Chapter 3: The Psychoanalytic Theory Of Sigmund Freud

Question 1

Define personology

Answer 1

The branch of psychology that focuses on the study of the individual characteristics and of the difference between people

Question 2

What is a person

Answer 2

An individual human being who can act independently.

Question 3

Define the term personality

Answer 3

The constantly changing but relatively stable organisation of all physical psychological and spiritual characteristics of the individual that determine their behavior in interaction with the context.

Question 4

Define what character is

Answer 4

Character refers to those aspects of the personality involving the person’s values.

Question 5

Define temperament/nature

Answer 5

Refers to emotional aspects of the personality.

Question 6

What is personism

Answer 6

It is the view that behavior is influenced by the individual personality

Question 7

What is situationalism

Answer 7

The view that the situation is the most important determinant of behavior

Question 8

Define interactionalism

Answer 8

The view that behavior is the outcome of the interaction between the individual characteristics and the situation in which the behavior occurs.

Question 9

Define transactionalism

Answer 9

It is the behavior determined by the transactions between the person the situation and the behavior.

Question 10

Define epistemology

Answer 10

A body of knowledge based on specific assumptions about the true source of knowledge

Question 11

What is rationalism

Answer 11

The philosophy of science based on the assumption that human reason is the only source of true knowledge

Question 12

State empiricism

Answer 12

Is an approach to the philosophy of science that starts with assumption that the only source of true knowledge is observations through sensory perception.

Question 13

Define introspection

Answer 13

A method of self observation under controlled conditions

Question 14

What is functionalism

Answer 14

A scientific philosophical approach that focuses on the functions and dynamic of psychological functions.

Question 15

What is structuralism

Answer 15

A scientific philosophical approach that aims to examine the constituent structural elements of events

Question 16

What is intentionality

Answer 16

Psychological processes can only be understood by focusing on the will or intention underlying the process.

Question 17

Define the Oedipus complex

Answer 17

It is a developmental stage where the boy identifies with his father and own gender role.

Question 18

State what is the death wish or Thanatos

Answer 18

It is a destructive drive that serves to destroy life and underlies all destructive behavior like aggression and violence.

Question 19

State the 3 basic assumptions that underlie Freud’s theory

Answer 19

Psychosocial conflict

Biological and psychic determinism

Mechanistically assumption

Question 20

Expand on the psychosocial assumption

Answer 20

Person caught up between drives within the psyche and the norms of society. The person wishes to obtain drive satisfaction but is limited by moral norms of society where the conflict arrises by attempting to obtain drive satisfaction with as little guilt as possible

Question 21

Expand on the biological and psychic determinism

Answer 21

Freud describes human drives as physiologically based and rooted in the body that are found in the part of the psyche called Id while societal norms are absorbed into the psyche as the superego.

Question 22

Expand on the mechanistic assumption

Answer 22

Freud believed humans function in a mechanistic way where principles of energy consumption conservation and transformation are part of human functioning

Question 23

What is the structure of personal

Answer 23

The id
The Ego
The superego

Functioning takes place on the conscious
Preconscious and unconscious levels.

An individual consists of 3 seperate aspects functioning together to attain 3 goals

Ensure survival of the individual

Allow the individual to experience as much pleasure as possible

To minimise the individual experience of guilt.

Question 24

What are the 3 levels of consciousness

Answer 24

The conscious level contain thoughts feelings and experience of which the individual is aware

The preconscious level where info is found that can be recalled to consciousness without much effort which mainly contains memories and experience and observations on which the individual isn’t concentrating at any particular moment.

The unconscious level contains the person’s forbidden drives and memories of events and wishes that cause pain anxiety and guilt and can’t recall to the conscious mind.

Question 25

Describe the id

Answer 25

It is the innate primitive component of the psyche and is in direct contact with the body from which it obtain energy for all behavior which is linked to drives being the drive for Life (Eros) including sex drive and the drive for death (Thanatos)

It functions according to primary processes and pleasure principles. It seeks immediate and complete satisfaction of its drives without considering anything but it’s own immediate pleasure. The only form of drive satisfaction is wish fulfillment

Question 26

Define life drives (Eros)

Answer 26

Serve to preserve life and differentiated into ego drives (serves the person survival) and sexual drives( ensures survival of species)

Question 27

Describe the Ego

Answer 27

Develops from id because of necessity to ensure individual survival and formed through the individuals contact with the outside world. The Ego serve the id needs by finding suitable object for real drive satisfaction but uses different means

The secondary process means ego evaluates and weighs up a situation before any action is undertaken. The Ego is able to reflect upon and plan the satisfaction of drives to postpone satisfaction to an appropriate time and situation.

