Sigmund Freud personality theory

1. Personality, 9e
Jerry M. Burger
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2. Chapter 3
The Psychoanalytic Approach:
Freudian Theory, Application, and
Assessment
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3. Chapter Outline
Freud discovers the unconscious
Freudian theory of personality
Application: Psychoanalysis
Assessment: Projective tests
Strengths and criticisms of Freud’s
theory
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4. Freud Discovers the
Unconscious
Studies in Hysteria, published by
Freud and Breuer
Case of Anna O. and use of hypnosis
in treating hysteria
Free association: Description of
hidden memories by patients,that
seemed related to the causes and
cure of hysterical symptoms
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5. Freud Discovers the
Unconscious
Early traumatic sexual experiences
were responsible for hysterical
symptoms expressed by adult
patients
Vienna Psychoanalytic Society
Formed by Freud and his followers
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6. Topographic Model
Personality is divided into different
levels of awareness
Conscious: Thoughts a person is
currently aware of
Preconscious: Retrievable
information
Unconscious: Thoughts that cannot
be easily brought into awareness
 Except under extreme situations
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7. Structural Model
Divides personality into the id, the
ego, and the superego
Id: Personality structure at birth
Actions are based on pleasure
principle and wish fulfillment
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8. Structural Model
Ego: Satisfies id impulses, but
takes into consideration the realities
of the world
Actions are based on reality principle
Superego: Represents society’s
values and standards
Provides ideals to determine if a
behavior is virtuous
Powerful superego leads to moral
anxiety
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9. Figure 3.1 - Relationship of the Id, Ego,
and Superego to the Three Levels of
Awareness
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10. Libido and Thanatos
Triebe - Strong internal forces that
motivates human behavior
Referred as drives or instincts
Categories of instincts
Libido - Life or sexual instinct
Thanatos - Death or aggressive
instinct
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11. Libido and Thanatos
Most human behavior is attributed
to the life instinct
Includes action aimed at receiving
pleasure
Death instinct is turned outward and
expressed as aggression against
others
Wish to die remains unconscious
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12. Defense Mechanisms
Techniques of ego to deal with
unwanted thoughts and desires and
reduce or avoid anxiety
Repression
Active effort by the ego to push
threatening material out of
consciousness
Requires constant expand of energy
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13. Defense Mechanisms
Sublimation
Channelling threatening unconscious
impulses into socially acceptable
actions
Productive in nature
Displacement
Channelling impulses to
nonthreatening objects
Displaced impulses do not lead to
social rewards
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14. Defense Mechanisms
Denial
Refusal to accept that certain facts
exist
Extreme form of defense
Makes a person less realistic
Reaction formation
Acting in a manner opposite to
threatening unconscious desires
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15. Defense Mechanisms
Intellectualization
Removal of emotional content from the
thought
Helps bring difficult thoughts into
consciousness without anxiety
Projection
Attributing unconscious impulse to
other people
Frees a person from the perception
that he/she is the one who holds a
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16. Psychosexual Stages of
Development
Sequence of development made up
of stages characterized by primary
erogenous zones and sexual
desires
Each stage has a specific influence on
the adult personality
Adult personalities of people are
greatly influenced by the events of
early childhood
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17. Psychosexual Stages of
Development
Fixation - Stagnation of psychic
energy
Results when a child is unable to move
through a particular stage
Oral stage
First 18 months of life
Primary erogenous zones - Mouth,
lips, and tongue
Feeding problems can result in fixation
and development of an oral personality
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18. Psychosexual Stages of
Development
Anal stage
Primary erogenous zone - Anal region
Children are toilet trained
Traumatic toilet training can result in
fixation and development of an anal
personality
Phallic stage
Ages 3 to 6
Primary erogenous zone - Penis or
clitoris
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19. Psychosexual Stages of
Development
Oedipus complex - Children develop a
sexual attraction for their opposite-sex
parent
Boys develop castration anxiety and
girls develop penis envy
Eventually the children repress their
desire for their opposite-sex parent
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20. Psychosexual Stages of
Development
Latency stage
