Psychoanalysis Theory Midterm Reviewer PDF

**Psychoanalysis Theory** **by: Sigmund Freud** Early life of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Sigmund Schlomo Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis He was born on May 6, 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia to a family of Jewish wool merchants. He went to school and attended university in Vienna, then...

**Psychoanalysis Theory** **by: Sigmund Freud** Early life of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Sigmund Schlomo Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis He was born on May 6, 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia to a family of Jewish wool merchants. He went to school and attended university in Vienna, then he got married, trained as a research scientist and a doctor, and developed psychoanalysis. He was one of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the 20th century. He died on September 23, 1939 at his home in London which is now known as the Freud Museum. **Psychoanalysis** Psychoanalysis is a talking therapy that aims to treat mental health issues by investigating the relationship between the unconscious and conscious elements of psychological experience.(Pick, 2015). Freud invented the term "psychoanalysis," which is considered to have two meanings: (1) a particular method of treating nervous disorders and (2) the science of unconscious mental processes. **Psychosexual Stages of Development** Sigmund Freud proposed that personality development in childhood takes place during (5) psychosexual stages, which are the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. Each of the 5 stages of Freudian psychosexual development theory is associated with a corresponding age range, erogenous body part, and fixation. **Oral Stage (Birth to 1 year old)** - During this stage, oral desire is the center of pleasure for the newborn baby. *For example:* \- A 1-year-old baby indulges in various oral activities like sucking, biting, breastfeeding, and chewing of different objects. **Anal Stage (1 to 3 years old)** - The child obtains great pleasure from defecating and the libido becomes focused on the anus. *For example:* \- A child who takes pleasure in controlling and releasing their bowels. **Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years old)** - During this stage, the child begins to experience pleasure associated with their genitalia and starts to develop a strong sense of gender identity. *For example:* \- A 5-year-old child becomes more curious about his genitalia and develops a great sense of interest towards the closeness or relationship he has with his Mother. **Oedipus Complex** Oedipus comes from a Greek mythology where a King of Thebes and a young man named Oedipus kill his father and marry her mother. The most important aspect of the phallic stage is the Oedipus complex. Two things that develop during this phallic stage-oedipus complex are the castration anxiety and identification. **Electra Complex** A girl unconsciously cultivates a sexual attraction towards her father, viewing her mother as a competitor. The girl covets her father, but realizes that she lacks penis which leads to the Freud phenomenon called 'penis envy'. Then, the girl represses her feelings and learns to adopt a traditional female role by the guidance of her mother. **Latency Stage (6 years old to Puberty)** - The libido is dormant and no further psychosexual development occurs during this latency stage. *For example:* \- A child is more engaged in hobbies and interests rather than sexual activities. **Genital Stage (Puberty to Adult)** - During the last stage, the libido re-emerges after its latent period and is directed towards peers of the other sex, marking the onset of mature adult sexuality. For example: \- An 18 year old boy begins to experience sexual attraction and begins to explore their sexuality. **Level of Consciousness** Freud developed a topographical model of the mind, describing the features of the mind's structure and function. Freud used the iceberg to metaphorically represent the three levels of the mind: the conscious (visible tip of the iceberg), the preconscious (just below the surface), and the unconscious (vast submerged portion). **Conscious Mind** - Freud described the conscious mind, which consists of all the mental processes of which we are aware, and this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. It includes everything like thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of which people are currently aware of. Thoughts Perception *For example:* \- Being aware of the sights, sounds, smell, tastes, and touch sensations around you. **Preconscious Mind** - The preconscious is like a waiting room, in which thoughts remain until they "succeed in attracting the eye of the conscious." This contains feelings and memories that are not presently active but can be accessed when needed. Memories Stored Knowledge *For Example:* \- You are presently not thinking about your mobile telephone number, but now it is mentioned you can recall it with ease. **Unconscious Mind** - The unconscious mind is the primary source of human behavior according to Freud. Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part you cannot see. It is the part of the mind that is inaccessible to conscious thought or recall because it is defined as "unacceptable" Fears Selfish Motives Shameful Experiences Traumatic Experiences Immoral Urges *For Example:* \- Freudian Slip. When someone accidentally uses a former partner's name when referring to his current partner. **Structure of Personality** Freud analyzes the human psyche and divides it into three parts, which he calls the Id, Ego, and Superego. The three parts are all developing at different stages of our lives. Each one has a significant role to play in how the personality is developed. **Id** The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality. The id is the impulsive and unconscious part of our psyche that responds directly and immediately to our pleasure and desires. It engages in primary process thinking, which is primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy-oriented. *For example:* \- Excessive drinking, drug use, or engaging in risky behaviors to seek immediate pleasure or indulge in forbidden thoughts. **Ego** The ego operates primarily at the conscious level. It is the rational part modified by the direct influence of the external world. It follows the reality principle and considers social realities, norms, and rules in deciding how to behave. *For example:* \- Weighing the pros and cons of different options before making a choice. **Superego** Freud's superego is the moral component of personality. It incorporates the values and morals of society. It contrasts with the id's desires, guiding behavior towards moral righteousness and inducing guilt when standards aren't met. *For example:* \- Always evaluating the rightness or wrongness of actions and feeling guilty or ashamed if not following societal standards. **Defense Mechanism** Anna Freud defined defense mechanisms as \"unconscious resources used by the ego\" to decrease internal stress ultimately. Patients often devise these unconscious mechanisms to decrease conflict within themselves, specifically between the superego and id. Psychodynamic therapy is used by clinicians to help orient patients to their own unconscious processes. **Displacement** - Transferring one's emotional burden or emotional reaction from one entity to another. For example: \- Being angry at your boss but taking it out on your spouse instead **Denial** - Dismissing external reality and instead focusing on internal explanations or fallacies and thereby avoiding the uncomfortable reality of a situation. For example: \- Being the victim of a violent crime, yet denying that the incident occurred **Repression** - Adapting one's behavior to earlier levels of psychosocial development. For example: \- Being abused as a child but not remembering the abuse. **Suppression** - Consciously choosing to block ideas or impulses that are undesirable, as opposed to repression, a subconscious process. For example: \- Being abused as a child but choosing to push it out of your mind. **Sublimation** - Transforming one's anxiety or emotions into pursuits considered by societal or cultural norms to be more useful. For example: \- Being upset with your spouse but going for a walk instead of fighting. **Projection** - Attributing one's own maladaptive inner impulses to someone else. For example: \- Feeling attracted to someone other than your spouse, then fearing that your spouse is cheating on you. **Intellectualization** - The development of patterns of excessive thinking or over-analyzing, which may increase the distance from one\'s emotions. For example: \- Losing a close family member and staying busy with making the necessary arrangements instead of feeling sad. **Rationalization** - The justification of one's behavior through attempts at a rational explanation. For example: \- Being denied a loan for your dream house, then saying it's a good thing because the house was too big anyway. **Regression** - Adapting one's behavior to earlier levels of psychosocial development. For example: \- Hugging a teddy bear when you're stressed, like you did when you were a child. **React Formation** - Replacing one's initial impulse toward a situation or idea with the opposite impulse. For example: \- Being Sad about a recent breakup, but acting happy about it. **Dream** A dream theory focuses on understanding the nature and purpose of dreams. Studying dreams can be challenging since they can vary greatly in how they are remembered and what they are about. **Dream Analysis by Sigmund Freud** The unconscious mind played a critical role in all of Freud\'s theories, and he considered dreams to be one of the key ways to take a peek into what lies outside our conscious awareness. ***Freud believed the content of dreams could be broken down into two different types:*** The manifest content of a dream included all the actual content of the dream---the events, images, and thoughts contained within the dream. The latent content, on the other hand, is all the hidden and symbolic meanings within the dream. **Other Dream Theory** Activation-Synthesis Dream Theory - According to the activation-synthesis model of dreaming, which was first proposed by J. