Freud.docx

Freud: Homeostasis and Personality Process to maintain constancy of internal environment Like other animals, we strive for homeostasis Personality driven by a need for homeostasis ?Pressure cooker or hydraulic model? Characteristics of Instincts Source: Bodily Deficit Aim: gratification of needs Impetus: stimulus that propels action Object: External object or mental representation Associated with need gratification EROS Life sustaining instincts Libido = SEXUAL ENERGY Linked to life sustaining activity Libido release associated with pleasure Death Instinct Driven to a pre-life state of no tension Aggression = major instinctual derivative against others against self No energy source linked to this instinct Structural Theory Body supplies limited amount of libido: to id to ego superego Conflict: psychic structures compete for libido Parts of the Mind eath Instic and ID The ?Beast Within? Rooted in biology: origin of personality ?Seething cauldron? of primitive, unconscious urges Operates by means of the ?Pleasure Principle? EGO Living only by the Pleasure Principle: self-destruction and end of civilization EGO = organized portion of the ID Operates by means of the ?Reality Principle? Designed to shape ID responses by: ?inhibition? ?transformation? Logic and rationality = Conscious portion Superego Operates by means of the ?Morality Principle? Designed to persuade the EGO to substitute moralistic goals for libidinous goals Represents internalization of parental standards EGO IDEAL Internalization of parental praise Internalized image of perfection Actions match EGO Ideal = Pleasure Conscience Internalization of parental punishment Punishes with Guilt (pain) If EGO IDEAL expectations not met Three Objectives: Inhibit ID?s urges Persuade EGO to act morally Motivate us to strive for perfection If too harsh and unrealistic, can inhibit: Growth Spontaneity Creativity Defense Mechanisms Designed to defend against anxiety by: blocking stimuli transforming experience Anxiety induced by threat of: losing control of ID impulses Superego punishment Threat of Punishment occurs for just thinking libidinous thoughts even at an unconscious level Cathexis: filling of image or thought with Libido charging mental representations Anticathexis = counter-charge (EGO defenses) Repression: Most fundamental defense Unconscious blocking of animal urge Suppression: CONSCIOUS blocking of urge following loss of ego strength Denial: Non-acknowledgement of traumatic event Displacement = Drive reduction by: substituting another object for the original object initiating the ID impulse Projection: Undesirable attributes are attributed to the Character and Actions of Others Project motives contrary to ego-ideal on to others Denial Refusal to acknowledge anxiety- provoking stimuli As an explanation for: Not acknowledging the sudden death of a loved one Interpreting a terrible fight with a spouse as just a ?lovers quarrel? Displacement Shifting one?s unconscious aggression or fears to a safer target (hydraulic model) As an explanation for: The case of Little Hans ?Kicking the dog? Projection Attributing anxiety-provoking impulse or thoughts to others As an explanation for: Always being suspicious of others Extreme political opinions Rationalization = Use of plausible but inaccurate excuses to justify one?s actions Sour Grapes: People and/or situations are blamed for personal failures Sweet Lemons: Claim that an undesirable experience is desirable Both guard against feelings of inadequacy Rationalization Creating logical, socially acceptable explanations for behaviors which were actually driven by unconscious impulses As an explanation for: Lying and then claiming the lie was to protect the feelings of another person Undoing = Acts or rituals are performed to remove guilt Intellectualization: to avoid unbearable pain: dissociate thought and emotion With logic and a list of reasons Sublimation:An unacceptable urge, itself, is: transformed and replaced by a socially acceptable urge or drive Basis of creativity and civilization Reaction Formation: Lower form of sublimation Transforms unacceptable impulse to its opposite Reaction formation Hides threatening impulses by over-emphasizing their opposite As an explanation for: Rabidly homophobic people turning out to be closeted gays Inappropriate sexual escapades by politicians and clergymen who promote ?family values? Sublimation Dangerous urges are transformed into positive, socially meaningful motivations As an explanation for: Artistic creativity Community leadership