Chapter SummaryThe Psychoanalytic Perspective
Exploring the Unconscious Sigmund Freud’s treatment of emotional disorders led him to believe that they sprang from unconscious dynamics, which he sought to analyze through free associations and dreams. Freud saw personality as composed of pleasure-seeking psychic impulses (the id), a reality-oriented executive (the ego), and an internalized set of ideals (the superego). Freud believed that children develop through psychosexual stages—the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. He suggested that our personalities are influenced by how we have resolved conflicts associated with these stages and whether we have remained fixated at any stage. Tensions between demands of the id and superego cause anxiety. The ego copes by using defense mechanisms, of which repression is the most basic. The Neo-Freudian and Psychodynamic Theorists Neo-Freudians Alfred Adler and Karen Horney accepted many of Freud’s ideas, as did Carl Jung. But they also argued that we have motives other than sex and aggression, and that the ego’s conscious control is greater than Freud supposed. Assessing Unconscious Processes Projective tests are tests that attempt to assess personality by presenting ambiguous stimuli that are designed to reveal the unconscious. Although projective tests, such as the Rorschach inkblots, have questionable reliability or validity, some clinicians continue to use them. Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective Today’s research psychologists find some of Freud’s specific ideas implausible, unvalidated, or contradicted by new research, and they note that his theory offers only after-the-fact explanations. Many researchers now believe that repression rarely, if ever, occurs. Nevertheless, Freud drew psychology’s attention to the unconscious, to the struggle to cope with anxiety and sexuality, and to the conflict between biological impulses and social restraints. His cultural impact has been enormous. The Humanistic Perspective Humanistic psychologists have sought to turn psychology’s attention from baser motives and environmental conditioning to the growth potential of healthy people, as seen through the individual’s own experiences. Abraham Maslow’s Self-Actualizing Person Abraham Maslow believed that if basic human needs are fulfilled, people will strive to actualize their highest potential. To describe self-actualization, he studied some exemplary personalities and summarized his impressions of their qualities. Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Perspective To nurture growth in others, Carl Rogers advised being genuine, accepting, and empathic. In such a climate, people can develop a deeper self-awareness and a more realistic and positive self-concept. Assessing the Self Humanistic psychologists assessed personality through questionnaires on which people report their self-concept and in therapy by seeking to understand others’ subjective personal experiences. Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective Humanistic psychology helped to renew psychology’s interest in the self. Nevertheless, humanistic psychology’s critics complain that its concepts are vague and subjective, its values individualist and self-centered, and its assumptions naively optimistic. The Trait Perspective Exploring Traits Rather than explain the hidden aspects of personality, trait researchers describe the predispositions that underlie our actions. For example, through factor analysis, researchers have isolated important dimensions of personality. Assessing Traits Personality inventories (like the MMPI-2) are questionnaires on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors. Items on the tests are empirically derived, and the tests are objectively scored. Peer reports may, however, provide more trustworthy clues to a person’s behavioral traits. The Big Five Factors Five personality dimensions—stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness—offer a reasonably comprehensive picture of personality. Genetic predispositions and other biological factors influence these traits. Evaluating the Trait Perspective Critics of the trait perspective question the consistency with which traits are expressed. Although people’s traits persist over time, human behavior varies widely from situation to situation. Despite these variations, a person’s average behavior across different situations tends to be fairly consistent. Traits matter. The Social-Cognitive Perspective Reciprocal Influences The social-cognitive perspective applies principles of learning, cognition, and social behavior to personality, with particular emphasis on the ways in which our personality influences and is influenced by our interaction with the environment. It assumes reciprocal determinism—that personal-cognitive factors combine with the environment to influence people’s behavior. Personal Control By studying how people vary in their perceived locus of control and in their experiences of learned helplessness, researchers have found that a sense of personal control helps people to cope with life. Research on learned helplessness has evolved into research on optimism and now into a broader positive psychology movement. Assessing Behavior in Situations Social-cognitive researchers observe how people’s behaviors and beliefs both affect and are affected by their situations. They have found that the best way to predict someone’s behavior in a given situation is to observe that person’s behavior pattern in similar situations. Evaluating the Social-Cognitive Perspective Although faulted for slighting the importance of unconscious dynamics, emotions, and inner traits, the social-cognitive perspective builds on psychology’s well-established concepts of learning and cognition and reminds us of the power of social situations. Exploring the Self The Benefits of Self-Esteem Research on the self has recently expanded to include the concept of possible selves, the visions of ourselves we dream of becoming, and the concept of the spotlight effect, the assumption that we overestimate others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders. But research confirms the importance of high self-esteem and the potency of the self-serving bias. Culture and Self-Esteem People of stigmatized groups do not suffer lower self-esteem as a result of their minority. Self-esteem can be maintained by valuing those areas excelled in, attributing problems to prejudice, and by people comparing themselves to others in the same group. Self-Serving Bias Recent research firmly concludes that we exercise a self-serving bias, a readiness to perceive ourselves favorably. People tend to feel personally responsible for successes, while accepting less responsibility for adversity, and most see themselves as better than average. Scientists suggest that humans function best when the two types of self-esteem, defensive (fragile) self-esteem and secure (less fragile) self-esteem are in balance. Key TermsPersonality - an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Free Association - in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing. Psychoanalysis - Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. Unconscious - according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware. Preconscious - in Freud's theory, the level of consciousness in which thoughts and feelings are not conscious but are readily retrievable to consciousness. Id - contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. Operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. Pleasure Principle - Freud's theory regarding the id's desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain in order to achieve immediate gratification.. Ego - the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. Reality Principle - According the Freud, the attempt by the ego to satisfy both the id and the superego while still