Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory But, before we get to Siggy himself, let us consider… …personality, which is… …an individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving - attempt to describe and explain how people are similar, how they are different, and why every individual is unique Issues w/ personality theory include: - time - place - translation

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory criticisms today - outdated - unscientific - cannot be proven - sexist - too much emphasis on sexuality - too narrow - Freud, himself, was stubborn Emphasis on the unconscious processes and early childhood experience - thank him for: exploring unconscious scientifically understanding importance of childhood experience significance of sexuality & need to discuss openly

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Family Photo, c – Freud is standing third from left - Born 1856 in Morovia (today is Czech Republic) - first of eight children - family moved to Vienna at age 1 - mother (Amalie) was 20 years younger than father (Jacob) - favored by mom - anti-semitism - after medical school, studied hypnosis in Paris with Jacques Charcot - return to Vienna in 1886 to open medical practice; marries Martha Bernays

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory The story of Anna O. Josef Breuer – Freud’s early mentor - develops concept of catharsis - psychic release of energy Anna O. – hysteric - introduced to Freud by Breuer - through hypnosis, Anna O. relieved of some symptoms - falls in love with Breuer - contributes to Freud’s later theory - coins term “talking cure” - becomes social worker in Germany

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Finally – his theory! - Psychoanalysis is both an approach to therapy and a theory of personality - emphasizes unconscious motivation – the main causes of behavior lie buried in the unconscious mind

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Freud’s iceberg analogy

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Conscious – all things we are aware of at any given moment Preconscious – everything that can, with a little effort, be brought into consciousness Unconscious – inaccessible warehouse of anxiety- producing thoughts and drives

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Id - instinctual drives present at birth - biological does not distinguish between reality and fantasy operates according to the pleasure principle Ego - develops out of the id in infancy understands reality and logic mediator between id and superego Superego - societal internalization of society’s moral standards responsible for guilt

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Id & the Pleasure Principle Pleasure principle - drive toward immediate gratification, most fundamental human motive Sources of energy Eros - life instinct, perpetuates life Thanatos - death instinct, aggression, self-destructive actions Libido - sexual energy or motivation

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Ego & the Reality Principle Reality principle - ability to postpone gratification in accordance with demands of reality Ego - rational, organized, logical, mediator to demands of reality Can repress desires that cannot be met in an acceptable manner

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Superego: the conscience (no, not conscious!) - internalization of societal and parental values - partially unconscious - can be harshly punitive using feelings of guilt - 2 parts - conscience  based on societal restraints, i.e., punishments - ego ideal  image of perfect self – being good because you are a good person

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Ego Defense Mechanisms ego placed under stress by battle between id (biological instincts) and superego (societal rules) - interested in neurotic anxiety (also identified realistic & moral anxiety - neurotic anxiety creates need for ego to protect itself - unconscious mental processes employed by the ego to reduce anxiety

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Ego Defense Mechanisms Repression - keeping anxiety-producing thoughts out of the conscious mind - “motivated forgetting” - after being caught cheating on math test freshman year, you can only “remember” a few events of freshman year Denial – failure to recognize or acknowledge the existence of anxiety- producing information - “it never happened” - after getting news of terminal illness from doctor, claiming you never visited the doctor

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Ego Defense Mechanisms Rationalization - reasoning away anxiety- producing thoughts -the “little white lie” - “…I would have done better if the teacher didn’t suck…” Displacement – reducing anxiety by finding a substitute target for your frustration/anger, usually someone who less threatening - yelling at your younger sibling because your parents grounded you

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Ego Defense Mechanisms Projection – attributing undesirable qualities about oneself to others - since you have been unable to get a job, you say students who work part-time are greedy - despite poor grades, you call others “stupid” You’re a chicken!! Reaction Formation - replacing an unacceptable wish or thought with its opposite - threatened by growing attraction to girls, you pick on girls and call them nasty names

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Ego Defense Mechanisms Sublimation – a form of displacement when undesirable sexual urges are replaced by productive non-sexual activities - Freud believed all great accomplishments in history were forms of sublimation - Freud developed his theory while avoiding sexual relations with his wife - Michelangelo created his art to avoid dealing with his sexual orientation

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Stages of Psychosexual Development Freud’s five stages of personality development, each associated with a particular erogenous zone - area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity - derive pleasure - each stage may result in a fixation if inherent conflict is not resolved properly - an attempt to achieve pleasure as an adult in ways that are equivalent to how it was achieved in these stages  caused by a stoppage in normal development through the stage

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Stages of Psychosexual Development Stage 1 – Oral Stage (birth to 1) - erogenous zone  mouth - conflict  weaning - oral fixations  smoking, chewing gum, sucking thumb, etc. - oral passive  quiet because they cannot change things - oral aggressive  loud because they feel they can change things

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Stages of Psychosexual Development Stage 2 – Anal Stage (1-3 years) - erogenous zone – - conflict – - fixation  anal retentive – potty-trained too early - as an adult  fastidious, neat, typical obsessive-compulsive  anal expulsive – trained late - as an adult  sloppy, careless, disorganized anus potty-training

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Stages of Psychosexual Development Stage 3 – Phallic Stage (3-7 years) - first, what’s a phallus? - next – don’t count on a picture here! Instead, - erogenous zone? that’s right, it’s a penis the penis, whether you got one or not!  I’ll give you a phallic symbol Wait a minute! Girls don’t have a penis! What is Freud talking about?? He must be a pervert!!

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Phallic Stage But before we throw him completely under the bus… - focus turns to the genitals for both genders - Oedipus Complex (or Electra Complex for girls) - toddlers begin identification of normal relationship as mother & father - boys want to marry their mothers, girls their fathers

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Phallic Stage Oedipus Complex - boy wants to marry mom, but cannot  - dad is powerful because he has bigger…  symbol of power  dad is stronger - mom has no penis – DAD That’s right! Powerful dad cut it off! Castration Anxiety – fear that dad will cut off the boy’s penis - need to kill dad to prevent castration and get dad out of the way to marry mom! what happened?

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Phallic Stage Electra Complex - girl always knew she did not begin with penis - wants to marry dad  no fear of mom  not powerful - does not need to kill mom – just replace her - instead becomes jealous of penis - Penis Envy Which is a more powerful force? Castration Anxiety? Penis Envy?

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Phallic Stage Fixations - Boys – wins mom’s affection - feminine, arrogant - loses mom’s affection - poor self-worth, may withdraw from sexual activity or try to be “ladies man” - Girls – wins dad’s affection - masculine, vain, self-centered - loses dad’s affection - poor self-worth, acquiesce to demands, immature sexual behaviors

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Stages of Psychosexual Development Stage 4 – Latency Stage (7-12 years) - Sexuality is repressed - Children participate in hobbies, school, and same-sex friendships - Girls have cooties - no fixations - no conflicts - need time to recover energy expended in last stage

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Stages of Psychosexual Development Stage 5 – Genital Stage (12 – 18 years) - sexual feelings re-emerge and are oriented toward others - need to consummate “normal” sexual relationship - healthy adults find pleasure in love and work, fixated adults have their energy tied up in earlier stages

Sigmund Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory Techniques to get into the unconscious or what happens during psychoanalysis - dreams – “Royal Road to the unconscious” dreams – “Royal Road to the unconscious” - hypnosis - parapraxes – “Freudian slips” and doodlings - free associations - projective testsprojective tests - Talk therapy - transference - resistance - catharsis