Modules 40-1

Question 1

ways of looking at the self

Answer 1

Freudian/Psychodynamic: views of the unconscious parts of the self

Humanistic: view of the self-actualizing person

Question 2

things we can have in common

Answer 2

personality components, basic drives, stages of development, categories of traits

Question 3

ways in which people differ

Answer 3

individual paths through stages, ways of managing basic drives and needs

Question 4

personality

Answer 4

an individual’s characteristic patters of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors persisting over time and across situations

Question 5

psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theories

Answer 5

theories of human personality that focus on the inner forces that interact to make us who we are

DYNAMIC view of development of behavior, as well as human emotions and personality – interplay between conscious and unconscious process, including various motives and inner conflicts

Question 6

Sigmund Freud - historical era

Answer 6

• grew up in poor family, Victorian Era, sexual repression and dominance
• men and women’s roles were clearly defined with male superiority assumed
• purpose of sex was to make babies – sin to enjoy intercourse

Question 7

Freud - career history

Answer 7

• began as physician in Vienna
• explored how mental and physical symptoms could be caused by purely psychological factors
• became aware that many powerful mental processes operate in the unconscious
• theory: psychoanalysis

Question 8

psychoanalysis

Answer 8

a set of psychological and psychotherapeutic theories and associated techniques developed by Freud

Question 9

free association

Answer 9

technique for revealing the unconscious mind

encouraged patient to speak whatever comes to mind – therapist verbally traces a flow of thoughts into the past and into the unconscious

Question 10

Freud’s methods

Answer 10

(came up with the lay on couch look at the ceiling process)

• free association
• suggested meanings for slips of the tongue “Freudian slips” and from the “latent” content of dreams

Question 11

Freud’s Personality/Mind Iceberg

Answer 11

Mind is mostly below the surface of conscious awareness

Ego = tip of the iceberg (above water)

Superego = (just below sea level)

Id = (deep under the sea, hidden)

Question 12

Id

Answer 12

hidden deep under water

unconscious psychic energy that constantly strives to satisfy basic drives to survive, reproduce, and agress
- operates on the pleasure principle

Question 13

Ego

Answer 13

tip of the iceberg (above water) operates on reality principle, seeking to gratify the id’s impulses in realistic ways that will bring long-term pleasure

Question 14

superego

Answer 14

(internalized ideals) just under the water

the voice of our moral compass (i.e. conscience) that forces the ego to consider not only the real but the ideal. Focuses on how we ought to behave. Strives for perfection, produces pride and guilt

Question 15

Freud’s iceberg view on personality

Answer 15

personality develops from teh efforts of our ego (rational self) to resolve tension between our id (based in biological drives) and the superego (society’s rules and constraints)

Question 16

the unconscious (Freud’s view)

Answer 16

a reservoir of thoughts, wishes, feelings, memories, that are hidden from awareness because they feel unacceptable

Question 17

personality development (Freud’s iceberg): newborns

Answer 17

personality = id based, impulsive to meet basica needs, living by the “pleasure principle”

Question 18

personality development (Freud’s iceberg): toddlers

Answer 18

ego develops, self that has thoughts, judgment,s and memories following a “reality principle”, though still focused on serving the id’s needs

Question 19

personality development (Freud’s iceberg): age 4-5

Answer 19

superego develops, a conscience itnernalized from parents and society, following the ideas of a “morality principle”

Question 20

erogenous zones

Answer 20

sensitive areas of the body – focus of the id

Question 21

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Stages

Answer 21

1) oral (0-18 months): sucking, biting chewing
2) anal (18-36 months): bowel and bladder elimination
3) phallic (3-6 years): genitals, coping with incestuous sexual feelings
4) latency (6-puberty): phase of dormant sexual feelings
5) genital (puberty on): maturation of sexual interests

• problems can happen if you don’t meet a need at one stage

Question 22

“Oedipus complex”

Answer 22

boys in the phallic stage (3-6 years) seek gential stimulation, begin to develop unconscious sexual desires for their mothers and hate their fathers as a rival, feeling guilt and fearing punishment by castration

Question 23

resolution of oedipus complex conflict

Answer 23

boys identify with their fathers rather than seeing them as a rival

Question 24

anxiety about the unconscious (Freud)

Answer 24

Freud believed that we repress this unacceptable wish/impulse anxiety with certain defense mechanisms/strategies

