Personality – Psychoanalytic (Psychodynamic) Perspective RG 10a Modified PowerPoint from: Aneeq Ahmad -- Henderson State University. Worth Publishers © 2007

Psychodynamic Perspective In his clinical practice, Freud encountered patients suffering from nervous disorders whose complaints could not be explained in terms of purely physical causes…referred to this as hysteria and said there had to be a psychological cause for the ailments he was seeing. From this…developed first comprehensive personality theory ever! Culver Pictures Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Exploring the Unconscious A reservoir (unconscious mind) of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories. Freud asked patients to say whatever came to their mind (free association) to tap the unconscious. http://www.english.upenn.edu

Psychoanalysis The process of free association (chain of thoughts) led to painful, embarrassing unconscious memories. Once these memories were retrieved and released (treatment: psychoanalysis) the patient felt better.

Parts of the Mind The mind is like an iceberg…with the largest and most important part (unconscious) hidden from awareness. conscious what you are currently aware of preconscious info not in consciousness, but is retrievable as needed S & A S & A unconscious Out of awareness…yet can dictate behaviors S & A

Unconscious influences Latent content of dreams symbolic meaning of dream images = what is in your unconscious mind Freudian slip Slips of the tongue that Freud believed were our true, unconscious thoughts surfacing

Personality Structure Id, Ego and Superego Id unconsciously strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives operating on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. Largely conscious, ego functions as the “executive” and mediates the demands of id and superego…operates on the reality principle Superego provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations…operates on the moral principle

Personality Development Freud believed that personality formed during life’s first few years divided into psychosexual stages. During these stages the id’s pleasure seeking energies focus on pleasure sensitive body areas called erogenous zones. OBJECTIVE 44-5| Identify Freud’s psychosexual stages of development, and describe the effects of fixation on behavior.

Psychosexual Stages Oral (0-1): obtain pleasure from the mouth via sucking, biting, swallowing Anal (1-3): pleasure obtained by learning to control bodily wastes

Psychosexual Stages Phallic (3-5): most crucial stage (according to Freud) – curious about genitalia and deal with incestuous feelings Oedipus Complex: boy has unconscious desire for mom and jealous/hatred for dad…fears punishment (castration) if dad finds out about these feelings Electra Complex: the female version of the Oedipus Complex (added later by Karen Horney and Freud’s daughter, Anna)

Identification…end of Phallic Stage Children cope with threatening feelings by repressing them and by identifying with the rival parent…basically the “if you can’t beat them, join them” sentiment. Through this process of identification their superego gains strength incorporating parents’ values.

Psychosexual Stages Latent (5-12): suppress sexual interest – play mostly with same sex peers Genital (12 & up): adult sexuality Express sexual feelings toward others

Fixation If traumatic events occur…one can become “stuck” in that particular stage of psychosexual development. Oral Fixation… seek excessive oral contact through smoking, drinking, eating dependence, either passive or biting sarcasm/act tough Anal Fixation anal retentive – controlled and orderly anal expulsive – messy and disorganized

Defense Mechanisms methods used by ego to unconsciously protect itself against anxiety caused by conflict between id’s demands & superego’s constraints only unhealthy when they cause self-defeating behavior and emotional problems

Defense Mechanisms Repression – we avoid painful thoughts by forcing them into the back of our mind Underlies ALL other defense mech. EX…witness a murder, not remember the details when asked by police Regression – we retreat to behaving or thinking like a child in order to avoid adult issues Throwing a temper tantrum when you do not get what you want

Defense Mechanisms Displacement – divert sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable person or object EX…angry at mom, take out that anger on the family dog Projection – disguise threatening impulses by attributing them to others EX…want to break up with bf/gf, accuse him/her of wanting to break up with you

Defense Mechanisms Sublimation – we expend energy on prosocial activities in order to avoid undesirable activities EX…you like to hit things so take up boxing as a hobby Reaction formation – make unacceptable impulses into their opposite, acceptable form EX…you really dislike psychology teacher, but tell everyone how much you love her

Defense Mechanisms Rationalization – we try to create logical explanations of our behavior in order to justify it. EX…want to go to the movies with friends, so justify going instead of studying for exam by stating that you would have failed anyway Denial – we refuse to perceive “reality” in order to protect ourselves from it EX…get rejection letter from college of choice, but still tell everyone you are going there

The Neo-Freudians Like Freud, Adler believed in childhood tensions, however these tensions were social in nature and not sexual. A child struggles with the inferiority complex during growth and strives for superiority and power. National Library of Medicine Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

The Neo-Freudians Like Adler, Horney believed in the social aspects of childhood growth and development…children were trying to overcome a sense of helplessness. She countered Freud’s assumption that women have weak superegos and suffer “penis envy.” The Bettmann Archive/ Corbis Karen Horney (1885-1952)

The Neo-Freudians Jung believed in the collective unconscious which contained a common reservoir of images derived from our species’ past. Archetypes are the universal, symbolic images that appear across cultures in myths, art, stories and dreams Carl Jung (1875-1961) “Evil “            “Hero”

Assessing Unconscious Processes Evaluating personality from an unconscious mind perspective would require a psychological instrument (projective tests) that would reveal the hidden unconscious mind. Two main projective tests used: Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Rorschach Inkblot

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Developed by Henry Murray, TAT is a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Rorschach Inkblot Test The most widely used projective test with a set of 10 inkblots was designed by Hermann Rorschach. It seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots. Lew Merrim/ Photo Researcher, Inc.

Projective Tests: Criticisms Critics argue that projective test lack both reliability (consistency of results) and validity (predicting what it is supposed to). Even trained raters evaluating the same patient come up with different interpretations (reliability). 2. And projective tests may misdiagnose a normal individual as pathological (validity).