Wk 3 - Psychoanalysis Flashcards
In the 1800s, neurology and pscychiatry were… (x1)
Making it the…(x2)
Same medical discipline
First period of biological psychiatry
o Post-mortem exams were common way to look at people with psych problems – brain/ventricle differences etc
What are the major tenets of Freudian psych? (x5)
Lack of empirical evidence – ideas not falsifiable/don’t lend to scientific method
Theories developed most when he was in therapy
Lots of introspection, dream analysis
Medical background/modelling
Linking childhood to current psych problems
Freud was trained in… (x2)
Influenced by his visit to…(b 1856) (x2) and
Dabbled in cocaine… (x3)
Trained in medicine and also experimental science –
Visited Charcot in Paris (1886) influenced by his work on hysteria and the use of hypnosis -
Patients into clinic, induced hypnosis, bring up psych material
Wrote landmark paper ‘on cocaine’ about usefulness for anaesthesia
Did a lot of experimental research in is vein – figured out later that it was holy addictive –
Used it himself too
Who was Anna O?
Treated by Breuer for severe cough, paralysis of the extremities on the right side of her body, disturbances of vision, hearing and speech, hallucinations and loss of consciousness.
• Diagnosed with hysteria
The beginning of psychoanalysis/free association - her conversations with Freud
Who was Burnt Pudding, and what was she ‘evidence’ for?
Woman molested by father, With smell of burnt pudding in background;
Later exposure to same smell brought on hysteria
Free association – unguided ramblings that revealed underlying conflicts over time –
Invariably, they all went back to adolescence and childhood
What was the context of Freud’s view of human nature? (x5)
Leading him to what two conclusions?
WWI atrocities - at its worst
o Pessimistic
o Deterministic
o Humans have instinctual urges that are innate; resulting from our evolutionary heritage
o Unconscious motivations
Your biological and environmental history determine your psych
Our behaviours can be understood as representations of repressed drives
What are the key concepts in psychoanalytic theory? (x6)
Instinct theory - Eros, Libido, Pleasure Principle, Death Drive
Topographic model - the Iceberg of conscious, preconscious, unconscious
Structural model of personality - Id, Ego, Superego and Inner conflict
Defense mechanisms
Theory of Psychosexual Development
Therapy - symptom formation and removal
What are the themes within the psychoanalytic concept of Instinct Theory? (x6)
Life instinct is Eros
Life energy in Libido
All instincts are innate and biological
Pleasure principle: humans driven by the desire to obtain pleasure and avoid pain
Death drive/’Thanatos’: opposite of Eros, why people d that which is painful
Repetition compulsion: the reenactment of trauma
What are the themes within the psychoanalytic concept of ‘the iceberg’? (x4)
Conscious mind is the tiny bit we’re aware of
Preconscious material can be accessed eg through questioning and exploring
Unconscious material can be inferred from behaviour,
How can we infer the unconscious, according to psychoanalysis? (x5)
Dreams – symbolic representations of our needs, wishes or conflicts
Slips of the tongue and forgetting something familiar
Post-hypnotic suggestion
Free-association techniques
Material derived from projective techniques
What three systems make up the psychoanalytic model of personality?
Which are all guided by…
Id - biological component
Ego - psychological
Superego - Social
Inner conflict
Describe the Id (biological component of our unconscious) (x5)
Primary process - the most basic primitive form, just survival and nurturance
At birth, we are all id - only need survival – fed, bathed
Need gratification - Wanting to feel comfortable, warm, soothed, not left in discomfort
Inability to tolerate tension or frustration
Driven by pleasure principle
Describe the Ego (psychological component of our unconscious) (x5)
Secondary process - attempts to satisfy Id impulses while preserving the person/moral goodness
(thinks about the consequences)
Has contact with the external world of reality
Regulates personality - mediates between instincts and surrounding environment
Reality principle: realistic thinking and planning
Describe the Superego (social componenet of our unconscious) (x5)
Our “conscience” Moral/judicial branch of personality Idealistic and moralistic Internalisation of societal standards Main concern is whether action is a good or bad/right or wrong
What do we mean by Inner conflict in psychoanalytic terms? (x3)
Anxiety/tension develops -conflict between the id, ego and superego
Expression = Symptoms (vomiting, phobias, hysteria, mourning and melancholia)
Freud identified 3 kinds of anxiety: neurotic, moral, and realistic.
What did Freud mean by ‘realistic anxiety’? (x1 plus eg x3)
Fear of things that could really harm the organism,
eg falling from a height; snakes and spiders etc
What did Freud mean by ‘neurotic anxiety’? (x2)
The fear of libido;
It’s a realistic anxiety because if the libidinal drives are expressed (eg seduce your married colleague and punch your boss) could result in harm to the organism
What did Freud mean by ‘moral anxiety’? (x2)
Fear of the punitive superego –
Ruminating on things you know you shouldn’t have done
What did Freud mean by ‘defense mechanisms’? (x4)
Automatic forms of response
Help cope with anxiety
Prevent feelings overwhelming
But distort reality so that actual wish does not enter consciousness
What is involved in the defense mechanism Repression? (x2)
Key one - shoving it back down under the water
“Forgetting” early childhood in which traumatic experiences occurred
What is involved in the defense mechanism Denial? (x2 thru eg)
eg in A&D treatment, stating that s/he has no problem with drinking, no more than the average person –
Can’t account for extent of use, or consequences for self and others
What is involved in the defense mechanism Reaction Formation? (x 1eg)
eg a mother who doesn’t experience loving feelings towards her child becomes overprotective and smothering
What is involved in the defense mechanism Projection? (x2 plus eg)
eg seeing traits in someone else that we don’t like to admit in ourselves –
Which then really irritate you,
eg they’re such a control freak
What is involved in the defense mechanism Displacement? (x3 thru eg)
eg man is angry towards his critical demanding boss and takes it out on his computer – Unable to let emotions out onto actual object that might bring adverse consequences,
Take it out on some other lesser object/person
What is involved in the defense mechanism Intellectualisation? (x1 thru eg)
eg justification of not getting a job you want and emphasising negative aspects of that job
What is involved in the defense mechanism Sublimation? (x1 thru eg)
eg taking aggressive drive out in sport or sexual energy into a creative pursuit
