Ch 10. Basics of Psychoanalysis Flashcards
getting people to talk, especially about uncomfortable topics during psychoanalysis. The therapist encourages the patient to relax and say whatever comes to mind, without attempting to filter or edit their thoughts (developed by Sigmund Freud)
free association
- Psychic Determinism
- Internal Structure
- Psychic Conflict and
Compromise - Mental Energy
Key Ideas of Psychoanalysis
- Miracles, free will, and random accidents do not exist.
- everything that someone does has a specific cause
- seeming contradictions of thoughts and behavior can be resolved by looking at the unconscious part of the mind
- leads to the idea of the unconscious
Psychic Determinism
The mind is made of separate parts that function independently and can conflict with each other made up of the Id, Ego, and Superego
Internal Structure
ID
irrational + emotional
EGO
rational
SUPEREGO
moral
The mind can conflict with itself
Compromise Formation - the process through which the three components of the mind interact and negotiate with each other to find a resolution to internal conflicts (ego’s main job)
Psychic Conflict and Compromise
libido - the energy or psychic drive associated with the mind. the energy is finite and will eventually come out (ex. if anger is not expressed it will build up over time)
Mental Energy
controversy of Freud
during the Victorian era. sex/sexual desires were private so Frued’s theory was “dirty”
personal level: people do not want
to be told why they really did something, especially when you are correct.
Libido and Thanatos
two fundamental motives
Libido: Creation, protection, and
enjoyment of life, creativity, productivity, and
growth
Thanatos: death drive, introduced later to account for
destructive activity such as war and the fact that everyone dies. destructive and aggressive tendencies, self-destructive behaviors, and the desire for non-existence or cessation of life.
doctrine of opposites
everything has and requires the opposite
- Oral
- Anal
- Phallic
- (Latency)
- Genital
Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
- Timing: birth to 18 months
- Physical focus: mouth, lips, and
tongue - Psychological theme: dependency, passivity
- Only the id exists
- Two ways things can go wrong: needs are not fulfilled or needs are fulfilled instantly and automatically
- Adult character type: overly independent versus passive
Oral Stage
- Timing: about 18 months to 3 years
- Physical focus: anus and organs of
elimination - Psychological theme: self-control and obedience
- Development of the ego
- Two ways things can go wrong: unreasonable expectations and never demanding control of urges
- Adult character type: overcontrolled
versus undercontrolled
Anal Stage
- Timing: about 3 1⁄2 to 7 years
- Physical focus: sexual organs
- Basic task: coming to terms with physical sex differences and their implications
- Oedipal crisis: when boys realize girls don’t have penises and wonder if the same thing will happen to them
Psychological themes: gender identity and sexuality, love, fear, and jealousy - Development of morality, conscience, and the superego
- Adult character type: rigid moral code versus lack of moral code; asexual versus promiscuous
Phallic Stage
- Timing: about 7 years to puberty
- A break from development
- Concentrate on learning the tasks of childhood
Latency (break from psychosexual development)
- Timing: puberty onward
o This stage is not passed through but attained. - Physical focus: genitals, sexuality in the context of a mature relationship
- Focus on the creation and enhancement of life
- Psychological theme: maturity
- Achievement: psychologically well-adjusted and balanced
o Mental health: the ability“to love and to work”
Genital Stage
analogy: the army is conquering hostile territory and the battles occur when there is opposition. Troops are left at battle sights (fixation). Retreat to the previous stronghold (regression). Victory is reaching the genital stage with most of the army (energy) intact.
psychological development: moving through the stages
- Rational, practical, and prudent
- Able to delay or redirect gratification
- How the conscious part of the ego thinks
- Develops second; less important role
Thinking and Consciousness: Secondary Process Thinking (what we ordinarily mean when we say the word “think”)
- The way the unconscious mind operates
- Does not contain the idea of “no”
- Goal is immediate gratification
Thinking and Consciousness: Primary Process Thinking (how the id thinks)
- The way the unconscious mind operates
- Does not contain the idea of “no”
- Goal is immediate gratification
Thinking and Consciousness: Primary Process Thinking (how the id thinks)
Ego - least important, contains some of the ego (part of the ego is in the conscious, some of it is in the unconscious)
Superego - unconscious
Id - unconscious
(unconscious is the most important and difficult to bring to the surface)
Levels of Consciousness
- Often in speech, but also in
action - More likely when a person is
tired, not paying attention, in a hurry, or excited
there is no such thing as accidents (belief in determinism)
Slips
usually the result of repression
(belief in determinism)
Forgetting
the mind prevents anxiety caused by psychic conflict by using…
…defense mechanisms (techniques that the ego uses to lessen anxiety)
denial
repression
reaction formation - creating the opposite idea of what may cause anxiety
projection
rationalization - creating a logical explanation that doesn’t acknowledge the real motivation
intellectualization
displacement
sublimation - providing a safe outlet for problematic desires
defense mechanisms
Resolve problems by bringing unconscious conflicts to the surface so the ego can deal with them, it takes time and can be painful
Criticisms: low cure rate and length of treatment
Recent research: long-term therapy is more effective
Psychoanalysis as a Therapy and as a
Route Toward Understanding
- excessive complexity
- theories are based on introspection and insight from specific cases and there’s a high likelihood of bias
- vague definitions. concepts are not defined in terms of operational definitions
- untestability: cannot be proven false
- sexism: males are considered to be the norm
- focused on ideas that are underemphasized or ignored elsewhere
Critiques of Psychoanalytic Theory
