baron-cohen + freud

• Individual differences - Assumptions


  To understand the human mind and behaviour we must focus on the differences between people rather than what we have in common. These individual differences can be measured e.g. through psychometric tests. Each person's behaviour is due to; genetics, social experiences and personal qualities which makes it unique.
• Psychodynamic perspective - Assumptions


  Most behaviour is driven by unconscious motives. Childhood is a critical period of development. Mental disorders arise from unresolved, unconscious conflicts originating in childhood. Resolution occur through accessing and coming to terms with repressed ideas and conflict.
• Id


  It is the INSTINCTIVE aspect of the personality. It operates on the PLEASURE PRINCIPLE. It demands immediate satisfaction and doesn't care about REALITY. Freud described babies as 'bundles of id'.
• Ego


  It is the LOGICAL aspect of the personality. It operates on the REALITY PRINCIPLE. It can make conscious and rational decisions that reflect the demands of instinct (Id), morality (Superego) and external reality (Environment).
• Superego

  It is the MORAL aspect of the personality. It develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our parents/caregivers. It dictates our belief of right and wrong.
• Ego Strength

  The ability of the ego to effectively deal with the demands of the id and superego.
• If the Id is the strongest, the person will be judgemental and rigid.
• If the Superego is the strongest, the person will be a 'saint' and feel guilty.</b>
• Defence Mechanism

  Operate at an unconscious level. Ward off unpleasant feelings i.e. anxieties. BUT they do not resolve the conflict and so can lead to abnormality.
• Repression


  Stops disturbing or threatening thoughts becoming conscious.
• Denial

  Blocking external events from awareness – simply refusing to experience them.
• Projection


  An individual attributing their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings and motives to another person.
• Other defence mechanisms include displacement, regression, sublimation, reaction formation, rationalisation and identification with the aggressor.
• Conscious


  I'm hungry so I'll go and eat a sandwich.
• Preconscious


  Contains thoughts and feelings that a person is not currently aware of, but which can easily be brought to consciousness. It exists just below the level of consciousness, before the unconscious mind.
• Unconscious


  Comprises mental processes that are inaccessible to consciousness but that influence judgements, feelings, or behavior. According to Freud (1915), the unconscious mind is the primary source of human behavior.
• According to Freud, the boy 'Little Hans' developed a phobia of horses because horses represent the father, and Hans was experiencing castration anxiety as a natural part of the Oedipus Complex.
• Freudian slip


  When you say one thing but mean your mother.
• Psychosexual Development

  Our personality develops throughout our childhood. We develop through a set of stages which are determined by nature (e.g. maturation) and nurture (e.g. how the child is treated). Each stage is characterised by a focus on a different region of the body, where LIBIDO or SEXUAL DRIVE is fixated.
• Oral stage 0-1.5 years


  Mouth, lips, tongue, sucking, biting. First erogenous zone to make libidinous demands. Fixation in this stage results in dependency and aggression.
• Anal stage 1.5-3 years


  The libido now becomes focused on the anus and the child derives great pleasure from defecating. The child is now fully aware that they are a person in their own right and that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside world (i.e. their ego has developed).
• Anal stage 1.5-3 years - FIXATION


  Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive personality who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of authority. They can be stubborn and tight-fisted with their cash and possessions. The anal expulsive, on the other hand, underwent a liberal toilet-training regime during the anal stage. In adulthood the anal expulsive is the person who wants to share things with you. They like giving things away. An anal-expulsive personality is also messy, disorganized and rebellious.
• Phallic stage 3-6 years

  Penis/clitoris, masturbation, emotional crisis, Oedipus Complex, critical stage for moral development. The child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in motion the conflict between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls). This is resolved through the process of identification, which involves the child adopting the characteristics of the same sex parent.
• Phallic stage 3-6 years - FIXATION


  Unresolved sexual competition for the opposite-sex parent might lead to a phallic-stage fixation. A woman may strive to dominate men or become unusually submissive. A man may become vain and over-ambitious.
• Latency period – From around 6 years – puberty


  No further psychosexual development takes place during this stage (latent means hidden). The libido is dormant. Freud thought that most sexual impulses are repressed during the latent stage and sexual energy can be sublimated (focused towards) school work, hobbies and friendships.
• Genital stage – Puberty until death


  It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful resolution of which is settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another person in our 20's. Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure, rather than self pleasure like during the phallic stage. For Freud, the proper outlet of the sexual instinct in adults was through heterosexual intercourse.
• Freud documented the case of Little Hans to show his fears, dreams and fantasies were symbolic of his unconscious passing through the phallic stage of psychosexual development
• The aim of Freud's study of Little Hans was to treat his anxiety and phobias
• Freud used a longitudinal case study method, gathering detailed information on Little Hans' fantasies, fears and phobias from his father
• Little Hans was 3-5 years old at the time of the study, and lived in Vienna, Austria
• Just before 3 years old, Hans started to show a lively interest in his "widdler" and the presence or absence of this organ in others
• Autism


  Aut = self, ism = state
• 1 in every 68 people have autism
• Autism is identified from age 18 months to 2 years
• Boys are 5 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than females
• You are born with autism and you can't grow out of it
• People on the autistic spectrum


  • May find planning, change, and busy environments difficult to cope with, but they also can have heightened senses, higher IQs
• Asperger's is a form of autism
• Stimming can cause comfort and isn't a bad thing
• Low functioning autism (LFA)


  Causes behaviors that inhibit the ability to conduct daily life