Freud’s Beliefs Freud believed that personality and behaviour were shaped by: Early childhood experiences Unconscious thought That parental behaviour was crucial to ‘normal’ development Personality and mental health problems in adulthood can usually be traced back to the first five years

This Be The Verse By Philip Larkin They f@$k you up, your mum and dad.    They may not mean to, but they do.    They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. But they were f@$ked up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats,    Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another’s throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself.

Psychosexual Development People – including children – are basically hedonistic – they are driven to seek pleasure by gratifying the Id’s desires. Sources of pleasure are determined by the location of the libido (life-force). As a child moves through different developmental stages, location of libido and hence sources of pleasure change.

Psychosexual Stages Oral Anal Phallic Latent Genital The mouth – sucking, swallowing etc. EGO develops Anal The anus – withholding or expelling faeces Phallic The penis or clitoris - masturbation SUPEREGO develops Latent Little or no sexual motivation present Genital The penis or vagina – sexual intercourse

Fixation Oral Anal Phallic Forceful feeding Deprivation Early weaning Oral activities (e.g. smoking), dependency, aggression. Oral Toilet training: Too harsh Too lax Obsessiveness, tidiness, mean-ness; untidiness, generosity Anal Abnormal family set-up leading to unusual relationship with mother/father Vanity, self-obsession, sexual anxiety , inadequacy, inferiority, envy Phallic

Psychosexual stages of development: Age Range Erogenous zone(s) Consequences of Fixation Oral 0-1 years Mouth Orally aggressive: Signs include chewing gum or ends of pens. Orally Passive: Signs include smoking/eating. Fixation at this stage may result in passivity, gullibility, immaturity and manipulative personality Anal 2-3 years Bowel and bladder elimination Anal retentive: Obsession with organization or excessive neatness Anal expulsive: Reckless, careless, defiant, disorganized, Coprophiliac Phallic 4-6 years Genitals Oedipus complex (in boys only according to Freud) Electra complex (in girls only, later developed by Carl Jung) Latency 7-10 years (until puberty) Dormant sexual feelings (People do not tend to fixate at this stage, but if they do, they tend to be extremely sexually unfulfilled.) Genital 11+ years (Puberty and beyond) Sexual interests mature Frigidity, impotence, unsatisfactory relationships

Personality Development According to Freud, successful development through the psychosexual stages is essential for healthy personality. As we go through the stages, our personality develops; the id, ego and superego. Freud believed that these were separate and conflicting forces, requiring a balance for mental health and normal behaviour

The Id The id is the personality construct that we are born with. Need food... need drink... Need comfort... need burping... need sleep... need it NOW! The id is the personality construct that we are born with. Its energy is called the “libido”. It operates on the pleasure principle.

The Superego The superego is the 'ideal' force, the civilised, socially acceptable figure the person strives to be. It operates on the morality principle and includes our understanding of right and wrong. It opposes the id and is essentially and internalisation of rules passed down from our parents.

The Ego The ego is the reality principle. It must balance the drives of the Id and the control of the Superego. During toddlerhood, children come to realise that they are individuals. They recognize that they have their own desires, wants, and needs; the ego forms.

An Example e.g. There is one cake left on the table. ID – want the cake, needs to take the cake, isn’t concerned about others. SUPEREGO – I can’t have the cake, what if I left it for someone else, I will let someone else have it, don’t be greedy. EGO – I will wait for a few minutes, see if anyone else has it, I am rather hungry, if it is still there in 5 minutes then I’ll take it.

A Balancing Act The strength of each individual force is a factor in personality – If a person's Superego is too strong, they are seen as rigid, pompous or self righteous. If a person's Id is too strong, they are seen as delinquent, antisocial or self-centred.

Examples How it can go Wrong… According to Freud…that is

The Psyche (Personality) Id: Instincts Ego: Reality Superego: Morality

OK Guys – I’m in charge. Anything you want has to go through me. Healthy Psyche OK Guys – I’m in charge. Anything you want has to go through me. OK. OK. Id Ego Superego

Neurotic No fun. Superego Id Ego Listen up! I’m in charge, and you are not here to enjoy yourselves. Get ready for a double-size portion of anxiety with a side order of guilt! No fun. >whimper< Superego Id Ego

Psychotic Sex! Food! Drink! Drugs! NOW! Who turned out the lights? Id Ego Superego

Psychopathic OK then. Let’s go! Id Ego OK. First, gimme food. Then I want sex – lots of it and I don’t particularly care whether it’s with a willing partner. Then I want to hurt people. Badly. Probably be hungry again after that so… OK then. Let’s go! Id Ego

The Unconscious Thoughts Perceptions Memories Stored knowledge Fears The conscious. The small amount of mental activity we know about. Thoughts Perceptions Memories Stored knowledge Fears Unacceptable sexual desires Violent motives Irrational wishes Immoral urges Selfish needs Shameful experiences Traumatic experiences The preconscious. Things we could be aware of if we wanted or tried. Bad Worse Really Bad The unconscious. Things we are unaware of and cannot become aware of.

