Unit 2.1: The intrapsychic domain Flashcards
What was Freud’s first solo book?
The interpretation of dreams (1900)
What is the starting idea of psychoanalysis?
The existence of a psychic energy motivating human activity
Which basic instincts are there?
Eros/ libido: desire to satisfy need or obtain pleasure
Thanatos: desire to destroy, hurt or assault
Which levels of consciousness are there?
Conscious: thoughts, feelings and perceptions you are aware of atm
Preconscious: information that you’re not aware of but that can be retreived
Unconscious: Inadmissable, hidden information
What does psychic determinism say?
Everything we do, think, feel and say is an expression of the mind
What is a freudian slip?
Calling someone the wrong name, forgetting a date, etc.
-> expression of unconscious motivation
What does psychoanalytic personality theory describe and why?
how people deal with instincts
-> often leads to impulses conflicting with reality
ID
Works according to principle of immediate pleasure/ gratification
most primitive part of the mind
Ego
limits mind to reality
secondary thinking process developing strategies to solve problems and gain satisfaction
Superego
Internalizes values, morals and ideals of society
makes us feel guilty, embarrassed or proud
own moral standards/ goals of perfection
-> not governed by reality
What does the interaction of Id, ego and superego result in?
Conflics
What is anxiety?
unpleasant experience
people try to overcome it via defense mechanism
Which are the function of defense mechanisms?
protect the ego
minimize anxiety and discomfort
Repression
preventing unacceptable thoughts, feelings and desires by preventing them from reaching conscious awareness
Denial
refusing to see facts
Displacement
Channeling/ redirecting unacceptable threat or impulse from original source to less threatening one
Rationalization
generating acceptable solutions to situations that might otherwise seem unacceptable
Reaction formation
attempt to suppress unacceptable desires
-> display behaviours indicating opposite impulse
Projection
seeing traits and desires that are undesirable in oneself in others
Sublimation
channeling instincts towards socially accepted activities
When are defense mechanisms negative?
when they inhibit the ability to be productive
when they limit the ability to maintain social relationships
What is it called when a person gets stuck in a stage of development according to freud?
fixation
Oral stage
<18m
source of pleasure: mouth, tongue, lips
main conflict: breast/ bottle withdrawal
fixation
-> nail biting; hostile personalities
Anal stage
18m-3y
source of pleasure: anal sphincter
fixation
-> development of excessive self-control
Phallic stage
3y-5y
sexual desire directed outward
oedipus/ electra conflict
-> fear of father: castration anxiety
-> Penis envy (females)
Latency stage
6y-puberty
learning of skills necessary for adult role (decision-making, interaction)
absence of specific sexual conflicts
Genital stage
> puberty
sexual awakening
libido focused on genitals (not as self-manipulation)
available when others acheived
Free association
allows mind to wander
-> recognise important verbal and nonverbal indicators
What are dreams?
inaccessible messages from deep regions of the mind
-> purpose to satisfy impulses and fullfill unconscious longings and desires
Where do differences exist in dreams?
manifest content
latent content
What does the projective hypothesis say?
people project own personalities into an ambiguous stimulus
What are some major contributions of freudian psychoanalysis?
improving understanding of the mind
“talking cure”
ideas relevant to psychotherapy
everyday language
-> big historical value
How can you criticise Psychoanalysis?
little/ no contemporary research
(e.g. claim that personality is determined at age 5)
evidence based on case studies
sexual urges in child development not representative of reality
primitive, negative, impulsive view on nature of humans
view of women
