting an evolutionary basis.
• Example: Agreeableness, which involves cooperation and empathy, likely evolved to facilitate group living and
cooperation.
• Sexual Selection:
• Some personality traits may have evolved through sexual selection, where certain characteristics make individuals
more attractive mates.
• Example: Creativity and humor, often associated with openness and intelligence, may have evolved because they are
attractive traits in a mate.
Social Science
• Focus on how social and environmental factors shape personality. This includes the influence of
culture, family, socialization, and interpersonal relationships on personality development. Social
science perspectives also consider how personality traits interact with social contexts to influence
behavior, such as how individuals with different personality traits respond to social pressures or
how personality affects one's role in groups and communities.
• Cultural Influences: Personality is shaped by the cultural environment, including norms, values, and
social expectations.
• Collectivist cultures, tend to emphasize traits like agreeableness and conformity,
• Individualistic cultures, value traits like independence and assertiveness.
• Family and Socialization:
• Early family interactions and parenting styles play a crucial role in personality development.
• Example: Authoritative parenting, which balances warmth and discipline, is associated with the development of self-
confidence and social competence in children.
• Environmental Factors:
• Life experiences, such as education, peer interactions, and life events, contribute to shaping personality.
• Example: A child who experiences consistent academic success may develop high self-esteem and a strong sense of
self-efficacy, key components of personality.
• Personality in Social Contexts:
• How personality traits interact with social environments can influence behavior.
• Example: A person high in extraversion may thrive in social settings and seek out leadership roles, while someone
low in extraversion may prefer solitary activities and work independently.
New age applications of Personality Psychology
• Psycho-informatics
• Interdisciplinary field that combines psychology with informatics (the study of
information processing) to analyze and interpret large sets of psychological data.
• Uses tools and techniques from the computer and information sciences to improve
human psychological data acquisition, organization, and synthesis.”
• Uses computational tools, data mining, machine learning, and other advanced data
analysis techniques to understand human behavior, mental processes, and
psychological patterns.
• The goal is to enhance psychological research and practice by leveraging digital
data and technology, leading to more precise and comprehensive insights into
mental health, personality, cognition, and social behavior.
• Traditionally data collection in psychology always relied on two techniques:
experiments and interviews or questionnaires.
• Small number of audiences and in a controlled setting that can be easily
manipulated and biased by the audiences.
• Technological advancement in computer science provides support for classical
data collection methods such as interviews and questionnaires.
• Enable psychological data collection using mobile devices, allowing us to store
and analyze large amounts of data at a very little cost
• Boosts the range of the experiments that can be conducted for data collection of
human psychology and behavior.
• Personality studies use digital data from Facebook and similar platforms to
predict human traits.
• Algorithms predicting personality from Facebook likes might be more accurate
than evaluations by friends or partners in predicting one’s personality.
• Smartwatches and smart glasses have the ability to track human
behavior, mood, and actions.
• Large volume of data analyzed and mapped with human psychology
and behavior - endless possibilities for the prediction of human mood,
behavior, emotions, and actions, can be used to treat the underlying
psychological disorders of the board population.
• Creates numerous possibilities for systematic study in human
psychology.
Digital Phenotyping
• Moment-by-moment quantification of individual-level human behavior and
physiology using data collected from digital devices, particularly smartphones.
• Leverages the vast amount of data generated by our interactions with technology,
including patterns in communication, movement, social interactions, and even
physiological responses, to create a comprehensive profile of an individual's
behaviors and mental states.
• Powerful tool for personality psychology by enabling real-time, context-sensitive,
and behavior-based assessments of personality.
• Enhances our understanding of how personality traits are expressed in daily life
• Opens new avenues for research, mental health monitoring, and personalized
interventions.
1.Real-time Data Collection:
1. Continuous and unobtrusive collection of data
2. More dynamic and nuanced view of personality traits as they manifest in everyday life.
3. Significant shift from traditional methods, such as self-report questionnaires or lab-based assessments, which
capture personality at a single point in time and may be subject to biases.