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley, circuits in the brain become activated during REM sleep, which triggers the amygdala and hippocampus to create an array of electrical impulses. **Self-Organization Dream Theory** - According to the information-processing theory, sleep allows us to consolidate and process all of the information and memories that we have collected during the previous day. Some dream experts suggest that dreaming is a byproduct, or even an active part, of this experience processing. **Creativity and Problem-Solving Dream Theory** - Another theory about dreams says that their purpose is to help us solve problems. In this creativity theory of dreaming, the unconstrained, unconscious mind is free to wander its limitless potential while unburdened by the often stifling realities of the conscious world. **Continuity Hypothesis Dream Theory** - Under the continuity hypothesis, dreams function as a reflection of a person\'s real life, incorporating conscious experiences into their dreams. **Essence of theTheory** Many theories have been brought up in this discussion from psychoanalysis theories, dream theories also the psychosexual stages of development and the analysis of Anna Freud in Defense Mechanism and many more. Moreover, as we discussed and understood about this topic we learned that our personalities, attitudes, dreams, and the mechanisms are essential in our life. Furthermore, think how Sigmund Freud, his daughter and other authors of these topics greatly impacted our lives. The theory is about our unconscious desires and past experiences shape our behavior and emotions as we grow up including the difficult experiences we endured in our life. Also, we must be conscious that people must not tolerate the mechanisms to understand the theories and ourselves also. **Analytical Psychology** **By: Carl Jung** The ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The ego represents the conscious mind as it comprises the thoughts, memories, and emotions a person is aware of. **Layers of the Unconscious Mind** 1.The Personal unconscious these are experiences of an individual's lifetime that have been forgotten or repressed but continue to influence their behavior and attitudes on an unconscious level. An important feature of the personal unconscious called complexes. A complex is a collection or cluster of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories. 2\. The collective unconscious refers to shared, inherited unconscious knowledge and experiences across generations, expressed through universal symbols and archetypes common to all human cultures. **Archetypes** are universal symbols and themes that are shared across all human cultures and epochs. **The Persona** The persona (or mask) is the public face or role a person presents to others as someone different from who we really are (like an actor). It conceals our real self and Jung describes it as the "conformity" archetype. **The Anima/Animus** For men, there exists an Anima (a feminine inner personality), and for women, an Animus (a masculine inner personality). **The Shadow** The Shadow archetype is the dark side, the devil within. This is the animal side of our personality. It is the source of both our creative and destructive energies. **The Self** The self which provides a sense of unity in experience. **Psychological Types** four principal psychological functions -- sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking -- and that one of these four functions is dominant for a person most of the time. 1. Thinking' individuals make decisions based on logic and objective considerations, while 'Feeling' individuals make decisions based on subjective and personal values. 2. information. 'Sensing' individuals focus on present realities, tangible facts, and details. They are practical and literal thinkers. 'Intuitive' individuals focus on possibilities, interconnections, and future potential. They are often abstract and theoretical thinkers. 3. energy from. **Extroverts** are oriented towards the outer world; they tend to be more outgoing and sociable, deriving energy from interaction with others and the external environment. **Introverts** are oriented towards the inner world; they tend to be quiet and reserved, deriving energy from reflection, inner feelings, ideas, and experiences. **Individuation** Jung proposed that the goal of a person's psychological development is individuation -- a process of becoming aware of oneself, integrating different aspects of personality, and realizing our inherent potential. **Essence:** Our **innate characteristics** are *"imprinted"* on it as a result of evolution. These universal predispositions stem from our ancestral past. For Jung, our primitive past becomes the basis of the human psyche, directing and influencing present behavior **Individual Psychology** **by: Alfred Adler** **Inferiority feelings** all infants have a feeling of inferiority and inadequacy. As infants, we are born immature, incomplete, and incompetent to satisfy even our basic needs. As we grow, we strive to rectify that inferiority by