Psychosocial Flashcards
critique of Psychoanalysis? (5)
- excessive complexity
- case study method
- vague definitions
- untestability
- sexism
Why is excessive complexity a critique?
theory is complex, violates occam’s razor.
- lot too it that is too hard to explain. oedipus + electra complex
why is case study method a critique?
data wasnt made public, freud couldn’t reveal the case studies to protect patient privacy.
- uncheckable may be biased, unscientific
- only recently have ppl started to test the key ideas.
why are vague definitions a critique?
rare use of operational definitions
- unsure what freud meant by psychic energy.
- doesnt provide answers to some important specific questions
why is untestability a critique?
should be disconfirmable: show why it’s false, or not false. test + parsimony.
- no observations to test
- can hypotheses be tested individually?
why is sexism a critique?
freud considered males the norm + baesd theories off their psychology
- females as aberrations/deviations from male model.
- electra not as well developed as oedipus
- weak superego, but doesnt say why
why should we study freud if there are so many critiques?
- influences psychotherapy
- entered pop culture
- freudian thought = revival in research psychology
- only complete theory of personality
what kind of assessment techniques does freud use?
- some examples?
projective assessment techniques: unconscious themes reveal self will be projected on to ambiguous stimuli
- free association, word association
what is the free association assessment technique?
patient is put into a state of relaxation while reclining on a couch. asked to freely associate by telling whatever thoughts come to mind
what is word association assessment technique?
respond as wuickly as possible to 100 words + report whatever comes to mind.
what is dream analysis? theory name?
unconscious conflicts expressed through themes inherent in our dreams.
- dream symbolism theory: certain objects represent male + female forms of sexuality
what are two types of content in dream analysis?
manifest: sensory images in the dream
latent: deeper meaning or significance of the dream
what is latent content effected by?
- sensory stimulation
- current concerns, occupations in waking daily life.
- unconscious impulses-
freud’s universal symbolic code
- universal symbolic code of the unconscious mind
- certain symbols meant the same thing to everybody.
- later decided, meanings vary for every individual
Focus after freud?
- not as emphasized
- focus on interpersonal aspects of life (early relationships affect other relations)
two reasons to dislike freud?
- his ideas are a threat to ego + narcissism.
2. uncomfy to talk about his ideas.
names of latter day theoriests?
- anna freud
- bettelheim
- erikson
- jung
- adler
- horney
- stack sullivan
- klein
- winnicott
- murray
common deviations in neo-freud from freud.
- sex is less important
- less emphasis on unconscious mental processes
- less emphasis on drives and mental life
discuss why neo-freudians put less emphasis on sex
- reinterpret libido as general motivation toward life + creativity
- freud believed deemphasizing sex did so bc of own anxieties
discuss why neo-freudians put less emphasis on unconscious mental processes
more on conscious thought.
- interest in processes driving perception + conscious comprehension of reality
loevinger + ego
ego’s function is to make sense of everything a person experiences
- story of development = story of ego development through relating to self, others society, autonomy.
discuss less emphasis on drives + mental life in neo-freudians
focus on interpersonal relations > drives + mental life as source of difficulties
- adler, erikson
- object relations theorists: ppl replay certain relationship patterns throughout life.
Adler’s ideas
- thought freud focused too much on sex.
- social interest
- organ inferiority
- masculine protest
- style of life
what is adler’s social interest?
desire to relate positively and productively with other people
what is adler’s organ inferiority?
ppl are motivated to succeed in adulthood in order to compensate for whatever THEY BELIEVED was weakest aspect in childhood
what is adler’s masculine protest?
compensation for past feeling of inadequacy + inferiority, through desire of an adult to act + become powerful
adler’s style of life?
individuals compensations for perceived childhood inferiorities = mode of behaviour
Jung + freud’s fall out
close friends, jung’s ideas departed. dramatic + bitter fall out bc freud had high hopes for jung
what about jung’s ideas more irritated freud?
- increase interest in mystical + spiritual matters
two major concepts of Jung’s
- collective unconscious
- archetypes
what is the collective unconscious
- all people share certain unconscious ideas because of the history of the human species
what are archetypes?
fundamental images of people that are contained in collective unconscious
4 types of archetypes
- persona: social mask one wears in public dealings
- anima: idea/prototype of female as held in mind of a male
- animus: idealized image of male in mind of a female
- shadow: dark side of personality that is in all of us
danger with persona?
individual may comes to identify as persona over oneself.
issue with anima/us
basis for thought about opposite sex.
- can lead to misunderstanding, disagreement if prototype matches poorly to what the opposite sex is like
archetypes in pop culture
- books, movies: hero, wise old man.
- synchronicity
define synchronicity
inner rhythm of the universe connecting us all
other jungian ideas?
distinguished introverts (psychological inward) from extraverts (oriented toward external) - classified 4 basic ways of thinking
Jung’s 4 basic ways of thinking
- rational thinking: recognize meaning of things
- feeling: determine value of things
- sensing: what exists in the world
- intuiting: where things come from + where are they going
Jung’s basic ways of thinking
- is there a best one?
- what jobs tend to favour which one?
- how did it permeate pop culture?
- best to have a bit of each in equal balance (rare), none that are best but there is usually prominent one.
- engineer = rational. artist =feeling. religious leader = intuiting. detective = sensing.
- in myers-briggs type indicator.
