Beyond Freud: Neo-Analytic Perspectives Flashcards

1
Q

Criticisms of Freud

A
  • Saw no value in experimentation or hypothesis testing; relied on case studies
  • Negative view of human nature (incl. excessive focus on sex and aggression)
  • Sexist, homophobic theories
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2
Q

Contributions of Freud

A
  • Structure of personality
  • Defense mechanisms
  • Narcissism trait
  • Childhood development
  • Unconscious processes
  • Psychoanalysis
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3
Q

Anna Freud

A
  • Neo-Freudian
  • continued the work of her father; focused on psychoanalysis in children; death and dying
  • Expanded upon defence mechanisms
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4
Q

Defence mechanisms proposed by Anna Freud (don’t need to focus on these)

A
  • Introjection: adopting others’ thoughts, feelings, etc. (taking it in rather than projecting out; ie. Thinking you’re wrong after an argument with a friend)
  • Turning against the self: self-harm (ie. Cutting, suicide)
  • Isolation: detachment, compartmentalization (ex. “I’m not going to think about this at school, but I’ll think about it later”)
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5
Q

Ego Psychology

A
  • Focused on the development of the ego within reality

- Emphasized the role of identity, which is experienced by a person as a sense of self

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6
Q

Evolution of the meaning of “ego”

A
  • Freud: most conscious part of the mind/executive
  • Ego psychology: part of the mind that represents us (identity, self)
  • Today: self-esteem, self-worth
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7
Q

Freud’s contributions: structure of personality

A
  • Although id and superego are no longer studied, the idea that the mind had components was an important one
  • The human brain can be compartmentalized (broken down into parts, according to biology and the emergent mind)
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8
Q

Freud’s contributions: defense mechanisms

A
  • Remain relevant today (“coping mechanisms” or “strategies”)
  • Regardless of the part of the mind in control, few would argue that these are not important determinants of human behaviour
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9
Q

Hierarchy of Defense Mechanisms

A
  • Level 1: pathological/psychotic defenses (most extreme/least mature; indicative of mental illness)
  • Level 2: immature defences
  • Level 3: neurotic/intermediate defences
  • Level 4: mature defences (best ones, most mature - ex. Sublimation)
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10
Q

the narcissism trait

A
  • Narcissism: an extreme preoccupation with self, including grandiosity (sense of superiority), inflated self-admiration, and constant attention-seeking
    • Excessively positive view of self, negative view of others, bragging, egotism (inflated sense of importance), superiority, entitlement, derogation of others
  • According to Freud, narcissism can occur when an individual’s libidinal energy is invested in the ego itself, rather than another person
  • Classic narcissists: Armand Hammer, Schwarzenegger (higher levels of narcissism among celebrities), Trump
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11
Q

narcissistic personality disorder

A

pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy

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12
Q

megalomaniac

A

delusions of greatness/wealth

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13
Q

Trump Case Study: Narcissism

A
  • Narcissistic behaviours (as noted by psychiatrists):
    • Inflated self-admiration
    • Excessive focus on self
    • Bragging, attention-seeking
    • Superiority, entitlement
    • Degrading, attacking others
  • Other behaviours:
    • Sadism, manipulation, antisocial behaviour (lack of empathy/remorse)
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14
Q

research shows that narcissists tend to…

A
  • Use more first person pronouns (I, me, my mine, we)
  • Interrupt others more frequently during conversation (ex. Trump interrupting more during debates than Clinton)
  • Look in the mirror more frequently
  • Make good first impressions
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15
Q

Paulhus study: analyzing Republican speeches vs. Trump’s

A
  • T: higher rates of first-person pronouns
  • T: higher rates of narcissism (includes derogation -> putting down others; boasting)
  • Correlation between amount of tweets, boasting, follower/following ratio on twitter, informality between number of states won (evidence for first impressions)
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16
Q

narcissism and social media

A
  • Narcissists more active on social media sites like Twitter/Facebook
  • Post more about accomplishments; may post more selfies
  • Receive more likes on their posts (evidence for first impressions)
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17
Q

