The Psychoanalytic Approach: Freud Flashcards
Why do we care about Freud?
Founder/creator of psychoanalysis
– One of the most influential schools of thought in
the 20th Century
– Considered one of 4 major revolutions in
humans’ understanding of the world: Copernican, Darwinian, Freudian, DNA
Influenced thinking and research in:
– Therapy (“talk therapy”)
– Philosophy
– Science
– Humanities: modern art, literature, films
The origins of Freudian Theory?
Viennese neurologist
– Trained as a medical doctor, but more interested in research and understanding the mind
– Worked with famous neurologist Dr. Breuer
* Developed the “Talking Cure”
They both picked up on the work of Charcot, another neurologist
The Case of Anna O.?
- Patient of Dr. Breuer, a neurologist colleague
of Freud - Numerous symptoms, contracted shortly after
she nursed her father (who had TB)
– Symptoms included coughing, hallucination, refusal to
drink water, partial paralysis - No physical cause
- Breuer would talk with Anna each night, and
found her symptoms would improve the
following day - Anna called their talks “chimney sweeping”
Curing Hysteria?
The “talking cure”
* Step 1: Hypnotize patient, or allow for free association
* Step 2: Talk with patient to reveal psychological anxiety/neurosis
* Step 3: Patient has “catharsis”—insight into
psychological problem
* Step 4: Physical symptom disappears
Current Research on Hysteria?
- Neurologists analyzed brain function of a
woman paralyzed on left side
– no identifiable physical source - When the woman tried to move her
“paralyzed leg,” her motor cortex did not
activate - Instead, right orbitofrontal and anterior
cingulate cortex activated
– EMOTION brain areas - Emotional areas of the brain may be
suppressing movement in the leg
Neuroscientific Explanation for
Conversion Disorder
Cause of Hysteria
– Emotional centers of the brain activated
– Inhibit motor centers of the brain from
coordinating movement
So, there is a biological basis to hysteria!
Psychoanalytic Theory:
4 Basic Assumptions?
- Psychological Determinism
– Life/sex instinct
– Death/aggression instinct - Importance of the Unconscious
– Dynamic processes
– Intrapsychic Conflict (Id, Ego, Superego) - Defense Mechanisms
- Importance of early childhoodexperiences
Part 1. Psychological Determinism: Basic Instincts?
- Life – self preservation, sex
- Death – aggression, destruction
Are Love and Death
the primary motives
of human behavior?
Do humans seek death?
World War I led to Freud’s view that death and
destruction are instinctual aspects of human
nature
There are no accidents; all
behaviors are caused by internal drives. Explain this process?
Biological drivers (Sex & Death)
->
Internal forces (Wishes & Fears)
-> Behaviours, Thoughts, Emotions
Part 2. Importance of Unconscious: Levels of Consciousness? (3)
– Pre-Conscious – easily retrieved, but not
currently on one’s mind
* E.g., what you had for breakfast
– Consciousness
* What you’re thinking about RIGHT NOW
– Unconscious
* “The seething cauldron”
* Repressed contents of the mind
* Libido (sexual), aggressive instincts
Carl Jung’s Unconscious?
- Student of Freud, but disagreed about
the depravity of the unconscious - Personal Unconscious
– The Freudian Unconscious - Collective Unconscious
– Contents of unconscious shared by all
humanity, passed down from ancestors
– Primordial images: archetypes - E.g., mother = good; dark = evil
Freud and the Structure of Personality: Id?
- Infancy
– All drives and urges
– Pleasure Principle - Immediate gratification
– Primary Process thinking (illogical) - Not bound by reality
- The language of dreams
Freud and the Structure of Personality: Ego?
– Develops at age 2
– Constrains the Id to reality
– Reality Principle
* Direct expression of id impulses can lead to
problems
* Avoid, redirect, postpone id impulses
– Secondary Process thinking (logical)
* Strategies for solving problems in an acceptable
way
Freud and the Structure of Personality: Superego?
– Develops at age 5
– Internalized values, morality of parents and
society
– Promotes guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride
(self-conscious emotions)
– Like the Id, NOT bound by reality
* Sets higher standards
Freud and the Structure of Personality: Conflict?
*Our lives are a constant negotiation of opposing
impulses (desire/fear; love/hate)
* Id, Ego, and Superego are constantly battling
to control our behavior
*Such conflicts produce anxiety
How to Cope with the Anxiety from the conflict of our personality?
Defense Mechanisms
– Used to reduce anxiety and distress
* Task usually falls on the ego
– Distort reality in some way
– Must operate unconsciously
Repression?
– Traumatic memories pushed out of
awareness to avoid associated anxiety
* Freud: Often sexual desires
* Today: Protect from memories of childhood abuse
or trauma
Denial?
– Convincing yourself that a traumatic event did not
occur or was not traumatic
Rationalization?
Generating acceptable, logical reasons for
outcomes that otherwise would not be acceptable
Displacement?
Threatening impulse or desire is redirected onto
another target
* “Taking it out on someone else”
Reaction Formation?
– To stifle an unacceptable impulse, the exact
opposite behaviors/desires are displayed
– Example:
* “Homophobic? Maybe You’re Gay” – NYTimes
* People who implicitly associate “gay” with “me” but
say they are “straight” are more likely to show
homophobia
Projection?
Seeing one’s own unacceptable qualities in
others and disliking them for possessing those qualities?
Sublimation?
– Most adaptive defense
– Convert unacceptable desire into acceptable
behavior that still helps relieve anxiety
– Makes life easier for the ego
– Examples?
– Play sports rather than beat someone up
What did Freud do for Psychological
Science and Personality Research? (4)
- A talking cure
– “free-association,” “stream of consciousness”
– Birth of modern therapy - Mind-Body connection
– Basic tenet of modern health psychology - Psychic issues may influence behavior, even
when people aren’t aware of them - Case Study Method
– Based on experiences with patients, Freud developed
an elaborate theory
