1. Module 40: Psychodynamic Theories of Personality

2. Personality: An individual’s characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors [persisting over time and across situations] Sensitive, Reactive Naïve Agreeable, Open Introverted Neurotically irritable Conscientious Contentedly lethargic

3.  These theories of human personality focus on the inner forces that interact to make us who we are.  In this view: behavior, as well as human emotions and personality, develop in a dynamic (interacting, changing) interplay between conscious and unconscious processes, including various motives and inner conflicts. Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Theories

4.  Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) started his career as a Vienna physician.  He decided to explore how mental and physical symptoms could be caused by purely psychological factors.  He became aware that many powerful mental processes operate in the unconscious, without our awareness.  This insight grew into a theory of the structure of human personality and its development.  His name for his theory and his therapeutic technique: psychoanalysis. Freud’s Path to Developing Psychonalysis

5. Techniques for revealing the unconscious mind:  He used creative techniques such as free association: he encouraged the patient to speak whatever comes to mind, then the therapist verbally traces a flow of thoughts into the past and into the unconscious.  He also suggested meanings for slips of the tongue (as in this cartoon) and for the “latent” content of dreams. Psychoanalysis: Techniques

6. Freud’s Personality/Mind Iceberg Personality develops from the efforts of our ego, our rational self, to resolve tension between our id, based in biological drives, and the superego, society’s rules and constraints. The Mind is mostly below the surface of conscious awareness The Unconscious, in Freud’s view: A reservoir of thoughts, wishes, feelings, memories, that are hidden from awareness because they feel unacceptable.

7. We start life with a personality made up of the id, striving impulsively to meet basic needs, living by “the pleasure principle.” In a toddler, an ego develops, a self that has thoughts, judgments, and memories following a “reality principle”, though still focused on serving the id’s needs. Around age 4 or 5, the child develops the superego, a conscience internalized from parents and society, following the ideals of a “morality principle.” The ego works as the “executive” of this three-part system, to manage bodily needs and wishes in a socially acceptable way. The Developing Personality

8. Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Stages  The id is focused on the needs of erogenous zones, sensitive areas of the body.  People feel shame about these needs and can get fixated at one stage, never resolve how to manage the needs of that zone’s needs.

9. Sigmund Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual development The Oral Stage -1 st year of life The Oral Stage -1 st year of life Infants explore the world by picking up objects and putting them in their mouth Receive main source of pleasure – food – with their mouth If a child’s needs are not met at this stage they may become fixated Fixations as an adult may include: Smoking, overeating, excessive talking, nail biting May also have clinging, dependent interpersonal relationships

10. Anal Stage – between 1 ½-2 ½ Children learn that they can control their own bodily functions Children learn that they can control their own bodily functions Self-control come into play Self-control come into play Conflict in this stage can lead to adult personality traits Conflict in this stage can lead to adult personality traits Anal-retentive – perfectionism and excessive needs for order and cleanliness Anal-retentive – perfectionism and excessive needs for order and cleanliness Anal-expulsive – less restrained, careless, and messy Anal-expulsive – less restrained, careless, and messy

11. Phallic Stage – ages 3-5 Begin to discover the physical differences between the two sexes and become more focused on their own bodies Begin to discover the physical differences between the two sexes and become more focused on their own bodies Girls have penis envy Girls have penis envy May also develop attachment to the opposite sex May also develop attachment to the opposite sex Oedipus Complex- boys long after their mother – see father as a rival Electra Complex – girls long after their father – see mother as a rival The complex emotions of this stage can lead to several psychological disorders later in life including depression, excessive guilt, and anxiety

12. Latency Stage – age 5 or 6 – about puberty Retreat from conflict with parents and repress all aggressive urges Retreat from conflict with parents and repress all aggressive urges Latency means “hidden” impulses remain hidden or unconscious Latency means “hidden” impulses remain hidden or unconscious It is a “time-out” period It is a “time-out” period

13. Genital Stage enter at about puberty Do not encounter any new psychological conflicts during this period but does become aware of own gender identity Do not encounter any new psychological conflicts during this period but does become aware of own gender identity Conflicts of earlier stages may resurface Conflicts of earlier stages may resurface

14. Male Development Issues  Freud believed that as boys in the phallic stage seek genital stimulation, they begin to develop unconscious sexual desires for their mothers and hate their fathers as a rival, feeling guilt and fearing punishment by castration.  He named these feelings “the Oedipus complex,” after a story from Greek mythology. Resolution of this conflict: Boys identify with their fathers rather than seeing them as a rival.

