Personality Pt 1: Freudian Theory And Neo-Freudians (Psychodynamic) Flashcards
Personality
Your characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Theories of personality
Psychoanalytic
Trait
Humanistic
Social cognitive
Out of the theories of personalities, what theory only describes?
Trait
Idiographic methods
Personality techniques that look at the individual
Idiographic methods example
Case studies, interviews, etc
Main tool for Freud
Idiographic methods
Nomothetic methods
Personality techniques such as tests, surveys, and observations that focus on variables at the group level, identifying universal trait dimensions or relationships between different aspects of personality
Nomothetic methods are what perspectives?
Trait perspectives
Psychoanalytic perspective mostly based on
Sigmund Freud
Freud argued that Personality was mostly influenced by
Unconscious conflicts/motivations and early childhood sexuality/experiences
Most basic motives of Freud
Sex and aggression
Sex and aggression
Sex: life instinct
Aggression: death instinct
Psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory on unconscious motivations influence on our personality and to the techniques used to uncover and interpret unconscious conflicts and tensions which may be causing a psychological disorder
For psychoanalysis, only through understanding conflicts can you overcome
Psychological problems like depression, anxiety, etc.
Psychoanalysis of the perspective
Technique of the perspective
Unconscious
According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unaccepted thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories we are unaware of
Preconscious
Information that is not conscious, but is retrievable into conscious awareness
Preconscious example
Phone number, bestfriend’s last name
Structure of our personality according to Freud
To him, personality is like an iceberg. Only can see very small part of it (conscious) while most of it is unseen (unconscious)
Id
Largest part of your personality that is unconscious, largely instinctual, and purely operates to satisfy biological, sexual, and aggressive drives
The devil of your personality
ID
Id seeks immediate gratification and operates according to the
Pleasure principle
Id people are
Self centered, impulsive, impatient, rude
Superego develops
Around age of 4-5
Superego
Your voice of conscience and focuses on the MORALITY PRINCIPLE how you should act according to ideals.
Superego provides standards for
Judgement and future aspirations; pushes you towards perfection
The angel on your shoulder
Superego
Side effects of superego
May lead to anxiety and guilt
Who influence superego?
Parents, religion, teachers, friends (maybe)
Superego is learned from
Society
Ego is
YOU
Ego
Largely conscious part of your personality that mediates conflict between your id and superego
Ego operates according to the
Reality principle satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain
Most fragile personality
Ego
Ego example
Self esteem
“Maybe I can find a compromise”
According to Freud, when did personality develop?
First few years of life
Freud believed that adult’s conflicts are rooted in unresolved conflicts from
Early childhood which we often related to conflicts in psychosexual development
Psychosexual stage
Childhood stages of development during which according to Freud, the id’s pleasure seeking energies are focused on distinct erogenous zones
Erogenous zones
Part of the body that brings you pleasure
Fixation
A lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage
Fixation occurs when
Those “sexual needs: are over indulged or deprived
Fixation example
Anal retentive, etc
Fixation simple words
Getting stuck in a certain psychosexual stage
Conflict/fixation in the oral stage focuses on
“Sexual pleasure” infant gets from sucking, biting, chewing
Conflict in oral stage arises when
Child is weaned off of breast or bottle which in some cases causes traumatic separation anxiety
Fixation in oral stage leads to
Oral dependent personality or
Oral aggressive personality
Oral dependent personality
Gullible, passive, dependent personality
Oral aggressive personality
Sarcastic, argumentative personality
Oral stage for adults
Adults fixated may smoke, drink, chew pens, or have other oral habits when they get anxious
Conflict/fixation in the anal stage focus on
“Sexual pleasure” child receives form defecation (pooping) at the anus
Conflict in anal stage arises during
Toilet training
Child may become fixated if training is too strict and inflexible
Anal retentive personality
Compulsive, cleanliness, orderliness, etc