Chapter Eight The Psychoanalytic Perspective Basic Themes Conflict

Chapter Eight The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Basic Themes • Conflict between aspects of personality • Defense mechanisms to manage threat • Human experience suffused with lust, aggression, sexuality, and death • Perspective is highly metaphorical

Topographical Model of the Mind The mind is organized into levels of functioning • Conscious Level Common characterization • Preconscious Level • Unconscious Level Freud’s contribution

The Conscious Level • Contains elements about which a person is currently aware • Contents can be articulated verbally • Contents can be thought about in a rational/logical manner

The Preconscious Level • Represents elements in ordinary memory — those outside of current attention • Contents are easily brought to current awareness • Examples: – What you had for dinner last night – Your grandmother’s first name

The Unconscious Level • Elements of the mind that are actively kept from consciousness • Generally, a repository for images, feelings and ideas associated with anxiety, fear, and pain • Contents cannot be brought to consciousness directly, but can only enter awareness in distorted form • Even though they are outside of awareness, the contents of the unconscious can have a dynamic influence on personality

The Structural Model • Complements the Topographical Model • Describes the three components of personality functioning – ID (Latin for “It”) – Ego (Latin for “I”) – Superego (Latin for “over I”)

The Id • Is the original part of personality; present at birth • Embodies inherited, instinctive, and primitive aspects of personality • Tied to biological functions • Operates entirely in the unconscious • Functions as the engine of personality, through which all psychic energy comes • Conforms to the “Pleasure Principle”

Pleasure Principle • Asserts that the true purpose of life is the immediate satisfaction of all needs • Gives no consideration to risk, environment, social constraints or problems in satisfying needs • Unmet needs result in a state of aversive tension • Mechanism for discharge of tension = “Primary Process”

Primary Process • Primary way for id to satisfy needs • Formation of mental image of desired object, activity that would meet need • Act of forming such an image = “Wish Fulfillment” – Examples Need Image • Hunger Juicy cheeseburger, pizza • Thirst Fresh lemonade, cool stream • Lonely. Friends from home • Problems – Can’t distinguish between objective and subjective states – Doesn’t care how needs are met – Can be irrational, reckless, immoral

The Ego • Evolves out of the id because id functions cannot deal effectively with objective reality • Operates primarily at the conscious and preconscious, but also at the unconscious • Operates according to the = “Reality Principle” • No moral sense, simply wants to fulfill needs given the constraints of reality

Reality Principle • Introduces a sense of rationality and logic into personality functioning • Idea that behavior is governed by an external, objective world • Focus on effectively expressing id impulses by taking into account the external world – If risk is associated with need, fulfilling behavior is too high • Directs behavior to another way to meet need • Delays to later, safer, or more sensible time • Mechanism for matching tension and producing need to a real object/activity = “Secondary Process”

Secondary Process • Formally refers to process of finding a match between image of needed object/activity and actual object/activity • Informally refers to processes of higherorder thought (e. g. , problem solving, planning) called “reality testing” • Problems – Built-in opportunity for conflict between id and ego

Superego • Embodiment of parental and societal values • Arises from complex feeling resulting from relationship with parents – Love and affection—obtained by doing what parents think is right – Punishment and disapproval—obtained by avoiding what parents think is wrong • Introjection: the process of incorporating values from an external source (i. e. , mostly parents, sometimes society) • Operates at all levels of consciousness – Interesting implication: Feelings of guilt for no apparent reason

Components of the Superego • Ego-Ideal – Consists of rules about good behavior and standards of excellence – Conforming behavior results in feeling of pride and worthiness • Conscience – Consists of rules about bad and prohibited behavior – Non-conforming behavior results in feelings of guilt and shame

Goals of Superego • Inhibit any id impulse that would cause disapproval from parents • Force ego to act morally, rather than rationally • Guide person toward perfection in thought, word and behavior • Problem: While it exerts a civilizing effect, its perfectionism is not realistic

