The Psychodynamic Theory Of
Abnormality
Sigmund Freud
Basic Assumptions
• All adult personality and thus abnormalities
are a result of childhood experiences
• Adult personality is largely determined by the
age of five
• Behaviour is driven by unconscious motives
• Abnormalities are caused by unconscious
conflicts
According to Freud…
and an iceberg
got in common?
What have the
human mind
The greater part is buried
beneath the surface
According to
Freud, most
of what is
contained in
our minds is
pushed below
the surface
where we
can’t access it
He calls this
repression
But why do we
repress
information?
Therefore, repression in a
defence mechanism
According to
the theory, any
thoughts,
feelings or
memories that
are likely to
cause us
unpleasant
emotions (e.g.
guilt, shame,
anxiety,
sadness) are
pushed into the
unconscious to
protect us from
the negative
feelings they
would provoke
What might
be some
examples of
repressed
information?
I wish my
mother was
I am gaydead I would like to have
But
wefather
cannot
sex with
my
completely
escape from
these
thoughts/feelings
I have an
irrational
I hate
I
feargay
of people,They
may be
I they
oftenshould
feel very
think
injections
represented in
aggressive
no
be
locked upfor
conscious
reason behaviour in
symbolic form
Therefore, unconscious conflicts can lead to
psychological disorders
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf
P9AIJA72E
The Structure of Personality
Freud argued that there are 3 components of the
human personality:
The
id
and I
want it
NOW!
This is about
ME! want food, I
want sex and I
want alcohol
This
works on
the
pleasure
principle
It is wholly
concerned
with the
gratification
of physical
needs
The Structure of Personality
Freud argued that there are 3 components of the
human personality:
You may well be
in love with her,
It operates
Frog, old son,
according to the
but it’s only
‘reality principle’
going to lead to
heartache
This tries to balance
the demands of the
Do yourself a
id with the needs of
favour, old bean –
the superego (moral
go home and drown
component)
your sorrows with a
few pints
It is the rational
The
ego
part of the
personality
The Structure of Personality
Freud argued that there are 3 components of the
human personality:
The
superego
We really
shouldn’t have
done that, Harry
This is the moral part of
the personality. It results
from the internalisation of
the values of parents and
society
I guess it’s eternal
damnation for the
both of The
us superego threatens
guilt for bad behaviour and
rewards (e.g. high self
esteem) for good behaviour
The id and the superego are in constant conflict
Oh, but you
mustn’t!
Hmm… how
can I deal with
this problem?
The ego uses
defense mechanisms
to protect the
superego from the
harmful thoughts of
the id
As we’ve discussed,
repression is a
defence mechanism
Over-use of the defence mechanisms can lead to psychological disorder
But if the ego fails to
provide a balance
between the id and
the superego, then
abnormalities can
occur if one or the
other become
dominant
A dominant ID can
lead to..
Personality
disorder
RAPE
MURDER
A dominant supergo can
lead to..
Obsessive
compulsive disorder
Phobias
Anxiety
disorders:
The psychosexual stages of development
Freud believed that during the stages of psychosexual
development, the focus of the libido (sexual energy) shifts to
different parts of the body
During each stage,
conflicts arise which
have to be resolved.
It then
moves
to the
anus
It starts inIfthe
themouth
child is overgratified or undergratified, this can
lead to fixation
And then
Fixation can lead to adult
to the
personality problems
genitals
The psychosexual stages of development
Oral stage (0-18 months approximately)
The child derives
pleasure from
sucking and,
later, biting
Consequences
of fixation:
The psychosexual stages of development
Nail biting
Smoking
Biting sarcasm
Overeating
The psychosexual stages of development
Anal stage (18 months-3 years approximately)
The child derives
pleasure from
defecating and
regards its faeces
as its first
possessions
Consequences
of fixation:
The psychosexual stages of development
Overly controlling
personality
Miserliness
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder
The psychosexual stages of development
Phallic Stage (3-6 years approximately)
But Daddy
might deal with
If only
could get rid
me Iby
of Daddy,me
mummy
castrating
would be mine!
The focus of the libido moves to the
genitals. The boy experiences the
Oedipus Complex: The boy
wishes to sexually possess his
mother and get rid of his father who
he sees as a rival for his mother’s
affections.
But the child fears his father will castrate him if he continues
his flirtation with his mother.
The psychosexual stages of development
And so the boy represses his love for his
mother and becomes like his father
(identification with the aggressor) to
avoid the threat of castration
This is how he acquires his sense of
morality (superego), through the
internalisation of parental values
The equivalent for
girls is the Electra
Complex
The girl becomes
sexually attracted
to her father
The psychosexual stages of development
But because she fears she will
lose her mother’s love, she
represses her love for her father
and identifies with her mother
Consequences of
fixation:
The psychosexual stages of development
Self love
Reckless
behaviour
Homosexuality
Apart from repression, other defence
mechanisms can include:
Displacement
What do you
think you’re
lookin’ at?
Repressed feelings
towards a person (e.g.
hostility towards a
parent) may be
displaced onto others,
causing the person, in
this example, to be
overly aggressive
Apart from repression, other defence
mechanisms can include:
Reaction formation
You
disgust
me!
This is where the
unconscious feeling is
converted to the
opposite behaviour
Freud believed that
homophobia was an
indication of
repressed
homosexuality
Apart from repression, other defence
mechanisms can include:
Projection
This is where we attribute
repressed traits/feeling to
others
This can lead to
paranoia
I’m not
leaving the
house
All men
It’s not
are
sex maniacs
safe
They’re
disgusting
perverts, the
lot of them