developing other strengths. This feeling is productive, as it motivates the child to develop. If the child receives adequate nurturing and care, the child can accept his challenges, and learn that they can be overcome with hard work. Thus, the child develops "normally" and develops the "courage to be imperfect". On the other hand, when the inferiority feeling of an adult develops an exaggerated feeling of inferiority. These feelings in the adults are what is harmful, and they comprise the **inferiority complex** (who feel highly inadequate) Striving for superiority is an attempt to overcome our inferiority and serves as a major motivating force that leads to growth. Striving for superiority is innate and part of the struggle for survival. Life is encouraged by the desire to move from below to above, from negative to positive, from inferior to superior. But when a person has the need to prove that he is more superior than he truly is. **Superiority complex** can be developed (exaggerated beliefs about one\'s abilities or achievements occurs) **Birth Order** Refers to the order in which the children of a family were born **First-born**, having the traits of "a guardian of law and order." They show a high degree of concern with power, which may express itself as a desire to exercise authority, lead, or protect and help others. **Second-born**, "striving for superiority under pressure." They are apt to be competitive and ambitious and often surpass the firstborn in achievement and motivation. **Youngest**, constantly trying to prove themselves, they are more sociable and dependent, having been the "baby" of the family. **Only child**, the sole object of their parent's attention, the only child becomes "dependent to a high degree, constantly waits for someone to show him the way, and searches for support at all times." **The creative self** establishes, maintains, and pursues the goals of the individual. Individuals make their own personalities from the raw materials of their heredity and environment. **Social interest:** refers to that urge in human nature to adapt oneself to the conditions of the social environment. **Goal-directed and purposeful behavior:** all behaviors are a result of our goals. All living things is governed by goals. Our guiding goals are fictions. Fiction comes from the Latin root fictio, which means "to invent," "fashion," or "construct.". Fictional finalism: So we structure our own beliefs and goals that may not be based in reality, thus cannot be tested or confirmed. **Essence:** All human behavior is motivated by achieving one's goal and continuously striving for superiority. Individuals differ in their goals and how they try to achieve them. **Psychoanalytic Social Theory** **by: Karen Horney** Horney called all of the negative factors in the environment that can provoke insecurity in a child **basic evil**. Some of these conditions might be *domination, isolation, overprotection, hostility, indifference, inconsistent behavior, disparagement, parental dis- cord, lack of respect and guidance, or the lack of encouragement and warmth.* **Basic anxiety** is an insidiously increasing, all-pervading feeling of being lonely and helpless in a hostile world (Horney, 1945). These anxiety may lead to having neurotic needs or trends (Exaggerated, inappropriate, irrational, and illogical desires or needs) For **neurotic individuals**, the need is too intense, and too unrealistic, therefore children develop certain defense attitudes or strategies that permit them to cope with the world. ***These trends lead to three types of coping strategies or primary modes of relating to other people**:* 1. 2. 3. These types of behavior lead, in turn, to ***three basic orientations toward life:*** 1. 2. 3. **Normal or mature individuals** resolve their conflicts by integrating and balancing the three orientations, which are present in all human relations. They are able to express each mode at the appropriate time. **Neurotics individuals** express one mode at the expense of other aspects of their personality. The **real self** represents what we are---those things that are true about us. The **idealized self** represents what we think we should be. In **the normal individual**, the idealized self and the real self *largely coincide* because the idealized self is based on a realistic assessment of one's abilities and potential. In **the neurotic individual**, the real self and the idealized self are *discrepant or separated*. A doctor who believes that an ideal doctor never loses a patient to death is being unrealistic. In an **extreme neurosis**, the individual may completely abandon the real self for the sake of an idealized *glorified self.* Horney referred to this situation as one of **alienation** *(or the devil's pact).