Chapter 15a Freud Unit 12 594-608
How you think, feel or act- Personality
 Powerpoint lecture on Freud’s

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality
Study packet for unit
 Learning Objective: Understanding the
main concepts of Freud’s Psychoanalytic

Theory of Personality
Sigmund Freud’s Psychodynamic
Theory
Psychodynamic Theory
Freud’s psychodynamic theory developed
in the early 1900s grew out of his work
with patients.
 Freud used the term dynamic to refer to
mental energy force.

Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory of
Personality

It emphasizes the importance of early
childhood experiences, unconscious or
repressed thoughts that we can’t
voluntarily access, and the conflicts
between conscious and unconscious forces
that influence our feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors.
Psychodynamic Theory

Conscious thoughts: are wishes, desires, or
thoughts that we are aware of or can recall at
any given moment.
 Unconscious forces: represent wishes desires,
or thoughts that because of their
disturbing/threatening content, we automatically
repress and cannot voluntarily access.
 Freud believed that a large part of our behavior
was guided or motivated by unconscious forces.
Psychodynamic Theory

Unconscious motivation: is a Freudian
concept that refers to the influence of
repressed thoughts, desires, or impulses
on our conscious thoughts and behaviors.
Techniques to Discover the Unconscious
Freud developed three methods to uncover
unconscious processes: free association,
dream interpretation, and slips of the
tongue (Freudian slips).
 Free association: Freud encouraged clients to
talk about any thoughts or images that enter
their head; the assumption is that this kind of
free-flowing uncensored talking will provide
clues to unconscious material.

Techniques to Discover the
Unconscious

Dream Interpretation: a Freudian technique
of analyzing dreams, is based on the assumption
that dreams contain underlying, hidden
meanings and symbols that provide clues to
unconscious thoughts and desires.
 Freud distinguished between the dreams
obvious story or plot, called manifest content,
and the dream’s hidden or disguised meanings
or symbols, called latent content.
Techniques to Discover the
Unconscious

Freudian Slips: are mistakes or slips of
the tongue that we make in everyday
speech; such mistakes which are often
embarrassing, are thought to reflect
unconscious thoughts or wishes.
Techniques to Discover the
Unconscious
Freud assumed that the 3 techniques are
all mental processes that are the least
controlled by our conscious, rational, and
logical minds.
 As a result, he believed that these 3
techniques allowed uncensored clues to
slip out and reveal our deeper unconscious
wishes and desires.

Psychodynamic Theory
According to Freud’s theory, there is a
continuing battle going on in our minds
between conscious thoughts and
unconscious forces.
 How our minds fight these battles is
perhaps one of Freud’s best-known
theories, and you’ll easily recognize many
of the terms including id, ego, and
superego.

Psychodynamic Theory


To understand how the
id, ego, and superego
interact, imagine an
iceberg floating in the
sea.
The part of the iceberg
that is above water
represents conscious
forces of which we are
aware, while parts below
the water indicate
unconscious forces of
which we are not aware.
Psychodynamic Theory
The first division is the id, which contains
2 biological drives-sex and aggression-that
are the source of all mental energy.
 The id follows the pleasure principle,
which is to satisfy the drives and avoid
pain, without concern for moral
restrictions or society’s regulations.

Psychodynamic Theory
The second division is the ego , whose goal is to
find socially acceptable ways of satisfying the
id’s desires within the range of the superego’s
prohibitions.
 The ego follows the reality principle, which is to
satisfy a wish or desire only if there is a socially
acceptable outlet available.
 The ego develops from the id during infancy.

Psychodynamic Theory
The third division is the superego, whose
goal is to apply the moral values and
standards of one’s parents or caregivers
and society in satisfying one’s wishes.
 The superego develops from the ego
during early childhood.

Psychodynamic Theory
Disagreements?
 Freud believed that often times there is little to
no disagreement between the goals of the id
and superego.
 However, when disagreement occurs Freud
theorized that the ego works to find
compromise between the goals of the id an
superego. This compromise is found by the
ego using what Freud described as mental
processes or defense mechanisms.

Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are Freudian
processes that operate at unconscious
levels and that use self-deception or
untrue explanations to protect the ego
from being overwhelmed by anxiety.
 Anxiety: an uncomfortable feeling that
results from inner conflicts between the
primitive desires of the id and moral goals
of the superego.

