1
Q
what is the psyche
A
- totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious
- psyche comes from the Greek ‘psykhe’ = soul, mind or spirit
2
Q
what were some early questions about the psyche that were asked
A
- what determines behaviour? are we in control?
- what is the nature of the psyche/mind?
- how do people manage threats and anxiety?
- what contributes to the development of a healthy personality?
3
Q
who was Freud
A
- Austrian neurologist & professor, later became a psychotherapist
- hypnosis/symptom relief, worked with patients with hysteria
- founded psychoanalysis
- focused on the unconscious mind, libido defence mechanisms and early childhood experiences
4
Q
what is hysteria known as today
A
conversion disorder
5
Q
what were Freud’s four main interests
A
- unconscious mind
- libido
- defence mechanisms
- early childhood experiences
6
Q
what are the three main critiques of Freud’s theories
A
- did not believe in value of experimentation or hypothesis testing in establishing the validity of psychoanalysis – usually did case studies on wealthy white people
- some psychologists (e.g. neo-Freudians) take issue with Freud’s negative view of human nature (he saw it as “animalistic”)
- theories are sexist and heteronormative in nature (but we have to consider the times in which they were proposed)
–> despite this, still made some lasting contributions
7
Q
who was Carl Jung
A
- Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist
- worked with Freud in early 1900s –> eventually went separate ways because their thinking was diverging
- founded analytic psychology
- focused on symbolism, mysticism, occultism, the collective unconscious and archetypes
8
Q
what were Jung’s five main research interests
A
- symbolism
- mysticism
- occultism
- the collective unconscious
- archetypes
9
Q
how did Trump describe his childhood
A
he said he “liked to stir things up” and recognized his behaviour as aggressive –> seems to be consistent with his present behaviour
10
Q
how would we describe Trump’s personality according to the HEXACO model
A
- Trump is low on honesty/humility and agreeableness and emotionality
- Trump is pretty low on conscientiousness and openness
- Extremely high in extraversion
- low in sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance and modesty (all facets of honesty/humility)
11
Q
describe psychic determinism (Freud)
A
- nothing happens by accident
- everything we think, feel, do and say is an expression of our mind (conscious, preconscious or unconscious)
- “accidents” of daily life often reflect the unconscious –> can reveal reasons via psychoanalysis
12
Q
describe Freud’s “basic instincts”
A
- strong innate forces that supply all psychic energy
- primary motives of behaviour
- can conflict within and between persons
- influenced by Darwin’s writing on instincts
- present at birth
13
Q
what were the two main “basic instincts” outlined by Freud
A
- life instinct (Eros)
- death instinct (Thanatos)
14
Q
describe the life instinct (eros)
A
- energy/impulse: libido
- in everyday life, it looks like self-care, love, sex, creativity
- seems to overlap with communion (vs agency)
15
Q
describe the death instinct (thanatos)
A
- energy/impulse: destrudo
- in everyday life, it looks like aggression, destruction, violence, self-sabotaging
- seems to overlap with agency (vs communion)
16
Q
which of Freud’s basic instincts dominates Trump’s personality
A
- low in communion and high in agency
- thanatos (death instinct) seems to dominate his personality
17
Q
describe Jung’s theory of free will
A
- Jung argued that goal-directedness and free will largely determine human behaviour NOT unconscious processes
- de-emphasized the role of the unconscious mind and negative drives
- believed people could set goals and work towards them
18
Q
describe contemporary views on the unconscious and free will
A
- the influence of the unconscious is debated
- whether or not we have free will depends on the definition, the behaviour/outcome in question, and interpretation of research
- e.g. people seem to commit to certain decisions before being aware of making them
19
Q
describe Freud’s topographical model/organization of the mind
A
- conscious: current thoughts, feelings and images
- preconscious: information that can be easily retrieved
- unconscious: part of the mind containing instincts, urges, and thoughts/memories of which a person is unaware
20
Q
describe the three parts of Freud’s structural model of personality
A
- Id: urges and impulses
- Ego: self-control
- Superego: morals & ideals
21
Q
Id
A
primitive part of mind, drives/urges, seeking of immediate gratification, acts of pleasure principle, basic instincts
