Freud Flashcards
Describe the two catergories of drive.
Eros = life instinct
Freud believed sex instinct is the most critical for developing personality (libido = sex drive)
Thanatos = death instinct, the drive towards aggression and destruction
Desrcibe the four characteristics of every drive.
Impetus = the amount of force the drive exerts
Source = the part of the body that is in a state of tension/excitment
Aim = the goal, always towards pleasure and reduing tension
Object = the person or thing that serves as the means by which the aim is satisfied
What are the three levels of consciousness?
- Conscious
- Preconscious
- Unconscious
Describe dream theory.
Freud believed that dreams are the single best source of information about a person’s unconscious mind.
Dreams are highly significant, carefully constructed mental products.
Dreams originate in the unconscious mind. Ego lessons the threat of Id’s images through a process called dream work.
What are the two parts to a dream?
Manifest content: what you remember from a dream
Latent content: the underlying meaning
Describe the mechanisms of dream work.
- Condensation
- Displacement
- Censorship
- Symbolic Substitution
What is a projective?
Refers to a standard set of vague stimuli.
What are the four categories of projectives?
- Association
- Construction
- Completion
- Expression
Describe association.
Given words or ink blots
Two phases: free association and inquiry
Ex. the word association test; subject given a stimulus word and responds with whatever word comes to mind
Describe construction.
Picture cards used to stimulate stories about social situations.
ex. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Describe completion.
Sentences or stories.
Describe expression.
Drawings like house-tree-person.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of projectives?
Strengths: great freedom of expression, taps into unconscious mind
Weaknesses: poor validity, ok reliability, expensive and time-consuming
Describe the Id.
Born with Id
Lacks reason, reality, and morality.
Works on pleasure principle.
Primary processing: the satisfaction of needs in fantasy.
Describe the ego.
Develops during first two years of life.
Doesn’t have energy of own; borrows energy from Id
Works on reality principle.
Secondary processing: planning and decision making.
Decribe the superego.
Develops from Oedipal Complex.
Around ages 4-5
Internalization of parents/society
Works on morality principle; doesn’t take reason into account.
Two domains: conscience and ego ideal
What are the three masters of ego?
Id, Superego, and environment
What are the three types of anxiety?
Objective anxiety: ego’s reaction to danger in the environment
Neurotic anxiety: result from id-ego conflict; results from superego when it feels like it is losing control over id impulses
Moral anxiety: results from id-superego conflict; leads to feelings of guilt or shame
