2. • Psychodynamic theories focus on interaction
between conscious and unconscious mind.
• Neo-Freudians accepted basic ideas
– Personality structure of id, ego, superego
– Importance of the unconscious
– Childhood shaping of personality
– Dynamics of anxiety & defense mechanisms
The Neo-Freudians
3. • Important differences from Freud
– More emphasis on the conscious mind
– Emphasized social development instead of Freud’s
focus on sex and aggression
The Neo-Freudians
4. The Neo-Freudians
Developed competing psychoanalysis theories
– Adler: Inferiority and compensation,
birth-order theory
– Horney: Anxiety triggers need for love &
security
– Jung: Collective unconscious, archetypes,
inherited experiences
– Erikson: Social relationships across the lifespan
5. • Personality assessment tools differ according
to the theory associated with them.
• Psychodynamic theorists use projective tests.
– Provides ambiguous stimuli for test-takers to
describe or tell a story about
– Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
– Rorschach Inkblot Test
Assessing Unconscious Processes
8. • Those who use projective tests presume that
inner feelings, fears, hopes or conflicts are
expressed in the story told.
• Critics insist these methods say they lack
validity (don’t predict what they say they predict)
and reliability (do not yield consistent results).
“When a substantial body of research demonstrates
that old intuitions are wrong, it is time to adopt new
ways of thinking.”
Assessing Unconscious Processes
9. • Modern research psychologists agree we have
limited access to all that goes on in our minds.
– There is much information processing that occurs
without our awareness.
• Research supports the unconscious use of
defense mechanisms
• The unconscious tends to defend against
anxiety
The Modern Unconscious Mind
Editor's Notes
A number of early psychoanalysts, objecting to Freud’s emphasis on biology and particularly on sexuality, broke away from a strict interpretation of psychoanalytic theory, instead altering the focus of psychoanalysis (the term Freud applied to both his explanation of the workings of the unconscious mind and the development of personality and the therapy he based on that theory) to the impact of the social environment.
The neo-Freudians changed the focus of psychoanalysis to fit their own interpretation of the personality, leading to the more modern version known as the psychodynamic perspective.
Jung developed a theory of a collective unconscious, which was his name for the memories shared by all members of the human species.
Adler proposed feelings of inferiority as the driving force behind personality and developed birth order theory.
Horney developed a theory based on basic anxiety and rejected the concept of penis envy.
Erikson developed a theory based on social rather than sexual relationships, covering the entire life span.
