Chapter 4 - Psychoanalytic Tradition PDF

Chapter 4 – Psychoanalytic Tradition Psychoanalysis is NOT just Freud!  Unconscious Mind Psychoanalytic Perspective Originated by Freud, who viewed the unconscious as a reservoir of thoughts, memories, and desires beyond conscious awareness. Contains repressed conflicts, insti...

Chapter 4 – Psychoanalytic Tradition Psychoanalysis is NOT just Freud!  Unconscious Mind Psychoanalytic Perspective Originated by Freud, who viewed the unconscious as a reservoir of thoughts, memories, and desires beyond conscious awareness. Contains repressed conflicts, instinctual drives, and unresolved childhood experiences. Influences behavior, emotions, and decision-making without conscious control (e.g., slips of the tongue, dreams). Contemporary Empirical Research: Cognitive Biases and Priming: Studies show how unconscious influences shape decisions (e.g., anchoring effects, implicit biases). Automaticity: Much of behavior is automatic, driven by habits and learned responses that bypass conscious thought. Emotional Regulation: The unconscious plays a role in regulating emotions Neuroscience Findings: Brain imaging reveals unconscious processing in areas like the amygdala, showing responses to stimuli without conscious awareness.  Freud’s Psychoanalysis Drives and Inner Barriers: Humans are driven by internal and external forces seeking gratification. Inner barriers (defenses) block immediate gratification due to moral and social norms, leading to repression. Mental Energy and the Unconscious: Mental energy influences behavior but is not directly observable. The unconscious holds repressed drives, wishes, and conflicts. Key Principles: Pleasure Principle: Seeks immediate gratification. Reality Principle: Adjusts behavior to societal demands, delaying gratification.  Why Are Drives Repressed? Memory of Pain and Pleasure: Infants remember early pleasure and pain, seeking to reexperience pleasure. Repression of Societal Restrictions: Moral Drives/desire taboos and social rules repress pleasure-seeking behaviors (e.g., s sexual fantasies, violent impulses). Shame and Guilt: Children are taught to feel guilt and shame for certain pleasurable acts, leading to repression.  The Id, the Ego, and the Superego The Id Most primitive part of the psyche Contains inborn biological drives (life and death instincts). Operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification. The Ego Develops to mediate between the id and the outside world. Guided by the reality principle; accepts reason. Helps manage impulses in a socially acceptable way. The Superego Moral guide that enforces societal rules and values. Develops as children learn about moral behavior and societal norms. Involves learning about appropriate vs. inappropriate actions, emotions, and thoughts. Enforced by parents, family, and teachers; embodies societal customs.  Oral Stage (Infancy) Focus: Nursing and eating. Fixation: May lead to overeating, smoking, excessive talking, or envy and anger if deprived. Anal Stage (Up to Age 4) Focus: Toilet training, self-discipline. Fixation: May result in obsessiveness, orderliness, or rebellion against Freud’s societal norms. Developmen Phallic Stage (Ages 4-6/7) tal Stages Focus: Genitalia Fixation: Boys may become indecisive; girls may become submissive or hostile. Latency Stage (Until Puberty) Focus: Combining responses from earlier stages. Genital Stage (Adulthood) Focus: Formation of the ego; gratification through socially approved activities (e.g., friendship, creativity).  Anna Freud (Ego Psychology) Key Work: The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1966) Focused on the inner struggles of the ego. The ego battles demands from the id and restrictions from reality. Ego Defenses (Defense Mechanisms) Unconscious structures that help avoid awareness of anxiety-provoking issues. Defenses protect against anxiety, shame, guilt, and emotional challenges. These mechanisms operate automatically and unconscious Defense Mechanis ms  Wilhelm Reich (Somatic Psychology) Key Focus: Explored the connection between personality, emotions, and the body. Character Analysis (1933): Introduced the concept of "character armor" — habitual unconscious patterns of tension and posture that protect the ego from anxiety. Described how physical rigidity mirrors psychological defenses. Body-Oriented Therapy: Pioneered body-centered therapeutic techniques to release physical tension and emotional blockages. Emphasized the importance of body language, breathing, and muscular tension in understanding personality. Legacy: Influenced later developments in body psychotherapy, somatic psychology, and holistic approaches to mental health. Controversial yet foundational in linking mind-body dynamics to personality development.  Alfred Adler (Individual Psychology) Key Disagreements with Freud: Emphasized sibling relationships over parent-child dynamics. Questioned the centrality of sexuality in human motivation. Concept of Organ Inferiority: Definition: Feelings of inferiority due to real or perceived physical, functional, or neurological weaknesses. Examples: A short boy avoids rough games and feels inferior due to his height. A girl with a learning disability feels embarrassed in the classroom. Compensation: Individuals seek to overcome feelings of inferiority by finding ways to compensate for perceived weaknesses. Compensation can lead to both positive and negative outcomes.  