Psychoanalytic Theory Flashcards

1
Q

Everything has a cause; No free will

A

Psychic determinism

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2
Q

Describe the components of Freud’s hypothesized “internal structure” of the mind and the features of each.

A

Id:
- Pleasure principle
- Basic drives and motivations
- Most unconscious

Superego:
- Morality, social norms
- Ideal behaviour
- More conscious

Ego:
- Reality principle
- Compromise between id and superego, mediator
- Conscious

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3
Q

How would Freud explain, for example, depression?

A

Too much psychic conflict

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4
Q

Limited mental energy that provides all energy for our life

A

Libido

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4
Q

Describe what Freud meant by “psychic conflict”

A

Continuous conflict between ego and superego, which uses energy

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5
Q

What happens when someone uses too much libido and how can this be counteracted?

A

Use too much = struggle

Identify source of struggle to decrease demands on the libido

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6
Q

Describe the situation surrounding evidence of Freud’s ideas

A

Reflections of Freud’s ideas can be seen in other theories/constructs (unconscious factors)

No evidence directly supporting Freud’s ideas or divided structure of the mind

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7
Q

Freud was often interested in identifying specific thoughts, etc. influencing causal paths and actions; What might the modern equivalent of this be?

A

Use imaging techniques (but still not do this exactly)

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8
Q

What were three specific impactful ideas Freud had?

A

The unconscious

Dream analysis

Influence of childhood experiences on adult behavior

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9
Q

What were four key issues with Freud’s ideas?

A

No control group

Not disprovable

Generally did not approach things from a scientific/empirical perspective (no testing)

Ideas generated from introspection/personal reflection

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10
Q

What were three central themes of Freud’s developmental theory?

A

Each stage is associated with an age and a body part

Each stage has a psychological theme that must be mastered to move on

Each psychological theme is associated with an adult character type or personality

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11
Q

According to Freud’s developmental theory, why do adult personality problems develop?

A

The psychological theme wasn’t mastered during the associated stage

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12
Q

What are the five stages of Freud’s psychosexual development theory?

A

Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital

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13
Q

What are three issues regarding Freud’s psychosexual development theory?

A

Not tested/scientific

Never studied children

Development ends at puberty

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14
Q

What were three methods Freud employed in order to reveal the unconscious?

A

Free association, dream analysis, hypnosis (some - eventually abandoned)

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15
Q

What would Freud claim to be the cause of forgetting?

A

An unconscious motivation/drive

16
Q

Freud believed these indicated unconscious drives or incongruencies between one’s life and one’s desires

A

Freudian slips

17
Q

What is a modern explanation for Freudian slips?

A

Linguistic similarities between words

18
Q

According to Freud, why do we use defense mechanisms?

A

Conflict between id and superego drives anxiety in ego

If anxiety too extreme, we use defense mechanisms

19
Q

What are two defense mechanisms discussed in class?

A

Repression

Reaction formation

20
Q

What issue arises when considering the repression of upsetting memories?

A

Memories are constantly changing and malleable, so the question is whether something is a true memory or rather something that has been implanted due to the therapist/patient relationship and context

21
Q

Defense mechanism in which one creates a persona that opposes the real self

A

Reaction formation

22
Q

What were two issues with Freud’s theories specific to gender and culture?

A

Theories suggested women were inferior to men

No cultural considerations, Eurocentric

23
Q

What were two results Freud considered to be “proof” he had found the source of a patient’s concerns? Describe why this is not true proof.

A

More disclosures in psychotherapy, decrease in symptomatology

Not falsifiable

24
What are four major contributions of Freudian psychoanalysis?
Sexuality as a major element of personality Childhood experience impacts adult personality The unconscious Consideration of gender differences
25
What are four limitations of Freudian psychoanalysis?
Behaviour is driven by inner conflicts Pessimistic, deterministic Non-scientific, not falsifiable Excludes many other influences on personality and behaviour