Defense Mechanisms

Rationalization: involves covering up the true
reasons for actions, thoughts, or feelings by
making up excuses and incorrect explanations.
 Denial: is refusing to recognize some anxiety
provoking event or piece of information that is
clear to others.
 Repression: involves blocking and pushing
unacceptable or threatening feelings, wishes, or
experiences in the unconscious.
Defense Mechanisms

Projection: falsely and unconsciously attributes
your own unacceptable feelings, traits, or
thoughts to individuals or objects.
 Reaction Formation: involves substituting
behaviors, thoughts, or feelings that are the
direct opposite of unacceptable ones.
 Displacement: involves transferring feelings
about, or response to, an object that causes
anxiety to another person or object that is less
threatening.
Defense Mechanisms
Note that all these defense mechanisms
function indirectly and unconsciously.
 They reduce anxiety by disguising our
threatening impulses.
 Just as the body unconsciously defends
itself against disease, so also, believed
Freud does the ego unconsciously defend
itself against anxiety.

5 Psychosexual Stages
Analysis of his patients’ histories convinced
Freud that personality forms during life’s first
few years.
 Again and again his patients symptoms seemed
rooted in unresolved conflicts from early
childhood.
 He concluded that children pass through a series
of psychosexual stages, during which the id’s
pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct
pleasure-sensative areas of the body called
erogenous zones.

5 Psychosexual Stages
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Stage
Focus
Oral
(0-18 months)
Pleasure centers on the mouth-sucking, biting, chewing
Anal
(18-36 months)
Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder
elimination; coping with demands for
control
Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with
incestuous sexual feelings
Phallic
(3-6 years)
Latency
(6 to puberty)
Dormant sexual feelings
Genital
(puberty on)
Maturation of sexual interests
Freud’s Followers and Critics

Carl Jung: Jung originally a
close friend and follower of
Freud disagreed with
Freud's emphasis on the sex
drive. Jung believed the
collective unconscious-and
not sex-to be the basic
force in the development of
personality.
 The collective
unconscious, according to
Jung, consists of ancient
memory traces and symbols
that are passed on by birth
and are shared by all
peoples in all cultures.
Freud’s Followers and Critics




Alfred Adler: like Jung was originally a friend and
follower of Freud’s but he disagreed with his theory
that humans are governed by biological and sexual
urges.
Adler believed that the main factors influencing a child’s
development were sibling influences and child-
rearing practices.
Adler proposed that humans are motivated by social
urges and that each person is a social being with a
unique personality.
In contrast to Freud’s emphasis on unconscious forces
that influence our behaviors, Adler suggested that we
are aware of our motives and goals and have the
capacity to guide and plan our futures.
Freud’s Followers and Critics

Karen Horney: never a follower of Freud
strongly objected to his view that women
were dependent, vain, and submissive because
of biological forces and childhood sexual
experiences.
 She especially took issue with Freud’s idea that
penis envy affected girls’ development.
 Horney insisted that he major influence on
personality development can be found in childparent social interaction.
*Dreams and Meanings ActivityUnderstanding the Unconscious

Freud was classically educated. He was probably
aware of much of the following Dream Lore, and
many biographers cite examples from Freud's
own theories of "borrowing" from these early
civilizations. His use of the Greek civilization is
very apparent, as in his Oedipal and Edipus
complexes. It is therefore appropriate the we
look at the early civilizations, and what they
believed dreams signified, to get a firm grasp of
where we are today, and where your dream
theory may be going.
Dream Analysis

Dreams. They have been a part of the human
psyche since before recorded time. They have
been said to have different purposes at different
times throughout the ages. Some divined
messages from omnipotent beings in dreams,
others later saw them as a window to the
unconscious. Some dismiss them as nothing
more than a biochemical reaction occurring as
the brain rests, recovers, and resets itself from
day to day. What do you think they mean?
Should psychologists study dreams to see if they
tell us something about human behavior?
Symbols
a house = the human form
if the house is flat (no balconies or things
coming off the house)- it is a man if the
house has balconies, awnings, etc., then it
is usually a women
 emperors and empresses = parents
 Kings/Queens = parents
 little animals/vermin = siblings
 water = birth
 journeys/travel = dying

Symbols
the #3, umbrellas, sticks, poles, trees,
(things that penetrate) knives, daggers,
lances, sabers, guns, pistols, revolvers,
(things form which water flow) taps,
watercans, springs (objects that get
longer) balloons, slide rulers, (things that
defy gravity) airplanes, and (animals)
snakes, etc. = the male sex organs
 Intercourse (the act) was often found to
be represented as dancing, riding,
climbing, or experiencing some violent act