Alfred Alder (Individual Psychology) Adler’s Views on Motivation: Emphasized future expectations over past experiences. People are driven by a fictional final goal called self-ideal. Self-ideal involves striving for security, improvement, and control. Striving Toward Superiority: Not about dominating others but about personal growth. The feeling of imperfection is perpetual; striving is the key.  Carl Jung (Analytical Psychology) Career: Close supporter of Freud early in his career. Friendship and collaboration with Freud lasted several years. Known for his divergence from Freud’s focus on sexuality and libido which ended their friendship. After, Jung contribute to personality psychology, coined “introvert/extrovert” in Psychological Types Development of Jung’s Own Theory: Created a unique theory of personality with a global following. Hesitant to accept Freud’s concept of sexuality; preferred the term “mental energy” Jung’s theory emphasizes the integration of the conscious and unconscious through exploring dreams, myths, and symbols, focusing on individuation—the process of becoming one’s true self.  Carl Jung (Analytical Psychology) Break with Freud: Took note that consistent patterns of symbols occurred in the dreams of his patients, among psychotic individuals, and in cultures around the world Explored his own fantasies and dreams during his “confrontation with the unconscious.” Wrote about and drew his experiences and ultimately they informed his ideas about the mind and psychology Collective Unconscious: An impersonal, shared layer of the psyche inherited across generations. Contains archetypes—universal, primordial images appearing in dreams, fantasies, and delusions.  Archetypes Reflect ancestral experiences and mythological beliefs. Considered deposits of the repetition of instinct (e.g., mothering, death). “Self-portrait of the instincts.” Archetypes are not strictly defined in number; they evolve and combine. Personality is shaped partly based on identification and integration of archetypes.  Jung’s Psychological Types Developed the concept of psychological types by comparing patients with schizophrenia and hysteria and his differences with Freud Extroversion: Characteristics: Embraces the world, streams energy outward toward external objects. Focuses on interactions with others and external ideas. Can be inconsistent, optimistic, and prone to overestimating rewards. Perception: The world is seen as demanding but not necessarily problematic. Introversion: Characteristics: Turns attention inward, streams energy toward thoughts and fantasies. Relies on internal resources; tends to be cautious and pessimistic about new projects. Often anticipates difficulties and rewards, less optimistic. Perception: Finds the world challenging and demanding; internal world can sometimes be less sophisticated.  Jung’s Four Functions Four Ways to Navigate Reality: Thinking: Organizes and evaluates knowledge; not equivalent to high intelligence. Feeling: Provides evaluation, including moral judgments and personal attachments. Sensation: Focuses on details and sensory input. Intuition: Embraces the whole and abstract concepts. Psychological Types: Eight types based on combinations of the four functions. Contributed to contemporary MBTI Application and Caution: Useful for theoretical and practical work in psychology. Warned against over-reliance; individual differences go beyond these types  Key Tenets Focus on Emotion and Expression: of Emphasizes exploring and expressing a wide range of emotions. Therapy aims to help individuals understand and experience their feelings in a safe, Contempora therapeutic environment. Evidence-Based: Supported by research for treating depression, anxiety, and personality ry disorders. Psychodyna Exploring Past Experiences/Attachment: Considers how past experiences, especially early relationships, shape current behavior and mic Therapy emotional responses. Therapy helps connect past experiences with present-day challenges. Exploration of Interpersonal Relationships: Examines relationships with others to understand how they affect the client’s emotional world. Highlights the impact of these relationships on self-esteem and identity. Focus on the Unconscious: Explores unconscious motivations, fantasies, and conflicts that influence behavior. Helps bring unconscious material into conscious awareness for examination and understanding.  Neuropsychoanalysis Connection Between Mind and Brain: Psychoanalysts have long believed that mind functions relate closely to brain functions. Obsessive or avoidant behaviors and defense mechanisms were thought to be influenced by brain activity. Emergence of Neuropsychoanalysis: A discipline linking psychoanalysis with neuroscience, offering new insights into brain-behavior relationships. Exploration of Brain Systems: Research has focused on the limbic system's role in emotions like anger, rage, and seeking behavior. Stimulating certain brain areas in animals induces investigative behavior, drawing parallels to human drives like libido. Activities in these brain zones are linked to intense emotions, such as love, lust, and obsession