Chapter 10: Psychoanalytic Approaches; Contemporary Issues Flashcards
what is the neo-analytic movement
- contemporary revisions to classical psychoanalysis
- composed by Westen
- argues that id, superego, and repressed sexuality are out of date
- modern day focus should be on childhood relationships and adult conflicts with others (e.g. intimacy difficulties)
what did Westen postulate were the five postulates of contemporary psychoanalysis (i.e. the neoanalytic movement)
- the unconscious plays a large role in life (but might not be the ubiquitous influence that Freud held it was)
- behaviour often reflects compromises in conflicts among mental processes (e.g. emotions, motivations, thoughts)
- childhood plays an important part in personality development (especially in shaping adult relationship styles)
- mental representations of the self and relationships guide interactions with others
- personality development involves moving from immature social dependency to mature independent relationship styles (not just about regulating sexual/aggressive impulses)
what is Elizabeth Loftus’s research on
- authenticity of recovered memories, repressed memories
- looks at difference between repressed and recovered memories of sexual abuse
what are false memories
recovered memories that are not true (as theorized by Loftus) –> we should be careful not to assume that ALL recovered memories are false though
describe how popular press might contribute to the establishment of false memories
- books on the market have guides for survivors of abuse –> might provide suggestions that this abuse has happened, even if there is no memory of this
- e.g. by suggesting certain symptoms of past abuse, like low self-esteem, depression, sexual dysfunction, etc.
describe how therapist’s behaviour might contribute to the establishment of false memories
- therapists might conclude a client’s behaviour is the result of sexual abuse in childhood –> suggesting the idea to clients
- e.g. hypnosis (to freely recall childhood experiences) –> this has not been shown to increase accuracy of memories, but rather might increase distortions
- suggestive interviewing or interpretations of symptoms, pressure to recall trauma, dream interpretation
what is the imagination inflation effect
- therapists have individuals imagine various events –> makes them later more likely to rate these events are familiar, leading them to have more elaborate memory representation and rate these imagined events as likely to have happened
- confuse imagined event with events that actually happened
what are two factors that contribute to the establishment of false memories
- popular culture (e.g. books suggesting symptoms of trauma, introducing the idea that they themselves might have experienced it)
- therapists’ behaviour (e.g. suggestive interviewing)
why might therapists suggest false memories to patients (2 reasons) and why do they have this influence (1 reason)
- therapists often believe that effective treatment must result in patients overcoming repressed memories and reclaiming a traumatic past
- confirmatory bias –> tendency to look only for evidence that confirms their previous hunch (and avoid evidence that disconfirms their belief)
–> have authority and thus can influence compliant and suggestible patients
describe Bargh’s contemporary view on unconscious processes
- social psychology perspective
- people are often unaware of the reasons and causes of their own behaviour
- e.g. being exposed to words synonymous with rudeness = acting rude towards an experimenter
what are the two different views on the unconscious
- motivated unconscious view
- cognitive unconscious view
describe the perspective of the cognitive unconscious view
- readily acknowledges that information can get into our memories without our awareness
- e.g. subliminal perception (don’t consciously see words, but they influence our behaviour) and priming
what is priming
makes associated material more accessible to conscious awareness (e.g. subliminal perception/messaging) –> debate over whether this can influence our behaviour and motivations (most research suggests it doesn’t)
how does the unconscious mind operate, according to the cognitive view
- operates just like thoughts in consciousness
- thoughts are unconscious NOT because they have been repressed or because they represent unacceptable urges, but because they are not in conscious awareness
- can include acts like typing (if you are good at it)
- influence of the unconscious is rational and peaceful, rule governed, and specific –> not just erotic and violent like Freud suggested
what is id psychology
- what we can characterize Freudian psychoanalysis as
- focus on id –> sex and aggression
what is ego psychology
- what later psychoanalysts focused on –> e.g. Anna Freud, Erik Erikson
- ego is a powerful and independent part of personality –> mastering the environment, achieving goals, establishing identity
describe the ego’s role in identity
- primary function of ego is establishing a secure identity
- identity is an inner sense of who we are, what makes us unique, etc.
- identity crisis –> term from Erikson’s work
what is Erikson’s most lasting contribution to psychology
- work on notion of identity
- important developmental achievement in everyone’s personality
- identity is a thought of as a story that a person develops about themselves –> who am I, what is my place, what is the purpose of my existence, etc.
what events might cause identity crisis, or changes in identity
- certain events cause large changes to identity –> e.g. graduation, marriage, childbirth, etc.
