freud Flashcards
what does freud believe about human behaviour
it is driven by experiences and a tripartite personality controls it
nurture over nature
what are the 3 parts of our mind
id
ego
superego
describe the id
our instinctive, primitive desires (our true conscious)
irrationally selfish and not in touch with the real world
based on the pleasure principle, only wanting to do things that satisfy and pleasure us
describe the ego
based on the reality principle, in touch with the real world
consists of all that we know (memories, problem solving etc.)
rational and logical, tries to satisfy the id with the real world
maintains the balance between id and superego
our personality
describe the superego
based on the morality principle
helps us decide what is right and wrong and what we can and can’t do
has 2 parts; conscience (right and wrong) and ego ideal (what we should be like as a person)
describe eros
our desire to live, life instinct for self preservation and sexual energy(mainly arousal)
describe thanatos
our desire to die, death instinct to go back to Nevada(heaven)
how do thanatos and eros work together
they work to encourage us to stay alive and motivated to live
what happens if there is an imbalance in thanatos and eros levels
some of the negative energy coming from thanatos will be directed towards others to prevent self destruction
in childhood, why is anger displayed
because libidinal urges are supressed
what is the oedipus conflict
boys around 5 begin to develop unconscious sexual desires for their mothers, causing them to reject the father and display aggression towards him
what is the electra conflict
a girl around 5 begins to develop an unconscious desire for her father
penis envy
what is catharsis
an emotional release of unconscious conflict
what does freud believe about catharsis
repressed ideas are brought into the conscious mind, the feelings are released along with the energy that was being used up so they are freed from the emotions and thoughts
describe the sample of fleshback and singer
652 boys, age 8-18, living in residential institutions (3 private schools and 2 boys homes)
describe the procedure of fleshback and singer
boys were randomly divided into 2 groups, the first group watched only violent programmes for 6 weeks and the 2nd group watched only non violent videos and programmes
describe the results of fleshback and singer
boys who watched non violent media showed more aggression than the other group
results were interpreted as evidence for a catharsis view of aggression as those who watched violent media could ‘let off steam’ safely by empathising with the violence
how did freud think aggression was vented out in the catharsis theory
watching aggression on TV/watching others be aggressive as stress is physically relieved
evaluate freudian scientific credibility
interviews have a social desirability bias
answers are subjective
interviews aren’t reliable as they cant be replicated(unstructured)
no way to objectively measure his interpretations
evaluate biological scientific credibility
artificial setting=control over extraneous variables
animal research has high levels of control but cant extrapolate findings to humans
experimentation and scanning is objective
evaluate freudian internal structures and features
focuses on the internal and unconscious but not physical structures(abstract concepts)
evaluate biological internal structures
deals with internal structures and brain functioning like the functions of different parts of the brain
evaluate freudian determinism
to an extent deterministic as we are governed and controlled by unconscious forces and drives
evaluate biological determinism
no control over hormonal makeup or brain structure and functioning
if behaviours are evolutionary we have no control over them as they exist within us to aid survival
