Week 3 - Psychodynamic theories of individual difference Flashcards
Who was Freud influence by?
- Charles Darwin
- Philosophers Arther Schopenhauer & Friedrich Nietzche (unconscious, irrational, and primitive forces play a central role in human motivation)
Describe determinism from a psychoanalytic perspective
- Freud maintained that nothing happens by chance or accident
- There is a reason behind every behaviour related to unconscious thoughts
- Past events shape future behaviour, therefore life is predetermined
What did Freud propose was evidence of the unconscious?
- Slips of the tongue, forgetting things, jokes
- Dreams and their symbolism
- Post-hypnotic suggestions
- Free association material
- Projective test material
What are symbols from a psychoanalytic perspective?
Symbols are unconscious conflicts finding acceptable expression
What are some examples of symbols from a psychoanalytic perspective?
- House: human body
- Smooth fronted house: male body
- House with ledges and balconies: female body
- Bullets, guns, fires, hoses, knives, snakes, sticks, umbrellas, tree trunk, necktie, pencil: male genitals
- Balloon, airplane: erection
- Bottles, boxes, caves, closets, ovens, ships, tunnels: female sex organs
According to Freud, what is psychic energy?
psychic energy motivates all human activity. The amount of psychic energy a person has remains constant throughout the lifetime. The source of psychic energy is instincts.
According to Freud, what are instincts?
A driving force or impulse; a form of energy which connects the body’s needs with the mind’s wishes
What two categories are instincts grouped into?
Life (eros) & death (thanatos)
Describe life (eros) instincts
- Seeking to satisfy basic instincts
- Psychic energy of life instincts is the libido
- Sex is our most primary motivation
- Sexual longings are satisfied through constructive activities like art & music.
Describe death (thanatos) instincts
- An aggressive drive that includes the unconscious wish to die
- This drive compels us to destroy, conquer and kill
- Only gained limited acceptance even with Freud’s most dedicated followers
- Suicide is anger turned inwards
By what age did Freud think personality was established by?
5 years old
Describe the function of the Id
- most primitive part of the human mind
- located deep within the unconscious and is the source of all instinctual energy
- passed onto us at birth
- operated according to the pleasure principle
- Operates with primary process thinking
What is primary process thinking?
Operates with the Id - unconcerned about societal pressures and social norms and more concerned with tension reduction and has no sense of reality.
What is wish fulfillment?
If the object the Id wants is unavailable, it can use a process called wish fulfillment, where something unavailable is conjured up and the image of it is temporarily satisfying.
Describe the function of the Ego
- develops within the first 2-3 years of life
- Controls the Id through compromise
- operates in accordance to the reality principle
- engages in secondary process thinking
What is secondary process thinking?
The development of strategies for solving problems and obtaining satisfaction
Describe the function of the Superego
- Powerful and mostly unconscious set of beliefs we acquire through childhood
- Aims for perfection
- Usually learned by the age of 5 or 6
- Operates at all levels of consciousness but mostly the preconscious level
What 3 types of anxiety did Freud identify?
- Objective
- neurotic
- moral anxiety
According to Freud, what is objective anxiety?
Fear - occurs in response to a real, external threat to a person.
According to Freud, what is neurotic anxiety?
When there is a direct conflict between the Id and the Ego, and the Ego may lose control.
According to Freud, what is moral anxiety?
Conflict between the Ego and Superego. When the Superego is overpowering and a person feels they have to live up to unrealistic expectations.
What are defense mechanisms?
Conflicts between the id, ego, and superego that are disguised
What functions do defense mechanisms serve?
to protect the ego, and to minimise anxiety and distress.
When do defense mechanisms become a problem?
when they get in the way of someone’s productivity or ability to maintain relationships.
Explain the defense mechanism of repression
Freud thought that repression involved blocking anxiety-provoking feelings/thoughts from conscious awareness and pushing them into the unconscious
Explain the defense mechanism of projection
People attribute their undesirable traits to others. “The devil made me do it”
Explain the defense mechanism of denial
Refusal to accept reality or recognise true source of anxiety.
What is the fundamental attribution error?
People tend to blame events outside their control as the reasons for failure instead of accepting responsibility
Explain the defense mechanism of displacement
A threatening or unacceptable impulse is channeled or redirected from its original source to a nonthreatening target
Explain the defense mechanism of regression
When in a stressful situation, engaging in behaviour associated with an earlier stage of development
Explain the defense mechanism of rationalisation
Occurs especially among educated people like students. Reinterpretation of undesirable feelings or behaviour to make them appear acceptable