The reality principle contains the idea that the ego takes physical and social reality into account by using conscious and preconscious cognitive processes like sensory perception rational thinking memory and learning.

It begins to develop during the first year of life and continues to change throughout a person’s life in that it learns through experience learns new ways of drive satisfaction and learns to adapt to changing I’d drives and circumstances in physical and social reality.

Question 28

What is cathexis

Answer 28

The egos investment of psychic energy in certain selected objects.

Question 29

Describe the superego

Answer 29

Develop from the Ego which happens through a process in which the Behavioural and moral codes of society play an important role. The superego is active within the person as a representative of societies moral code and serves to pressurise the individual into abiding by these codes.

It functions according to the moral principle which is it punishes the individual by making individual experience guilt about immoral wishes and behavior and holds up a relentless perfectionistic ideal of moral behavior. Freud called this the conscience and the positive dimension which encourages moral behavior the ego ideal.

Question 30

What is anticathexis

Answer 30

The moral taboo placed on an object by the superego.

Question 31

What is the mechanistic assumption

Answer 31

Is the belief that the human psyche functions with the help of energy that’s converted from a physical biological form to psychic energy according to principle of energy transformation.

Question 32

What are the 4 characteristics of a drive

Answer 32

Source: in the body like source of energy for hunger involves organs involving eating. Source for sex drives involves genitalia. The physical source of the sexual drives referred to as erogenous zone.

Impetus/energy: Is the quantity of energy or intensity affected by condition of the energy source at a given time and by lapse of time of last satisfaction of drive

Goal: being satisfaction and experienced subjectively as desired to accomplish something specific and the pressure of such a desire remains operative until drive is satisfied.

Object: is something or a person suitable for its satisfaction which is achieved by using the energy of the drive with the help of an appropriate object to carry out suitable actions. An object of satisfaction is chosen by the ego and invested with psychic energy with makes it possible for the individual to expend or to reduce drive energy.

Objects can undergo substitution called displacement whereby an earlier object choice isnt available or when society and the superego prohibits the use of a specific object.

Question 33

Give the types of drives

Answer 33

Life drives (Eros): serve to preserve life and function in a constructive manner. Their role is combing smaller units in process of building larger complex units following biological tendency of cell formation and development.

These subdivide into ego drives serving individual survival and sexual drives ensuring survival of species.

Death drive (thanatos): has tendency to break down reduce complex cells to inorganic matter and represent tendency of living organism to die.

Question 34

How does the ego drive function

Answer 34

Associated with individual survival and includes all drives aimed at satisfying basic life needs.

Important function is that they are responsible for the development of the ego and provide the energy required for its functioning.

They are related to the survival of the individual while sexual drive are related to survival of species

Ego drives aren’t like sexual drives with moral prescription and guilt

They provide energy required for functioning of Ego.

Question 35

How does the sexual drive function

Answer 35

Primary concern is survival of species and primary function is erotic in sense that the satisfaction of sexual drives provide erotic pleasure while non satisfaction causes discomfort. Sexual drives are present from birth and start functioning in service if reproduction and survival of species only after puberty. Societies struck moral codes concerning sexual behaviour cause problems for individual.

Question 36

How does the death drive function

Answer 36

Basic function is to break down living cells and change them into dead matter. The death drive is immediately brought into conflict with life drives and this conflict is projected outward in form of aggression and destructive behavior towards other people.

Death drive operates by individual projecting energy outwards in form of aggression towards others where Freud ascribes all aggression violence and destructive behavior to the death drive.

Question 37

According to Freud what is anxiety and the 3 types of anxiety

Answer 37

It is the egos reaction to danger and stems from the conflict between the id’s forbidden drives and superego Moral codes.

Reality anxiety: is called fear which is anxiety about actual dangers in the external environment.

Neurotic and moral anxiety: threat is within and origin of anxiety is partially unconscious.

Question 38

What are defence mechanisms

Answer 38

They are strategies that the ego uses to defend itself against the conflict between the forbidden repressed drives and moral codes which causes neurotic and moral anxiety.