2.Behavioral Insights:
1. The data reveals patterns of behavior that align with specific personality traits. For example, a person's
communication frequency, response time, or language use in text messages can be linked to traits like
extraversion, conscientiousness, or neuroticism.
2. More objective and behavior-based assessment of personality.
3.Contextual Understanding:
1. Captures how personality traits influence behavior across different contexts, such as work, home, or social
settings.
2. This contextual data is crucial for understanding how and why certain personality traits may be expressed
more in certain situations.
4.Mental Health Monitoring:
1. Changes in digital behavior patterns, such as reduced social interaction or altered sleep patterns, can signal
shifts in mental states that may be associated with personality disorders or psychological distress.
5.Customization of Interventions:
1. Digital behavior data could inform tailored therapeutic approaches or real-time interventions designed to
support mental health, taking into account the individual's personality traits and current behavioral patterns.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations: Raises ethical concerns, particularly around privacy,
consent, and data security. Must be done carefully to avoid overgeneralization or misclassification
of personality traits.
Comparative Analysis
• A method used to evaluate and contrast two or more theories.
• Goal is to identify similarities and differences between them.
• Helps understand how they relate to one another, their strengths and
weaknesses, to gain a deeper understanding of the subject.
Comparative Analysis of Personality Theories - Steps
1.Understand the Key Concepts: What each theorist is proposing about personality
development, human behavior, and the factors that influence these.
2.Compare Key Elements:
1. Focus or Emphasis: What aspect of personality development does each theory focus on? For
example, Freud emphasizes the unconscious mind, while Adler emphasizes social influences.
2. Key Concepts: Compare the main concepts. How do they differ in terms of what drives human
behavior (e.g., Freud's id, ego, superego vs. Jung's collective unconscious and archetypes)?
3. Stages or Developmental Processes: If the theories include stages of development (like Freud's
psychosexual stages or Erikson's psychosocial stages), compare how each theorist conceptualizes
the process of personality development over time.
4. Cultural and Social Influences: Consider how each theory accounts for the role of society and
culture in personality development (e.g., Horney's emphasis on social and cultural factors vs. Freud's
focus on internal psychic conflict).
3.Analyze Strengths and Weaknesses:
1. Strengths: Identify what each theory does well. For example, Erikson’s theory might be praised for
its applicability across the lifespan, while Freud's might be noted for its depth in exploring the
unconscious.
2. Weaknesses: Consider the limitations of each theory. For instance, Freud’s theory might be
critiqued for its overemphasis on sexuality, while Adler’s might be seen as less comprehensive in
explaining unconscious processes.
4. Draw Conclusions:
• Summarize the main points of comparison.
• What do the theories have in common?
• Where do they differ significantly?
• Discuss the implications of these similarities and differences.
• Which theory might be more applicable in certain contexts?
• How might combining elements from multiple theories provide a more comprehensive
understanding of personality?
• Example of Comparative Analysis in Personality Theories
• Freud vs. Erikson:
• Both focus on stages of development, but Freud emphasizes psychosexual stages ending in
adolescence, while Erikson proposes psychosocial stages that continue throughout life.
• Freud focuses on internal conflicts driven by instinctual drives, while Erikson highlights social
relationships and cultural influences as key factors in personality development.
• Jung vs. Horney:
• Jung emphasizes the collective unconscious and archetypes shared across humanity, suggesting a
universal aspect to personality.
• In contrast, Horney focuses on the impact of societal and cultural factors, particularly in shaping
women's personalities and addressing Freud’s perceived biases.
Common Points of Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney, and Erikson's Theories
• Key similarities:
1. Focus on the Development of Personality:
1. All five theorists emphasize the development of personality over time, whether through stages (Freud and
Erikson) or through ongoing psychological processes (Jung, Adler, and Horney).
2. They agree that early life experiences play a significant role in shaping an individual's personality, though
they differ in how they define and conceptualize these experiences.
2. Importance of the Unconscious Mind:
1. Freud, Jung, and Horney all highlight the importance of the unconscious in influencing thoughts, behaviors,
and personality.