22
Q
Ego
A
executive of personality, constrains id to reality and acts on reality principle, understands urges often conflict with physical/social realities
23
Q
Superego
A
- internalized ideals, values and morals of parents (1st) society/culture/authority (2nd)
- includes conscience (sense of morality)
- includes ego ideal (ideal image of self)
- felt as guilt, shame and pride
24
Q
what is conscience
A
sense of morality
25
what is ego-ideal
ideal image of self
26
describe the iceberg metaphor for Freud's theory of consciousness
- the conscious is above the water while the unconscious is below the water
- the ego is fully above water while the id is fully below water
- the superego is halfway between conscious and unconscious
27
describe an example of the interplay of the id ego and superego
- the id might say "i want it now"
- the ego would ask "what are the consequences"
- the superego would say "its wrong to do this"
28
describe en example of the id/ego/superego conflict with regards to Trump
- the id might say "I want to tweet and call this person a loser"
- the ego might say "Will there be consequences, is there a more reasonable way I can deal with this"
- the superego would say either "presidents should show restraint" OR "i'm a winner, I can do what I want and always come out on top"
29
compare how the ego vs superego deal with the id
- the ego will respond by letting the id be expressed to a degree (or expressed differently)
- the superego may produce shame/guilt (either before or after)
30
is Trump's ego or superego more dominant
less ego (self-control) and more superego (conscience)
31
describe Jung's model of the Psyche
believed the psyche contains both conscious and unconscious elements
32
what are the five parts of Jung's model of the psyche
- Ego "I" - conscious mind
- Persona - character we display
- Shadow - dark side of psyche
- Anima - feminine in men
- Animus - masculine in women
33
describe Jung's notion of the shadow
- the dark side of one's personality that one does not want to face --> relegated to the unconscious
- contains instincts and desires
- the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker/denser it is
- one becomes enlightened by making the darkness conscious
34
describe Jung's notion of the collective unconcious
- separate from the personal unconscious
- collective, universal and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals
- does not develop individually --> it is inherited
35
what is the modern explanation of Jung's collective unconscious
- collective unconscious may represent innate (genetically-determined) psychological concepts and mechanisms
- these may allow us to respond to universal phenomena (similar to instincts)
36
what parts of Freud's theory were and were not important
- id and superego no longer studies
- ego is studies but in a different way
- idea that the mind has components is important
- there is an unconscious mind -- just how powerful is it?
37
what are the two contemporary views on the unconscious mind
- motivated (Freudian) view
- cognitive view
38
describe the motivated (Freudian) view on the unconscious mind
urges and undesirable thoughts/feelings are buried in the unconscious
39
describe the cognitive view on the unconscious mind
- information perceived may get into the unconscious and influence us
- it is not buried, and not very powerful
40
what are some alternative perspectives on the unconscious mind (social psychology and neuroscience)
- social psychology believes the unconscious mind is a pervasive, powerful influence over higher mental processes (judgements and decisions of reasons for their behaviour)
- neuroscience believes Freud nailed the idea that there is a massive amount happening under the hood
41
what did Freud define anxiety as
an unpleasant state indicating that the ego is being threatened --> 3 main types
42
3 types of anxiety (Freud)
- objective anxiety --> real, external threat to a person
- neurotic --> direct conflict between id and ego (urge/impulse applying pressure)
- moral anxiety --> conflict between ego and superego (e.g. pressure from social norms/expectations)
note: these are all unfolding on the unconscious level
43
what are the main types of anxiety displayed in Donald Trump
- objective anxiety (e.g. running for president, feeling like people are attacking him)
- neurotic (e.g. id is active and he is impulsive)
- moral anxiety is lacking, because he does things against social norms/expectations
44
What are defence mechanisms
- various tactics employed by the ego to respond/cope with anxiety