considering the reality of the situation. Superego - the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations. Psychosexual Stages - the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones. Oral Stage - Freud's first stage of psychosexual development during which pleasure is centered in the mouth. Anal Stage - Freud's second stage of psychosexual development where the primary sexual focus is on the elimination or holding onto feces. The stage is often thought of as representing a child's ability to control his or her own world. Phallic Stage - The third of Freud's psychosexual development in which genitals are the source of pleasure and the Oedipus Complex begins. Oedipus Complex - according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father. Identification - the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos. Gender Identity - one's sense of being male or female. Latency Stage - In Freud's Psychosexual Stages when you have dormant sexual feelings ( 6 - puberty). Genital Stage - Freud's stage of psychosexual development when adult sexuality is prominent. Fixation - according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved. Defense Mechanisms - in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality. Repression - in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Regression - psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated. Reaction Formation - psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings. Projection - psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others. Rationalization - defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions. Displacement - psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet. Sublimation - a defense mechanism in which unacceptable energies are directed into socially acceptable outlets, such as sports. Collective Unconscious - Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history. Projective Tests - a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli to trigger projection of one's inner thoughts and feelings. TAT - a projective test in which subjects look at and tell a story about ambiguous pictures. Rorschach Inkblot Test - the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots. Trait - a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports. Personality Inventory - a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits. MMPI-2 - the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes. Empirically Derived Test - a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups. Self Actualization - according to Maslow, the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential. Unconditional Positive Regard - according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person. Self Concept - (1) a sense of one's identity and personal worth. (2) all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question "Who am I?" Self-Esteem - one's feelings of high or low self-worth. Self Serving Bias - a readiness to perceive oneself favorably. Reciprocal Determinism - the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors. Individualism - giving priority to one's own goals over group goals, and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications. Ex: America Collectivism - giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly. Ex: China, Japan Personal Control - our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless. External Locus of Control - the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate. Internal Locus of Control - the perception that one controls one's own fate. Learned Helplessness - the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events. Positive Psychology - the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Social Cognitive Perspective - views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons (and their thinking) and their social context. Spotlight Effect - overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us). Terror Management Theory - purposes that faith in one's worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection agaisnt a deeply rooted fear or death. |
People to Know*Carl Jung - referred to mid-life as the "afternoon of life." Mid-life serves an important preparation for late adulthood, which he calls "the evening of life."
Gilbert Brim - middle adulthood is full of changes, twists and turns, the path is not fixed. People move in and out of states of success and failure.. John Horn - believes some abilities decline in middle age, whereas others increase. K. Warner Schaie - initiated the Seattle Longitudinal Study that involves extensive evaluation of intellectual abilities in the adulthood years. participants were assessed in seven year intervals. the main focus has been on individual change and stability in INTELLIGENCE and the study is considered to be one of the most thorough examinations of how people develop and change as they go through the adulthood years. the main mental abilities that were tested were vocabulary, verbal memory, numbers, spatial orientation, inductive reasons, and perceptual speed. the results for this study have been described so far to focus on average cognitive stability or change for all participants across the middle adulthood years. Sherry Willis - continued from Schaie (Seattle longitudinal study). schaie and willis examined individual differences for the participants in the Seattle study and found substantial individual variations. they classified participants as "decliners" "stable" and "gainers" for three categories- number ability, delayed recall (a verbal memory task) and word fluency- from 46 to 60 year olds. the largest percentage of decline occurred over delayed recall; the largest percentage with stable scores was for numerical ability. word fluency declined from 46 to 60 years. Timothy Salthouse - a researcher who disagreed with schaie (Seattle long. study) that middle adulthood is the time when the level of functioning in a number of cognitive domains is maintained or ever increases. salthouse recently concluded that cross-sectional research on aging and cognitive functioning should not be dismissed and that this research indicates reasoning, memory, spatial visualization, and processing speed begin declining in early adulthood and show further decline in the 50s. Denise Park - Argues that starting in late middle age, more time is needed to learn new information. Nancy Denney - found that the ability to solve practical problems increased for adults throughout their 40s and 50s as individuals accumulated practical experience. John Clausen - did a longitudinal investigation of which some individuals who had been strongly religious in their early adult years became less so in middle age; others became more religious in middle age. Victor Frankl - emphasized each persons uniqueness and the finiteness of life. Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs - argue that the quest of a meaningful life can be understood in terms of four main needs for meaning that guide how people try to make sense of their lives: 1) need for purpose, 2) need for values, 3) need for a sense of efficacy, 4) need for self-worth. Crystal Park - view that religious individuals experience more disruption of their beliefs, values, and goals immediately after the death of a loved one than individuals who are not religious. eventually though, individuals who are religious often show better adjustment to the loss. *Most important of the people ChartsTricky SpotsDisplacement - Displacing one feeling for another. Chandler always displaces his fears with humor! Here we have him trying to say good bye to Rachel, but instead, he emits a fart joke!
Sublimation - Like displacement, but a healthy redirection of emotion. There are numerous heartbreaks but here we've got Monica allowing Phoebe to help her get over Monica through counsel with a trusting friend and relaxation.
Extras
Videos |