SOCSCI Psychoanalysis

• Psychoanalysis


  An approach that subscribes to the idea that each of us has an unconscious part that contains ideas, memories, desires, or thoughts that have been hidden or repressed because they are psychologically dangerous or threatening to our self-concept
• Unconscious mind


  A repository of feelings and urges of which we have no awareness
• Self-concept

  How we know and see ourselves
• Sigmund Freud


  • Developed psychoanalysis in the early 1900s
  • Focuses on how the unconscious part of our minds influences a person's idea of himself or herself, his or her overall development of personality, or his or her concept of the self in general
• Conscious thoughts


  Wishes, thoughts, and desires that we are aware of, or can recall, at any given moment
• Unconscious thoughts/forces


  Wishes, thoughts, or desires that we automatically repress and cannot voluntarily access because of their disturbing or threatening content
• The conscious mind and process is merely a small part of the total mental activity according to Freud
• Conscious thoughts


  The part of our brain that we are aware of, helps us make sense of our everyday interactions and surroundings
• Unconscious thoughts/forces can influence an individual's behavior without them even realizing it
• Unconscious motivation is the influence of repressed thoughts, desires, or impulses on conscious thoughts and behavior
• Techniques to unlock the unconscious mind

  1. Free association

  2. Dream interpretation

  3. Freudian slips
• Free association


  Free-flowing, uncensored talking that will provide clues to unconscious forces
• Dream interpretation


  Freud believed dreams are the purest forms of free association
• Freudian slips


  Unintentionally reveal unconscious thoughts or desires
• Freud's psychoanalytic theory and techniques were considered monumental and revolutionary in the early 1900s
• Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia (in what is now the Czech Republic) to a middle-class Jewish family
• Freud started his career as a neurologist but later worked at the Vienna General Hospital
• Freud's primary contribution to psychology is his psychoanalytic theory, which is widely influential in theories of personality, personality development, and therapeutic methods
• Freud's psychoanalytic theory


  Assumes there exists an ongoing conflict within an individual's mind — between the conscious and the unconscious
• Id


  The first division of the mind to develop, contains two biological drives—sex and aggression—that are the source of all psychic or mental energy, operates based on the pleasure principle
• Ego

  Emphasizes logical and realistic thinking, mediates between the id and the superego
• Superego


  Represents the internalized values and morals of society, acts as the conscience, tries to control the id's impulses
• The id, ego, and superego are hypothetical constructs and do not actually exist inside our brains
• Iceberg metaphor

  The conscious part of our minds is like the top layer of the iceberg, the preconscious mind is like the layer directly below it, and the unconscious mind is like the larger layer below the surface
• The preconscious mind acts as a gatekeeper that guards the information allowed to the conscious part of our minds
• Id

  The first division of the mind to develop, which contains two biological drives—sex and aggression—that are the source of all psychic or mental energy. Its goal is to pursue pleasure and satisfy an individual's biological drives
• Ego


  Freud's second division of the mind that develops from the id during infancy, with the goal of finding safe and socially acceptable ways of satisfying the id's desires and to negotiate between the id's wants and the superego's prohibition
• Superego


  Freud's third division of the mind that develops from the ego during early childhood. Its goal is to apply the moral values and standards of one's parents or caregivers and society in satisfying one's wishes
• Dominance of the id

  Leads to impulsiveness
• Dominance of the superego

  Can create a rigidly moralistic persona
• Dominance of the ego


  May lead to an inflexible personality
• A balance among the three components (id, ego, superego) is important to have a healthy personality
• Anxiety refers to an uncomfortable feeling that results from inner conflicts between the primitive desires of the id and the moral goals of the superego
• Defense mechanisms


  Mental processes that operate at unconscious levels and use self-deception or untrue explanations to protect the ego from being overwhelmed by anxiety
• Defense mechanisms

  • Rationalization
  • Denial
  • Repression
• Id


  The first division of the mind to develop, which contains two biological drives—sex and aggression—that are the source of all psychic or mental energy. Its goal is to pursue pleasure and satisfy an individual's biological drives.
• Ego

  Freud's second division of the mind that develops from the id during infancy, with the goal of finding safe and socially acceptable ways of satisfying the id's desires and to negotiate between the id's wants and the superego's prohibition.
• Superego

  Freud's third division of the mind that develops from the ego during early childhood. Its goal is to apply the moral values and standards of one's parents or caregivers and society in satisfying one's wishes.
• The id refers to the feelings and urges of which we have no awareness.
• The ego refers to the feelings and ideas that we are fully aware of.