2: Freud - Psychoanalytic Approach Flashcards
Breuer’s term for a condition now called conversion disorder - having symptoms that appear to be physical but are not
hysteria
once-popular belief that “no other forces than the common physical-chemical ones are active within the organism”
reductionism
psychoanalytic term for what you are aware of at any particular moment - your present perceptions, memories, thoughts,
fantasies, feelings, etc.
conscious mind
psychoanalytic term for anything that can easily be made conscious - memories you are not currently thinking about but can readily bring to mind
preconscious
psychoanalytic term for everything that is not easily available to awareness, including drives/instincts, traumatic memories and emotions - source of motivations, sexual desire, neurotic compulsions
unconscious
part of the mind in which the primary process takes place - where innate biological impulses manifest
id
unconscious motivational forces derived from biological needs (“Triebe” in German, called “wishes” by Freud)
instincts/drives
the translation from biological needs to instincts/drives within the id
primary process
biological demand to take care of needs immediately (ex. an infant crying for food)
pleasure principle
part of the mind that relates the organism to its consciousness and searches for objects/means to satisfy the wishes that the id creates
ego
the translation from instincts/drives into a conscious effort to satisfy those wishes within the ego
secondary process
biological command to take care of a need as soon as an appropriate object is found
reality principle
part of the mind that serves as a record of things to avoid and strategies to take to attain needs/goals - contains conscience and ego ideal - communicates emotions like pride, shame, guilt
superego
part of the superego - an internalization of punishments and warnings
conscience
part of the superego - derived from rewards and positive models presented to the child
ego ideal
Freud’s initial term for the neurological representations of physical needs - perpetuate the life of the individual and species
life instincts
motivational energy of life instincts that powers us - Latin for “I desire”, now synonymous with “sex drive”
libido
Freud’s belief that every person has an unconscious wish to die in order to “satisfy all needs”
death instinct
Freudian principle closely related to the death instinct - refers to Buddhist idea that the goal of all of life is to achieve non-existence, nothingness, void
nirvana principle
feeling that signals to the ego that its survival, and that of the entire organism, is in jeopardy - feeling threatened and overwhelmed
anxiety
fear as a result of a plausible threat (ex. being surrounded by sharks)
realistic anxiety
fear from threats to the superego - fear of experiencing shame, guilt, and punishment
moral anxiety
fear of being overwhelmed by impulses from id - “losing control”
neurotic anxiety
ego’s attempts to protect itself from negative impulses / anxieties by unconsciously blocking them or distorting them into a more accessible, less threatening form
ego defense mechanisms
ego defense mechanism that involves blocking external events from awareness if they are too difficult to handle
denial
Anna Freud’s concept of children using their imagination to make troubling situations more comfortable (ex. portraying a helpless child as a powerful superhero)
denial in fantasy
ego defense mechanism that involves simply being unable to recall a threatening situation - “motivated forgetting”
repression
ego defense mechanism that involves renouncing and denying needs/desires if they cause distress or shame (ex. anorexia)
asceticism
milder version of asceticism that involves losing interest in some aspect of life and directing it elsewhere if it causes distress or shame (ex. quitting a sports team for fear of humiliation)
restriction of ego
ego defense mechanism that involves stripping the emotion from a difficult memory or threatening impulse - should be a big deal but treated as if it’s not
isolation
ego defense mechanism that involves redirecting an impulse onto a substitute target that is less distressing or threatening (ex. repressed hatred of an abusive mother leads to a hatred of all women)
displacement
form of displacement in which the person themself becomes their own substitute target - cause for feelings like inferiority, guilt, depression
turning against the self
form of displacement that is the opposite of turning against the self - tendency to see your own troubling desires/impulses in other people and criticize them for it
projection
form of projection in which a person attempts to fulfill their own needs vicariously through other people (ex. a single friend who shows great interest in others’ relationships)
altruistic surrender
ego defense mechanism that involves changing an unacceptable impulse into its opposite (ex. claiming to love unequivocally an abusive parent)
reaction formation
ego defense mechanism that involves “magical” gestures or rituals intended to cancel out distressing thoughts and impulses - also includes seeking atonement or forgiveness for behavior
