Harry Stack Sullivan & Interpersonal Theory Flashcards
Sullivan was trained as a
psychiatrist
Sullivan’s definition of personality:
“The relatively enduring pattern of recurrent interpersonal situation which characterize a human life”
He believed personality only exist in the presence of…
other people
What is Sullivan’s most enduring concept?
Significant others - the people we are emotionally closest to, not necessarily family
Sullivan identified himself as a…
psychoanalyst
What is the Dyad?
The basic interpersonal “unit”
A series of two person relationships
What is the first dyad?
The mothering one
Each persons’ needs and developmental tasks are met through…
the dyad
Sullivan believed that we all live in a state of ______ and that all human motivation is geared toward eliminating that ______
anxiety
anxiety
What are Sullivan’s two basic needs?
- Physical
- Interpersonal
Sullivan is the one who most closely aligned himself with ______
Freud
What is the definition of interpersonal needs?
a tension that is alleviated in relationships with others or in feelings of well-being
(finding an occupation which you love and are happy with it)
What is the definition of the self-system?
the part of the personality born entirely out of the influences of significant others upon one’s feeling of well-being
What are the 2 parts of today’s conceptualization of self-esteem?
Part 1: What do you think of yourself
Part 2: What others think of you
The Dyad of “Mommy and Me”
What is the 1st interpersonal situation?
Feeding
What are personifications?
the investment of human attributes in persons who do not have the assigned traits, at least not to the degree they are assigned
What are the 5 personal personifications?
Me
Good me
Bad me
Not me
Maybe me (added later)
What are 3 important features with the mothering one?
Empathy
Anxiety
Interpersonal security
What are Sullivan’s Modes of Experience (3)
Protaxic
Parataxic
Syntaxic
Which mode of experience is this?
o Sensations of infants
o Images, feelings, moods or impressions as adults
o Starts in infancy
o Bunch of chaotic sensations
Protaxic
Which mode of experience is this?
o Private, personal events only experienced by an individual
o Does not involve any other human beings
o Starts later on in life
Parataxic
Which mode of experience is this?
o Consensually validated events with others
o Does involve others
o Ex: you and friend go to football game, saw QB stumble as you went past the 25 yard line. You both saw it, and both agreed that it happened
Syntaxic
What are Sullivan’s stages of personality development? (6)
Infancy
Childhood
Juvenile era
Preadolescence
Early adolescence
Late adolescence
Preadolescence: Use of genitals during sex
O________: sex with “natural receptor organs”
P________: opposite sex contact that cannot lead to pregnancy
M________: masturbating or performing oral sex on another
A________: assuming a different role with one’s partner
Orthogential
Paragenital
Metagenital
Amphigenital
Preadolescence: choices of intimacy expressions
A________ person = self-directed love
I_________ person = orientated to one’s own gender
H________ person = interest in relationships with opposite sex
Autpphilic
Isophilic
Heterophilic
How do children learn? (5)
o Trial and success
o Rewards and punishments
o Trial and error
o Learn by anxiety
o Anxiety gradient
Use of Genital:
Orthogenital =
Paragenital =
Metagenital =
Amphigenital =
Orthogenital = tradition, missionary
Paragenital = frottage (dry humping??)
Metagenital = masturbation
Amphigenital = mutual masturbation
Who was the first one to come up with the structured interview?
Sullivan
What are the Clinical Interview stages?
- Inception
- Reconnaissance stage
- Detailed Inquiry
- Interruption or termination
Clinical interview - Inception
Presenting problem is established
Clinical interview - Reconnaissance stage
Outline of the personal history of patient
Clinical interview - detailed inquiry
In-depth exploration of presenting problem
Mental Status Exam
Clinical interview - Interruption or Termination
Interruption: end of this session
Termination: therapy has ended
What are the goals of interpersonal therapy?
o Discover what the interpersonal difficulty is
o Allow patient to achieve non-threatening consensually validated experience with another human being – ingredient to success