narcissism and social behaviour

A
  • Narcissists more likely to divide people to gain power over them
  • Make threats and lies to influence people’s emotions
  • Distort reality by arguing that fiction is fact, often leading listeners to experience a “twilight zone” sensation
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18
Q

narcissm and love

A
  • Idealize themselves
  • Devalue partners
  • Self-centered
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19
Q

narcissism and work

A

do not live up to own expectations

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20
Q

inferiority complex

A
  • Developed by Alfred Adler (first major figure to split from Freud; founded Individual Psychology)
  • Inferiority complex: lack of self-worth; implications for self-esteem
    • Overcompensate through “striving for superiority” -> making others unhappy (the foundation for narcissism )
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21
Q

the narcissistic paradox

A
  • Although the narcissist appears high in self-esteem, he or she had doubts about his/her worth as a person
  • Therefore, narcissism is a complex defense mechanism
  • But recent research has suggested that this is only true for covert narcissists (sensitivity to criticism, low self-confidence, socially withdrawn; grandiosity); overt narcissists (exaggerated sense of self-importance, grandiosity, desire for attention) appear to have genuine feelings of superiority
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22
Q

egocentrism

A
  • inability to differentiate between self and other, or to assume anyone else’s perspective
    • Normal in childhood, decreases sharply at age 15-16
  • In adulthood, not the same as narcissism (Attention-seeking occurs in both cases, but narcissists may still consider the feelings of others and care about what others think)
  • “egomania/egomaniac”
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23
Q

Messiah complex

A
  • Aka Christ complex or saviour complex
  • A state of mind in which an individual holds a genuine belief that he or she is, or is destined to become, a saviour
  • Ex. Hitler had messiah complex; Trump does not
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24
Q

Updated views on child development

A
  • No evidence for fixations or Oedipal complexes; latency stage is unlikely; development is believed do continue beyond puberty
  • But childhood and parent relations do influence adult personality
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25
Q

Karen Horney

A
  • German psychoanalyst
  • Highlighted the influence of culture and gender on personality
  • Revised theory of penis envy: penis as a symbol of social power rather than an organ that women actually desire to have
26
Q

Erik Erikson

A
  • Student of Freud
  • Focused on ego development across life
  • Focused on control/mastery over one’s environment throughout life
  • Identified common and necessary tensions inherent to each stage of development (psychoSOCIAL conflicts)
  • Goal is to struggle with each tension and grow; failure to come to resolution -> identity crisis
27
Q

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial development

A
  • Infancy
  • Toddlerhood
  • Young Childhood
  • Elementary School
  • Adolescence
  • Young Adulthood
  • Adulthood
  • Old Age
  • Very Old Age
  • Must resolve previous conflicts; positive outcome -> wisdom
  • Unresolved conflicts prevent you from reaching integrity at the end (but you’re not stuck at the respective stage forever)
  • stage model of development
28
Q

Infancy

A
  • ages 0-2
  • Trust vs. Mistrust
  • if infants receive care they need, they learn to trust caregivers, and can extend this trust to other relationships; if not, remain mistrustful of others
29
Q

Toddlerhood

A
  • ages 2-3
  • Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
  • children begin to explore world; parents who punish children for their autonomy cause children to feel ashamed and doubt their abilities later on
30
Q

Young Childhood

A
  • ages 3-4
  • Initiative (Purpose) vs. Guilt
  • through play, children learn how to work together, follow leaders, etc. and take initiative to pursue goals; if unsuccessful, feel guilty
  • Possible negative outcomes: constricted or antisocial/narcissistic
  • Trump may have unresolved conflict here -> narcissism
31
Q

Elementary School

A
  • ages 4-12
  • Industry vs. Inferiority
  • children develop industry (feelings of competence through hard work); but too many failures may lead to feelings of inferiority
32
Q

Adolescence

A
  • ages 13-19
  • Identity vs. Role Confusion
  • forming sense of identity; but may have role confusion (no idea who you are), leading to unstable jobs and relationships
33
Q

Young Adulthood

A
  • ages 20-39
  • Intimacy vs. Isolation
  • Establishing intimate relationships; if unsuccessful, feel isolated
34
Q