- unexpected events (e.g. death of partner, loss of job, etc.)
- once story has evolved to have coherent themes, people make few changes to their story
describe what Erikson disagreed with Freud about
Freud argued that period age 6-puberty was a latency period, but Erikson believed this was when much of development occurred
what did Erikson believe about the conflicts at each stage of development
- Freud believed conflicts were inherently sexual
- Erikson believed they were social
- e.g. first social relationships with parents
- “psychosocial conflicts” rather than “pscyhosocial conflicts”
what are Erikson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development
- infancy –> trust/mistrust
- toddlerhood –> shame & doubt/autonomy
- young childhood –> guilt/initiative
- elementary school –> inferiority/industry
- adolescence –> role confusion/identity
- adulthood –> stagnation/generativity
- old age –> despair/integrity
what are the three main similarities between Erikson’s model and Freud’s
- both are stage models of development –> people go through stages in a certain order, and there is a specific issue at each stage
- each stage presented a developmental crisis that needed to be resolved
- both maintained idea of fixation –> if crisis was not successfully and adaptively resolved, personality development was arrested
describe the trust/mistrust phase of Erikson’s model
- when children are first born they are completely dependent on those around them
- can you trust those around you to feed, care, comfort you when in need?
- basic needs met = trust established –> forms basis for future relationships
- basic needs to met = lifelong pattern of mistrust in others, suspiciousness, isolation, social discomfort
describe the autonomy vs shame/doubt phase of Erikson’s model
- terrible two’s –> children experiment with new abilities
- trying to answer question of how much of the world they control
- feeling sense of control/mastery = self-confidence and autonomy –> encouraged to explore and learn
- inhibition of autonomy (strict, restrictive, punishing) = shame/doubt over goals
- overprotectiveness hinders child’s urge to explore
describe the initiative vs guilt phase of Erikson’s model
- 3 years of age
- imitate adults –> first practice in adult tasks in play
- practice skills of working together, following leaders, resolving disputes
- practicing skills = sense of initiative, ambition, goal-seeking
- failure = resigned to failure, lack of initiative taken
describe the industry vs inferiority phase of Erikson’s model
- 4 years
- children begin comparing themselves to others, competence, achievement, competitions
- success experiences = believe in strength and abilities, assume they can achieve by working hard (overall sense of industry, productive members of society)
- failure = sense of inferiority, lack feeling they have talent/ability to get ahead in life
describe the identity vs role confusion stage of Erikson’s model
- adolescence –> going through drastic physical changes
- who am I, do others recognize me for who I am, etc.
- lots of experimentation in this stage in the search for identity
what is identity confusion
not having a strong sense of who one really is
what is a rite of passage ritual
some culture institute this around adolescence –> ceremony initiating a child into adulthood (e.g. Bat/Bar Mitzvah in Judaism)
what is a negative identity
- sometimes established in resolving the identity crisis
- identity founded on undesirable social roles (e.g. being a gang member)
describe the different types of identities that can be established in resolving identity crisis
- negative identity (founded on undesirable social roles)
- shallow/unchangeable identity —> founded on something handed to them (did not work for it)
- mature identity –> going through a crisis and emerging with a firm sense of commitment to values, relationships or career
- identity foreclosure (did not explore alternatives)
what is identity foreclosure
- if a person does not have a crisis or forms identity without exploring alternatives (e.g. accepting values of parents)
- often moralistic and conventional –> no good rationale behind beliefs/opinions
what is a moratorium
taking time to explore options before making a commitment to an identity
describe the intimacy vs isolation stage of Erikson’s model
- connecting with others in friendships and intimate relationships
- latter half of teen years
- feel a need to develop relationships that are mutually satisfying and intimate –> helps them grow to be caring, nurturing and providing adults
- can be through marriage or other
- failure to find/maintain intimacy = isolation
describe the generativity vs stagnation phase of Erikson’s model
- most of adult years
- have you generated something you really care about in life (usually career, family, hobby, volunteering, etc.)