Motives Latent motives – the unconscious forces that drive our behaviour Manifest motives – the lies we tell ourselves to protect us from the truth www.psychlotron.org.uk

Psychoanalysis? Try to understand the unconscious thoughts of an individual Therapists use a range of techniques to access the unconscious thoughts Once the unconscious thoughts that are causing the abnormal behaviour are identified the individual and the therapist can talk through and resolve the conflict Sessions usually occur once a week and continue for a few months (can be years)

Techniques Used in Psychoanalysis Word Association Read a list of words one at a time Reply with a word that instantly comes to mind Therapist analyses the responses. Pays attention to hesitations and mental blanks (indicates repression)

Given the opportunity to speak about anything Free association Relax on a couch Given the opportunity to speak about anything Any thoughts, feelings, emotions, images that come to mind Therapist analyses what the client has said whilst in the relaxed state

Projection Inkblots Shown a series of inkblots and asked to quickly say what they can see The therapist then analyses the responses given Suggests the interpretations of the inkblots represent the repressed thoughts the individual has

Dream analysis Our unconscious thoughts are expressed in dreams Dreams disguise unconscious thoughts by using symbolic forms to protect the conscious mind Therapist will analyse the dream and interpret the symbolic forms e.g. a girl dreams her pigtails are cut off - has penis envy

If you Dream about… Long things that ‘jut out’ = Penis E.g. Mountains, sticks, umbrellas, poles, trees, baguettes, Objects which can be lengthened = Penis E.g. Aeriels, extendable pens, Objects from which water runs = Phallus E.g. Pipes, fountains, taps, watering-pots, hoses Things which go ‘up’ = Erection E.g. Helicopters, aeroplanes, rockets Penetration = Knives, weapons, swords, guns, rifles, cannons

Hollow objects that contain things = Vagina E.g.Cupboards, tunnels, boxes, bottles, suitcases, tins, pockets Entrances = Vagina E.g. Doors, gates, castles. Curvey objects = Breasts E.g. Footballs, apples, peaches, other fruits, Playing = Masturbation Rhythmical activities = Sexual intercourse E.g. Dancing, climbing, riding. Authority figures = Father plus the oedipus/electra complex E.g. Police, teachers, doctors…

Defence Mechanism Repression Denial 2. Sublimation 3. Projection As well as developing imbalance in our personalities Freud said that when things went wrong in our lives, which we cannot deal with, we develop defence mechanisms, such as: Repression Denial 2. Sublimation 3. Projection 4. Displacement 5. Regression

Repression Unconscious mechanism employed by the Ego to keep disturbing or threatening thoughts from becoming conscious. It does this to protect itself from traumatic experiences or painful experiences in childhood i.e abuse.

Denial Extreme form of self-protection which denies what has happened i.e. a smoker who may refuse to admit to themselves that smoking is bas for their health.

Projection Attributing own unacceptable thoughts/impulses onto someone else i.e. accusing a friend of not liking you when you really don’t like them

Sublimation Transforming aggressive and sexual desires into a socially acceptable expression i.e. Sport is an example of something constructive

Displacement Redirecting repressed desires and impulses on to a relatively safe target i.e. taking out your anger on someone else e.g. shouting at the dog after having an argument with your boss.

Freudian Slips... “Here’s your dinner my beheaded....I mean....beloved” What would Freud say about this? According to a common pun: “A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother.” ~ Author Unknown

Strengths of the Psychoanalytical Perspective Has enormous explanatory power for both normal and abnormal behaviour. Practical applications: it has had a huge impact on the world of counselling, psychotherapy and psychiatry. The idea of the motivated unconscious has had a huge impact on Western thought and literature. It treats the whole person, not just the problem.

Weaknesses of the Psychoanalytical Perspective Difficult to test the unconscious – whatever is not remembered can be said to be repressed – this is non-falsifiable. Case study method unrepresentative samples can not be generalised The therapeutic interview may be biased - accusations of implanting false memories by therapists leading to reconstructed memories.