PERSONALITY FRAUDS PSYCHODYNAMIC AND PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY

Question 1

Psychodynamic theory of personality by Sigmund Freud

three components

Answer 1

Believed that personality has three components

Conscious – thoughts that we are aware of (everyday thinking)
E.g., Wondering what the time is

Pre-conscious – not conscious at first however can be made conscious through a cue
(e.g., being asked to remember something from primary school)

Unconscious – inaccessible to our consciousness and we can’t become aware of them

Freud believed that if we became aware of our unconscious it would be too upsetting, however our unconscious still influences our behaviour

Question 2

Psychodynamic theory of personality by Sigmund Freud

three sets of mental structures

Answer 2

Id:
consists of totally unconscious instincts
We are born with our id
Id will want whatever feels good at the time, with no consideration for other demands
Often referred to as ‘the pleasure principle.’
If Id gets too strong – impulses and self-gratification take over the persons life

Ego:
Develops in the first five years of childhood
Responsible for our dealing with certain situations and uses reasoning to make decisions
Meets the needs of the id whilst taking reality into consideration
Often referred to as ‘the reality principle’

Superego:
Develops by the age of 5
Often equated with our ‘conscience’ as it dictates what is ‘right’’ and ‘wrong’
Often referred to as ‘the moral principle’
If superego gets too strong – the person would be driven by rigid morals, and would be judgemental, and unbending in his or interactions with the world.

He considered personality to be like an ‘iceberg’ with most of it below our level of conscious awareness

(The id is the unconscious – the totally submerged part of the iceberg, whereas the ego and superego are partly conscious and partly unconscious)

In a healthy person the ego is the strongest as it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego and take reality into consideration.

Question 3

strengths of psychodynamic theory

Answer 3

Portrayed extensively in modern culture
First collective theory about personality
First organised theory of personality – was the foundation for future theories and theorists

Question 4

weaknesses of psychodynamic theory

Answer 4

Largely untestable
Narrow focus (sex and not much else)
not scientific evidence
Outdated

Question 5

psychosexual therapy theory

Answer 5

Freud proposed that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages, with each stage focused on particular erogenous zone of the body

Best known part of Freuds theories however also the most controversial

Question 6

psycho sexual stages

Answer 6

• Oral stage
• Anal stage
• Phallic stage
• Latency stage
• Genital stage

Question 7

Oral stage

Answer 7

• Infancy to 18 months
• Receives stimulation from ‘oral’ activities
• Too much or too little can result in oral fixation
• Orally fixated individual’s compulsive to do things with their mouth (eat, drink, smoke) or the opposite (not eat enough)

Question 8

Anal stage

Answer 8

• 18 months to three years of age
• Child is fixed on bowel movements
• Anally retentive or anally expulsive
• Anal fixation can result in obsession with cleanliness and control

Question 9

Phallic stage

Answer 9

• Three years to six years of age
• Theorized that boys develop an unconscious sexual desire for their mothers (Oedipus complex)
• Also theorized that girls experienced penis envy of their fathers (Electra complex)
• Child is fixated on genitals

Question 10

Latency stage

Answer 10

• 6 years to puberty
• Theorized that sexual urges remain repressed
• Children interact with same sex peers

Question 11

Genital stage

Answer 11

• Begins at puberty through to adult hood
• Resurgence of sex drive in adolescence
• Unresolved ‘conflicts’ in earlier stages

Question 12

psychodynamic theory

DEFENCE MECHANISMS

Answer 12

• The unconscious mind develops a number of specific techniques that is used in order to prevent the conscious mind from becoming aware of the unconscious called defence mechanisms
• Egos protective methods of reducing anxiety
• ‘Freudian slip’ – revealing something about yourself you did not mean to say

Question 13

DEFENCE MECHANISMS

Answer 13

Repression
- Banish any anxious thoughts or feelings from our consciousness

Regression
- Retreating to earlier stage of development
Reaction formation
- Making unacceptable impulses look like their opposites

Projection
- Disguising threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalisation
- Generation of self-justifying explanations to hide from ourselves and real reasons for our behaviour

Displacement
- Diverting sexual or aggressive impulses towards person who is more psychologically more acceptable than those aroused feelings

Sublimination
- Transformation of unacceptable impulses into socially valued behaviours

Denial
- Refusal to acknowledge reality

Intellectualisation
- Unacceptable emotions are avoided by focusing on the intellectual aspects, rather than the personal impact of a problem

Passive aggression
- Socially unacceptable anger expressed via lack of cooperation

Question 14

objectively measuring sleep

Answer 14

EEG = measures brain wave patterns during sleep 
EOG = measures eye movement during sleep 
EMG = measures the activity of muscles during sleep