M1. Lesson 2: Psychoanalysis

Question 1

What was Freud associated with?

Answer 1

Freud, of course, was fortunate that his name did not become indelibly tied to cocaine. Instead, his name has become associated with psychoanalysis, the most famous of all personality theories.

Question 2

What makes Freud’s theory really interesting?

Answer 2

First, the twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis, sex and aggression, are two subjects of continuing popularity.

Second, the theory was spread beyond its Viennese origins by an ardent and dedicated group of followers, many of whom romanticized Freud as a nearly mythological and lonely hero.

Third, Freud’s brilliant command of language enabled him to present his theories in a stimulating and exciting manner.

Question 3

What are the twin cornerstones of psychoanalysis?

Answer 3

Sex and aggression

Question 4

What did Freud’s ardent and dedicated group of followers romanticize him as?

Answer 4

Many of whom romanticized Freud as a nearly mythological and lonely hero.

Question 5

What did Freud’s brilliant command of language enable him to do?

Answer 5

Freud’s brilliant command of language enabled him to present his theories in a stimulating and exciting manner.

Question 6

What was Freud’s understanding of human personality based on?

Answer 6

Freud’s understanding of human personality was based on:

1. his experiences with patients,
2. his analysis of his own dreams, and
3. his vast readings in the various sciences and humanities

Question 7

What did Freud’s experiences, analysis, and vast readings provide him with?

Answer 7

These experiences provided the basic data for the evolution of his theories.

Question 8

What was theory followed by according to Freud?

Answer 8

To him, theory followed observation.

Question 9

For how many years did Freud’s concept of personality undergo revisions for?

Answer 9

Freud’s concept of personality underwent constant revisions during the last 50 years of his life.

Question 10

What did Freud insist that psychoanalysis could not be subjected to? And what did he do to the disciples who deviated from his basic ideas?

Answer 10

Evolutionary though it was, Freud insisted that psychoanalysis could not be subjected to eclecticism, and disciples who deviated from his basic ideas soon found themselves personally and professionally ostracized by Freud.

Question 11

Although Freud regarded himself primarily as a scientist, his definition of science would be somewhat different from that held by most psychologists today. Why is that so?

Answer 11

Freud relied more on deductive reasoning than on rigorous research methods, and he made observations subjectively and on a relatively small sample of patients, most of whom were from the upper-middle and upper classes. He did not quantify his data, nor did he make observations under controlled conditions. He utilized the case study approach almost exclusively, typically formulating hypotheses after the facts of the case were known.

Question 12

What were the three levels of mental life identified by Freud?

Answer 12

unconscious, preconscious, and conscious

Question 13

What happens to early childhood experiences that create high levels of anxiety?

Answer 13

Early childhood experiences that create high levels of anxiety are repressed into the unconscious.

Question 14

What might early childhood experiences do when repressed into the unconscious?

Answer 14

They may influence behavior, emotions, and attitudes for years.

Question 15

What happens to events that are not associated with anxiety but are merely forgotten?

Answer 15

Events that are not associated with anxiety but are merely forgotten make up the contents of the preconscious.

Question 16

What are conscious images?

Answer 16

Conscious images are those in awareness at any given time.

Question 17

What were the three provinces of the mind that Freud recognized?

Answer 17

ID, ego, and superego

Question 18

What is the ID?

Answer 18

The id is unconscious, chaotic, out of contact with reality, and in service of the pleasure principle.

Question 19

What is the ego?

Answer 19

The ego is the executive of personality, in contact with the real world, and in service of the reality principle.

Question 20

What is the superego?

Answer 20

The superego serves the moral and idealistic principles and begins to form after the Oedipus complex is resolved.

Question 21

Where can motivation be traced to? (Psychoanalysis)

Answer 21

All motivation can be traced to sexual and aggressive drives.

Question 22

What happens when childhood behaviors related to sex and aggression are punished?

Answer 22

It leads to either repression or anxiety.

Question 23

What does the ego initiate to protect itself against anxiety? And what is the most basic one?

Answer 23

To protect itself against anxiety, the ego initiates various defense mechanisms, the most basic of which is repression.

Question 24

What were the three major stages of development that Freud outlined and what was the stage he devoted most attention to?

Answer 24

Freud outlined three major stages of development—infancy, latency, and a genital period—but he devoted most attention to the infantile stage.

Question 25

What are the three substages of the infantile stage?

Answer 25

The infantile stage is divided into three substages—oral, anal, and phallic, the last of which is accompanied by the Oedipus complex.

Question 26

What happens during the Oedipal stage?

Answer 26

During the simple Oedipal stage, a child desires sexual union with one parent while harboring hostility for the other.

Question 27

What did Freud believed that dreams and Freudian slips were disguised as?

Answer 27

Freud believed that dreams and Freudian slips are disguised means of expressing unconscious impulses.