- crisis = feeling like you have been spinning your wheels (stagnating)
describe the integrity vs despair stage of Erikson’s model
- last stage of development in old age
- we let go of the generative role (e.g. retire, children leave home, no longer can do our hobbies)
- start process of withdrawing from life and prepare to face death
- Looking back on life –> did you accomplish what you wanted, did you feel satisfied with your life
- feel despair if think if wasn’t all worthwhile, regrets, etc.
what did Nietzsche write about (which is similar to Erikson’s phase of integrity/despair)
- what do people think about an eternal return to their lives
- if you do not want to live your life over and over again, you should make some changes now
- you have achieved integrity if you do want to live life over and over again
describe the research on Holocaust survivors’ outcomes in Erikson’s initiative vs guilt stage
- favourable outcome = extent to which purpose and direction, competitiveness and self-initiative were identified (e.g. inspired by a poster to move to Canada)
- unfavourable outcome = sense of feeling like a bad person, jealousy, guilt over death of a loved one
what did overall results suggest in examining Holocaust survivors’ experience in Erikson’s stage model
- overall positive outcomes according to Erikson’s stages
- one exception was trust vs mistrust –> more unfavourable outcomes reported (in line with extreme betrayal faced by Jewish people)
- less guilt immediately after the end of the Holocaust –> inflated self-confidence and autonomy counterbalanced feelings of guilt
- high industry based on active roles taken in own survival
- strong identity based on strong family ties with Jewish families, and pride in survivorship
- high generativity –> desire to create postive experience for own children
Describe Karen Horney’s arguments against Freud
- reacted against Freud’s theory of penis envy
- taught that the penis was a symbol of social power
- not an organ that women desired
- girls realize early on that they are denied social power because of their gender –> girls desired the social power and preferences given to boys in the culture at the time
what is culture (Karen Horney)
- set of shared standards for many behaviours
- e.g. feeling shame about promiscuous behaviour
- holds different standards for males and females –> double standard
describe the phrase fear of success (Karen Horney)
- highlights gender differences in response to competition and achievement situations
- women feel they will lose friends if they succeed –> harbour an unconscious fear of success
- men feel they would gain friends by being successful –> not afraid to pursue achievement
describe Horney’s arguments about gender/sex
- stressed that cultural norms determine gender (though biology determines sex)
- masculine and feminine are terms referring to traits/roles typically associated with being male or female
- gender differences, not sex differences
- important to modern feminism
what is self-serving bias
common tendency for people to take credit for successes yet to deny responsibility for failure
what is present in healthy/normal personality functioning
- develop a stable and relatively high level of self-esteem –> pride in accomplishments, realistic ambitions for future, feel they are getting attention and affection they deserve
- engage in self-serving biases
what happens when self-serving bias is taken too far
- people try to increase self-worth and demonstrate it to others in problematic ways
- narcissism, and even narcissistic personality disorder
describe what normal ranges of narcissistic tendencies look like
- extreme self-focus
- sense of being special
- feelings of entitlement (deserve attention or admiration without earning it)
- search for others to serve as their private fan club –> lift selves up and make them feel superior
- striving for superiority (might belittle others)
describe the narcissistic paradox
- although people high in narcissism appear to be high in self-esteem, they actually have doubts about their value and worth as individuals
- this drives the need to make others unhappy
- appear confident, but need constant praise, reassurance and attention from others
- appear to have a sense of self-importance, but are very vulnerable to blows to self-esteem and dislike criticism
what is a common problem with narcissists
- if they are criticized or challenged, they behave aggressively
- belittle or attack critics to achieve respect
what is positively correlated with narcissism scores
- number of first-person pronouns used in an essay
- choice to watch a tape of self instead of others
- higher ratings of their performance on a tape compared to others
what is narcissism not the same as
having high self-esteem –> they actually have fragile and vulnerable self-esteem, and respond aggressively when they are criticized
what is object relations theory
emphasizes social relationships and their origins in childhood (in contrast to Freud’s focus on sexuality)
what is the core set of assumptions of object relations theory (2 assumptions)
- internal wishes/desires/urges are not as important as the development of relationships with significant external others (especially parents)
- others (especially mother) become internalized by chid in the form of mental objects –> unconscious mental representation of mother that they form a relationships with, even in the absence of the real mother
describe a child’s internalization (according to object relations theory)
- healthy relationship between mother and infant = internalization of a caring, nurturant and trustworthy mother object –> forms fundamentals for how children view others in subsequent relationships
- unhealthy relationship = untrustworthy mother is internalized –> often develop distinct personality problems
- first social relationships established form templates for all meaningful relationships in the future
who did the first research on early childhood attachment
Harry Harlow –> wire/cloth mothers study with monkeys
describe the findings of Harlow’s experiment on childhood attachment
- monkeys prefer real mother to fake mother
- monkeys prefer cloth mother to wire mother