* In a state of alienation, a person identifies with the ideal self and thereby loses the true and only source of strength, the real or actual self. Horney (1950) suggested that neurotics' lives are governed by the **tyranny of the should** (eternal battle for perfection in the pursuit of your ideal self.) **Essence:** Horney believed that environment and social upbringing, rather than intrinsic factors, largely lead to neurosis. She believed that people need warm, supportive environments and strong interpersonal relationships to realize their "real self." **Albert Bandura** **by: Social Cognitive Learning Theory** **Triadic reciprocal causation** (1978, 1986a), the regulation of human behavior by the interplay of behavioral, personal, and environmental factors. Environmental stimuli influence our behavior, also individual personal factors such as beliefs and expectations also influence how we behave. Example: Imagine a shy student who usually keeps to themselves *(personal factor)*, walks into class on the first day of school to find that the other students are already sitting down *(environmental factor)*. The shy student tries to slip into the back of the class to avoid becoming the center of attention *(behavioral factor).* **[[Observational learning]](https://cduca4ey80-staging.onrocket.site/what-is-observational-learning.html)** is a key aspect of social learning theory, where individuals learn and adopt behaviors by observing others. Bandura suggests that **observational learning** occurs either intentionally or accidentally. In many cases, the behavior that is being learned is exactly the same as the modeled activity. Thus observational learning exceeds mere imitation. Bandura suggests that **learning through observation can produce innovative and creative behaviors** Individuals that are observed are called **models**. These models provide examples of behavior to observe and imitate Albert Bandura, through his work on social learning theory, identified **three primary models of observational learning:** **1. Live Model:** Observing an actual individual perform a behavior. **2. Verbal Instructional Model:** Listening to detailed descriptions of behavior and then acting based on that description. **3. Symbolic Model:** Learning through media, such as books, movies, television, or online media, where behaviors are demonstrated. An individual can do between *imitation* (mimicking the model) -- copying without understanding the situation and *modeling* (matching the structure or style of the behavior -- with understanding and internalizing the behavior. **Factors that influence modelling** 1\. ***Characteristics of the model.*** We are more likely to be influenced by someone who we believe is similar to ourselves than by someone who is different. Simpler behaviors are more readily emulated than complex ones, and certain kinds of behavior seem more prone to learning through observation than others. Hostile and aggressive behaviors are readily learned through modeling, especially by young children. 2\. ***Attributes of the observer.*** People who are lacking in self-esteem or who are incompe- tent are especially prone to follow the structure and style of a model. So too are highly dependent individuals and those who have been rewarded previously for conforming behavior. A highly motivated individual will also emulate a model in order to master a desired behavior. 3\. ***Reward consequences associated with a behavior.*** Participants are more likely to emulate a behavior if they believe that such actions will lead to positive short- or long-term results. Bandura believes that this variable is stronger than the other ones. **PROCESS OF OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING** 1. 2. 3. 4. **REINFORCEMENT IN OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING** - - - - **Essence:** The theory emphasizes the importance of observational learning, where individuals acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs by watching the actions of others and the consequences that follow, leading to the modeling and adoption of observed behaviors. **Personal Construct Theory** **by: George Kelly** - - - Kelly believed that we are all essentially **scientists**. Like scientists, we want to understand the world around us, predict what will happen next, and create theories to explain events. It is our **personal constructs** (*mental representations or mental framework* that we use to interpret events.) These constructs are used to predict and anticipate events, which in turn determine our behaviors, feelings, and thoughts. Constructs are *inherently personal* because they are based on each person\'s life experiences. We are different from one another because of our unique systems of constructs. *When something stressful happens, you might first see it as a trial or obstacle. As time passes, you may look back and see it in a different light, perhaps interpreting it as a learning experience that helps make you more resilient.* **We make our own theories about the situations we encounter in life.** We come up with ideas about what we think will happen, test our ideas, and then adjust or change our frameworks based on what we have learned. **Anticipation** is a key function of personal constructs. People use their personal constructs to anticipate outcomes or behavior. Anticipation, the *"push and pull of personal constructs".* *If we see people as friendly, we anticipate that much more likely they will socialize, therefore, will talk to them. If we see people as quiet, we anticipate that they will not socialize, therefore, you will avoid them.