Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamics Quiz

Psychoanalysis

• A branch of psychology focusing on understanding behavior as a result of the mind. It emphasizes unconscious processes, childhood experiences, and psychosexual stages in shaping personality and behavior.
• Proposed by Sigmund Freud.
• Psychoanalysis includes a theory of the mind, psychopathology, treatment, and a method for investigating the mind.

Psychodynamic Psychology

• A broader term encompassing various theoretical approaches derived from psychoanalysis.
• Differs slightly from psychoanalysis as it includes ideas beyond Freud's original theories.
• The reason for using "psychodynamic" instead of "psychoanalytic" is the inclusion of pre and post-Freudian approaches.
• It encompasses various models of the mind, including drive psychology, ego psychology, object relations, and attachment theory.

Psychoanalytic Model of the Mind

• A conceptual model, not a literal representation.
• Used to describe and study mental processes.
• Explains how psychological phenomena such as feelings, thoughts, fears, fantasies, values, and attitudes interact to influence each other.
• Also describes the motivations, structures, and functions of the mind, and how the mind develops.
• Represents the human mind as a coherent system by structuring clinical data (patients' life stories, reports, inner experience, and the patient's interactions in the treatment setting).
• Helps understand mental processes in both normal and pathological states, and how treatment impacts mental life.

The Topographic Model of the Mind

• A fundamental model in psychoanalysis, developed by Freud.
• Divides the mind into three parts: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.
• Emphasizes the unconscious as a driving force behind much of our behavior.

The Structural Model of the Mind

• Developed by Freud in 1923.
• Presents the mind as comprised of three interacting structures: the id, ego, and superego.
• Id: Represents basic instincts, primal desires, and operates on the pleasure principle (seeking immediate gratification). It is entirely unconscious.
• Ego: Acts as a mediator between the id and the external world, operating on the reality principle (finding realistic ways to satisfy desires). It can be conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.
• Superego: Represents internalized societal values and moral standards, and operates on the ideals principle.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

• A series of stages proposed by Freud that describe the development of personality by focusing on psychosexual energy/libido.
• The focus and expression of libido varies in different stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital).
• Each stage has a particular conflict that must be addressed.

Theory of Psychoanalytic Treatment

• Aims to uncover conflict through the understanding of early relationships and experiences.
• Used to increase self-awareness.
• Several methods can be utilized to uncover the unconscious mind (free association, dream analysis, resistance, transference.

Ego Psychology

• Developed mostly in the 1950s, especially in the US.
• An approach that focuses on the ego's role in mediating conflicts arising from the interaction between the id, superego, and external reality.
• Emphasizes the ego's ability to adapt to demands and manage conflict.

Object Relations Theory

• Emphasizes the internalized images and relationships (objects) that we create from our early experiences, and how these influence our relationships with others throughout life.
• Important theorists include Melanie Klein, D.W. Winnicott, and Margaret Mahler.
• Highlights the importance of the early infant-caregiver relationship in forming a sense of self. The quality of this relationship strongly influences the development of the ego, object representations, and self-regulation mechanisms for managing anxieties.

Self-Psychology (Heinz Kohut)

• Focuses on the development of a cohesive and well-functioning sense of self.
• Emphasizes the importance of empathic mirroring and idealization from caregivers (self-objects) in early development.
• A good or healthy sense of self is not only the result of dealing with conflict, but also a deficit in the development of the self.
• Emphasizes the importance of the early caregiver-infant relationship in creating a sense of self. Self objects help the child develop a healthy sense of self.

The Oedipus Complex

• A concept proposed by Freud to explain the development of sexual identity and rivalry.
• It describes the inherent conflict in early childhood, focusing on unconscious desires toward the opposite-sex parent and feelings of rivalry toward the same-sex parent.