Module 7 Lesson 3 - Personality Flashcards
Psychoanalytic Theory
Formulated by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, this theory seeks to understand the unconscious motivation
Freud sought to understand the influences of repressed thoughts, desires, and/or implications on our conscious thoughts and behaviors.
What did Freud develop?
He developed three methods to uncover conscious processes:
- Free Association
- Dream Interpretation
- Freudian Slips
Free Association
Freud would promote clients to discuss any thoughts or images that would wander into their head, assuming that this free-flowing of uncensored discussion could provide clues into the unconscious mind.
Dream Interpretation
Freud developed a technique of analyzing dreams based on the assumption that they contain hidden messages or symbols that could provide clues to unconscious thoughts and desires.
What are the two major distinguishing characteristics of dreams?
- Manifest Content: obvious story or plot in dreams
- Latent Content: a dream’s hidden or disguised meaning or symbols which is where the unconscious mind can be observed.
Freudian Slips
Freud thought that mistakes or slips of the tongue in everyday speech (that at times can be awkward or embarrassing) were actually reflections of unconscious thoughts, wishes, or desires that could then be analyzed.
What are the key parts of the mind according to Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory?
- The ID
- The Ego
- The Superego
What is ID (Freud)
Represents the primitive unconscious reservoir that houses the basic motives, drives, and instinctual desires that determine our personality.
Always acts on impulse and seeks immediate pleasure
Is the only part of our personality at birth
Follows the pleasure principle
What is the pleasure principle? (Freud)
The ID: To satisfy the needs and desires without concern for moral restrictions or societal restrictions.
What is Ego (Freud)?
Regulates the continuous conflict between the ID and the Superego.
Only exists to find ways to satisfy our desires without violating our moral or social code.
Satisfies desires in a socially acceptable way; if this balance is not attained, a mental disorder may be present.
Superego
Section of the mind responsible for morals and values learned from society
Forms as a child forms an internal set of rules based on external experiences and expectations.
Conflict ensues with the ID as the ID wants only to do what feels good, while the Superego wants to do what is right and normal.
What are defense mechanisms (Freud)?
Conflict between the ID and Superego resulted in defense mechanisms forming to help protect the ego from being overcome by anxiety
Anxiety is the uncomfortable feeling resulting from the inner conflict between ID and Superego
What are the types of Defense Mechanisms of Freud?
- Repression
- Rationalization
- Denial
- Projection
- Reaction Formation
- Displacement
- Sublimation
Repression
The Ego excludes unacceptable or inappropriate thoughts and/or feelings from our conscious awareness.
Rationalization
The act of hiding true reasons for actions, thoughts, or feelings by making up excuses and/or incorrect explanations.
Denial
Refusing to recognize anxiety provoking events or anxiety inducing information that is clear and obvious to others.
Projection
Taking your own unacceptable feelings, traits, or thoughts and attributing those to someone else in order to externalize those unacceptable feelings, traits, or thoughts.
Reaction
The act of removing behaviors, thoughts, or feelings that are in opposition to socially unacceptable ones.
Displacement
Concerns the transfer of feelings about ( or response to) an object or person that causes anxiety onto another person or object that is less threatening.
Sublimation
Channeling one’s frustration toward a different goal.
Cognitive Theory
The belief that the human mind should be studied as an information processor. Cognitive psychologists use perception, attention, language, memory, thinking, and consciousness to study how a person’s mind processes information.
How did Cognitive Theory develop?
- It is purely based on science and mainly reliant on laboratory experiments
- First major cognitive psychologist was George Miller, who thought that the mind worked similar to a computer and thus should be studied as an information processor.
- Its benefit is that the results are very controlled and well tested, but often fail to consider emotions.
How does the human mind compare to a computer processor?
The human mind can be rationalized by how the mind processes inputs of information. The mind receives, stores, and retrieves information similar to a computer so the behavior is determined in reaction to the processing of information.
Behaviorist Psychology and its development
Takes the opposite approach of cognitive psychologists.
- John B. Watson thought that behaviorist psychology was concerned with observable stimulus and postulated that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment.
- They agree people are born with a blank mind or a blank slate.
- This means that every person’s individual personality is uniquely programmed via personal interaction with environmental factors.
- Behaviorists believe that all behavior is based upon stimulus-response association and that our personality is the result of this association.