Balancing the Forces Superego Id Ego External Environment • Must find a way to release tension (id demand) immediately, in a way that is socially acceptable (superego demand) and realistic (external environment) • Ability to function effectively, despite these conflicting forces = “ego strength”

Ego Strength • Little ego strength: Torn among conflicting pressure • More ego strength: Manage pressures without problems • Too much ego strength: Very rational and efficient but may be boring, cold, or distant • Key point: Balance is an important feature of Freud’s perspective

The Drives of Personality • Basic Assumptions: – People are complex energy systems – Energy used in psychological work is released through biological processes – These processes, which operate through the id = “drives” • Two elements to drives – Biological need state – Psychological representation

Two Classes of Drives • Life or sexual drives (Eros) – Concerned with survival, reproduction, and pleasure – Examples: Hunger, pain avoidance, sex – Energy resulting from Eros = “Libido” • Death drives (Thanatos) – – The goal of all life is death Usually held back by Eros No label for energy resulting from Thanatos Physiological analog: Apoptosis (programmed cellular suicide) – Redirected harm toward self onto others may represent the foundation of aggression

Catharsis • The release of the tension resulting from an unmet drive • Implications for aggressive energy – Overcontrolled aggression—exaggerated ego and superego processes in which there is a strong inhibition against aggression (straw that broke the camel’s back syndrome) – Mixed effects on the reduction of arousal following aggressive acts – Mixed findings on the effects of future aggression

Anxiety • Aversive inner motivation state • Freud saw it as warning signal to the ego • Types of Anxiety – Reality anxiety—fear of something real in the world – Neurotic anxiety—fear of punishment resulting from id impulses getting out of control – Moral anxiety—fear of violating moral/ethical codes arising from the superego

Responses to Anxiety • Increase rational problem-oriented coping – Conscious activity to deal with the threat – Works best with reality anxiety • Activate defense mechanisms – Tactics developed by ego to deal with anxiety – All defense mechanisms can operate unconsciously – All distort, transform, or falsify reality in some way

Repression • An unconscious act of forcing something out of consciousness • Conscious repression = Suppression • Important in restraining id impulses • Also applies to painful or upsetting information, memories, or behaviors • Not always an all-or-nothing act. Can have partial repression

Denial • A refusal to believe an event took place or a condition exists • Generally deals with threats that originate outside the dynamics of the mind • Effective at keeping anxiety at bay, but requires constant psychic energy • Because of the energy cost of repression and denial, other strategies have developed to free-up energy

Projection • Ascription of unacceptable impulses, desires, or qualities to someone else • Serves to express the id’s desire, thus releasing energy required to suppress it • Masks the expression of an impulse in such a way that it is not recognized by the ego or superego

Rationalization • Finding a reason/excuse for a behavior done for unacceptable reasons • Rationalization after a failure maintains self-esteem • Common response to success and failure experiences (fundamental attribution error)

Intellectualization • Thinking in a cold, analytical, or detached way about things that normally evoke distress • Allows disassociation of thought from feelings • Suggests that the intellectual part of an idea can exist in the conscious mind, while the emotional quality of the idea remains unconscious

Displacement and Sublimation • Considered less neurotic and more adaptive than other defense mechanisms • Displacement – Shifts an impulse from one target to another – New target is less threatening, thus anxiety is reduced • Sublimation – Transforms the impulse into a more socially acceptable form – The expressed impulse is more acceptable, thus anxiety is reduced – Considered the most mature defense mechanism

Psychosexual Development • Sequential progression through stages • Each stage is characterized by a crisis • Adult personality is influenced by how crises are resolved during each stage • Stages: – – – Oral Anal Phallic Latency Genital

Oral Stage • • Birth– 18 months Mouth is source of tension reduction Crisis = being weaned from mother Two phases: – Oral incorporative—dependency, gullibility, jealousy – Oral sadistic—verbal aggressiveness • Oral personalities – Preoccupied with food and drink – When stressed, reduce tension through oral activities (smoking, nail biting) – When angry, engage in verbal aggression

