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
2
Q
Contributions of Freud
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- Structure of personality
- Defense mechanisms
- Narcissism trait
- Childhood development
- Unconscious processes
- Psychoanalysis
3
Q
Anna Freud
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- Neo-Freudian
- continued the work of her father; focused on psychoanalysis in children; death and dying
- Expanded upon defence mechanisms
4
Q
Defence mechanisms proposed by Anna Freud (don’t need to focus on these)
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- 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”)
5
Q
Ego Psychology
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- 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
6
Q
Evolution of the meaning of “ego”
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- Freud: most conscious part of the mind/executive
- Ego psychology: part of the mind that represents us (identity, self)
- Today: self-esteem, self-worth
7
Q
Freud’s contributions: structure of personality
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- 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)
8
Q
Freud’s contributions: defense mechanisms
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- 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
9
Q
Hierarchy of Defense Mechanisms
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- 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)
10
Q
the narcissism trait
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- 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
11
Q
narcissistic personality disorder
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pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy
12
Q
megalomaniac
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delusions of greatness/wealth
13
Q
Trump Case Study: Narcissism
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- 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)
14
Q
research shows that narcissists tend to…
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- 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
15
Q
Paulhus study: analyzing Republican speeches vs. Trump’s
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- 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)
16
Q
narcissism and social media
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- 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)
17
Q
narcissism and social behaviour
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- 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
18
Q
narcissm and love
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- Idealize themselves
- Devalue partners
- Self-centered
19
Q
narcissism and work
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do not live up to own expectations
20
Q
inferiority complex
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- 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 )
21
Q
the narcissistic paradox
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- 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
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”
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
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
25
Karen Horney
- 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
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Erik Erikson
- 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
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Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial development
- 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
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Infancy
- 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
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Toddlerhood
- 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
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Young Childhood
- 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
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Elementary School
- 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
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Adolescence
- 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
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Young Adulthood
- ages 20-39
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
- Establishing intimate relationships; if unsuccessful, feel isolated
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Adulthood
- 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
Old Age
- 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
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Very Old Age
- 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
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object relations theory
- 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
object relations theory: insights on narcissism
- 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
Childhood Attachment Theory
- 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
Adult Attachment
- 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
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Relationship between child and adult attachment
- 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
Adult attachment and narcissism
- 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
Current views on the Unconscious
- 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
repressed memories
- 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
False Memories
- 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
Subliminal priming
- 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
Conclusions on subliminal perception/priming by various types of psychologists
- 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
Contemporary psychoanalysis
- 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
is contemporary psychoanalysis effective?
- 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
5 postulates of contemporary psychoanalysis
- 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
imagination inflation effect
- 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
id vs. ego psychology
- id pysch: Freudian psych, focused on id
| - ego psych: Erikson's approach to pysch, focused on ego
53
identity foreclosure
- 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
moratorium
- taking time to explore options before committing to an identity
- ex. during college -> taking different classes, joining clubs, switching majors
55
Research: Erikson's stages and holocaust survivors
- 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
fear of success
- 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
Karen Horney: work on gender
explained that although biology determines sex, culture determines what is acceptably masculine and feminine -> those culturally ascribed roles are known as gender differences
58
self-serving bias
tendency to take credit for our successes and deny responsibility for our failures
59
Harry Harlow attachment research
- 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
separation anxiety
- 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
working models
- 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
study: adult attachment styles in dating couples
- 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
