Introductory Psychology Concepts
Psychoanalytic Theory
Instructor name
Class Title, Term/Semester, Year
Institution
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalytic Theory
The first formal theory of personality was advanced by Sigmund
Freud in the early years of the 20th century, and it is the
prototype of the psycho-dynamic approach.
Freud’s Model of Personality
Conscious
Immediate awareness
of current environment
Available to awareness
Preconscious (e.g., names of friends,
home address)
Unconscious
2
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Unavailable to awareness
(infantile memories,
repressed wishes and
conflicts)
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalytic Theory
Freud was convinced that an unconscious part of the mind
exerts great influence on behavior.
• Conscious mind: Consists of mental events in current
awareness.
• Preconscious mind: Contains memories, thoughts, feelings,
and images that we are unaware of at the moment but that
can be recalled (a friend’s telephone number).
• Unconscious mind: A dynamic realm of wishes, feelings,
and impulses that lies beyond our awareness.
3
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Psychoanalytic Theory
Basic Elements of Psychoanalytic Theory
Dream Interpretation
Examining dreams to find clues to unconscious conflicts and problems.
Free Association
Patients are asked to say aloud whatever comes to mind, regardless of
its apparent irrelevance or senselessness. Analysts attempt to
recognize and label the connections between what a patient says and
the patient’s unconscious.
Resistance
Inability or unwillingness to discuss or reveal particular memories,
thoughts, or motivations.
Positive and Negative Transference
The transfer of feelings to a psychoanalyst of love or anger that had
been originally directed to a patient’s parents or other authority figures
(Mann, 1997; Gordon, 2000; Van Beekum, 2005).
4
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalytic Theory: Neo-Freudians
Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts disagreed with certain
aspects of Freud’s thinking.
• They believed that Freud did not give social and cultural
factors a sufficiently important role in the development and
dynamics of personality.
• Also believed that Freud laid too much emphasis on the
events of childhood as determinants of adult personality.
5
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalytic Theory: Neo-Freudians
Erik Erikson
• Believed that personality development continues
throughout the life span as individuals confront challenges
that are specific to particular phases in their lives.
Alfred Adler
• Insisted that humans are inherently social beings,
motivated by social interest, the desire to advance the
welfare of others.
Carl Jung
• Believed that humans possess a personal unconscious and
also a collective unconscious.
6
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalytic Theory: Neo-Freudians
Karen Horney
• One of the earliest psychologists to champion women’s
issues, sometimes called the first feminist psychologist.
• Suggested that personality develops in the context of social
relationships and depends on the relationship between
parents and child and how well the child’s needs are met.
• Rejected Freud’s suggestion that women have penis envy,
asserting that what women envy most in men is not their
anatomy but the independence, success, and freedom that
women are often denied (Horney, 1937; Miletic, 2002).
7
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.