2. Freud introduces the concept of the unconscious as a reservoir of repressed desires and conflicts.
3. Jung expands this idea to include the collective unconscious, which contains universal archetypes.
4. Horney, while critical of Freud, acknowledges unconscious processes, especially in how they relate to anxiety
and neurotic needs.
5. Adler and Erikson also recognize unconscious motivations but focus more on conscious, socially-driven
behaviors and the striving for goals.
3. Role of Internal Conflicts:
1. Freud’s theory is centered on internal conflicts between the id, ego, and superego.
2. Erikson’s stages involve conflicts or crises at each stage of development, which must be resolved for healthy
personality growth.
3. Jung’s concept of individuation involves reconciling various opposing forces within the self (e.g., conscious
and unconscious, masculine and feminine aspects).
4. Horney talks about conflicts between the real self and the ideal self, while Adler discusses the conflict between
feelings of inferiority and the striving for superiority.
4. Influence of Childhood Experiences:
All five theorists agree that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping personality. Freud's
psychosexual stages, Erikson's psychosocial stages, and Adler's concept of early childhood
inferiority all point to the long-lasting impact of early life events. Horney, while critical of Freud’s
emphasis on sexuality, also stresses that childhood experiences, particularly those involving
relationships with parents, are central to personality development.
5. Recognition of Social and Cultural Factors:
Erikson, Adler, and Horney, placed great emphasis on social and cultural influences. Erikson’s
psychosocial stages incorporate the role of society and culture at each developmental stage. Adler’s
Individual Psychology emphasizes the importance of social interest and community in personality
development. Horney's work is particularly focused on the cultural and social contexts that shape
personality, especially concerning gender and social roles. Concept of Personal
6. Growth and Development:
Each theorist, in their way, addresses the idea of personal growth. Freud sees it as managing the
conflicts between different parts of the psyche. Jung views it as the process of individuation—
becoming a whole, integrated self.Adler focuses on overcoming feelings of inferiority and striving
for significance and superiority. Erikson emphasizes resolving psychosocial crises to develop a
strong sense of identity, while Horney talks about overcoming basic anxiety and achieving a
balance between the real self and the ideal self.
Differences
1. Focus of the Theories:
1. Freud: Focuses on the unconscious mind, particularly on repressed desires and conflicts stemming from sexual and aggressive
drives. His theory is deeply rooted in the idea that early childhood experiences, especially those related to sexuality, are crucial in
shaping personality.
2. Jung: Expands beyond Freud's focus on the personal unconscious to include the collective unconscious—a universal, shared
aspect of the unconscious containing archetypes. Jung’s theory is less focused on sexuality and more on achieving balance
between different aspects of the personality.
3. Adler: Emphasizes social influences and the individual's drive for superiority. Adler’s theory centers on overcoming feelings of
inferiority and striving for personal and social success, rather than on unconscious conflicts or sexual drives.
4. Horney: Challenges Freud's emphasis on sexuality, particularly his views on women. Horney focuses on social and cultural
factors, particularly the role of basic anxiety and the need for security in shaping personality.
5. Erikson: Builds on Freud’s stages but shifts the focus from psychosexual to psychosocial development. Erikson's theory
emphasizes the importance of social relationships and cultural influences across the entire lifespan, not just in childhood.
2. View of Human Nature:
1. Freud: Views human behavior as driven primarily by unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts. He saw humans as being in
constant conflict between their desires and societal expectations.
2. Jung: Takes a more balanced view, seeing the psyche as striving for harmony and wholeness. Jung emphasizes the potential for
growth and self-realization through the integration of different aspects of the personality.
3. Adler: Sees humans as motivated by social interests and a desire to overcome feelings of inferiority. Adler is more optimistic
about human nature, focusing on the individual's ability to strive for personal growth and social connection.
4. Horney: Emphasizes the impact of culture and society on personality, with a focus on overcoming basic anxiety. Horney is
critical of Freud’s deterministic view, particularly regarding women, and sees human behavior as more flexible and adaptable.