Adulthood

A
  • ages 40-64
  • Generativity vs. Stagnation
  • Feeling like you’ve generated something you care about in life (ie. career) vs. not caring about what you’ve done
  • Trump likely has no sense of stagnation -> presidency makes him feel like he’s giving back
35
Q

Old Age

A
  • ages 65+
  • Integrity vs. Despair
  • feeling satisfied with the life you lived (integrity) vs. feeling like you didn’t accomplish what you wanted to or have regrets (despair) -> bitterness and contempt
36
Q

Very Old Age

A
  • 80s-90s
  • Despair of 8th stage is magnified by deteriorating health; person confronts all previous tensions/conflicts again at once; greater likelihood of negative outcomes
37
Q

object relations theory

A
  • Examines the process of developing one’s psyche in relation to others in the environment
  • Internalized representations of parents (unconscious) become basis for relating to others in life
    • First social attachments that infant develops form prototypes for all future meaningful relationships
38
Q

object relations theory: insights on narcissism

A
  • Melanie Klein suggested we internalize the dilemma of whether our caregiver is good or bad, which peaks at 6 months of age
  • Inability to solve this tension in ourselves (ie. Conclude that we are both good and bad – we’re not perfect) results in narcissism -> founded on a low self-worth
39
Q

Childhood Attachment Theory

A
  • Bowlby: infants must develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for successful development
  • Main factors in parenting are sensitivity and responsiveness
  • 4 different attachment styles:
    • Secure: well-adjusted, trusting; caregivers responsive
    • Anxious-ambivalent: anxious, clingy: caregivers inconsistent
    • Avoidant: uninterested, emotionally distant; caregivers neglectful (related to narcissism in adulthood), perhaps Trump had this style
    • Disorganized: erratic; caregivers depressed, traumatized, or abusive
40
Q

Adult Attachment

A
  • Hazan and Shaver identified similar attachment styles in adult relationships
    • Secure Style: comfortable with intimacy; autonomous & dependent
    • Preoccupied Style: craves intimacy because they’re worried over partner’s feelings/potential abandonment
    • Dismissive-Avoidant: minimizes closeness; views intimacy as loss of independence
    • Fearful-Avoidant Style: wants relationship, but avoids closeness due to difficulty trusting others
    • Disorganized Style: antisocial, lack of empathy, selfish, controlling
41
Q

Relationship between child and adult attachment

A
  • History of anxiety and avoidance in childhood attachments shape adult attachment styles
  • Later experiences can lead to changes in adult attachment style
  • moderate degree of stability between child and adult attachment
42
Q

Adult attachment and narcissism

A
  • Avoidant attachment associated with overt narcissism; anxious attachment associated with covert narcissism
  • Trump may have avoidant attachment (avoids wife, not present in kid’s childhoods)
43
Q

Current views on the Unconscious

A
  • There is an unconscious part of the mind, but does it have urges and desires as suggested by Freud
  • Motivated view (psychoanalysis): urges and undesirable thoughts/feelings are buried in the unconscious; they in turn affect our conscious thoughts and feelings (not commonly accepted)
  • Cognitive view: information perceived may be into the unconscious and influence us, but it’s not “buried” there (more commonly accepted)
  • both motivated (Freudian) and cognitive views may be too extreme
44
Q

repressed memories

A
  • Commonality uncertain; estimates range between 18-59%
  • Overwhelming majority of clinical psychologists believe their clients
  • Are they accurate?
    • Elizabeth Loftus: extreme positions should be avoided – some are likely accurate, but both authentic and false memories occur
    • There are cases that have been corroborated and confirmed, but there are also cases that were later retracted
45
Q

False Memories

A
  • Elizabeth Loftus: we must be aware of processes that contribute to the construction of false memories (ie. Popular press, behaviour of some therapists)
    • Ex. Case of Holly Ramona and false memories of sexual abuse
  • Most modern cognitive psychologists believe that false memories can occur
    • can be due to hypnosis, dream interpretation, suggestive interviewing, interpreting symptoms as signs of past trauma, pressure from authority figure to recall past trauma, etc.
    • Evidence that hypnosis does not improve memory – may increase memory distortions
    • May be due to confirmatory bias: look for evidence that confirms belief (ie. that of childhood trauma)
46
Q

