Freud, memories, and the self Flashcards
social psychology
scientific study of how we think and feel about and behave towards the people around us and how our thoughts/feelings/behaviors are influenced by these people
Freud
founder of psychoanalysis - unpopular because of
- strange theories (penis envy, etc…),
- sexuality conversations ,
- drug use
- being an asshole
- unconscious motivation, unconscious dynamics and defense mechanisms
unconscious motivation
unknown reasons for feelings and actions
unconscious dynamics
ID: primitive desires
Ego: balance between and conflict between the two
Superego: do’s and don’ts
Defense mechanisms
a way for the ego to protect itself; no conscious awareness of strategy, Some examples include:
- denial, rationalization, intellectualization, displacement, and sublimation
denial
rejecting a thought or feeling
rationalization
coming up with a bogus explanation to justify behavior
intellectualization
over-analyzing to avoid feeling
displacement
redirecting feelings to another target
sublimation
redirecting feelings in a a USEFUL way
Why reject Freud?
- proven wrong
- Vague
- circular reasoning
- Barnum statements: generic assumptions of personalities of personalities and believed to apply uniquely to an individual
Social psychology shifts
social psych alternates between periods of stability and paradigm shifts
paradigm
a new way of looking at the world + new theories/explanations
falsifiability
hypothesis can be proven wrong
systematic investigation
e.g. experimental studies