✯ freud ✯

• Freud psychodynamic explanation of aggression 🧌


  The unconscious is a part of mind containing thoughts, memories and desires we are unaware of (bottom of iceberg). It is an active processor of its contents - requires a lot of psychic energy to keep them unconscious.

  It can be the cause of aggressive actions when we do not have aggressive thought (that we're conscious of) - behaviour may be influenced by 'hidden' aggressive urges
• Freud: id + pleasure principle

  The id exists from birth and is in unconscious mind. It is the origin of the energy that motivates our behaviour, including aggression, instincts, impulses or drives that are socially unacceptable

  id obeys the pleasure principle - demands immediate gratification of its desires without considering other factors liken social reality

  This makes aggression unavoidable and inevitable - we can't eradicate it so we should direct it (this is what ego does)
• Freud: ego + reality principle

  Ego is the logical, rational and mostly copious part of personality. It follows the reality principle - in the middle of unrealistic desires of the id and social reality (expectations society has from you)

  Ego has no moral sense and does not judge the id - only controls and redirects its urges
• Example of ego role

  Ego does not fill id's urges directly but does so indirectly & symbolically

  eg. when wanting to punch someone who has annoyed you but instead fantasise about violence
• Freud: superego - moral principle

  fufills 'moral' role and emerges around 5-6 years -represents our conscious and ideal image of ourselves we'd like to live up to

  Opposes id's aggressive drive through guilt and shame when we fail to meet our highest moral standards

  Superego is just as irrational and punishing in its demands as id
• Freud: catharsis & aggression

  Aggression is an instinctive drive that can be satisfied by catharsis - expressing aggression (eg venting) as it releases psychic energy and reduces the drive as further aggression is less likely

  Preventing catharsis creates a build up of energy which will eventually produce a destructive outburst (outwards - assault or inwards - self-harm etc)
• Catharsis 2

  Freud believed that direct expression of the impulse in aggressive behaviour was most beneficial, but can be achieved indirectly:

  Displacement - where aggression towards one person (eg boss) is redirected against a less powerful and more available substitute (eg younger bro)

  Observing others behaving aggressively like a violent film
• Eros and Thanatos

  Thanatos - death instinct (everyone has an instinct towards self destruction) is constantly in conflict with Eros (life instinct) + we protect ourselves by using ego defence mechanisms - direct aggression outwardly
• Freud: repression + precocious

  blocking conscious thoughts and placing them in the unconscious

  pre - thoughts we can become aware of if we tried
• Freud strength

  Applied to develop therapy 'psychoanalysis' which involves catharsis. This is the release of pent up psychic energy to decrease aggression by bringing repressed memories / childhood trauma from the unconscious to the conscious
• Freud strength 2

  He generated his theory from in depth case studies in which he looked at many aspects of a person's background and mental state (eg. Anna O & Little Albert - 4 year old boy w phobia of horses which was interpreted as jealousy of his father and infatuation of mother - oedious complex). Theory built from valid data BUT can't generalise a few cases
• Freud weakness

  Unfalsifiable concepts eg parts of mind (conscious and unconscious) or id/superego/ego cannot be measured and are not tangible. Interpretation
• Freud weakness 2

  Bushman made 600 college students angry by getting a confederate to criticise an essay each of them had written. One randomly picked group were allowed to vent anger by hitting a punching bag. These students blasted Bushman w loudest noises in subsequent task compared to controls who didn't vent. Catharsis increases not decreases aggression
• Ego defence mechanisms

  repression - mem into the unconscious

  regression - act child like

  displacement - take out anger on someone else
• Extra article stuff

  Aggression links to the death instinct - it helps release the drive towards death in everyone (Thanatos) - these drives are unconscious
• Benign v destructive aggression

  Benign - response to a threat in environment (natural)

  Destructive - to achieve own goals

  Aggressive part of any desire turns to guilt as it is caught up in superego