15. Defending Against Anxiety Freud believed that we are anxious about our unacceptable wishes and impulses, and we repress this anxiety with the help of the strategies below.

16. Which Defense Mechanism Am I? A politician gives anti-gay speeches, then turns out to have homosexual tendencies.  Reaction Formation Someone with an anger problem accuses everyone else of being angry and threatening.  Projection  These two are sometimes confused with each other.  The common theme, as with all defense mechanisms: they seek to prevent being conscious of unacceptable feelings.  The difference: the first one compensates, the second one distracts.

17. Neo-Freudian, Psychodynamic Theorists  The importance of the unconscious and childhood relationships in shaping personality  The id/ego/superego structure of personality  The role of defense mechanisms in reducing anxiety about uncomfortable ideas  Adler and Horney believed that anxiety and personality are a function of social, not sexual tensions in childhood  Jung believed that we have a collective unconscious, containing images from our species’ experiences, not just personal repressed memories and wishes Psychodynamic theorists, such as Adler, Horney, and Jung, accepted Freud’s ideas about: Psychodynamic theorists differed from Freud in a few ways:

18. Carl Jung Alfred Adler Karen Horney Criticized the Freudian portrayal of women as weak and subordinate to men. She highlighted the need to feel secure in relationships. Focused on the fight against feelings of inferiority as a theme at the core of personality, although he may have been projecting from his own experience. Highlighted universal themes in the unconscious as a source of creativity and insight. Found opportunities for personal growth by finding meaning in moments of coincidence. More About the Psychodynamic Theorists

19. Assessing the Unconscious: Psychodynamic Personality Assessment  Freud tried to get unconscious themes to be projected into the conscious world through free association and dream analysis.  Projective tests are a structured, systematic exposure to a standardized set of ambiguous prompts, designed to reveal inner dynamics. Rorschach test: “what do you see in these inkblots?” Problem: Results don’t link well to traits (low validity) and different raters get different results (low reliability).

20. Evidence has updated Freud’s ideas  Development appears to be lifelong, not set in stone by childhood.  Infant neural networks are not mature enough to create a lifelong impact of childhood trauma.  Peers have more influence on personality, and parents less, than Freud assumed.  Dreams, as well as slips of the tongue, have many possible origins, less likely to reveal deep unconscious conflicts and wishes.  We may ignore threatening information, but traumatic memories are usually intensely remembered, not repressed.  Still, sexual abuse stories are more likely to be fact, less likely to be wish fulfillment, than Freud thought.  Gender and sexual identity seems to be more a function of genetics than Oedipus conflicts and relationships with parents.

21. The Unconscious As Seen Today: Processing, Perceptions, and Priming, But Not a Place The following processes operate at an unconscious level, not because they’re repressed, but because they are automatic:  Schemas guide our perceptions  Right hemisphere makes choices the left hemisphere doesn’t verbalize  Conditioned responses, learned skills and procedures, all guide our actions without conscious recall  Emotions get activated  Stereotypes influence our reactions  Priming affects our choices Unconscious: a stream, not a reservoir

22. Freud’s Legacy  Freud benefitted psychology, giving us ideas about: the impact of childhood on adulthood, and human irrationality, sexuality, evil, defenses, anxiety, and the tension between our biological selves and our socialized/civilized selves.  Most colleges have courses related to psychoanalysis outside of psychology departments!  Freud gave us specific concepts we still use often, such as ego, projection, regression, rationalization, dream interpretation, inferiority “complex,” oral fixation, sibling rivalry, and Freudian slips. Not bad for someone writing over 100 years ago with no technology for seeing inside the brain.