© 2013 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The Personality PuzzleSixth Edition

by David C. Funder

Chapter 10: Basics of Psychoanalysis

Slides created byTera D. LetzringIdaho State University 1

Objectives

• Discuss the key ideas of psychoanalysis• Discuss Freud’s theory of psychological

development• Discuss Freud’s idea of how the mind is

structured• Discuss implications for psychotherapy and

modern life

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Freud Himself

• Medical doctor• Left Austria when Hitler came to power• Believed war proved that people are

aggressive and destructive• Became a psychiatrist

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Freud Himself

• Used free association– The talking cure

• Self-analysis• Influenced by his patients

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The Key Ideas of Psychoanalysis: Psychic Determinism

• Definition• Free will and random accidents do not exist• Contradictions of thoughts and behavior can

be resolved• Leads to idea of the unconscious

– Supported by modern research

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The Key Ideas of Psychoanalysis: Internal Structure

• The mind is made of separate parts that function independently and can conflict with each other.

• Id: irrational and emotional• Ego: rational• Superego: moral• Modern research

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The Key Ideas of Psychoanalysis: Psychic Conflict and Compromise

• The mind can conflict with itself• Compromise formation

– The ego’s main job– The middle ground– Used in modern psychoanalytic thought

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The Key Ideas of Psychoanalysis: Mental Energy

• Assumption• Libido• The amount of energy is fixed and finite• Some implications not supported by research:

expression of anger• Modern thought: information-processing

capacity is limited

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The Key Ideas of Psychoanalysis: Controversy

• Moral: do not like emphasis on sex and sexual energy

• Scientific: theory is unscientific• Personal level: People do not want to be told

why they really did something, especially when you are correct.

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Psychoanalysis, Life, and Death

• Two fundamental motives• Libido

– Creation, protection, and enjoyment of life– Creativity, productivity, and growth

• Thanatos– Introduced later to account for destructive activity

such as war and the fact that everyone dies– Opposites and entropy

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Psychoanalysis, Life, and Death

• The doctrine of opposites– Life and death, happiness and sadness– “Extremes on any scale may be more similar to

each other than either extreme is to the middle.” (p. 353)

– Example: emotionality

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Psychological Development

• Focus on where the psychic energy is and how it is used

• Stage theory of development• Aspects of each stage

– Physical focus– Psychological theme– Adult character type

• Fixation and regression

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Psychological Development: Oral Stage

• Timing: birth to 18 months• Physical focus: mouth, lips, and tongue• Psychological theme: dependency• Only the id exists• Two ways things can go wrong: needs are not

fulfilled or needs are fulfilled instantly and automatically

• Adult character type: too independent vs. passive 14

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Psychological Development: Anal Stage

• Timing: about 18 months to 3 years• Physical focus: anus and organs of elimination• Psychological theme: self-control and

obedience

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Psychological Development: Anal Stage

• Development of the ego• Two ways things can go wrong: unreasonable

expectations and never demanding control of urges

• Adult character type: overcontrolled vs. undercontrolled

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Psychological Development: Phallic Stage

• Timing: about 3 ½ to 7 years• Physical focus: sexual organs• Basic task: coming to terms with sex

differences and their implications • Oedipal crisis

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Psychological Development: Phallic Stage

• Psychological themes– Gender identity and sexuality

• Identification– Love, fear, and jealousy

• Development of morality, conscience, and the superego

• Adult character type: rigid moral code (asexual) vs. lack of moral code (promiscuous)

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Psychological Development: Latency

• Timing: about 7 years to puberty• A break from development• Concentrate on learning the tasks of childhood

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Psychological Development: Genital Stage

• Timing: puberty on– This stage is not passed through, but attained

• Physical focus: genitals, sexuality in the context of a mature relationship

• Focus on creation and enhancement of life• Psychological theme: maturity • Achievement: well-adjusted and balanced

– Mental health: the ability “to love and to work”

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Think About It

• Can you think of any oral, anal, phallic, or genital characters among the people you know? Without naming names, what are they like? How do you think they got this way?

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Thinking and Consciousness: Secondary Process Thinking

• Conscious thought• Rational and practical• Able to delay or redirect gratification• How the conscious part of the ego thinks• Develops second; less important role

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Thinking and Consciousness: Primary Process Thinking

• The way the unconscious mind operates• Does not contain the idea of “no” • Goal is immediate gratification• Condensation• Symbolization

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Thinking and Consciousness: Primary Process Thinking

• Seen in very young children, during delirium and dreams, and sometimes in psychotics

• Can leak out

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Thinking and Consciousness: Three Levels of Consciousness

• Topographical model• Conscious mind

– Least important– Some of the ego

• Preconscious• Unconscious

– All of the id and superego and some of the ego– Most important

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Psychoanalysis as a Therapy and as a Route Toward Understanding

• Unconscious conflicts are what make people anxious and unhappy– Use clues to reveal the contents of the

unconscious

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Psychoanalysis as a Therapy and as a Route Toward Understanding

• Resolve problems by bringing unconscious conflicts to the surface so ego can deal with them– Takes time and can be painful – May increase anxiety in the beginning– Patients must be comforted and guided through

this process • Therapeutic alliance, with power through

transference

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Psychoanalysis as a Therapy and as a Route Toward Understanding

• Criticisms: low cure rate and length of treatment

• Recent research• Rather than a therapy, psychoanalysis can be

thought of as a tool for understanding human nature and culture– Do you agree with this idea?

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Think About It

• Has anything happened recently in the news or in your own life that seems best explained from a psychoanalytic perspective?

• If you had a psychological problem, would you go to a psychoanalyst? Why or why not?

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Clicker Question #1

If psychic determinism is true, then a possible explanation for forgetting a person’s name could be that youa) have a bad memory.b) do not like the person.c)are in love with the person but don’t want to admit it to yourself.d) both b and c

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Clicker Question #2

During which stage of psychological development do people learn how to appropriately control their urges and what decisions are up to them or to an authority figure?a) oralb) analc) latencyd) phallic

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Clicker Question #3

According to psychoanalytic theory, is more important than .a)secondary process thought; primary process thoughtb)unconscious thought; conscious thoughtc)the oral stage; the phallic staged)work; love

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