Chapter 6: Psychoanalytic Perspective (Anxiety, Defense, and Self-Protection)

Question 1

Unsuccessful Progress through Stages

Answer 1

lead to anxiety and neurosis

Question 2

Anxiety

Answer 2

• general feeling of possible danger

- inner state that people seek to avoid

Question 3

Reality Anxiety

Answer 3

related to real danger in the world (fight or flight)

Question 4

Neurotic Anxiety

Answer 4

• unconscious fear that ID impulses
• fear of punishment
• pressure from the inner drive of the ID
• resolution: be careful, but can’t escape

Question 5

Moral Anxiety

Answer 5

• when faced with moral conflict
• fear of violation of moral code
• arises from pressure of the conscious (superego)
• resolution: be careful, but can’t escape

Question 6

The Ego and Anxiety

Answer 6

• ego attempts to reduce anxiety
• rational problem solving (conscious)
• ego defense mechanisms (unconscious)

Question 7

Types of Ego Defense Mechanism

Answer 7

• repression
• denial
• projection
• rationalization
• intellectualization
• reaction formation
• regression
• displacement
• sublimation

Question 8

Ego Defense Mechanism

Answer 8

• strategies for reducing anxiety
• unconscious
• positive: may reduce anxiety
• negative: maladaptive, distorted reality

Question 9

Repression

Answer 9

• pull something into the unconscious
• conscious repression: suppression
• unconscious repression: forgetting

Question 10

Denial

Answer 10

• refusing to perceive or face something
• immature defense
• denial grows difficult with age
• eg. refusing to believe a diagnosis
• avoid: anxiety provoking stimuli

Question 11

Projection

Answer 11

• attributing one’s unacceptable characteristics to someone else
• eg. imperialistic leader believes that his country is being invaded
• avoid: unacceptable feelings

Question 12

Rationalization

Answer 12

• use contrived explanations for own unworthy behavior
• eg. blaming that the professor grades to strict, when in fact there was a lack of studying
• avoid: the real reason

Question 13

Intellectualization

Answer 13

• think about things in cold, detached, unemotional way
• disconnecting thoughts from feelings
• avoid: unacceptable feelings

Question 14

Reaction Formation

Answer 14

• prevent awareness or expression of a thought or desire by in exaggerated way of doing the opposite
• man with repressed sexuality lead an anti homosexuality campaign
• avoid: true anxiety causing thought or desire

Question 15

Regression

Answer 15

• going back to earlier developmental level involving less mature behavior
• less responsibility
• immature juvenile form of coping
• related to fixation of earlier stage
• avoid: anxiety related with mature role

Question 16

Displacement

Answer 16

• changing the way blocked energy is expressed
• take out the impulse on a less threatening target
• eg. hitting the door instead girlfriend
• neurotic defense, immature
• avoid: punishment of expressing ID impulses

Question 17

Sublimation

Answer 17

• transfer energy so that expression becomes socially acceptable
• eg. aggression: football
• mature defense

Question 18

Source of Problem in Personality

Answer 18

• fixation in an earlier stage due to maladaptive childhood experience
• repression of basic drives and urges
• buried trauma

Question 19

Assessment of Personality and Problems

Answer 19

• projective techniques
• exposure to ambiguous stimuli will cause individual to project unconscious attitude, feelings, desires and needs
• TAT, Rorschach

Question 20

Psychoanalytic Treatment

Answer 20

• psychoanalysis
• free association: unconscious information reveals itself in symbolic forms (dreams, words)
• resistance
• transference
• goal: insight (re experiencing of emotional reality of repressed feeling), catharsis (release of psychic energy)