Psychological Theories Flashcards
psychoanalytic theory
model of personality proposed by Sigmund Freud that focuses on the role of childhood experiences and unconscious motivation in determining behavior
libido
energy source that causes an unconscious drive for sex and survival that Freud thought underlied much of a person’s behavior
psychosexual development
stages that Freud believed every person passed through during maturation, due to the drive from the libido
fixation
the inability to move on from a certain psychosexual stage of development, due to either too much or too little gratification in that stage
conscious
thoughts that we are aware of that partially influence our behavior and personality
unconscious
thoughts, memories, and drives that we are now aware of
Freud believed that this plays a large role in personality and behavior
id
unconscious structure of the mind in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
strives for instant gratification
ego
partially conscious structure of the mind in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
strives for long-term gratification and mediates between the drive of the id and moral guidelines of the superego
superego
partially conscious structure of the mind in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
serves as the conscience and holds the moral values of society
defense mechanism
ways of coping with anxiety that are carried out by the unconscious part of the mind
pathological defense mechanisms
group of coping strategies in which reality is distorted by the unconscious to help alleviate anxiety
eg denial
denial
pathological defense mechanism that describes when a person ignores the truth to eliminate anxiety
main defense mechanism used by most people
immature defense mechanisms
coping strategies carried by the unconscious that are typically employed by children
eg projection, projective identification, passive aggression
projection
immature defense mechanism that describes when a person attributes their negative thoughts or qualities to someone else
projective identification
possible effect of projection in which the person who is having the negative qualities projected onto them starts to actually behave in that way
passive aggression
immature defense mechanism in which a person will express frustration or anger towards another by failing to do something or completing it slowly
neurotic defense mechanisms
group of coping strategies carried out by the unconscious that often have positive short term effects and negative long term effects
intellectualization
neurotic defense mechanism in which a person focuses on the logical parts of a situation to ignore the emotional aspects
rationalization
neurotic defense mechanism in which a person uses (possibly faulty) logic to prove to themselves that they were not at fault in a situation
regression
neurotic defense mechanism in which a person behaves as if they were much younger
repression
neurotic defense mechanism in which a person pushes unpleasant conscious thoughts into the unconscious
displacement
neurotic defense mechanism in which a person expresses their negative emotion felt towards one person at another person