Psychodynamic Perspectives

Question 1

Psychodynamic theories

Answer 1

include all of the diverse theories descended from the work of Sigmund freud, which focus on unconscious mental forces.

Question 2

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

Answer 2

Freud eventually devoted himself to the treatment of mental disorders using an innovative procedure he had developed, called psychoanalysis, that require lengthy verbal interactions with patients during which Freud probed deeply into their lives.

This theory attempts to explain personality, motivation, and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, on unconscious motives and conflicts, and on the methods people use to cope with their sexual aggressive urges.

Question 3

Why most were uncomfortable with Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

Answer 3

1st - by saying that people’s behaviour is governed by unconscious factors of which they are unaware, Freud made the disconcerting suggestion that individuals are not masters of their own minds

2nd- in claiming that adult personalities are shaped by childhood experiences and other factors beyond one’s control, he suggested that people are no masters of their own destinies.

3rd- by emphasizing the great importance of how people cop with their sexual urges, he offended those who help the conservative, Victorian values of his time.

Question 4

Structure of Personality

Answer 4

Freud divided personality structure into three components: the id, the ego and the superego.

He saw person’s behaviour as the outcome of interactions among these components.

Question 5

The Id

Answer 5

• is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle. The id operates according to the pleasure principle.

The Id engages in primary-process thinking, which is primitive, illogical, irrational and fantasy-oriented

Question 6

The Pleasure principle

Answer 6

which demands immediate gratification of its urges

Question 7

The ego

Answer 7

is the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principles.

The ego is guided by the reality principle.

To stay out of the ego often works to tame the unbridled desires of the id.

the ego engages in secondary-process thinking, which is relatively rational, realistic, and oriented toward problem solving

Question 8

The Reality principle

Answer 8

which seeks to delay gratification of the id’s urges until appropriate outlets and situations can be found he moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong

Question 9

The Superego

Answer 9

is the moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents the right and wrong

emerges out of the ego at around three to five years of age.

Question 10

Levels of awareness

Answer 10

Conscious, unconscious, preconscious

Question 11

Conscious

Answer 11

consists of whatever one is aware of at a particular point in time

Question 12

Preconscious

Answer 12

contains material just beaneath the surface of awareness that can easily be retrieved

Question 13

The unconscious

Answer 13

contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on behaviour

Question 14

Conflict and the Tyranny of Sex and Aggression

Answer 14

Freud assumed that behaviour is the outcome of ongoing series of internal conflicts. He saw interal battles between the id, ego, and superego as routine.

He believed that conflicts centring on sexual and aggressive impulses are especially likely to have far-reaching consequences. He had two reasons for his promote his thinking:

1. he though that sex and aggression are subject to more complex and ambiguous social controls than other basic motives.
2. he noted that sexual and aggressive drives are thwarted more regularly than other basic biological urges.

Question 15

Axniety and Defence Mechanisms

Answer 15

The arousal of anxiety is a crucial event in Freud’s theory of personality function.
Anxiety is distressing, so people try to rid themselves of this unpleasant emotion any way they can. This effort toward anxiety often involves the use of defence mechanisms

Question 16

Defence mechanisms

Answer 16

are largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety.

Question 17

Defence mechanisms – Repression

Answer 17

Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious

i.e. A traumatized soldier had no recollection of the details of a close brush with death

Question 18

Defence mechanisms – Projection

Answer 18

Attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another

i.e. A woman who dislikes her boss thinks she likes her boss but feels that the boss doesn’t like her

Question 19

Defence mechanisms – Displacement

Answer 19

Diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from their original sources to a substitute target

i.e. After parental scold, a young girl takes her anger out on her little brother

Question 20

Defence mechanisms – Reaction Formation

Answer 20

Behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings

i.e. A parent who unconsciously resents a child spoils the child with outlandish gifts

Question 21

Defence mechanisms– Regression

Answer 21

A reversion to immature patterns of behaviour

ie. an adult has a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way

Question 22

Defence mechanisms – Rationalization

Answer 22

Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviour

i.e. A student watched TV instead of studying saying that “additional studying wouldn’t do anything”

Question 23

Defence mechanisms – Identication

Answer 23

Bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group

i.e. An insecure young man joins a fraternity to boost his self-esteem

Question 24

Defence mechanism – Sublimation

Answer 24

Occurs when unconscious, unacceptable impulses are channelled into social acceptable, perhaps even admirable, behaviours

i.e. a young man’s longing for intimacy is channeled into his creative artwork.