5. Erikson: Views humans as active agents in their development, with each stage of life presenting opportunities for growth through
resolving psychosocial conflicts. Erikson is optimistic about the potential for positive outcomes at each stage, even in the face of
challenges.
3. Role of Sexuality
1. Freud: Central to his theory, with the idea that sexual drives (libido) are the primary motivators of behavior.
Freud’s stages are all linked to sexual development.
2. Jung: De-emphasizes sexuality, focusing instead on broader psychological processes like individuation and
the integration of opposites within the personality.
3. Adler: Rejects Freud's emphasis on sexuality, focusing instead on social influences and the drive for
superiority. For Adler, the desire for power and competence is more central than sexual drives.
4. Horney: Strongly criticizes Freud's focus on sexuality, especially his views on women. She argues that
cultural and social factors are more significant in shaping personality than sexual drives.
5. Erikson: Moves away from a focus on sexuality, emphasizing psychosocial conflicts and relationships instead.
For Erikson, identity, trust, and social roles are more critical than sexual development.
4. Concept of the Unconscious
1. Freud: The unconscious is a dominant force in his theory, filled with repressed desires, fears, and memories.
The unconscious drives much of human behavior, according to Freud.
2. Jung: Expands on Freud’s concept of the unconscious by adding the collective unconscious, which includes
shared human experiences and archetypes. Jung sees the unconscious as not just a repository of repressed
material but also a source of creativity and wisdom.
3. Adler: De-emphasizes the unconscious, focusing more on conscious goals and social motivations. Adler
believes that conscious decisions and social interests play a more significant role in shaping behavior.
4. Horney: Acknowledges the unconscious but emphasizes its role in relation to basic anxiety and neurotic
needs. Horney is more focused on conscious strategies individuals use to cope with anxiety.
5. Erikson: Incorporates the unconscious in his theory, particularly in the form of unconscious conflicts, but he
places more emphasis on the conscious experiences of social and cultural interactions throughout life.
5. Stages of Development
1. Freud: Proposes five psychosexual stages (Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital), each
associated with specific conflicts. Personality is largely shaped by how these conflicts are
resolved in childhood.
2. Jung: Does not focus on stages in the traditional sense but emphasizes the process of
individuation, where the individual integrates different aspects of the self over time.
3. Adler: Does not propose specific stages. Instead, he focuses on the continuous process of
striving for superiority and overcoming inferiority throughout life.
4. Horney: Also does not propose specific developmental stages. She focuses on the ongoing
process of dealing with basic anxiety and the pursuit of security, influenced by social and
cultural contexts.
5. Erikson: Proposes eight psychosocial stages, each characterized by a specific conflict that
must be resolved (e.g., Trust vs. Mistrust, Identity vs. Role Confusion). Erikson extends
development across the lifespan, unlike Freud, who focuses mainly on childhood.
 Application
Psychoanalysis:
 The goal is to bring crucial unconscious material into consciousness, where it can be examined rationally.
 Used Breuer’s Cathartic method.
 Breuer worked with Anna O a hysteria patient where she was allowed speak freely under hypnosis.
 Her symptoms disappear..
 Freud used this technique and made it popular through Psychoanalysis

The Therapy:
 Dreams
 Slips of the tongue
 Posthypnotic suggestions
 Material derived from free-association
 Material derived from projective techniques
 Symbolic content of psychotic symptoms
1. Dreams:
1. Psychoanalytic View: Freud described dreams as the "royal road to the unconscious." He believed that dreams
were manifestations of our deepest desires and fears.
2. Interpretation: In his book "The Interpretation of Dreams," Freud argued that dreams were full of symbolism.
While the manifest content (the dream as remembered by the dreamer) might seem nonsensical, the latent
content (the hidden symbolic meaning) could reveal insights about unconscious desires or conflicts.
2. Slips of the Tongue:
1. Psychoanalytic View: Commonly termed "Freudian slips," these are mistakes in speech that Freud believed
could reveal hidden thoughts or desires.
