Freud & Psychoanalysis

Question 1

Name the original 11 Defence Mechanisms suggested by Freud, and the 1 added by Anna Freud.

Answer 1

Repression
Regression
Denial
Displacement
Undoing
Reaction Formation
Conversion Reaction
Projection
Phobic Avoidance
Isolation
Rationalisation
Sublimation (Anna Freud)

Question 2

What are the developmental stages (in order) according to Freud?

Answer 2

Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital

(Pneumonic: Only Angry Peacocks Like Green)

Question 3

What is the Id?

Answer 3

the primitive part of the personality; part of the unconscious that contains instinctual urges (i.e. libido)

Question 4

What is the Ego and it’s function? (Freud).

Answer 4

Ego is everything external to the Id, oriented to perceptions of the real world; enforces the reality-principle; keeps the Id in check; uses DMs

Function: to mediate conflicts between superego and id

Question 5

Explain the Oedipal complex.

Answer 5

psychically ➝ child separating from mother (dyad); accepting presence of father (triad); child must accept “smallness” compared to the father figure

Question 6

What is the Super-Ego?

Answer 6

The mechanism that polices the desires of the Id; our morality; critical conscious; judgement

Question 7

What are the components of Freud’s tripartite structural model?

Answer 7

Id, Ego, Super-Ego

Question 8

Freud trained as a…

Answer 8

neurologist

Question 9

Freuds theories are based on research into what type of population?

Answer 9

clinical population, largely single cases

Question 10

What is ‘free association’ and what was its use and what were Freud’s rules on it?

Answer 10

stream of consciousness style conversation used to help recover past memories or explore “hidden” parts of themselves

rules:
- must be honest with the therapist
- must not omit anything

Question 11

What was the purpose of the couch in psychoanalytic practice?

Answer 11

created visual separation between therapist and patient, allowing them to explore thoughts and fantasies more freely

Question 12

What are the components of Freud’s topographical model of the mind? Incl. explanations of each.

Answer 12

Conscious - what we reveal
Preconscious - Latent parts of the brain that are available to the conscious mind but not actively in use
Unconscious - what we conceal

Question 13

What is the pleasure-principle?

Answer 13

the drive to seek out pleasure and avoid pain

Question 14

What is the reality-principle?

Answer 14

deferral of gratification resulting from external demands that must be addressed before obtaining pleasure; still seeks pleasure just delayed

Question 15

How do the pleasure-principle and the reality-principle relate to each other?

Answer 15

As we age, we (theoretically) become aware of the demands of the world and as such we move to a more “rational” state where we are no longer governed by the pleasure-principle but by the reality-principle

Question 16

What are parapraxes? Give examples.

Answer 16

Unintentional conscious behaviours that result from (and reveal) unconscious thoughts, desires, wishes, urges…

E.g., “Freudian slip”; speech, hearing, memory errors, etc.

Question 17

Explain the unconscious and its role in the tripartite model.

Answer 17

Unconscious is central to the psychoanalytic approach.

Contains repressed feelings/thoughts/memories/desires that are potentially painful/traumatic

Question 18

What are the consequences of the superego?

Answer 18

• can be too harsh/unrealistic fostering guilt at not living up to expectations
• distress caused by difference between ego ideal and who we actually are
• underdeveloped superego could result in poor sense of right and wrong

Question 19

What part of the structural model is linked to the Oedipal Complex and psycho-sexual stages?

Answer 19

Super-ego

Question 20

What is libido?

Answer 20

The mental representation of the sex instinct

Question 21

What is the modern perception of libidinal-sexual stages?

Answer 21

That they are phases that can be regressed to during treatment or in times of stress

Question 22

What are the libidinal-sexual stages (incl. associated ages)?

Answer 22

Oral (baby) ➝ hunger; breastfeeding

Anal (toddler) ➝ control; feces; anus

Phallic (~5yrs) ➝ Oedipal stage; acceptance of their place in family unit; separating from mum; accepting authority figures

Latency (pre-puberty) ➝ pre-sexual; energy given to socialisation & learning

Genital (teenager - early adulthood) ➝ more mature sexuality; focus on forming stable relationships outside family

Question 23

What is Eros? (Freud)

Answer 23

The life instinct ➝ focus on survival, pleasure and reproduction

Energy created by eros is the libido

Question 24

What is Thanatos? (Freud)

Answer 24

death instinct ➝ self-destructive instincts expressed as aggression & violence

Question 25

What was Freud’s first and central DM?

Answer 25

Repression

Question 26

What are the biological instincts? What are the Psychic/Cultural instincts?

Answer 26

Biological ➝ instincts i.e. food, water, sex
Psychic / Cultural ➝ Eros & Thanatos

Question 27

What is a current research study that empirically supports psychoanalysis?

Answer 27

Tavistock Adults Depression Study (TADS)