Question 25

Development: Psychosexual stages

Answer 25

are developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personality

Freud theorize that each stage has its own unique developmental challenges or tasks. The way these challenges are handled supposedly shapes personality. The process of FIXATION plays an important role in this process.

5 psychosexual stages: Oral Stage, Anal Stage, Phallic Stage, Latency, Genital

Question 26

Oral Stage

Answer 26

Age: 0-1

Erotic Focus: Mouth (Sucking, biting)

Key Tasks and Experiences: Weaning (From Breast or Bottle)

Question 27

Anal Stage

Answer 27

Age: 2-3

Erotic Focus: Anus (expelling or retaining feces)

Key Tasks: Toilet Training

Question 28

Phallic Stage

Answer 28

Age: 4-5

Erotic Focus: Genitals (Masturbating)

Key Tasks: Identifying with adult role models; coping with Oedipal Crisis

Question 29

Latency Stage

Answer 29

Age: 6-12

Erotic Focus: None (sexually repressed)

Key Tasks: Expanding social contacts

Question 30

Genital Stage

Answer 30

Age: Puberty onward

Erotic Focus: Genitals (being sexually intimate)

Key Tasks: Establishing intimate relationships; contributing to society through working

Question 31

Fixation

Answer 31

is a failure to move forward from one stage to another as expected –> excessive gratification or frustration. Overemphasis on psychosexual needs during fixated stage

Question 32

Jung’s Analytical Psychology

Answer 32

emphasized the unconscious determinants of personality. He proposed that the unconscious consists of two layers: Personal and collective unconscious.

Question 33

Personal unconscious

Answer 33

houses material that is not within one’s conscious awareness because it has been repressed or forgotten

Question 34

Collective unconscious

Answer 34

is a storehouse a latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past

Question 35

Jung’s Analytical Psychology: Archetypes

Answer 35

according to jung, each person shares the collective unconscious with the entire human race

he called these ancestral memories archetypes

• -> emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning
  
  • cultures around the world see the same thing, but interpret it differently (magic circle)

Question 36

Jung : Introverted/Extraverted

Answer 36

Jung was the first to describe the introverted and extraverted personality types

Introverts: tend to be preoccupied with the internal world of their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Extraverts: tend to be interested in the external world of people and things.

Question 37

Alder’s Individual Psychology

Answer 37

argued that Freud ad gone overboard in centre his theory on sexual conflict.s According to Alder, the foremost source of human motivations is a striving for superiority. This striving does not necessarily translate into the pursuit of dominance or high status.

Question 38

Alder’s view on the strive for superiority

Answer 38

a universal drive to adapt, improve oneself, and master life’s challenges.

maintained that striving for superiority is the prime goal of life rather than physical gratification.

Question 39

Alder: Compensation

Answer 39

Alder asserted that everyone has to work to overcome some feelings of inferiority– a process he called compensation

Compensation: involves efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorities by developing one’s abilities.

Question 40

Alder: Inferiority Complex

Answer 40

in some people, inferiority feelings can become excessive, resulting in inferiority complex – exaggerated feelings of weakness and inadequacy.

Question 41

alder: Overcompensaton

Answer 41

some people engage in overcompensation to conceal, even from themselves, their feelings of inferiority. They do this by rather than trying to complete life’s challenges by tying to achieve status, control over others, fancier things.

Question 42

Alder: Birth Order

Answer 42

Alder was first to focus on the possible importance of birth order as a factor governing personality. children born at different times entered in a variety of home environments and are treated differently by the parents –> these experiences are likely to affect their personality.

Question 43

Evaluating Psychodynamic Perspectives

Answer 43

Pros: - Insights regarding –> the unconscious, the role of internal conflict, the importance of early childhood experience

Cons: Poor testability, inadequte empirical base, sexist views