intrapsychic foundations: psychoanalytic approach to personality

Question 1

who originally proposed psychoanalysis

Answer 1

Sigmund Freud

• he was trained as psychiatrist
• surrounded by controversy: theories lack empirical evidence and are sexist

Question 2

why still study Freud

Answer 2

1) had insight into human psychology
2) history lesson learning about him
3) his theories are influential in US culture (ex. laying down in therapy sessions)

Question 3

what are the two building blocks of Freud’s theory

Answer 3

psychic energy and instincts

Question 4

what is psychic energy

Answer 4

energy of the mind; just as there are different energies in the world, there are different energies of the mind

-law of conservation: energy is neither created nor destroyed, it can only be conserved or change form

Question 5

what are instincts

Answer 5

• psychic energy is manifested through these
• similar to impulses (regarding body or mind)
  ex. itching

Question 6

what can you do with instincts

Answer 6

1) satisfy them
2) inhibit instincts
3) turn instincts into something more acceptable

Question 7

what are the two categories of instincts

Answer 7

eros and thanatos

Question 8

what is eros

Answer 8

life instincts, libido

• concerned with survival of individual
  ex. food, water, etc

Question 9

what is thanatos

Answer 9

death instincts

• just as humans have life instincts we know we are going to die
  ex. aggression: tendency to harm self or others

people are socialized to hide these instincts, not socially acceptable

Question 10

what are Freud’s three topographic regions of the mind

Answer 10

conscious level, preconscious level, and unconscious level

-referred to as iceberg model, majority of things in mind are under the surface

Question 11

explain conscious level

Answer 11

made up of thoughts and perceptions, current awareness

Question 12

explain preconscious level

Answer 12

made up of memories and stored knowledge, not currently aware but can call to mind

Question 13

explain unconscious level

Answer 13

psychic impulses (sex, aggression), things that make people uncomfortable so pushed to unconscious

Question 14

research for unconscious level as being a location

Answer 14

• Freud’s theory of this lacks evidence

- there does exist evidence that the unconscious level acts as a process though

Question 15

is there current research for Freud’s three distinct levels of consciousness

Answer 15

no research supports 3 distinct levels of consciousness, but there is research that supports a continuum of consciousness

Question 16

evidence for importance of unconscious processes

Answer 16

-not evidence for the idea the unconscious influencing us in terms of unacceptable desires/impulses, but some unconscious processes are important (ex. priming) and can influence behavior

Question 17

what does Freud’s model of personality entail

Answer 17

3 parts: id, ego and superego

Question 18

what is the id

Answer 18

instinctual energy, reflexes and urges

• primary process thinking: make decisions without rules or conscious thought
• pleasure principle: id wants what it wants when it wants it

Question 19

what are the two ways to satisfy the id

Answer 19

1) reflex action: id seeks immediate gratification through physical action
2) wish fulfillment: through daydream/fantasy, imagining what it wants

Question 20

what is the ego

Answer 20

tries to match the ids impulses with the constraints of reality

• decides if id will be satisfied
• secondary process thinking: logical in nature, cost-benefit
• reality principle: satisfy id within constrains of reality
• identification: identify object/action that fulfills wish of id

Question 21

what is the superego

Answer 21

contains moral standards, strives for perfection, reward/punish the ego
-as unrealistic as id, but in opposite direction

Question 22

what are the conscience and ego ideal in the super ego

Answer 22

conscience: knowledge of what we should not do, learned though previous behaviors in which we receive punishments
ego ideal: knowledge of what to do, learned through experiences with reward

-superego punishes ego via conscience (feelings of shame, guilt and embarrassment), rewards ego through ego ideal (feelings of pride)

Question 23

what did Freud hypothesize about id, ego and superego

Answer 23

that they exist in different parts of mind

• ego and superego are somewhat accessible on a conscious level
• id is buried in unconscious

Question 24

research evidence for Freud’s model of personality

Answer 24

research does not support 3 distinct parts as Freud proposed
-there is evidence to suggest that human behavior is shaped by conflicting forces

ex. desire to do something v. social acceptability

Question 25

what are the 4 ways to access the unconscious

Answer 25

psychoanalytic techniques 1) free association 2) dream analysis leak out by accident 3) parapraxes: says something by accident, but it reveals something 4) symbolic behavior: someone accidentally does something, but it is more meaningful than it appears ex. "accidentally" spilling drink on someone you are mad at