Sexual desires abate
Boys and girls are uninterested in each
other
Genital stage
Initiated at puberty
Primary erogenous zone - Adult genital
regions
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21. Getting at Unconscious
Material
Strong id impulses do not disappear
when they are pushed out of
consciousness
Expressed in a altered form
Unconscious thoughts can be
noticed by observing innocent
behaviors
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22. Getting at Unconscious
Material
Techniques to get unconscious
material
Dreams
 Provide id impulses with a stage for
expression
 Trained psychoanalysts can identify
common dream symbols
Projective tests: Assesses
unconscious material by asking test
takers to respond to ambiguous stimuli
 Identifying objects, telling a story, or
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23. Getting at Unconscious
Material
Free association
 Used to temporarily bypass the censoring
mechanism employed by ego
 Exposes strange, uncensored ideas
Freudian slips: Misstatements or slips
of the lounge
 May represent unconscious associations
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24. Getting at Unconscious
Material
Hypnosis
 Allows the hypnotist to bypass the ego and
get directly to unconscious material
 Drawback - Not everyone is responsive
Accidents
 Intentional actions stemming from
unconscious impulses
 Resistance - Deliberate effort by the
unconscious mind to cover threatening
unconscious material
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25. Getting at Unconscious
Material
Symbolic behavior
 Daily behaviors can be interpreted as
symbolic representations of unconscious
desires
 Poses no threat to the ego
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26. Application: Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis: System of
psychotherapy that focuses on
uncovering the unconscious
material responsible for a patient’s
disorder
Primary goal - Bring crucial
unconscious material into
consciousness for rational examination
Unconscious material must be dealt in
a manner to avoid manifestation of
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27. Application: Psychoanalysis
Requires several hour-long therapy
sessions
 Is expensive
Maximum time is spent in getting at the
crucial unconscious material causing
the disorder
Requires the therapist to actively
interpret the significance of client’s
statements, behaviors, and dreams
Development of resistance by client
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28. Application: Psychoanalysis
Development of transference
 Displacing of emotions associated with
people from past situations onto the
therapist
 Delicate and crucial part of the therapy
process
 Countertransference is inadmissible
Studies indicate psychoanalytic
therapies are effective in treating
several psychological disorders
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29. Assessment: Projective
Tests
Rorschach inkblot test
Predicts behavior from responses to
inkblots
Designed by Hermann Rorschach
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Test takers are asked to tell a story
about a series of ambiguous pictures
Designed by Henry Murray
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30. Assessment: Projective
Tests
Human Figure Drawing test
Measures intelligence and important
personality constructs
Used as an indicator of psychological
problems in children
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31. Figure 3.2 - Human Figure Drawings
by Emotionally Disturbed Children
Source: From Koppitz, E. M. (1986). Psychological Evaluation of Children’s Human Figure Drawing. Reprinted by
permission of Grune & Stratton, Inc., and the author.
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32. Evaluation of Projective
Tests
Criticisms of Rorschach inkblot test
Low indices of reliability and lack of
evidence for the validity of the test
No scientific basis for justifying the use
of Rorschach scales in psychological
assessment
Reviewers find usefulness of the
test when results from various
studies are analyzed
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33. Evaluation of Projective
Tests
Newer systems for coding
Rorschach responses are reliable
than earlier methods
Usage of projective tests extends
beyond psychotherapy
Evaluation of social and emotional
adjustment
Psychologists working with law
enforcement and court officials
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34. Strengths and Criticisms of
Freud’s Theory
Strengths
First comprehensive theory of human
behavior and personality
Freud’s observations set the direction
for subsequent personality theory and
research
First system of psychotherapy
 Freud’s techniques have become standard
tools for many therapists
Promoted important psychological
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35. Strengths and Criticisms of
Freud’s Theory
Criticisms
Writers argue that Freud’s ideas are
not original
 Freudian ideas appear in literature that
predates Freud’s work
Hypotheses generated from the theory
are not testable
Disagreements with the points of
emphasis and tone of Freud’s theory
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