Symbols

pits, hallows, caves (things that hold
things) jars, bottles, boxes, chests,
coffers, pockets, cupboards, stoves,
rooms, (things that hold other things)
mouths, doors, gates, (things that
represent breasts) apples, peaches fruits,
and (others) woods, shrubs, bushes, etc.
= female sex organs
Culture and Dreams
Babylonians -saw dreams as messages from
the supernatural beings (good dreams came
from the gods, bad dreams came from demons)
Assyrians -saw dreams as omens. Bad dreams
demanded action, i.e. exorcisms. Other dreams
were seen as "advice"
 Egyptians -believed that the gods revealed
themselves in dreams, demanding pious acts, or
warning of impending doom

Culture and Dreams

Greeks -dreams were good or bad. Sometimes,
a treatment, or sleep ritual would be worked up
to help incubate good dreams. This "treatment"
would include abstaining from sex, meat, and
drink. Dreams often told a prophecy. Aristotle
postulated that dreams may be premonitions of
an illness coming from within the body, where
some "unconscious" mind recognized early
symptoms, but the absolute sensation threshold
had not been crossed to alert the "waking self".
(Sounds like he was way ahead of his time,
huh?) The Romans had similar beliefs.
Culture and Dreams
Hebrews -dreams were a vision or
prophecy from a god (keep in mind that
we see monotheism emerging here)
 Hindus -dreams are prophetic, and the
timing of the dream will indicate how soon
the prophecy will come to pass
 Japanese -dreams are sought as visions
to help answer questions that are plaguing
the waking self. Usually the answers come
from ancestral spirits.

Culture and Dreams
Muslims -dreams and astrology are
closely related in this culture. True dreams
come from god, false ones from the devil.
 Australian Aborigines -the spirits from
underground rise and wander in the land
of the living, and when they pass through
a mortal being, a "greater vision" is
momentarily acquired.. this would be what
we call a dream

Culture and Dreams

North American Indians -hidden
wished of the soul are addressed and
fulfilled in dreams. Visions can also be
sought after in the hopes of answering a
question or resolving a conflict.
Dreams and Meanings
Dream interpretation requires that you ask the
dreamer what he/she thinks the dream means.
The first words out of their mouths are usually
the most telling (significant, or important).
There is no "quick reference" book available that
can identify what objects in dreams symbolize.
The objects undergo changes that only the
individual can gain an understanding of, and the
psychoanalyst can learn of through the "talking"
cure.
Interpretation

There are obstacles that the patient's own
unconscious throws up to keep the
meanings of dreams hidden (remember,
this is the function of dreams according to
Freud). These obstacles can be in the
form of forgetting the content of a dream,
being uncooperative in analysis,
censorship in what they do say about the
dream, and other forms of resistance.
Interpretation

It is also important to realize that there are two
levels to every dream. The MANIFEST and the
LATENT content. The origin of the manifest
content is easier to determine, and is generated
by things like "day residue" (the left over
remnants of the day that the mind uses as a
stage to hide the deeper issues of a dream). The
latent content is the one that is important for
understanding the unconscious conflicts that the
dreamer is experiencing. The latent or hidden
part is where the greatest understanding can be
uncovered.
Rules to Understand Dreams
do not trouble yourself over the manifest's
meaning, although the dreamer may want
to, again to keep you (the interpreter)
away from the more significant issue
 free associate, allow the dreamer to say
what ever comes to mind when they think
about different parts of the dream
 the hidden thoughts will appear on their
own, we can not rush them along

Types of Dreams

Dreams fall into one of the following
categories, and serve these particular
functions: 1) the satisfaction dream, 2)
the impatience dream- where the dreamer
dreams about being at a party or function,
that is in the near future, that they "can
not wait to get to" so the dream takes you
there, and 3) the comfort dream
Dreams and Meanings
Terminology
Dream censorship- the process by which the
issues of a dream are omitted to hide the true
meaning
 Symbolism- the manifestation of an object, idea,
or feeling, in some "concrete" form that is in the
dream. Figuring out what the manifestation
symbolizes is a major component of Freudian
dream interpretation.
 Dream Work- the way techniques that the
unconscious uses to distort the reality and issues
in a dream. Those "tricks" include:
condensation, displacement, and symbolization

Dreams and Meanings
Terminology

Condensation- taking large issues, or more
than one issue, and representing it is a
dream with only one image, i.e. fearing
your new girlfriend, missing your mother
and personality fixations revolving around
an oral fixation may be represented in a
dream with just a baby with a pacifier
Dreams and Meanings
Terminology

Displacement- replacement of issues
(conflicts) by something remote or nothing
i.e. a big issue is only a small element of a
dream, while a small issue seems to get
all the attention (this would be
displacement of accent, there is also
displacement of omission where items
from the dreams are just left out,
displacement by modifications, and
displacement by regrouping materialsagain to confuse issues.