Chapter 4 - Neo-Freudians, Object Relations Theory and Attachment Theory Flashcards
Erich Fromm’s Criticisms of Freud
Underestimated humans historically and culturally
Instincts (libido) not necessarily central
Humans innately social creatures
Search for existence = relatedness
Motivations not only sexual
Neo-Freudians
Humans deeply rooted in history and society
Nothing without others
Personality emerges from interpersonal relationships
Progresses through life
Relationships core of normal personality functioning
Karen Horney
Abusive father – separation of parents
Strict and abusive husband
Concept of basic anxiety
Basic evil – poor childhood treatment
Basic anxiety = basic hostility
Child lacking safety (isolated and trapped)
Cycle: self-defeating distress, intense need for love
Neurosis – emerges as individuals experience conflict
Move toward – seek approval/acceptance
Unselfish, sacrificing, undemanding
Move against – assume everyone hostile
Deny needing others
Move away – detachment from others
Not getting involved with others
**Oedipus complex = THE neurosis (drama) – not penis envy, but male privilege
Harry Sullivan
Poor family – unremarkable medical education
Trained with highly regarded ego psychologists
Sociology, biological medicine, pragmatism
Personality – only manifested in interpersonal relationships
Tension reduction model – basic needs for security and satisfaction
Threats to needs = anxiety
Dynamisms – bodily energy transformed to patterns of interpersonal processes
Self-dynamism – center of personality organization and interpersonal relations
Progressively deflects more anxiety through life
Multiple personifications of self and others – strong same-sex relationships
Friendships – templates for loving relationships in adulthood
Eric Erikson
Hired as art teacher @ Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute
Extensive career despite not attending university
Theories of identity and adolescence
Ego in relation to society
Society shapes ego throughout lifespan
Crises occur different stages of life
Neuroses – improper resolution of crises
Eight Stages of Man (Eric Erikson)
Trust vs. mistrust – hope
Autonomy vs. shame/doubt – will
Initiative vs. guilt – purpose
Industry vs. inferiority – competence
Identity vs. role confusion – fidelity
Intimacy vs. isolation – love
Generativity vs. stagnation – care
Integrity vs. despair – wisdom
**Fixation if positive outcome not reached
Object Relations Theory
Objects – mental representations of things, people, or events (unconscious)
Each person inner world made of representations
Development of… self, others, relationships
Need for interpersonal relations – main motivator of human behaviour
Friendships = templates
Negative objects – source of psychopathology
Impact of childhood deprivation, abuse, and trauma
Self Psychology (Heinz Kohut)
Young children driven by omnipotence
Mirroring – effective responses from parents to needs of child
Successful relationships with partners who mirror each other in satisfactory way
Maturity
Narcissism – extreme form of defective sense of self
Unable to have mature relationships
Attachment Theory (John Bowlby)
Attachment – process motivated by infants for need of security
Attachment behavioural system (ABS) – parent-child relationship
Internal working model – Symbolic knowledge (in mind) of interpersonal world
Repeated interactions with caregivers
Fundamental pattern of relationships – grow/modify throughout life
Attachment Styles
Secure – some distress to separation, appropriate warm response when parent returns
Ambivalent – intense clinging and resistance to separation, avoidance when parent returns
Avoidant – little distress to separation, avoidance when parent returns
Disorganized – highly unpredictable, hesitant when parent returns
Evaluation of Psychodynamic Traditions
Two parts
Era of Freud and early dissenters
Era of object relations theory and attachment theory
Object relations and attachment theory based on modern scientific data
Freud incomplete/unrepresentative of complex human nature
Unconscious and its processes
Mental processes sometimes operate independently – conflict feelings
Personality originates in childhood
Mental representations influencing behaviour – regulating impulses
Mature interdependence
Limitations of Psychodynamic Traditions
Concepts difficult to operationalize/study systematically
Untestable early hypotheses
Sex bias
Emphasis on past without much focus on present
Psychoanalysis criticisms
Classical – time consuming, expensive, impractical
Modern – theories poorly evaluated
