Ch 2: Freud: Psychoanalysis Flashcards
Psychoanalysis
a set of theories and therapeutic techniques related to the study of the unconscious mind
-Freud and Breuer wrote Studies on Hysteria in 1895 in this Freud introduced psychical-analysis, which he began calling psychoanalysis
What was one of Freud’s attempt to become famous?
tests on cocaine, colleague took credit
-male hysteria (already known)
What makes Freud’s theory so interesting?
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis has endured because it (1) postulated the primacy of sex and aggression—two universally popular themes, (2) attracted a group of followers who were dedicated to spreading psychoanalytic doctrine, and (3) advanced the notion of unconscious motives, which permit varying explanations for the same observations.( brilliant command of language enabling him to present his theories in stimulating manner)
What methods did Freud’s theory follow?
-theory followed observation
-relied on deductive reasoning instead of rigorous research methods
-observations subject and on small sample (most upper-middle or upper class)
-did not quantify data or have controlled conditions
-used case study methods, typically formulating hypotheses after the facts of the case were known
(not in line with current science)
Biography of Sigmund Freud
Born in the Czech Republic in 1856, Sigmund Freud spent most of his life in Vienna. Freud oldest of children and favourite of young indulgent Mother (was not close with 7 other siblings but was close with Mom). When Freud 1.5 brother born and Freud filled with hostility and unconscious wish for death, brother died, left with feelings of guilt (when older understood that wish did not actually cause death, purged Freud of guilt, contributed to later psychic development).
Early in his professional career, Freud believed that hysteria was a result of being seduced during childhood by a sexually mature person, often a parent or other relative. In 1897, however, Freud abandoned his seduction theory and replaced it with his notion of the Oedipus complex, a concept that remained the center of his psychoanalytic theory. Near the end of his life and to escape Nazi rule (WWI hard for Freud, poor, practice dwindled, 33 operations cancer of the mouth, important revisions to theory), Freud moved to London where he died in 1939.
(p 20-25 for more detailed info, next few slides include some)
Hysteria
- a disorder typically characterized by paralysis or the improper functioning of certain parts of the body
- 1885 Freud got grant to study with neurologist Jean-Matin Charcot where he learnt hypnotic technique for treating hysteria
- through hypnosis Freud became convinced of a psychogenic and sexual origin of hysterical symptoms
- Freud’s notion was that childhood sexual experiences were source of adult hysteria (seduction theory, later abandoned in 1897)
Catharsis
- process of removing hysterical symptoms through “talking them out”
- taught to Freud by Josef Breuer
- while using catharsis Freud discovered free association technique (which soon replaced hypnosis as his principle therapeutic technique.
Why did Freud abandon seduction theory?
- seduction theory had not enabled him to treat even a single patient
- a great number of fathers, including his own would have to be accused of sexual perversion
- believed unconscious mind could not distinguish reality from fiction (this later was evolved into Oedipus complex)
- unconscious memories of advanced psychotic patient’s almost never revealed early childhood sexual experiences
neurosis
-a somewhat dated term signifying mild personality disorders as opposed to more severe psychotic reaction eg anxiety, hysteria, phobias, obsessive compulsive, depression , hypochondria reactions
Freud midlife
- professional isolation, personal crises
- after death of father, analyze own dreams and self daily
- middle aged and no yet achieved fame
- psychoneurosis
- “creative illness”: condition characterized by depression, neurosis, psychosomatic ailment and intense preoccupation with creative activity
- Freud suffering from self doubts, depression and obsession with own death
- difficulties with lots of former friends (I should have a intimate friend and hated enemy egs p 20-25)
- completed greatest work Interpretation of Dreams 1899 during this period (eventually gained fame and recognition with time)
obsession
a persistent or recurrent idea, usually involving urge to some action
Levels of Mental Life
- conscious
- unconscious (2 levels: unconscious proper and preconscious)
Unconscious
long, give lots of info
- The unconscious includes drives, urges and instincts that are beyond awareness but that motivate most human behaviours (words, feelings, actions).
- Freud believed that unconscious drives can become conscious only in disguised or distorted form (transformation), such as dream images, slips of the tongue, or neurotic symptoms. (enough to elude censorship (primary and final censor), by time memories enter conscious mind they are seen as pleasant and non-threatening experiences)
- > in most case images have strong sexual or aggressive motifs because childhood sexual and aggressive behaviours are frequently suppressed or punished, which can often create feelings of anxiety, anxiety in turn stimulates repression
- Unconscious processes originate from two sources: (1) repression, or the blocking out of anxiety-filled experiences and (2) phylogenetic endowment, or inherited experiences that lie beyond an individual’s personal experience.
- unconscious of one person can communicate with the unconscious of another without either person being aware for process eg teasing, sexual/aggressive urges
- forces in unconscious constantly strive to become conscious, may succeed but not in original form (unconscious ideas can motivate), disguise must successfully deceive person, often takes opposite form from original feeling but overblown and ostentatious (reaction formation)
suppression vs repression
- suppression: the blocking or inhibiting of an activity either by a conscious act of the will or by an outside agent such as parents/authority figures.