- infant monkeys raised by fake mothers developed problems (e.g. social insecurity, anxiousness)
describe Harlow’s definition of attachment
- attachment between infant and primary caregiver requires physical contact with a warm and responsive mother
- vital to psychological development of infant (especially attachment in first 6 months)
describe how attachment develops in infancy
- begins when develop preference for people over objects
- then child prefers to see familiar individuals
- finally, they prefer primary caregiver over anyone else
describe Bowlby’s theory of attachment
- studied what happened when attachment relationship was temporarily broken (mother left infant alone)
- when mother leaves infant alone, some trust that the mother will return and provide care –> happy when mother returns
- others react negatively to separation and become agitated/distressed when mother leaves, but calmed upon their return –> “separation anxiety”
- some become depressed when mothers leave, and remain angry when parents return
describe Mary Ainsworth’s work on attachment
- strange situation paradigm
- found essentially the three same patterns of behaviour noted by Bowlby: secure, avoidant and ambivalent attachments
- note a version of this study was replicated in adult married couples who were temporarily separated –> resembled results sen in earliest separations with primary caregiver
describe secure attachment (Ainsworth)
- endured separation with minimal anxiety and explored room (waited for mother, or approached stranger wanting to be held by them)
- infants happy to see caregiver, and interact with them for a bit before going back to exploring environment
- most fell into this category
describe avoidant attachment (Ainsworth)
- avoided mothers upon return
- unfazed when mothers left and did not give attention when they returned
- 20% in this category
describe ambivalent attachment (Ainsworth)
- very anxious about mother leaving
- crying and protesting vigorously before parent even got out of room
- difficult to calm when mother left
- ambivalent upon return –> anger and desire to be close to mother
describe how mothers of different child attachment styles behave
- secure attachment = affection and stimulation to babies, more responsive –> less crying from baby, more harmonious relationships later in life
- ambivalent & avoidant = less attentive to children, less responsive to needs –> associated with lower social and academic skills later in life
describe Bowlby’s theory of “working models” of attachment
- early experiences and reaction of infant to parent are working models for later adult relationships
- internalized unconsciously (in expectations about relationships)
- e.g. forming unconscious expectation that you aren’t wanted in infancy carries on to adulthood
describe what adult secure, avoidant and ambivalent relationship styles look like
- secure = few problems in developing satisfying friendships and relationships, trust people and develop bonds with them
- avoidant = difficulty in learning to trust others, suspicious of other’s motives, afraid to make commitments and depending on others (don’t want to be disappointed or abandoned)
- ambivalent = vulnerability and uncertainty about relationships, overly dependent and demanding of partners/friends, neediness in relationships, reassurance and attention needed
note: positive relationship between parent-infant attachment style and later relationship style in adulthood
describe the approach to relationships that people with avoidant attachment styles take
shun romance, don’t believe in real love (or at least that it doesn’t last), fear intimacy, rarely develop deep emotional commitments, not emotionally supportive of partners
describe the approach to relationships that people with ambivalent attachment styles take
- frequent but short-lived romantic relationships –> fall in and out of love easily, rarely say they are happy with relationships, fear of losing partners, focus on keeping the other happy (avoid conflict, change self for them)
- report being very afraid of losing partner
describe the approach to relationships that people with secure attachment styles take
can be separated from partners without stress –> more warm and supportive, report more satisfaction, give emotional support to partners, seek support when needed, problem-solve, etc. –> these effects strengthen the longer you are with the person
describe the study done by Simpson on adult attachment styles with their partners
- couple was told male would undergo a stressful and unpleasant experience as part of experiment
- male had to wait a few moments before the “stress phase” –> couple left in room to wait together (were taped for 5 minutes)
- looking at how females would support partners, and how men would ask for support; took measure of childhood experiences with parents to assess attachment styles
- women with avoidant attachment were less likely to offer support/encouragement to partners (even if male asked for it)
- securely attached women provided support if partner asked for it (but less support if did not ask)
- attachment style did not impact how men asked for help
what have studies shown on the effects of chronic stress on help seeking
- secure men and women seek support from others when distressed
- avoidantly attached men and women try to distance themselves from others –> want to spend time along when under stress and distract self from stressors
what is avoidant/fearful attachment in men related to
abusiveness toward women
can attachment style change over the lifespan?
- subsequent positive experiences can compensate for earlier negative relationships –> exposure to a loving, nurturant relationship in adulthood can revise their working models of object relations
- if positive and supportive enough, can internalize new mental version of relationships (more secure and trusting, positive expectations of others)
what are some outcomes attachment style is implicated in
- relationships with twins, pets, God
- satisfaction with work, family, social role, stressful life events
- secure attachment = best adjustment
- avoidant/fearful = difficulties in domains of life
