Freud - Psychology



…a symptom signifies the representation [of] a sexual situation. [However] it would be better to say that at least one of the meanings of symptom is the representation of a sexual fantasy, but that no such limitation is imposed upon the content of its other meanings. Any one who takes up psychoanalytic work will quickly discover that a symptom has more than one meaning and serves to represent several unconscious mental processes simultaneously. And I should like to add that in my estimation, a single unconscious mental process or fantasy will scarcely ever suffice for the production of a symptom.

(Freud, (1905). Dora: An analysis of a case of hysteria, 1905, pp. 39-40)

Freud

Biographical Background

- born in 1856

- first child of a second marriage

- young, beautiful mother

- second child died when Freud was 19 mo. old; 4 sisters and a brother born later

- idolized by his mother

- half brothers were grown men

- nephew playmate was one year older

- being Jewish limited his choice of profession

- became a doctor for practical reasons

- clients suffered from neurotic disorders

- began using Breuer's "talking cure"

- published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900

- psychoanalysis is not a finished theory

- Freud continued to revise and develop it until he died in 1939

Origins of Psychoanalysis

- Breuer was sympathetic rather than punitive with neurotic patients

- used hypnosis to explore conflicts within the patient

- concluded the symptoms were caused by traumatic events

- recalling the events allowed catharsis, i.e., emotional release

- Freud successfully began using the

"talking cure"

- explored the technique and why it worked

- patient had been unable to express strong emotion at the time of the event

- emotion expressed in the symptom

- patient unconscious of the event and the emotions

- helping the patient remember was a long process

- inner force prevented awareness: resistance

- unconscious processes keep the memory repressed

- used free association: saying anything that comes to mind

- used interpretation of dreams and slips of the tongue

- both could reveal repressed unconscious material

Structure of the Personality

- Freud saw a self divided – diverse forces in inevitable conflict

- no sharply defined systems but fluid interactions

- takes into account the biological roots and the historical development

Id (It) – oldest and original function

- drives, genetic makeup, reflexes, needs and wishes

- impersonal and uncontrollable

- tension reduction: pleasure principle

- primary process: forming an image of what can satisfy the need

- wish fulfillment: satisfying a need through primary process

Ego (I) – evolves out of the id

- follows the reality principle

- secondary processes: tries to fulfill Id needs using realistic thinking

- draws on the energy of the id

- "faithful servant" of the id

- the primary executor in a healthy adult

Superego (Over – I)

- internalized values, ideals and moral standards

- develops during childhood dependency

- seeks moralistic solutions

- conscience: capacity for self-evaluation; creates feelings of guilt

- ego-ideal: who we think we should be

- curbs the id when ego is still too weak

- can become a harsh taskmaster

Conscious vs. Unconscious

- adjectives, not locations

- the id is completely unconscious

- much of the ego and superego are also unconscious

- they may be dynamically unconscious

Theory of Psychosexual Development

- stages are associated with when certain behaviors naturally occur

- based on the assumption of infant sexuality

- sexuality was broader than reproductive activity

- included deriving pleasure from the body, and sublimation

- the stages describe a normative sequence of different modes for gratifying sexual instinct

- sources of pleasure

- sources of potential conflict

- a child can become fixated at a particular stage

- when under stress, an adult may regress to childish behavior

- development moves from autoeroticism to reproductive sexuality

Oral Stage – birth to age one

- the mouth is the main source of information and of pleasure

- eating, sucking, biting/chewing

- prototypes for later behaviors and character traits

e.g., the gullible person; using "biting" humor;

gum chewing and smoking

- two sources of conflict involve weaning and biting: may lead to a fixation

Anal Stage – 2nd and 3rd year of life

- pleasure is associated with expulsion or retention of feces

- often the first attempt to regulate instinctual impulses

- also when child begins to assert it's independence

- rigid, harsh training may lead child to rebel and hold back feces

- if this reaction generalizes, may develop a retentive character: obstinate and stingy

- or child may vent rage by expelling inappropriately

- may become prototype for expulsive traits:

tantrums, destructiveness, messy disorderliness

Phallic Stage – 4th and 5th year

- the little boy wants to be the exclusive object of the mother's love

- his main rival is the father

- he wants to eliminate the father, and experiences guilt and fear because of that

- the Oedipus complex is resolved when the little boy identifies with the father, gaining the mother's love vicariously

- increased interest in gender differences

- genitals become the source of pleasure

- not associated with reproduction, but with autoeroticism

Latency Period

- a time of relative sexual calm

- sexual impulses are channeled into sports, intellectual interests and peer relations

Genital Stage

- genital organs mature

- rebirth of sexual drive, now redirected to others

- mature people satisfy their sexual needs in socially approved ways

Freud based his theory on clinical observations and rigorous self-analysis.

Is Freud's theory testable? Can it be disconfirmed?

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