Unit 2 prt2 Flashcards
What are the three main topics in ‘Psychoanalytic Approaches: Contemporary Issues’?
The Neo-Analytic Movement, Ego Psychology, and Object Relations Theory.
What are some modifications made by contemporary psychoanalysts compared to Freud’s original ideas?
Less emphasis on id, superego, and repressed sexuality; more focus on childhood development, relationships, and internal conflicts.
What are the five main postulates of the Neo-Analytic Movement?
- Broad role of the unconscious (but less than Freud claimed).
- Behavior reflects conflicts between emotions, motivations, and thoughts.
- Childhood influences adult relationships and personality development.
- Mental representations of self and relationships guide interactions.
- Personality development involves maturing relationships, not just controlling impulses.
What is Elizabeth Loftus’ view on memory repression?
Not all recovered memories are true or false; memory can be influenced by self-help books, therapist behavior, and suggestive interviews.
What is constructive memory?
The idea that the mind can add or subtract from memories, influencing recall accuracy (important for police interviews).
How do contemporary psychologists view the unconscious?
They believe it influences behavior but don’t agree that it has autonomous motivation like Freud claimed.
What are the two perspectives on the unconscious?
- Unconscious cognition - Information is stored unconsciously due to encoding, not repression.
- Unconscious motivation - The unconscious influences behavior.
What is Ego Psychology?
A perspective that focuses on the ego’s role in personality, identity formation, and social adaptation (instead of just responding to the id).
Who was Erik Erikson, and what did he contribute?
A student of Freud who focused on identity development and proposed eight psychosocial stages of personality development.
What is an identity crisis?
The confusion and desperation a person feels when they have not developed a strong sense of self.
What are Erikson’s eight stages of development?
- Infancy: Trust vs. Mistrust
- Toddler: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
- Preschool: Initiative vs. Guilt
- Grade-school: Industry vs. Inferiority
- Teenager: Identity vs. Role Confusion
- Young adult: Intimacy vs. Isolation
- Middle-age adult: Generativity vs. Stagnation
- Older adult: Ego Integrity vs. Despair.
What is the main conflict in the teenage stage of Erikson’s theory?
Identity vs. Role Confusion – deciding who you are and consolidating self-perceptions.
What is Karen Horney’s contribution to psychoanalysis?
She challenged Freud’s paternalistic views, introduced the concept of ‘womb envy,’ and emphasized cultural and social influences on personality.
How did Horney reinterpret ‘penis envy’?
As a symbol of social power rather than a literal desire for a male organ.
What is Object Relations Theory?
A perspective emphasizing relationships (especially early ones with caregivers) in shaping personality.
What are the two key assumptions of Object Relations Theory?
- Relationships are more important than basic impulses.
- The primary caregiver is internalized as a mental object, influencing trust and relationships.
What did John Bowlby study?
Attachment bonds between infants and caregivers.
What were Mary Ainsworth’s three attachment styles in the Strange Situation study?
- Secure attachment (66%)
- Anxious/Ambivalent attachment (14%)
- Avoidant attachment (20%).
How does childhood attachment influence adult relationships?
Early experiences shape unconscious expectations about relationships (trust, affection, and attachment styles).
What are the three adult attachment styles?
Secure, Ambivalent, and Avoidant.
Can early attachment experiences be changed?
Yes, later positive experiences can modify early negative relationships.
Where can you take an attachment style test?
https://yourpersonality.net/attachment/ (English version).