2. Interpretation: A person might unintentionally use one word in place of another, revealing suppressed feelings
or thoughts about the mistakenly spoken word.
3. Posthypnotic Suggestions:
1. Psychoanalytic View: Freud initially used hypnosis in therapy but later moved away from it in favor of free
association. However, he recognized that suggestions made under hypnosis could tap into the unconscious.
2. Interpretation: Responses or actions resulting from posthypnotic suggestions might reveal underlying feelings,
thoughts, or memories.
4. Material Derived from Free-Association:
• Psychoanalytic View: Free association involves patients verbalizing all thoughts that come to
mind without censoring. It became a primary method in psychoanalytic therapy.
• Interpretation: The seemingly random chain of thoughts could lead to memories or feelings
that had been repressed or forgotten, helping uncover the root of psychological issues.

5. Material Derived from Projective Techniques:

• Psychoanalytic View: Projective tests, like the Rorschach inkblot test or the Thematic
Apperception Test (TAT), present ambiguous stimuli, prompting individuals to interpret them.
• Interpretation: Freud believed that people would project their unconscious feelings onto the
ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden aspects of their personalities or emotional states.

6. Symbolic Content of Psychotic Symptoms:

• Psychoanalytic View: Freud thought that certain symptoms of psychosis (like delusions or
hallucinations) could be symbolic expressions of internal conflicts or traumas.
• Interpretation: While not always directly interpretable, these symptoms could offer clues into
the individual's unconscious mind and the origins of their distress.
Transference and Counter-transference
Transference
The client reacts to the therapist as he did to an earlier significant other
This allows the client to experience feelings that would otherwise be inaccessible
Analysis of transference — allows the client to achieve insight into the influence of
the past
Counter-transference
The reaction of the therapist toward the client that may interfere with objectivity
Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
• A form of psychodynamic therapy that is time-limited, typically lasting
between 16 to 25 sessions.
• Based on the core principles of traditional psychodynamic therapy,
which focuses on understanding unconscious processes, unresolved
childhood conflicts, and past experiences' influence on current
behavior.
• STPP is more focused, structured, and goal-oriented
• Aims to bring about psychological change in a relatively short period.
Steps in Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
1. Assessment and Focus Setting - Identify the key issue or conflict that will be the focus of therapy.
• Example: A client might come to therapy with anxiety about relationships. In the initial sessions, the therapist works to uncover underlying patterns, such
as fear of abandonment rooted in childhood experiences.
• Method: The therapist conducts an in-depth interview to understand the client’s history and current struggles, setting a specific focus (e.g., resolving
relational conflicts).
2. Exploration of Unconscious Patterns - Help the client become aware of unconscious thoughts, emotions, and patterns of behavior that contribute to their
current problems.
• Example: The therapist may guide the client to recognize that their fear of conflict in relationships stems from unresolved childhood trauma, such as
being overly criticized by a parent.
• Method: The therapist uses techniques like free association and dream analysis and discussing recurring relational patterns.
3. Transference Work - Address how the client’s unconscious feelings toward important figures in their life are being transferred onto the therapist.
• Example: A client who fears abandonment might unconsciously start to see the therapist as a parental figure and feel anxious about the therapist leaving
them.
• Method: The therapist points out transference patterns and helps the client gain insight into how these feelings play out in other relationships.
4. Working Through Conflicts - Help the client work through and resolve unconscious conflicts that contribute to psychological symptoms.
• Example: A client with an unconscious fear of intimacy might realize that their self-sabotaging behavior in relationships is tied to unresolved fears of
rejection from their childhood.
• Method: The therapist supports the client in exploring these conflicts and helps them develop healthier ways of thinking and behaving.
5. Termination and Integration - Consolidate insights gained during therapy and prepare the client for the end of treatment.
• Example: In the final sessions, the client discusses their progress and how they will apply what they’ve learned in future relationships and life situations.
• Method: The therapist helps the client reflect on the changes they’ve made and provides strategies for maintaining these changes after therapy ends.