Subliminal priming

A
  • the notion that concepts may be perceived and influence us, without our even knowing it
  • But there is no clear evidence that subliminal priming has a strong effect on behaviour; seems to depend on pre-existing potential or plan (ie. Subliminal priming to buy Coke only works for people who are already thirsty and want a soft drink)
47
Q

Conclusions on subliminal perception/priming by various types of psychologists

A
  • Conclusions by cognitive psychologists: unconscious mind is not very powerful, but the focus is on stimuli of which one is unaware
  • Conclusion by social psychologists: unconscious is powerful influence over higher mental processes
  • Conclusion by neuroscientists: there are lots of unconscious processes
48
Q

Contemporary psychoanalysis

A
  • Desire to maintain Freudian ideas and theory that work
  • Unconscious influences
  • Behaviour reflects conflicts between desires and societal norms
  • Focus on parent-child relationships, adult conflicts with others
  • Freud underscored the value of talking about our emotional pains, which is still relevant today
49
Q

is contemporary psychoanalysis effective?

A
  • Large effect sizes for short-term and long-term symptom improvement from somatic symptoms to depression, anxiety, and psychopathology (Shedler, 2010, APA).
  • Average effect size of .75, compared to .62 for CBT and behaviour modification therapies (Wilson, 1993)
50
Q

5 postulates of contemporary psychoanalysis

A
  • unconscious plays large role in life
  • behaviour reflects conflicts among mental processes
  • childhood plays important role in personality development and adult relationship styles
  • mental representations of the self guide relationships with others
  • personality development involves moving from immature, dependent relationships to mature, independent relationships
51
Q

imagination inflation effect

A
  • having someone imagine something, which then makes it more likely for them to later confuse the imaginary event with something that really happened
  • ex. asking someone to imagine shaking hands with Mickey Mouse as a child later makes it more likely for them to “remember” that they did it
52
Q

id vs. ego psychology

A
  • id pysch: Freudian psych, focused on id

- ego psych: Erikson’s approach to pysch, focused on ego

53
Q

identity foreclosure

A
  • when you form your identity by accepting someone’s else’s expectations without exploring alternatives (ie. being who your parents want you to be)
  • these people cannot justify their beliefs/opinions
54
Q

moratorium

A
  • taking time to explore options before committing to an identity
  • ex. during college -> taking different classes, joining clubs, switching majors
55
Q

Research: Erikson’s stages and holocaust survivors

A
  • Dr. Suedfield, UBC
  • Looked at how holocaust affected survivor’s progression through 8 stages
  • Most stages had more positive than negative outcomes, except for trust and mistrust (more distrustful, likely due to huge betrayal Jewish people experienced from friends, government, etc.)
56
Q

fear of success

A
  • term coined by Karen Horney
  • highlights gender differences in response to competition and achievement
    • women feel like if they succeed, they will lose friends (unconscious fear of success)
    • men feel like if they succeed, they will gain friends -> not afraid of success
57
Q

Karen Horney: work on gender

A

explained that although biology determines sex, culture determines what is acceptably masculine and feminine -> those culturally ascribed roles are known as gender differences

58
Q

self-serving bias

A

tendency to take credit for our successes and deny responsibility for our failures

59
Q

Harry Harlow attachment research

A
  • monkeys raised with either real moms or fake wire/cloth moms
  • wire/cloth babies had problems in adulthood -> were insecure, anxious, and had abnormal sexual relations
60
Q

separation anxiety

A
  • when infants react negatively to separation and become agitated and distressed when mother leaves them
  • not all infants react this way all the time - others remain happy, and some get depressed
61
Q

working models

A
  • early experiences and reactions of the infant and the parents are internalized in the form of unconscious expectations and relationships
  • if parents are caring/attentive, baby expects others to be that way too
62
Q

study: adult attachment styles in dating couples

A
  • brought couples in lab, told males they would undergo stressful procedure then left them alone with female partner
  • looked at how much support males sought out and how much support women offered
  • male attachment style didn’t predict anything, but women with avoidant attachment much less likely to offer support than women with secure attachment, even when the male asked for it