undoing
ego defense mechanism that involves taking into your personality characteristics of someone else, because doing so solves emotional difficulty or insecurity (ex. teenager imitating popular peers)
introjection
form of introjection that involves adopting traits that are negative or feared in another person (ex. a bullied child acting more like the bully to fight them off)
identification with the aggressor
ego defense mechanism that involves moving backwards in psychological time to cope with stress - adopting childlike or immature traits when troubled or frightened, trying to return to last point in which you felt secure
regression
ego defense mechanism that involves cognitive distortion of facts to make an event of impulse feel less threatening - believing your own lies
rationalization
the one “positive” kind of rationalization defense (according to Freud) - transforming of an unacceptable impulse into an acceptable or productive form (ex. a physically aggressive person becoming a football player)
sublimation
different parts of our skin that provide pleasure
erogenous zones
first psychosexual stage, lasting from birth to about 18 months - focus of pleasure is the mouth (sucking, biting)
oral stage
second psychosexual stage, lasting from about 18 months to 3-4 years old - focus of pleasure is anus (yes this means shitting, I don’t get it)
anal stage
third psychosexual stage, lasting from about 3-4 to 5-7 years old - focus of pleasure is genitalia (touching)
phallic stage
fourth psychosexual stage, lasting from 5-7 to around 12 years old (puberty) - sexual impulse is repressed in service of learning
latent stage
fifth psychosexual stage, beginning at puberty - resurgence of sexual drive in adolescence, focus of pleasure is sexual intercourse
genital stage
Freudian concept that the son, in the phallic stage, has a sexual attitude towards his mother (desire for attention, affection, touch) and resents his father for being closer to her
Oedipal crisis
Freudian concept for a male child’s fear of losing his penis due to associating it with power and questioning why girls do not have one
castration anxiety
Freudian concept that a female child, in the phallic stage, translates her sexual attitude from her mother towards her father due to wishing for a penis, interpreting it as a symbol of power
penis envy
Freudian concept of retaining certain infantile or childish habits due to having difficulties with a task at one of the psychosexual stages
fixation
fixation derived from difficulty with sucking during oral stage - tendency to be dependent on others and interest in other “oral gratifications” (eating, drinking, smoking)
oral-passive character
fixation derived from difficulty during teething stage and early weaning - tendency to be verbally aggressive and argumentative, with a lifelong desire to bite things
oral-aggressive personality
fixation derived from parents being at the child’s mercy during potty training, unable to adequately control them - tendency to be sloppy, disorganized, cruel, destructive
anal expulsive personality
fixation derived from parents being overly strict during potty training, using punishment and humiliation - tendency to be especially clean, perfectionistic, dictatorial, stubborn, stingy
anal retentive personality
unnamed personality types derived from fixation in phallic stage - if a boy is rejected by his mother or a girl rejected by her father, they are likely to feel poorly about their sexual self-worth - if a boy is favored by his mother or a girl by her father, they will be vain and self-centered
phallic personalities
aspect of Freud’s therapy - client must feel free to express anything without judgment or ostracism
relaxed atmosphere
aspect of Freud’s therapy - client is able to talk about anything at all, and through relaxation techniques, unconscious thoughts will inevitably drift to the forefront
free association
aspect of Freud’s therapy - when a client avoids therapy in some way (draws a blank, arrives late, falls asleep) it serves as a cue that they are nearing something in their unconscious that is threatening
resistance
aspect of Freud’s therapy - looking for symbolic expressions of the unconscious in dreams, usually interpreting sexual meanings from them
dream analysis
aspect of Freud’s therapy - a slip of the tongue that serves as a cue to unconscious conflicts (AKA a Freudian slip)
parapraxes
tests that provide a vague stimulus which client fills with their own unconscious feelings (ex. Rorschach test)
projective tests
when a client projects feelings toward the therapist that more legitimately belong with certain others (ex. expressing your rage at someone as if the therapist is that person)
transference
sudden and dramatic outpouring of emotion that occurs when trauma is resurrected
catharsis
being aware of the source of a negative emotion (the original traumatic event)
insight
form of identification with the aggressor, derived from a specific hostage situation in which the hostages became sympathetic of their captors - victim gradually identifying themselves with perpetrator
Stockholm syndrome