Anal Stage • 18 months– 3 rd year • Anus is the source of pleasure from stimulation that results from defecation • Crisis = toilet training • Two orientations to toilet training: – Praise for successful elimination at desired time and place • Result—value in producing things by whatever means possible • Basis for adult productivity and creativity – Punishment and ridicule for failures • If child reacts with rebellion—anal expulsive traits result (messy, cruel, destructive, hostile) • If child reacts by withholding—anal retentive traits result (rigid, obsessive, stingy, obstinacy, orderliness)

Phallic Stage • • 3 rd year-5 th year Genitals become the source of pleasure Crisis = attraction toward opposite-sex parent Patterns somewhat different for boys and girls: – Boys • • Attracted to mother wants to replace father (Oedipus complex) Fears retaliation on part of father (castration anxiety) Repress feelings toward mother, begins to identify with father Identification with father gives rise to super ego – Girls • • Attracted to father abandons love for mother (Electra complex) Wants father because he possesses penis (penis envy) Repress feelings toward father, begins to identify with mother Identification with mother gives rise to super ego

Latency Period • 6 years old–early teens • Period of relative calm, no new developmental conflicts • Attention is focused on other pursuits (intellectual or social)

Genital Stage • Late adolescence and adulthood • Libidinal energy still organized around the genitals • Focus on mutual sexual gratification • Develop the ability to share in warm and caring relationships and have concern for other’s welfare • Demonstrate greater control over impulses • Represents an ideal, rather than an absolute, endpoint of development

Psychopathology of Everyday Life • Not random, but arises from impulses/urges in the unconscious • Error of memory, word mix-ups, and accidents (parapraxes; from the German “faulty achievement”) reflect our unconscious – Forgetting = repression – Slips of the tongue or pen = unsuccessful repression

Dreams • “Royal road to the unconscious”—Freud • Two Aspects – Manifest Content—actual sensory images – Latent Content—the source of the manifest content; the meaning underlying the dream • Sources – Concurrent sensory stimulation (e. g. , barking dog, ringing phone)—guardians of sleep – Current concerns—thoughts, feelings, concerns in life – Unconscious id impulses—present in all dreams

Projective Assessment Techniques • Represent formal approaches to assessing unconscious processes • Projective hypothesis: Provide people with ambiguous, unstructured stimuli and they will apply projection in their interpretations of what they see

Rorschach Inkblot Test • Chosen for ability to evoke different responses from different psychiatric patients • 10 bilaterally symmetrical blots – 5 all black – 2 red and black – 3 pastels • Administration in predetermined order • Administration in two stages – Free response format—respondent indicates what she sees in the blots, or what they resemble or suggest – Systematic questioning—reminded of previous responses and requested to indicate what about the blot made her say what she said

Rorschach Scoring • Based on three factors – Location of response—part vs. whole, commonly noted detail vs. rarely noted detail, blot vs. space surrounding • Response based on whole blot indicative of conceptual thinking – Determinants of response—form, shading, color, texture, or perceived movement in location of response • Response based on color indicative of emotionality • Response based on human movement indicative of imagination – Content of response—subject matter • Conveys overt meaning and symbolic meaning

Problems and Behavior Change • Problems arise from overuse of defenses – Unresolved conflict resulting in fixation – Broad libidinal repression of basic needs – Repressed trauma • Goal of therapy is to free-up energy by releasing need to repress through awareness and insight – Consequences of therapy • Resistance—actively fighting against awareness of repressed conflicts and impulses • Transference—displacements onto therapist

Problems and Prospects • Controversial – Prominent sexual themes – Many determinants of behavior that are outside of awareness • Difficult to test empirically – Ambiguous terms or ill-defined concepts • Heavy reliance on a small number of potentially biased case studies • Confusion of fact with inference • Even so, Freud offers a significant and important contribution to the discussion of personality and human behavior