Psychoanalytic Theory

1. Psychoanalytic Theory
Personality According to
Sigmund Freud

2. Personality
An individual’s unique and relatively
consistent patterns of thinking,
feeling, and behaving

3. Attempt to describe and explain
how people are similar, how
they are different, and why
every individual is unique
Personality Theory

4. Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)
• Founder of psychoanalysis
• Proposed the first complete theory
of personality
• A person’s thoughts and
behaviors emerge from tension
generated by unconscious motives
and unresolved childhood
conflicts.

5. Psychoanalytic Approach
• Developed by Sigmund Freud
• Psychoanalysis is both an approach
to therapy and a theory of personality
• Emphasizes unconscious motivation
– the main causes of behavior lie
buried in the unconscious mind

6. Psychoanalysis as a Therapy
• A therapeutic technique that attempts
to provide insight into one’s thoughts
and actions
• Does so by exposing and interpreting
the underlying unconscious motives
and conflicts

7. Personality Assessment
Projective Techniques
• Interpretation of an ambiguous to trigger
projection of one’s inner thoughts and feelings
• Used to determine unconscious motives, conflicts,
and psychological defenses & traits

8. Freud’s View of the
Mind

9. Conscious Mind
•All the thoughts, feelings, and
sensations that you are aware of
at this particular moment
represent the conscious level

10. Preconscious Mind
• A region of the mind holding information
that is not conscious but is easily
retrievable into conscious awareness
• Holds thoughts and memories not in one’s
current awareness but can easily be
retrieved (childhood memories, phone
number)

11. Unconscious Mind
• A region of the mind that includes unacceptable
thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories
• Not aware of these thoughts, wishes, etc… but
they exert great influence over our conscious
thoughts & behavior.
• Freud felt that dreams were “The royal road to
the unconsciousness” – behind the surface
image (manifest content) lied the true hidden
meaning (latent content).
• Can also surface as “slips of the tongue” or
Freudian Slips.

13. Psychoanalytic Approach
• Conscious –
all things
we are
aware of
at any given
moment

14. Psychoanalytic Approach
• Preconscious –
everything that
can, with a
little effort, be
brought into
consciousness

15. Psychoanalytic Approach
• Unconscious –
inaccessible
warehouse of
anxiety-
producing
thoughts and
drives

16. UNCONSCIOUS MIND
• Free Association - Freudian
technique of exploring the
unconscious mind by having the
person relax and say whatever
comes to mind no matter how
trivial or embarrassing
• Hypnosis – Relaxing a person
into a highly suggestive state to
uncover unconscious memories
or conflicts
• Dream Analysis – interpreting
through dreams
The Couch

17. The Id, Ego, and
Superego

18. Psychoanalytic
Divisions of the Mind
• Id—instinctual drives present at birth
– does not distinguish between reality and fantasy
– operates according to the pleasure principle
• Ego—develops out of the id in infancy
– understands reality and logic
– mediator between id and superego
• Superego
– internalization of society’s & parental moral standards
– One’s conscience; focuses on what the person “should” do
– Develops around ages 5-6.
– Partially unconscious
– Can be harshly punitive using feelings of guilt

19. Freud’s Concept of the “Id”
• The part of personality that consists of
unconscious energy from basic
aggressive and sexual drives
• Operates on the “pleasure principle” -
the id demands immediate
gratification
• Is present from birth

20. Id: The Pleasure Principle
• Pleasure principle—drive toward immediate
gratification, most fundamental human
motive
• Sources of energy
– Eros—life instinct, perpetuates life
• Libido—sexual energy or motivation
– Thanatos—death instinct, aggression, self-
destructive actions

21. Freud’s Concept of the “Ego”
• The part of personality that mediates
the demands of the id without going
against the restraints of the superego
• Follows the reality principle

22. Ego: The Reality Principle
• Reality principle—ability to postpone
gratification in accordance with demands of
reality
• Ego—rational, organized, logical, mediator
to demands of reality
• Can repress desires that cannot be met in an
acceptable manner

23. The Personality
Id: “I want”
Superego: “I should”
Ego: “I will”

24. EXAMPLES
ID
Situation: You’re at a party, and there's a
delicious cake in front of you. You're on a strict
diet, but the cake looks so tempting. The id
would just want you to eat it immediately
without thinking about the consequences.

25. EXAMPLES
EGO
Situation: You're still at the party with the cake
in front of you. The ego comes into play,
considering both your desire to eat the cake
and your awareness of your diet. It might say,
"I really want this, but I should wait and have
just one small piece later so it doesn’t ruin my
progress.

26. EXAMPLES
SUPEREGO
Situation: You’re still thinking about the cake,
but now the superego kicks in. It might say, "I
shouldn't eat the cake at all, because it's
unhealthy and it's against my values to
overindulge when I know I should be taking
care of my body."

27. EXAMPLES
ID
You’re shopping for a car. The id might think, "I
want the most expensive, flashy car. I deserve it.
It looks amazing and will make me feel great!"

28. EXAMPLES
EGO
The ego could intervene with a more realistic
thought: "I want a new car, but I need to
consider my budget and practical needs. Let me
see which cars are affordable and reliable.

29. EXAMPLES
SUPER EGO
The superego might say, "I shouldn’t buy an
expensive car because it’s not responsible with
money. I should save or invest in something
more practical and secure for the future."

30. EXAMPLES
ID
ThYou’re about to take a test, but you’re
unprepared. The id may tempt you with the
thought, "I’ll just look at my notes or cheat. It’ll
be so much easier, and I’ll pass."e superego
might say, "I shouldn’t buy an expensive car
because it’s not responsible with money. I
should save or invest in something more
practical and secure for the future."