Question 39

What 2 important characteristics do defence mechanisms share

Answer 39

They are denials and distortions of reality

They operate unconsciously and are geared to keeping anxiety provoking material unconscious.

Question 40

What types of defense mechanism did Freud identify

Answer 40

Repression and resistance: it’s the basic defence mechanism that represses drives wishes or memories that are unacceptable to superego. Repression is the state in which ideas existed before being made conscious and asserted that the force which institute the repression is perceived as resistance.

Projection: is an attempt to keep unconscious and threating psychic material unconscious by subjectively changing or projecting the focus to the drives or wishes of other people and ignoring those impulse within themselves.

Reaction formation: is a mechanism whereby the individual tries to keep a forbidden desire unconscious by adopting a fanatical stance that gives Impression that experience exactly the opposite desire.

Rationalisation: is a person’s attempt to explain behavior towards themselves or others by providing reasons which sound rational but aren’t the real reason for behavior.

Question 41

What is displacement and sublimation

Answer 41

Displacement functions by finding a substitute for the object that society’s Moral codes forbid and using the substitute object for drive satisfaction.

Sublimation consists of finding displacement objects and actions that are regarded by society as culturally valuable. When employing sublimation person expresses their unacceptable base drives in an acceptable way.

Question 42

What is fixation and regression

Answer 42

Fixation occurs when individuals psychological development become stuck at a certain stage meaning person behaves in a manner appropriate to an earlier stage to avoid challenge of next stage.

Regression is a partial or total return to the behavior of an earlier stage of development in which less anxiety and frustration were experienced

Question 43

State what’s meant by identification

Answer 43

Takes place when a person symbolically represents themselves within another person because of an unconscious desire to be like that person.

Question 44

Why is Freud’s theory referred to as the psychosexual theory

Answer 44

The developmental Theory focuses on the development of the sex drive and how society and the child deal with the accompanying issues.

Development of the person occurs through succession of stages determined by maturation. Progression from one stage is seen as the result of changes in the source of sexual drive energy (libido).

Question 45

What are the developmental stages belonging to the psychosexual theory

Answer 45

Oral stage (1st year of life) lips and mouth are main erogenous zones or source of sexual drive energy. When feeding baby satisfies both hunger and sexual drives. Weaning is seen as punishment and accompanying frustration. Babies use displacement as defence mechanism by substituting breast for other objects.

Causes of fixation are:

• Being too pampered by the mother is given freedom to satisfy oral urges will be reluctant to enter the next developmental stage
• Given little opportunity for drive satisfaction causes Child to experience frustration and fixation
• Fixation occurs as result of experience that causes anxiety concerning demands of next stage.

The death drive is satisfied by turning on external objects primarily the mother like biting during feeding

Ego and superego develop in contrast to the Id and baby acquires knowledge about external reality.

Fixation in the oral stage results in the oral personality type characterised by an inordinate dependence on others narcissism excessive optimism and a tendency to be jealous and envious. Due to reaction formation opposite traits can develop such as selfishness self loathing pessimism and exaggerated generosity.

Question 46

What are the developmental stages belonging to the psychosexual theory

Answer 46

The anal stage:

Anus and excretory canal constitute important erogenous zones. Freud believed that children experience sexual pleasure in excretion and maintaing excretion. Toilet training is important in development and parents handling of it has significant influence on personality development.

Aggressive urges change as in case where children excrete at the wrong time or refuse to do so which can cause harm but also derive sexual pleasure called masochism.

Fixation in anal stage produces an anal personality characterised by excessive neatness thriftiness obstinacy or their opposite traits.

The development of sadism and masochism and development of obsessive compulsive neuroses are associated with fixation in anal stage.

Question 47

What are the developmental stages belonging to the psychosexual theory

Answer 47

The phallic stage:

Name derived from male sex organ (phallas=penis in erection) and the absence of it in girls is basis of psychosexual development. Sexual drive energy is no longer Purley physical but deep complex psychic wishes basis for psychosexual development being sexual wishes related to parents penis and the absence thereof.

For boys penis is source of drive energy and often fondled with called masturbation which develop sexual desires in relation to mother and would like to take up father’s sexual function which leads to hatred of the father for a time.