- it differs from repression: unconscious blocking of anxiety-producing experiences
- > force of anxiety ridden experiences into the unconscious as a defence against the pain of anxiety
Phylogenetic endowment
- inherited unconscious images
- Freud relied on notion of inherited dispositions as a last resort
Presonscious
- The preconscious contains images that are not in awareness but that can become conscious either quite easily or with some level of difficulty
- the contents of the preconscious come from two sources:
1) conscious perception: what a person perceives is conscious for only a transitory period; it quickly passes into the preconscious when focus of attention shifts to another idea, these alternate easily between the two levels and largely free from anxiety and are much more similar to conscious images than unconscious
2) second source is the unconscious, Freud believed that ideas can slip past the vigilant censor and enter the preconscious into a disguised form (some images never become conscious because increase anxiety and activate final censor to repress anxiety-loaded images, some do gain admission to conscious because true nature in disguised)
Conscious
Consciousness plays a relatively minor role in Freudian theory. Conscious ideas stem from either the perception of external stimuli (our perceptual conscious system) or from the unconscious and preconscious after they have evaded censorship.
Provinces of the Mind
-What are they and what level of mental life are they?
Freud conceptualized three regions of the mind—the id (unconscious), the ego (conscious, preconscious and unconscious), and the superego (preconscious and unconscious).
Id
- definition
- facts
- example
- most primitive part of the mind
- “the it” or the not-yet-owner component of personality
- id serves the pleasure principle
- The id, which is completely unconscious, serves the pleasure principle and contains our basic instincts. It operates through the primary process.
- id is primitive, chaotic, inaccessible to consciousness, unchangeable, amoral, illogical, unorganized and filled with energy received from basic drives and discharged for the satisfaction of the pleasure principle
- because id blindly seeks to satisfy the pleasure principle, its survival is dependent on the development of a secondary process to bring it in contact with the external world (functions through the ego)
eg infant is personification of id (just has id), so has gratification of needs without regard for what is possible (ego) or what is proper (super ego) eg sucking nipple or thumb
pleasure principle
sole function is to seek pleasure
- primary process
2. secondary process
- a reference to the id, region that houses basic drives (primary motivators of behaviour, called instincts)
- a reference to the ego, which is chronologically the second region of the mind (after the id or primary process). Secondary process thinking is in contact with reality
The Ego
- definition
- infants and children
- “I”
- only region in contact with reality
- The ego, or secondary process, is governed by the reality principle and is responsible for reconciling the unrealistic demands of the id and the superego.
- > surrounded by divergent and hostile forces ego becomes anxious and uses repression and other defence mechanisms to defend against anxiety
- decision making and executive branch of personality (can make decisions at each of 3 mental levels)
- grows out of id during infancy and becomes person’s sole source of communication with external world, ego becomes differentiated from id when infants learn to distinguish themselves from outer world, ego continues to develop strategies for handling id’s demands for pleasure (ego can control id but sometimes loses control)
- > as children begin to experience parental rewards and punishments learn how to gain pleasure and avoid pain (at young age pleasure and pain functions of ego because have not yet developed a conscience and ego-ideal aka superego)
The reality principle
a reference to the ego, which must realistically arbitrate the conflicting demands of the id, the superego and he external world
The Superego
- definition
- characteristics
- “above-I”
- represents moral and ideal aspects of personality
- grows out of ego and no energy of own, no contact with outside world and therefore is unrealistic in its demands for perfections
- The superego, which serves the moralistic and idealistic principle
- has two subsystems—the conscience and the ego-ideal.
1) The conscience results from experience and punishment for improper behaviour (tells what we should not do)
2) the ego-ideal stems from rewards for socially acceptable behaviour (tells use what we should do) - well-developed superego acts to control sexual and aggressive impulses through the process of repression (orders ego to do so, can’t do repression by self)
- superego watches closely over ego, judging actions and intentions (guilt=result of when ego acts contrary to moral standards of superego (function of conscience))
- superego completely ignorant and unconcerned with practicability of its requirements
- Moralistic principle
2. Idealistic Principle
- Reference to the conscience, a subsystem of the superego that tells people what they should not do
- a reference to the ego-ideal, a subsystem of the superego that tells people what they should do
the relationship among id, ego and superego in 3 hypothetical persons
- development of 3 regions different between individuals
- healthy individual is ego dominated, smooth functioning ego integrated with id and superego, minimal conflict
- person with a big id (dominated by id) may be a pleasure seeking
- person dominated by superego may be guilt-ridden or inferior feeling person
Dynamics of Personality
-Freud’s principle
- Dynamics of personality refers to those forces that motivate people.
- levels of mental life and provinces of the mind refer to the structure or composition of personality but personalities also do something
- Freud postulated dynamic/motivation principle to explain driving forces behind people’s actions
- > people motivated to seek pleasure and reduce tension and anxiety
- > motivation derived from psychical and physical energy that springs from basis drives
Drives
- operates as a constant motivational force, internal stimulus
- two types of drives: sex (or eros or life instinct) and aggression (distraction or Thanatos or death/distruction instinct)
- originate in id, but come under control of ego
- each drive has its own form of psychic energy eg sex drive=libido
- every basic drive is characterized by an impetus (amount of force it exerts), source (region of body in state of excitation or tension), aim (seek pleasure by removing/reducing that excitation or tension) and an object (person or thing that serves as the means through which the aim is satisfied)
- both sex and aggression must bow to the reality principle , prevent a direct, covert and unopposed fulfillment of either sex or aggressions, this frequently creates anxiety which relegates many sexual and aggressive desires to the realm of the the unconscious