Chapter Two: Psychoanalysis Theory Flashcards
What was most of Freud’s theory built on?
His own experiences as a child.
What was Freud’s parents like?
His father was strict while his mother adored him.
What was Freuds theory of personality based on?
Intuitive process and clinical research.
What is intuitive process?
Personal memories and experiences.
What was Freud’s clinical research?
Case studies of women involving free-association and dream analysis.
What are instincts?
The basic elements of personality, forces that drive behaviour. They are a form of energy.
What do instincts do?
Connect the needs of the body with the wishes of the mind.
What are life instincts?
Survival, libido, concentration on the particular need.
What are death instincts?
Compulsion to destroy and aggressiveness.
What is the goal of an instinct?
To satisfy the need and reduce the tension.
What explains the diversity in human behaviour?
Displacements of instincts into activities or behaviours that satisfy our needs.
What are the three levels of personality?
The conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.
What is the conscious?
Experiences we are aware of at any given moment. It is a limited aspect to personality.
Why is the conscious a limited aspect to personality?
This is because only a small amount of thoughts, sensations, and memories exist there.
What is the unconscious?
Where instincts occur and is the driving power behind behaviours.
What is the preconscious?
Where we store all memories and thoughts. We can easily call these into consciousness.
What did Freud turn the three levels of personality into?
He made three basic structures for personality. The id, ego and superego.
What is the id?
It corresponds to the unconscious. It works to increase pleasure and uses primary process thinking.
What is the pleasure principle?
When the id functions to increase pleasure and avoid pain. It strives for immediate satisfaction.
What is the ego?
The ego tries to postpone, delay, or redirect satisfaction in order to meet the demands of reality. Reason or rationality, the conscious and preconscious.
What is the reality principle?
Opposite of the pleasure principle. To manipulate the environment in a realistic manner.
What happens if someone is controlled by their id?
They become impulsive and dangerous. They act on their id impulses and might end up in treatment or prison.
What is the superego?
The conscience and ego-ideal. It strives for moral perfection. Intense and irrational insistence on obedience.
What is the conscience?
Formed from behaviours children are punished for. People recognize what behaviours are good and bad.
What is the ego-ideal?
Formed from good or correct behaviours the child has been praised for.
How is anxiety formed?
When the ego is too severely strained from the pressures of the id and superego.
What are the three types of anxiety Freud proposed?
Reality anxiety, neurotic anxiety, and moral anxiety.
What is reality anxiety?
The fear of tangible dangers.
What is neurotic anxiety?
The confliction between satisfaction and reality. The id vs ego. The wish to gratify id impulses.
What is moral anxiety?
The fear of your conscience. Expressing id impulses against your morality can cause the super ego to make you feel guilty and shameful.