Question 25

defense mechanisms

Answer 25

``` regression reaction formation projection rationalization displacement denial ```

Question 26

regression

Answer 26

retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated (thumb-sucking)

Question 27

reaction formation

Answer 27

switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites (exaggerated friendliness to repress anger), giving anti-gay speeches and turning out to have homosexual tendencies

Question 28

projection

Answer 28

disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others (thief thinks everyone else is a thief), someone with an anger problem accusing everyone else of being angry and threatening

Question 29

rationalization

Answer 29

offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one's actions (habitual drinks says she drinks just to be sociable)

Question 30

displacement

Answer 30

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person (kicking dog after being sent to room)

Question 31

denial

Answer 31

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities (denying evidence of an affair)

Question 32

reaction formation and projection

Answer 32

they seek to prevent being conscious of unacceptable feelings however, the first one compensates (opposite), and the second one distracts

Question 33

Neo-Freudian, psychodynamic theories accepted:

Answer 33

Alfred Adler, Karen Horney, Carl Jung stills studies unconscious but less focus on id ego superego - agreed with importance of the unconscious and childhood relationships in shaping personality - id/ego/superego structure of personality not as sexual more social - role of defense mechanisms in reducing anxiety about uncomfortable ideas

Question 34

Neo-Freudian, psychodynamic theories differed by:

Answer 34

- Adler and Horney: anxiety and personality are a function of social, not sexual tensions in childhood - Jung: collective unconscious, containing images from our species' experiences, not just personal repressed memories and wishes (not necessarily accepted today)

Question 35

projective tests

Answer 35

structured, systematic exposure to a standardized set of ambiguous prompts, designed to reveal inner dyanamics

Question 36

Rorschach test

Answer 36

projective test asking to describe images within inkblots problem: results don't link well to traits (low validity) and different raters ge different results (low reliability)

Question 37

Freud's ideas (updated and proven)

Answer 37

- development is lifelong, not set in stone by childhood - infant neural networks are not mature enough to create a lifelong impact of childhood trauma - peers have more influence on personality and parents less than Freud assumed - dreams as well as slips of the tongue have many possible origins, less likely to reveal deep unconscious conflicts and wishes - we may ignore threatening info but traumatic memories are usually intensely remembered, not repressed - suppressed sexuality does not cause psychological disoreders like Freud thought - gender and sexual identity seems to be more a function of genetics than Oedipus/Electra conflicts and relationships with parents

Question 38

flaws in freud's scientific method

Answer 38

1) unfalsifiability 2) unrepresentative sampling 3) biased observations 4) post facto explanations

Question 39

unfalsifiability

Answer 39

developed theories that are hard to prove or disprove (can we test to see if there is an id?)

Question 40

unrepresentative sampling

Answer 40

theories that do not build on a broad sample of observations, happens if we only observe people with unusual psychological problems

Question 41

biased observations

Answer 41

basing theories on patients, which may give an incentive to see them as unwell before treatment

Question 42

post facto explanations (hindsight bias)

Answer 42

instead of predictions. | whether or not a situation makes you anxious, you could either be fixated or repressing

Question 43

the unconscious (as see today)

Answer 43

certain things are not repressed, but just automatic - implicit memories that don't require conscious recall - right hemisphere makes choices the left hemisphere doesn't verbalize - conditioned response, learned skills and procedures, all guide our actions without conscious recall - priming affects our choices - also a stream, not a reservoir

Question 44

Freud's Legacy

Answer 44

started discussion on the impact of childhood on adulthood, and human irrationality, sexuality, evil, defenses, anxiety, the tension between our biological selves and our socialized/civilized selves - created concepts like ego, projectioon, regression, rationalization, dream interpretation, inferiority "complex", oral fixation, sibling rivalry, Freudian slips

Question 45

behaviorism

Answer 45

studying purely behavior without thinking about psychological effects/influences - dehumanizing: thinking of humans as animals without mental processing

Question 46

problems with psychodynamic thought

Answer 46

dysfunctional view -- everyone's a little bit screwed up even if they aren't actually ill or have a psychological disorder

Question 47

the Humanistic Perspective: humanism

Answer 47

created by Maslow and Rogers - focused on the conditions that support healthy personal growth self-actualization, becoming and reaching your true potential

Question 48

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Answer 48

motivates people to grow (move-up hierarchy) beyond basic needs ``` deficit physiological safety belonging esteem self-actualization ```

Question 49

hierarchy of needs ideal state

Answer 49

self-actualization: fulfilling one's potential, and self-transcendence personality includes being self-aware, self-accepting, open, ethical, spontaneous, loving, caring, focusing on a greater mission than social acceptance

Question 50

Roger's person-centered perspective | 3 conditions facilitating growth (Roger's)

Answer 50

people have natural tendencies to grow, become healthy, move toward self-actualization Genuineness acceptance empathy

Question 51

genuineness

Answer 51

being honest, direct, not using a facade

Question 52

acceptance (unconditional positive reward)

Answer 52

acknowledging feelings, even problems, without passing judgment; honoring, not devaluing

Question 53

empathy

Answer 53

tuning into the feelings of others, showing your efforts to understand, listening well -- not sympathy (heard, not pitied)

Question 54

self-concept

Answer 54

our sense of our nature and identity happiest when self-concept matches ideal self = acceptance

Question 55

Evil (Roger's perspective)

Answer 55

"evil" as a social phenomenon, not an individual trait -- when I look at the world I am pessimistic, but when I look at people I am optimistic

Question 56

Humanist theory: beyond self-acceptance

Answer 56

self-acceptance is not the end; it allows us to move on from defending our own needs to loving and caring for others evil comes from maslow's needs not being met

Question 57

criticism of the humanist perspective

Answer 57

pursuit of self-concept is very self-centered response: therapist using this approach should emphasize ACCEPTANCE of one's self, not praise for oneself

Question 58

personnel psychology: hierarchy of needs

Answer 58

keeping employees happy by meeting their needs each step of the way along the hierarchy of needs