* Personal construct theory begins with a **fundamental postulate and corollaries.** The fundamental postulate states that *"a person's processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events"* (Kelly, 1955a). The mind does not stop and start, simply reacting to stimuli, but rather it is constantly in motion, constantly experimenting with constructs. While **corollaries**, these are extensions or rules that explain how individuals apply their personal constructs in various situations. **[Fundamental Postulate and Corollaries]** 1. Example: *the academic performance of your classmate last term will also be the same academic performance this term.* 2. Example: watching movies together or eating the same food. They will have different interpretations about the movie or the food they eat. 3. When faced with problems, Kelly suggested that we develop our constructs in a systematic and organized way, by analyzing what kind of problem we have is it a personal or school problem. 4. positive and negative aspects. We understand things in terms of opposites or contrast. Example: during campaign and election period, as voters we may categorize them either good or bad. Although, they may have nuances or complexities in their plans. 5. *that will help us understand ourselves and the world.* Each situation requires us to choose between the options we construct, Kelly believed we choose the alternative that serves us best. Example: choosing friends that will help us develop our potentials to the fullest. 6. relevant in every situation. Example: your personal construct in your personal relationship is different to your personal construct in finishing your studies. 7. As we apply constructs in our efforts to predict what happens in our lives, we sometimes experience unexpected outcomes. As a result, we reconstruct our constructs, and learn from our experiences. 8. Although all individuals modify the constructs that guide their anticipation of events, some constructs are modified more easily, and some people are more open to changing their perspectives (and, hence, reconstructing their constructs). 9. Example: you see your teacher as supportive then at the same time strict. 10. This corollary is important for interpersonal relations. Even though two people cannot experience the same event in exactly the same way, their ability to share their experiences is facilitated by the similarity of their experiences. 11. Successful interaction with others requires us to understand and anticipate their personal construct. We adjust how we communicate. Kelly's theory of personality is based on his philosophical position of **constructive alternativism:** *the assumption that any event is open to a variety of interpretations.* We have to create our own ways of understanding the events that happen. Some of Kelly's constructs refer to *self-identity or the identity of others.* **The self- construct** is based primarily on *what we perceive as consistencies in our own behavior.* For example, we believe that we are honest, sincere, friendly, and so forth. The self-construct is developed out of our relationships with other people, therefore it is relational. *"When we construe other people, we also construe ourselves."* This means that the self-construct we develop to understand and evaluate ourselves are often the same ones we use to understand and evaluate others. A **role** is a process or behavior that people engage in based on their understanding of the behavior and constructs of others. In Kelly's theory, the role is *defined by the individual in an effort to understand the behavior of other people and relate to them.* One's self-construct may be seen as a core or basic role structure by which one conceives of oneself as an integral individual in relation to other people. *Kelly\'s personal construct theory suggests that the differences among people result from the different ways that we predict and interpret the world around us.* *As we live our lives, we perform \"experiments\" that put our beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations to the test. If our experiments work, they strengthen our current beliefs. When they don\'t, we are then able to change our views.* **Essence:** According to Kelly, the future, rather than the past, is the primary impetus for behavior. **Psychology of the Individual** **by: Gordon Allport** ***Personality*** is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought. Personality is *dynamic* (moving and changing), *organized* (structured), *psychophysical* (involving both the mind and the body), *determined* (structured by the past and predisposing of the future), and *characteristic* (unique for each individual). Personality is hypothetical construct that is currently *unobservable* because it cannot be measured empirically. A **continuity theory** suggests that the development of personality is essentially the accumulation of skill, habits, and discriminations, without anything really new appearing in the person's makeup. Changes are merely *quantitative* relative to the amount of inputs. Such continuity theories are **closed systems**. A **discontinuity theory** suggests that in the course of development an organism experiences genuine transformations or changes. Discontinuity theories view the person as open and active in consolidating and integrating experience. Change is *qualitative* rather than merely quantitative. ***Trait*** as a determining tendency or predisposition to respond to the world in certain ways. Traits are consistent and enduring; they account for consistency in human behavior. A trait is a personality characteristic that meets three criteria: *it must be consistent, stable, and vary from person to person.