An extensive overview of the literature discussed during Block 2 (Differences between people). I received an 8 for this block with these notes. I hope they are helpful for you as well and you pass your exam :)
Theme 1: Inner drives
maandag 5 oktober 2020
13:30
Learning goals:
What is the difference between Super ego (trying to fulfill an ideal image),
ego and id (innate)?
What is the unconscious influence on conscious behavior?
How do the id and the superego influence the ego?
What is a freudian slip?
When does the subconscious take over?
How do situational factors influence our subconscious and behavior?
What is catharsis and how does it work?
How do fixations develop over time?
What are the 4 phases?
What is fixation and how does it work?
What causes people to repress their private thoughts/feelings?
Why do people publicly contradict their own feelings/desires?
How/Why do we deal with repressed desires?
Freud biography:
1856-1939
Physician (neuro)
Studied hypnosis and used it on neuro patients in his practice
Original archaeologist of the human mind
Heavy smoker and lover of cocaine
Freud's psychoanalytic theory:
Personality is a set of processes that are always in motion>> dynamo. Principle
of psychic determinism
Psychic energy: wellspring of motivation. Freud believed that psychic energy
operated according to the law of conservation of energy. This amount is fixed
throughout an individuals' lifetime. Personality change>> redirection of a
person's psychic energy.
Instincts: innate forces that provide all the energy in the psychic system.
o Eros: survival and sexual instincts
Libido: Collective energy of the life instincts.
o Thanatos (death instincts): (Self-)destructive instincts, often
turned outward as aggression.
e.g. eating serves as a life instinct but at the same time it involves chewing,
biting and tearing which Freud considers a aggressive manifestation of Thanatos.
Apoptosis is a death instinct in human physiology.
Topographical Model of Mind:
Conscious: Part of the mind that your now aware of
,Preconscious: Part of the mind representing ordinary memory. Can be brought
awareness easily. e.g. your phone number
Unconscious: Part of the mind that is not directly accessible to awareness.
Freud saw it as the source of desires and as a repository for urges, feelings, and
ideas that are tied to anxiety conflict or pain. They exert a continuing influence
on later actions and conscious behaviour.
Freud: unconscious thoughts, feelings and urges could take a life of their own.
He called this part: motivated unconscious
Jung's theory (famous student of Freud): criticised that Freud put too much
emphasis on sexuality and aggression. He also disagreed about the inherently
negative role of unconscious conflicts. He drew on Freud's basic notions.
Collective unconscious complements personal unconscious.
Personal unconscious: Grew out of the person's unique experiences
Collective unconscious: Inherited unconscious , passed on from previous
generations. >> we are not born as blank slates.
The Structural Model:
Id: original component of personality. All the inherited, instinctive, primitive
aspects of personality. Functions entirely in the unconscious. All psychic energy
comes through it. thus the engine of personality. During infancy it dominates.
Latin for "it". Satisfies needs via primary process thinking: forming an
unconscious mental image of an object or event that would satisfy the need.>>
wish fulfilment >> works temporarily.
Pleasure principle: all needs need to be fulfilled immediately. Unsatisfied
needs create aversive tension states. >> people seek to reduce needs as
soon as possible. e.g. increase in hunger should cause an attempt to eat.
Ego: executive of personality. It constrains the id to reality. Operates on all
three levels. Makes sure id's impulses are expressed effectively, by taking into
account external factors. Uses secondary process thinking: rationally seeking
an object to satisfy a desire. Wants the id's urges to be satisfied at a time and
,way that is safe. It mediates between the desires of id and constraints of the
external world. Ego has no moral sense. It uses pragmatic, focused on getting
by. e.g. ego wouldn't be bothered by stealing or cheating or setting loose the
pleasure principle as long as there is no danger involved. Latin for "I".
Reality principle: idea that actions must take into account the constraints
of external reality.
Superego: component that seeks moral perfection. Develops while the person
resolves a particular conflict during development. Embodiment of parental and
social values. i Introjection: absorbing the values of your parents into your
superego. Operates on all three levels. Latin for "over I". Two divisions:
Ego ideal: comprises rules for good behaviour or standards of excellence.
Thus, reflects on things to strive for.
Conscience: compromises rules about what behaviours the parents
disapprove of and punish. Thus, reflects on things to avoid. >> makes us
feel guilty/ashamed
It tries to prevent any id impulse that would be frowned upon by one's parents.
Second, it tries to force the ego to act morally, rather than rationally. Third, tries
to guide the person toward perfection in thought. Exerts a civilizing influence on
the person. Like id, superego is not bound to reality.
Ego strength: the ability of the ego to function despite competing demands of
the id, superego, and reality.
Catharsis: the release of emotional tension as a result of built-up. e.g.
aggression: (1) engaging in aggression should reduce tension, because the urge
is no longer bottled up. (2) this act dissipates the urge's energy, the person
should be less likely to be aggressive again in the near future. Because so much
energy is built up the aggression that is released can be quite brutal.
Types of anxiety:
Reality/objective anxiety: control of the ego is being threatened
by an external factor rather than by an internal conflict. We deal with
it by avoiding
Neurotic anxiety: direct conflict id and ego. The danger that the ego
loses control over an unacceptable desire of the id. e.g. worrying
excessively about maybe blurting out an unacceptable thought or
desire in public.
, Parapraxis: a slip of the tongue, behaviour or memory.
Moral anxiety: conflict between ego and superego. Ego faces a
difficult task in attempting to balance the impulses of the id, the
demands of the superego, and the realities of the external world. A
powerful superego also contributes to this type of anxiety, because a
person will challenge himself to live up to higher and higher
expectations.
Mechanisms of defence: efforts to protect oneself from anxiety. (1) protect
ego and (2) minimize anxiety and distress. They all operate unconsciously and
distort or transform reality in one way or another
Repression: the process of preventing an idea or impulse from
becoming conscious. Partial repression: you haven't forgotten it,
when reminded of it you're still aware of it. Energy is permanently
tied up. Suppression is conscious.
Denial: a refusal to believe that some real condition exists or event
took place. e.g. mother refuses to believe her son has been killed in
combat. A student who receives a failing grade and assumes there's
been made some sort of mistake. Deal with threats from other
sources. Dismissing unflattering feedback as wrong.
Similar>>Fundamental attribution error.
Projection: ascribing a threatening urge or quality in yourself to
someone else. Provides a way to hide your knowledge of a disliked
aspects of yourself while still expressing that quality, though in a
highly distorted way. Helps true desires into the open in one form or
another, releasing some energy required to repress them, desires
emerge in such a way that the ego and superego don't recognize it as
belonging to you. e.g. Married men who have affairs are more
suspicious of their wives cheating than other husbands. A person
calling someone stupid because they are insecure about their own
intellectual ability. Similar >> False consensus effect.
Rationalization: Finding a plausible/rational but incorrect
explanation for an unacceptable action or event. e.g. man who cheats
on his income tax may rationalize his behaviour as reducing the
amount of money spent on weapons in the world. Not getting into
medical school >> didn't want to be a doctor anyway.
Intellectualization: the process of thinking about something
clinically and without emotion. It separates and isolates the
threatening event from the feeling that normally would accompany it.
Dissociating thoughts from feelings. e.g. women finds out her
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