Freud: Psychoanalysis
Psychology of Personality
Lecture, Chapter 1
Psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory has perhaps become the most famous of all personality theories.
Freud’s theory was developed by observing his clients and using data from those
observations to develop his model.
Freud publicly held that his theory could not be subjected to eclecticism,
insisting that his supporters take an all-or-nothing approach.
Main constructs of interest in his theory are sex and aggression.
Freud’s life
Lived most of his life in Vienna, was the oldest of 8 children in a Jewish
family, and was said to be his mother’s favorite.
Received a degree in medicine, although his interests were in physiology and
human nature.
Motivated by the drive to achieve fame and respect through a revolutionary
discovery.
Had a series of failed friendships with male colleagues that turned rocky upon
professional disagreements.
Used analysis of himself and his relationship to both of his parents to develop
much of his theoretical view of dreams.
Levels of Mental Life
Freud believed that people are primarily motivated by drives, of which they have
little, if any, awareness.
Conscious
Perceptual conscious
Preconscious
Unconscious
Primary censor
Final censor
Some unconscious processes have been passed down from early ancestors through hundreds of generations of repetition, called phylogenetic endowment.
People can communicate with each other on unconscious mental levels.
Provinces of the Mind
Id = the personality’s core; completely unconscious portion of the mind driven
to seek pleasure via the pleasure principle.
Ego = the only portion of the mind in contact with reality; reality principle.
Superego = the portion of the mind that strives toward perfection, judging the
actions and intentions of the ego through the moralistic principle
Conscience
Ego-ideal
Development of the 3 provinces varies greatly among individuals
Id-dominant:
Superego dominant:
Fluctuations between ego and superego
Ego dominant: manages demands of both id and superego
Dynamics of Personality
People are motivated by psychical and physical energy that are used to seek
pleasure (drives) and reduce anxiety.
Drives are constant motivational force classified as either sexual or aggressive
and contain all of the following:
Impetus
Source
Aim
Object
Drives:
Sex – the first primary drive; involves pleasure motivated through the sexual
drive
Aggression – the second primary drive, the final aim of which is
self-destruction.
Anxiety is the felt, affective, unpleasant state accompanied by a
physical sensation that warns a person of impending danger; types of anxiety are
as follows:
Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are normal and universally used to avoid dealing directly
with sexual and aggressive impulses and their resulting anxiety.
Repression
Reaction formation
Displacement
Fixation
Regression
Projection
Introjection
Sublimation
Stages of Development
Infantile phase lasts from birth to age 4-5 and assumes that infants go
through a period of pregenital sexual development:
Oral phase – gaining pleasure through feeding, sucking,
biting, cooing, thumb sucking
Anal phase – gaining pleasure through aggressive behavior and
the excretory function
Phallic phase – gaining pleasure through stimulation in the
genital area
Latency period lasts from 4-5 years until puberty and is usually
characterized by dormant psychosexual development.
Genital period lasts through puberty and beyond and is characterized by
directing libido toward others, possibility of reproduction, increased
acceptance or “status” of the vagina, and synthesis of pleasure-producing areas,
which center upon the genitals.
Psychological maturity occurs when a person has ideally met the
challenges of the earlier stages.
Therapeutic Techniques
Free association
Transference
Dream analysis
Condensation
Displacement
Parapraxes (“Freudian slips”)
Conclusion
What was Freud’s view of gender?
Did Freud use science in his theory development? Was his theory able to generate
research, be falsified, organize data, guide action, be internally consistent,
and be parsimonious?
Where does Freud’s theory fall on the basic issues concerning the nature of
humanity?
Determinism vs. free choice
Pessimism vs. optimism
Causality vs. teleology
Conscious vs. unconscious
Social vs. biological influences
Uniqueness vs. similarities