* ***Common trait*** permits us to compare individuals within a given culture. ***Personal Dispositions*** is unique to the individual who has it ***Cardinal traits*** are *rare and dominant trait* shaping a person's entire life. These *traits may dominate one's personality* to such an extent that the person becomes known for that specific trait only. Such as Mother Teresa for altruism and M.K. Gandhi for his honesty. ***Central traits*** are highly characteristic tendencies of an individual. They provide the *adjectives or phrases a person* might use in describing the essential characteristics of another individual in a letter of recommendation. According to Allport, every person possesses 5-10 central traits in varying degrees. These are also called the building blocks of personality. ***Secondary traits*** are more *specific, focused tendencies that are often situational in character.* These are situational or circumstantial traits. To give an example, the food preferences of an individual are quite varying in different times and situations. Or an aggressive child may not speak much in front of his/her teacher. A man might be domineering and aggressive at home in his role as father but behave submissively when confronted by a police officer who is giving him a ticket. **Proprium** refers to the *central experiences of self-awareness* that people have as they *grow and move forward.* Allport purposely chose a term with the prefix *pro* to connote forward *movement.* Allport described seven **propriate functions** that develop gradually as an *individual grows from infancy to adulthood* and constitute an *evolving sense of self.* Given the appropriate security and affection, the child will grow in the direction of developing a proprium. The child will be transformed from a biologically dominated organism to a psychologically mature adult. The adult person is discontinuous from the child. The adult emerges from the child but is no longer governed by the child's needs. **Functional autonomy**, the idea that *adult motivation is not necessarily tied to the past*. A given behavior may become a goal in itself regardless of its original intention. Two types of functional autonomy: perseverative and propriate. ***Perseverative functional autonomy*** refers to *repetitive activities* such as compulsions, addictions to drugs or alcohol, and ritualistic or routine behaviors. A teenage girl may, in a spirit of rebellion against her parents, begin to smoke cigarettes, which she knows will annoy them. As an adult, she may continue to smoke cigarettes, long after her period of teenage rebellion. ***Propriate functional autonomy*** is the desire to underscore the concept that we live in the present, not in the past. This may also refer to those *acquired interests, values, attitudes,* intentions, and life-styles that are directed from the proprium. *Abilities frequently convert into interests.* The person selects those motives that are important and organizes them in a fashion that is consistent with his or her self-image and life-style. Allport's rationale for developing the concept of propriate functional autonomy is the desire to underscore the concept that we live in the present, not in the past. **[SIX CRITERIA OF MATURITY.]** **1.** **Extension of the sense of self -**interested in others and consider the welfare of others as important as their own **2. Warm relating of self to others** -compassionate and able to tolerate many differences in human beings. **3. Emotional security (self-acceptance)** -sufficiently secure in who they are to accept themselves and not wish to be somebody else. **4. Realistic perception, skills, and assignments** - are problem solvers and have developed the appropriate skills to complete their assigned tasks and work. **5. Self-objectification (insight and humour)** - mature people know what they can do, what they cannot do, and what they ought to do. **6. Unifying philosophy of life** -maturity entails a clear understanding of life's goals and purposes **Essence:** *Every individual is characterized by a dynamic organization of psychological traits that makes his adjustment. The reason for this is that experiences of **every person are unique** and therefore their reaction to the environment is also unique.* *Your motives today **are independent (autonomous) of their origins**. In other words, the path/means which we choose to achieve a goal is now itself a goal.* *With **maturity** we can consciously design and effect our plans without being hindered by unconscious forces of the past.*