Pleasure principle - present at birth, a newborn baby is completely selfish
Superego
Morality principle - at age 2 child becomes aware that other people can have feelings and that it cannot always have its own way
Ego
Reality principle - appears at around age 5, a sense of morality is passed on my parents, mainly by the same sex parent
Conscious
What we are aware of, every day thought
preconscious
Thoughts not always available but easily accessible
unconscious
The dark and shameful part - repressed threatening thought and feelings
Defence mechanisms
Used by the ego in order to cope with the conflicting demands of the other two parts of the personality - ID and Superego
Repression
occurs when a traumatic memory is forced out of conscious awareness and into the unconscious mind
Denial
Involves a refusal to accept the truth of a situation, acting as though nothing traumatic happened
Displacement
When feelings towards a target individual cannot be expressed towards them directly and is therefore expressed onto someone/something else
Oedipus complex
Boy desires his mother and rivals his father
Boy fears the father (castration anxiety)
Fear leads boy to suppress desires for mother
Boy identifies with father
Boy internalises the gender norms, conscience of the father
Electra complex
Girl desires father
Girl resents mother (penis envy)
Girl fears mother finding out
Girl represses desires and identifies with mother
Girl internalises mother’s superego qualities
Psychoanalysis
Helps clients by bringing repressed emotions into the conscious mind so they can be dealt with - forerunner to many modern day talking therapies such as counselling