Horney ideas
- self- analysis (deal with psych conflict when professional isn’t available)
- disagreed with “penis envy” (women may wish to be men bc men are freer + able to pursue ambitions. structure of society not body)
- adult behaivour based on overcoming anxiety (fear of being alone + helpless) acquired in childhood
- avoiding anxiety = neurotic needs. (loved by everyone, dominate everyone, need life partner to solve problems = contradictory, lead to problems)
Erikson’s Psychosocial Development
not all conflicts in unconscious mind
- basic conflicts at various stages of life, throughout life.
freud vs erikson personality development: 0-2YEARS
F: oral
E: trust vs mistrust
- helpless, dependent. want needs satisfied.
- develop hope, but not arrogance
freud vs erikson personality development: 3-4YEARS
f: anal
e: autonomy vs shame/doubt
- acquire language, direction, orders, pressure to obey but autonomy.
- ideal: strike balance, develop will.
freud vs erikson personality development: 4-7YEARS
F: phallic (sexual fantasy, plan life)
e: initiative vs guilt (if adult doesnt respond well to initiative = guilt. sense of morality
freud vs erikson personality development: 8-12 YEARS
F: latency (break from development, learn skills to be adult)
E: industry vs inferiority (learn skills + attitudes to be good at work, competence, workmanship, do something in world)
freud vs erikson personality development: 13+ YEARS
F: Genital (over adulthood - last stage. rare to get to)
E: identity vs identity confusion; intimacy vs isolation; generativity vs stagnation; integrity vs despair
E: identity vs identity confusion
figure out who they are, values, goals. etc.
E: intimacy vs isolation
find life partner to share important life experiences with
E: generativity vs stagnation
comfort, settled or challenge in investing in new generation.
E: integrity vs despair
regret life or developed wisdom. pass on important things to next generation
two major contributions of erikson’s
- social basis of development
2. lifespan development; not limited to kids
what is object relaitons theory?
psychoanalytic study of interpersonal relations (unconscious images, feelings associated with important ppl in life)
- relate to others via images in our minds =/= reality
principle theme of object relations theory
- every relationship has satisfaction, frustration, pleasure + pain
- mix of love + hate
- distinction between parts of love object + whole person
- psyche is aware of + distributed by contradictory feelings.
who thought that every relation has satisfaction, frustration + pleasure/pain
- meaning?
melanie klein:
- said first important object is mother’s breast.
object relations: mix of love + hate
important objecta are both pleasure + frustration
- love will never be unmixed with frustration + resentment
object relations: distinct between love object + whole person
- person’s attributes for own enjoyment =/= loving whole person
object relations: psyche is aware of + disturbed by contradictory feelings
- love is often accompanied by anger, envy, fear, guilt
- love when they’re around, frustrated with them when they’re not.
Melanie Klein’s contribution?
treatment of children
- communicated with and diagnosed children through play
- love objects split into good + bad
name for two parts of the individual?
DEPRESSIVE position: good side, protect, worship
PARANOID position: bad side, frsutrate, anger,
winnicott - contribution?
niffle - transitional object that child used to bridge gap between private fantasy and reality.
- has magical, emotional meaning
function of transitional object
make change from time when adult is constantly caring for them to time where face world alone.
- real object, emotional meaning.
- adults can have these too.
the false self
- “put on” for other’s to please them.
- protect true self by keeping it invisible
- purpose of psychotherapy = help minimize discrepancies btw true + false self.
= help rational resources of mind work through irrational defenses.
current areas of psychoanalytic research?
- independent mental process that conflict
- unconscous mental processes
- compromise among mental processes
- self-defense, self-deception
- infleunce of past on current
- influence of sexual/aggressive urges
what is attachment theory?
theoretical perspective that draws on psychoanalytic thought to describe the development and importance of human attachments to emotionally significant other people
john bowlby- thoughts that led to development of attachments
fear of being alone = motivated desire for protection from someone with an interest in survival + well-being = attachment
2 lessons learned from early experiences with attachment figures
- belief about ppl one relies on will be there (or not)
2. belief about the self (not worthy of care)
mary ainsworth - came up with?
strange situation paradigm for finding out type of infant
ainsworth - 3 types of infants
- secure: be there in times of need. upset when left, greet mom happily, calmed easy. looks for encouragement from mom. can be insecure
- anxious-ambivalent: inconsistent behaviour, vigilant, weary + watchful of mom. distresses when leaves, not calmed when comes back.
- anxious- avoidant: tension/anxiety, but doesnt go to mom for comfort. hostile, alienate.
attachment styles - progression?
self-fulfilling in nature
- ambivalent: clingy or dislike ppl = others avoid them
- avoidant: make ppl angry = others avoid them
- secure = likable, ppl come to them.
romantic attachment styles
infant attachment styles translate to romantic life. have consequences in interactions with partner
bartholomew’s attachment style model (4)
-thoughts of self + thoughts of partner
secure: (+) about self + partner
dismissive (avoidant): (+) self, (-) others.
fearful [avoidant] (-) self, (-) others
preoccupied [ambivalent]: ((-) self, (+) others
established neo-freudian ideas
- much of life is unconscious
- mind does many things at once + is in conflict
- events of childhood shape adult personality
- relationship with significant other repeated through life
- psych development = moving from unregulated, immature to regulated + mature.