Question 26

explain free association

Answer 26

under relaxation, say whatever comes to mind with no censoring - conscious mind is put at ease, so what is revealed is unconscious mind - sometimes done with prompts

Question 27

what is accessibility

Answer 27

the extent to which concepts are at the forefront of someone's mind - this is what determines interpretation of ambiguous stimuli ex. priming

Question 28

explain the activity we did about accessibility

Answer 28

Group 1 sees young lady and group 2 sees old lady, then see ambiguous picture and asked to report what they see; reports match initial picture -Freud says this is shaped by unconscious, but the research backed explanation is accessibility

Question 29

what is dream analysis

Answer 29

detailed examination of the content and symbolism of dreams - our current view on dreams comes from Freud - dreams are "royal road to unconscious", dreams show unconscious desires

Question 30

difference between manifest and latent content

Answer 30

manifest: actual content of dreams latent: "true" meaning of dream

Question 31

what was the method of the study that gave evidence for Freud dream theory

Answer 31

330 participants did dream recall study -before bed all participants think of two people (crush-someone you do not know with romantic interest and non-crush- someone you are fond of but with no romantic interest)

Question 32

IVs and DVs of the study that gave evidence for Freud dream theory

Answer 32

IVs: 1) target person vs. non-target - some people told crush will be target, others told non-crush will be target for next task 2) pre-sleep thought instructions 1. expression group: write freely about target for 5 mins 2. mention group: briefly mention target, write about something else 3. suppression: do not think about target, write something else then all participants go to sleep DVs: 1) write down dream report (analyzed for presence of target) 2) ratings ex. how frequently was target in dream?

Question 33

results of the study that gave evidence for Freud dream theory

Answer 33

- participants in suppression condition dreamt more about the target person than other two conditions (suppressing someone led to more dreams about them) - suppression effect was found regardless of if person was a crush or non-crush

Question 34

how do the results of the dream study compare to Freud and his theory

Answer 34

Freud would say crushes should appear more in dream (all about sex/relationships) because dreams are a socially acceptable place for feelings -research shows it does not matter if crush or non-crush, more of a cognitive process of suppression that predicts people's dreams so, in regards to the process Freud was right, but he was not right about hidden wishes or desires

Question 35

what are parapraxes sometimes called

Answer 35

Freudian slips | -"mistakes" in speaking

Question 36

evidence for parapraxes

Answer 36

no evidence that these give insight to unconscious, verbal errors tend to be result of priming -cognitive indecision over word choice (using mix of two words that mean nothing)

Question 37

what are defense mechanisms

Answer 37

the egos way of dealing with anxiety -the anxiety is created when the ego feels like dealing with the id's impulses while keeping the superego happy is too much

Question 38

how can the anxiety manifest in defense mechanisms (Freud)

Answer 38

physically or psychologically | -this is known as conversion reaction

Question 39

what is known about defense mechanisms NOW

Answer 39

known they are invoked to protect from negative feedback and threats to self image and self esteem -not immoral impulses like Freud hypothesized

Question 40

what are the 6 defense mechanisms

Answer 40

1) reaction formation 2) denial 3) undoing 4) displacement 5) rationalization 6) repression

Question 41

what is reaction formation

Answer 41

expressing the opposite of an id impulse - usually out of proportion to the actual event (overreaction) ex. romantic couple breaks up and they hate each other after

Question 42

what is denial

Answer 42

refusal to believe a threatening thought or event - people tend to ignore negative feedback ex. when you hear bad news "oh no!"

Question 43

what is undoing

Answer 43

nullifying an undesired thought/action with another one ex. eating unhealthy then going to gym ex. binge/purge cycle ex. honeymoon period after abuse ex. when you spill salt you throw it over your shoulder for superstition

Question 44

what is displacement

Answer 44

expressing the id impulse with a more acceptable target (catharsis) ex. girl is angry at mother but does not yell at her so she slams door instead - catharsis: releasing id energy in other ways, no evidence for this hypothesis (at least in aggression)

Question 45

what is rationalization

Answer 45

reinterpreting behavior to hide true emotions and identifying acceptable ones instead ex. someone who smokes and knows it causes cancer, to rationalize it by "we're all going to die anyway" - evidence comes from cognitive dissonance literature: aversive state where thoughts and behavior do not align

Question 46

what is repression

Answer 46

keeping a thought in the unconscious ex. traumatic events (child abuse) memories of these events get pushed to the unconscious - no research evidence for repression, research shows that people do not repress traumatic events but they relive them (PTSD)