Boys masterbation sexual overtures towards mom aggressive behaviour towards dad lead to redicule and punishment in form of castration anxiety.

Boy Copes with this by means of the Oedipus complex using repression and identification by repressing sexual and aggressive desires and his castration anxiety and identify with father by wishing to be like him causing boy to imitate the father causing superego to attain it’s final development.

Girls experience an Electra complex which is a developmental stage where girls envy lack of penis leading to identification with mom and own gender role. Girls will develop sexual desires with father hoping to obtain penis from him.

Fixation in phallic stage is related to neurotic characteristics as castration anxiety and penis envy are core of most problem arising out of this stage like homosexuality and important in development of mental disorders

Question 48

What are the developmental stages belonging to the psychosexual theory

Answer 48

The latent stage:

Starts during puberty and characterised by fact that no new physical source of sexual drive energy occurs and as repression of Oedipus complex and child’s identification with Same sex parents child mainly concerned with gender role.

Question 49

What are the developmental stages belonging to the psychosexual theory

Answer 49

The genital stage:

Puberty is correlated with physiological changes that increase sexual drive energy which is the entire sexual apparatus of person. It is characterized by reawakening of sexual desires.

Person’s dealing successfully make use of displacement and sublimation by finding suitable means of satifying sexual and other urges without experiencing acute guilt

The genital character is the personality type that’s describe from developmental structural dynamic perspectives

Question 50

What viewpoints are there regarding optimal development

Answer 50

Developmental viewpoint:
Genital character is characterized by fact that genital stage is attained without any fixation and no regression to pre genital stages

Structural viewpoint:
Ideal personality has strong ego and superego isn’t overly restrictive.

Dynamic viewpoint:
These people use the most effective defence mechanisms namely sublimation and implies that they are able to satisfy sexual and aggressive urges socially acceptable ways

Question 51

What viewpoints are there regarding optimal development

Answer 51

Developmental viewpoint:
Genital character is characterized by fact that genital stage is attained without any fixation and no regression to pre genital stages

Structural viewpoint:
Ideal personality has strong ego and superego isn’t overly restrictive.

Dynamic viewpoint:
These people use the most effective defence mechanisms namely sublimation and implies that they are able to satisfy sexual and aggressive urges socially acceptable ways

Question 52

What is the psychoanalytic theory

Answer 52

Refers to Freud’s theory which he developed as a result of analysing human functioning based on his psychotherapeutic method known as psychoanalysis.

Question 53

According to Freud what are the causes of psychological disorders

Answer 53

Caused by imbalance in the structure of personality which has historical and contemporary causes

Historical causes are

• Fixation in a stage which causes unresolved problem to be repressed to unconscious and excessive drive energy remains present.
• The development of too weak an ego means ego hadn’t developed sufficient rational skills for drive satisfaction or the use of ineffective defence mechanisms
• The development of an overly strict superego develops when parental discipline is too strict ,when opportunity for expression of aggression is too limited.

The contemporary causes can stem from any changes or crises that upset persons balance between fulfillment of drives and guilt where changes are brought about by transition from 1 stage to another or radical change in lifestyle.

When ego can’t cope with anxiety resulting from conflict between id and superego by use of defense mechanism

Question 54

What are the 3 types of mental disorders that Freud identified

Answer 54

Freud identified neuroses develop because of ego’s inability to cope with conflict between id and superego where ego produces symptoms in an effort to save the problem a symptom is a

• Form of communication of which neurotic is unaware
• is punishment
• is a symbolic satisfaction of an unconscious wish
• provide patients with secondary advantages like attention and sympathy

personality disorders are deeply rooted disturbed ways of dealing with conflict and satisfaction drives which is result of fixation and the consequent regression to appropriate pre genital development stage.

psychoses are a result of a complete inability to deal with anxiety on the part of the ego resulting in total withdrawal and distortion of reality .

Question 55

What are the techniques used in psychoanalysis

Answer 55

Free association where patient states what comes to mind which emerges from unconscious

Dream analysis where dreams hold meanings stored in the unconscious and are brought to conscious awareness.

Resistance to becoming aware of unconscious elements which can manifest

When patient suddenly changes topic
Patient indicated that free association is interrupted because of lack of memory

Patient is late or cancels appointment

Transference: a form of displacement that emerges when the patient displays attraction or aggression toward the therapist.