Biologicalš§ ā¢ Freud's Theory + Studies Flashcards
Where does the term psychodynamic come from?
From the greek word āpsycheā which means āthe mindā
What are the 3 core parts of the personality that Freud created?
- EGO
- SUPEREGO
- ID
Who created the theory?
Sigmund Freud
Within the psyche, what are the 3 āenvironmentsā that the 3 core elements of the theory fit into?
- Concious
- Pre-concious
- Unconcious
The lowest āenvrionmentā often gets mislabeled as a similar term that infers a different level of conciousness, what is it and what is the correct terminology?
Often mislabeled as āsubconciousā which infers a degree of conciousness/ control which is not applicable to the āunconciousā environment Freud is propsing in the theory
* Misconception = Subconcious
* Correct Terminology = Unconcious
Where do the 3 core concepts of the theory fit in terms of the 3 proposed āenvironmentsā in the Psyche?
- Concious= EGO
- Pre-concious= SUPEREGO
- Subconcious=ID
What two elements make up the ID?
- THANATOS
- EROS
What is the Thanatos?
The ādeath instinctā present in the ID
The word is from Greek Origin and Thanatos = the personification of death
What is the Eros?
The ālife instinctā present in the ID
The word is from Greek Origin and Eros is the Greek God of love & sex
What is the IDās purpose & what is it attempting to do + what body part is it similar to?
- The ID releases aggressive impulses that have originated within either the THANATOS or EROS
- It is attempting to reach the EGO with its impluses
- Its somewhat similar to the amygdala
What is the SUPEREGOās purpose & what is it attempting to do + what body part(s) is it similar to?
- The SUPEREGO manages and censors the aggressive impluses sent out by the ID via different stratagies called defence mechanisms
- provides moral standards through which the EGO operates
- It decides if not to let ID impulses through up to the concious EGO, almost like a gate of sorts
- Its somewhat similar to the prefrontal cortex in how it manages/ censors aggressive impluses and also similar to the synapse in regard to its gate-like properties, its a junction between concious and unconcious like how a synapse is a junction between neurons
What is the EGOās purpose & what is it attempting to do?
- The EGO is the only fully concious environment and it carries out actions/ impulses it recieves
- It acts on impluses sent to it by superego/ acts on any concious actions
The ID disregards societal ________ and ____________
The ID disregards societal norms and empathy
What is the main and primary flaw with Freudās theory?
Its not empericle, its not measureable like something such as testosterone levels therefore it has no proof/ scientific validiy
What diagram is Freudās theory commonly asociated with?
An iceburg
What are the 2 main reasons behind Freudās theory being linked to a speicfic diagram?
- The lower side is hidden under the surface - reflective of unconcious elements
- The lower side is LARGER than the top - reflective of ID having many impulses and urges as its instinctual
Label this diagram of Freudās proposed human psyche
What are the 3 keywords commonly asociated with each element of Freudās proposed human psyche?
- EGO= reality
- SUPEREGO= morality
- ID= Instincts
What are defense mechanisms?
Techniques used by SUPEREGO to subvert the aggressive impulses/ urgers deployed by the ID into a non-destructive, socially acceptable manner in order to achieve catharsis
What are all 5 defence mechanisms?
- Repression
- Denial
- Projection
- Displacement
- Sublimation
What is catharsis?
When impulses from Thanatos/ Eros (ID) are managed in a non-destructuve, socially acceptable way
What is Repression?
(DM)
- When the IDās impulses are repressed back into the unconscious region of the mind
- With this DM the person wont even realise what their ID is desiring
What is Denial?
(DM)
- When the IDās urges/ feelings are acted upon but the conscious mind refuses to accept what they are
- e.g. when someone doesnt realise how unpleasant they are being such as a person being homophobic but not realising/ accepting that in actuality
What is Projection?
(DM)
- When the IDās feelings are denied and the hostility is directed towards other people who actually seem to be acting on those feelings
- This includes being very judgemental/ negative towards people who are doing the things you secretly want to do
- e.g. person that identifies straight is deeply homophobic, but in reality is homosexual
What is Displacement?
(DM)
- When the IDās urges are acted upon, but they are directed at an alternate target, different from the one that catalysed the impulse from the ID
- Causing people to blame others for their problems
- e.g. coming home after being shouted at by teacher and being rude to your sibling
What is Sublimation?
(DM)
- When the IDās urges are acted upon but are transformed into something socially acceptable such as dance or artwork
- Sublimated behaviour may not entirely resemble the original unconscious desire but the rooted aggression may come out in Freudian Slips
What are Freudian Slips?
- When the slight tinge of the IDās aggresive impulses whilst being managed by the SUPEREGO slipped past into the concious āenvironmentā at the EGO and are slightly displayed in behaviour
Give two examples of a Freudian Slip
- Cooking very aggressively
- Puching a punching bag aggressively
Under what Defence Mechanism do Freudian Slips happen most frequently? + explanation
Sublimation as Freudian slips are somewhat accidental/ unintentional displays of the remnants of an aggressive impulse, they are most commonly seen through sublimation (deviating anger by transforming it into an action/ activity that is socuially acceptable e.g. cooking), for instance whilst cooking a person may stirr more aggressively, hence an freudian slip (within sublimation)
What is the SUPEREGO looking to achieve?
Catharsis
Fill in the blanks throughout this sentence
What is the study we can use to contradict Freudās Study?
Bushman et al.
In what year was Bushman et al. conducted?
2012
Explain the Methodology of Bushman et al. (2012)
- Student participants were taught Freudās psychodynamic theory and then were told to write an essay on it
- 2 groups of students (Experimental & Control)
- Both groupsā essays were marked and the teacher feedback was insulting and rude
- Experimental group got an opportunity of catharsis via them getting to go to the gym adn use a punching bag (DM: Sublimation)
- Then both groups got to expell their anger, they both got to blow an airhorn at their teacher
What were the roles for all participants?
- Actual participants were Students
- Confedorate played a Teacher
What were the results of Bushman et al. (2012) ?
- The Experimental group showed more aggression by blowing their horns for a longer duration
- The Control group showed less aggresion by blowing thier horns for a shorter duration than the other group
What can be said on the results of Bushman et al. when used as evidence for Freudās psychodynamic theory?
- Bushman et al. doesnāt act as evidence for Freud, it actually acts against it
- We would expect the Experimental group to blow their horn for a shorter duration as they had an opportunity for catharsis via the DM sublimation in order to dispell thier anger before blowing the horn as the other group did but the studyās results showed the opposite and consequently contradicts Freudās Theory rather than supporting it
What does Bushman et al. ultimately showcase about Freudās theory?
It showcases the unreliable nature of the Psychodynamic theory as itās results display the exact opposite of what Freudās theory implies - in reality aggression actually increased rather than decreasing due to catharsis THIS WAS NOT WHAT WAS IMPLIED IN FREUDāS THEORY HE IMPLIED THAT CATHARSIS DISPELLED ANGER IN A NON DESTRUCTIVE, SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE WAY