31. EXAMPLES
EGO
The ego might think, "I could cheat and
probably get away with it, but it’s wrong, and
I’d feel guilty afterward. It’s better to try my
best honestly, even if I don’t do well."

32. EXAMPLES
SUPER EGO
The superego would say, "Cheating is morally
wrong, and I should study and do my best. It’s
more important to uphold my integrity and learn
the material."

33. EXAMPLES
ID
You’re in a heated argument with someone.
The id might want to lash out, yell, or insult the
person to defend yourself or "win" the
argument.

34. EXAMPLES
EGO
The ego could step in with a more balanced
approach, thinking, "I’m really angry, but
yelling isn’t going to help. Let me take a deep
breath and try to communicate calmly to resolve
this."

35. EXAMPLES
SUPER EGO
"It’s important to stay respectful and considerate
even if I’m upset. I should try to understand the
other person’s point of view and maintain my
dignity."

36. Psychoanalytic Approach
Conscious
Unconscious
Superego Preconscious
Id
Ego
Information
which can
easily be
made
conscious
Thoughts,
feelings,
urges, and other
information
that is difficult
to bring to
conscious
awareness
Information
in your
immediate
awareness
Rational,
planful,
mediating
dimension
of personality
Moralistic,
judgmental,
perfectionist
dimension of
personality
Irrational,
illogical,
impulsive
dimension of
personality

37. The Psychodynamic
Perspective:
Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages

38. Psychosexual Stages
• In Freudian theory, the childhood stages of
development during which the id’s pleasure
seeking energies are focused on different parts of
the body
• The stages include: oral, anal, phallic, latency,
and genital
• A person can become “fixated” or stuck at a
stage and as an adult attempt to achieve pleasure
as in ways that are equivalent to how it was
achieved in these stages

39. Oral Stage (birth – 18 mo.)
• Mouth is associated with sexual pleasure
• Pleasure comes from activities involving
the mouth such as chewing, biting, and
sucking.
• Weaning a child can lead to fixation if not
handled correctly
• Fixation can lead to oral activities
in adulthood

40. Freud’s Stages of Development

41. Anal Stage (1 – 3 years)
• Focus: Anus
• Toilet training – trained to withhold and
expel feces
• Toilet training can lead to fixation if not
handled correctly
• Fixation can lead to anal retentive or
expulsive behaviors in adulthood

42. Freud’s Stages of Development

43. Phallic Stage (3 – 6 years)
• Focus of pleasure shifts to the genitals
• Form attachment to their parents of opposite
sex
• They feel jealous to their parents of the same
sex
• Child identifies with and tries to mimic the
same sex parent to learn gender identity.

44. Oedipus Complex
• Boys feel hostility and jealousy towards their fathers
but knows their father is more powerful. This leads
to…
• Castration Anxiety results in boys who feel their father
will punish them by castrating them.
• Resolve this through Identification – imitating and
internalizing one’s father’s values, attitudes and
mannerisms. (Formation of gender identity &
superego)
• The fact that only the father can have sexual relations
with the mother becomes internalized in the boy as
taboo against incest in the boy’s superego.

45. Electra Complex
• Girls also have incestuous feelings for their
dad and compete with their mother.
• Penis Envy – Little girl suffer from deprivation
and loss and blames her mother for “sending
her into the world insufficiently equipped”
causing her to resent her mother
• In an attempt to take her mother’s place she
eventually indentifies with her mother
• Fixation can lead to excessive masculinity in
males and the need for attention or domination
in females

46. Freud’s Stages of Development

47. Latency Stage (5 – puberty)
• Sexuality is repressed (Latent means
“hidden”) due to intense anxiety caused by
Oedipus complex
• Children participate in hobbies, school, and
same-sex friendships that strengthen their
sexual identity

48. Freud’s Stages of Development

49. Genital Stage (puberty on)
• Incestuous sexual feelings re-emerge but
being prohibited by the superego are
redirected toward others who resemble
the person’s opposite sex parent.
• Healthy adults find pleasure in love and
work, fixated adults have their energy
tied up in earlier stages

50. Freud’s Stages of Development

51. Defense Mechanisms
Unconscious Self-Deceptions

52. Defense Mechanisms
• Unconscious mental processes
employed by the ego to reduce
anxiety by unconsciously distorting
reality.

53. Repression
• Puts anxiety-producing thoughts,
feelings, and memories into the
unconscious mind
• Unconscious forgetting
• The basis for all other defense
mechanisms

55. Denial
• Rejecting the truth of a painful reality.

57. Regression
• Going back to a safer, simpler way of
being.
• Assuming childlike behaviors when
facing stress or trauma

59. Reaction Formation
• Replacing an unacceptable wish
with its opposite
• Behaving in ways that are exactly
opposite of how we truly feel.

61. Projection
• Attributing something that we don’t
like about ourselves to someone else.

63. Rationalization
• Displaces real, anxiety-provoking
explanations with more comforting
justifications for one’s actions
• Reasoning away or making excuses to
reduce anxiety-producing thoughts

65. Displacement
• Shifts an unacceptable impulse
toward a more acceptable or less
threatening object or person
• “Taking out” an emotion on a safe or
more accessible target than the actual
source of the emotion.

67. Sublimation
• Substitute an undesirable emotion or
drive with a socially acceptable one.

69. Undoing
• Unconsciously neutralizing an anxiety
causing action by doing a second action that
undoes the first.