- typically operate unconsciously (can sometimes recognize when you do it)
- distort, transform, or falsify reality in some way (some habitually engage in them to the point that it feels really real)
45
why is it easier to engage in defence mechanisms that distort reality than to deal with it head on
- a lot of work, and very painful, to confront tension and engage in self-reflection --> not efficient in the short term (don't have time and resources)
- but in the long term, we just end up avoiding the issue and this is not adaptive
46
what is the primary role of defence mechanisms
tension reduction
47
repression (defence mechanisms)
preventing unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or urges from reaching conscious awareness (e.g. traumatic events) --> a lot of work to uncover these (Freud believed you could only reach these through psychotherapy)
48
denial (defence mechanisms)
insisting things are not the way they seem; not seeing facts (in the preconscious not the unconscious, we can still access it) --> e.g. avoiding thinking about how you have terminal illness
49
what is the most commonly used defence mechanism
denial (e.g. ignoring challenges and seeing the positives)
50
rationalization (defence mechanisms)
reasoning, explaining, making excuses for outcomes (e.g. you did poorly on the exam because you were late) --> also called "intellectualization" (using facts to reason something out in a rational way)
51
list Freud's defence mechanisms
- repression
- denial
- rationalization
- displacement
- projection
- reaction formation
- sublimation
note: almost all have an element of denial, often can see examples of multiple in the same scenario
52
which defences are involved in almost all defence mechanisms
repression and denial are involved in almost all defence mechanisms
53
displacement (defence mechanisms)
redirecting threatening impulse to less threatening target (e.g. have fight with partner instead of boss at work because it does less harm)
54
projection (defence mechanisms)
attributing negative qualities to others ("projecting onto" others) --> what is true of us seems to be true of other people, but makes it seem like we aren't a problem (e.g. pointing out challenges in other couples, substance use)
55
reaction formation (defence mechanisms)
displaying opposite behaviours (often exaggerated) --> e.g. cheat on partner but buy their partner flowers on the way home, talking about how important it is not to drink when you have a drinking problem
56
sublimation (defence mechanisms)
converting unacceptable sexual or aggressive instincts into socially acceptable activities (adaptive defence) --> e.g. physical activity to release tension, creative activities like art
57
what defence mechanism is Trump saying "they gave me a defective mic"
rationalization
58
what defence mechanism is Trump saying "that makes me smart" followed by saying "I never said that"
- denial --> note this is different from lying (lying is conscious), denial might look like lying but we aren't aware of it
- could also be projection (brings up poor spending of the government) --> note this might look like deflection (deflection is conscious)
59
what defence mechanism is Trump calling a voter bad names after a debate with Hillary
displacement --> was debating Hillary, but is now taking it out on another voter (easier target, not the real opponent, so easier to release tension this way)
60
what defence mechanism is Trump saying he has a better temperament than Hillary and critiquing her temperament
- projection (saying Hillary has a bad temperament)
- reaction formation (my best quality is my temperament)
61
what defence mechanism is Trump using the term "fake news" in the internet
- projection --> displacing negative things about himself on the media, and calls the news fake even though he has a reputation for lying (note that this is also a political tactic, and evidence of narcissism)
- regression as well (reverting back to a less mature time of life, name calling)
62
what is regression
another defence mechanism --> reverting back to a less mature time of our life (e.g. bullying behaviour, name calling)
63
what have psychologists suggested about the handshake that Trump engages in
intimidation tactic, dominance
64
what are some examples of sublimation in Trump's life
golfing
65
what does anxiety propel us to do, according to Jung
- it propels us to make meaning --> what is my purpose in life, why am I here, how could I be living a more balanced life
- meaning and purpose help us to manage anxiety
- religion, spirituality and symbolism are important sources of meaning
66
describe the contemporary views on defence mechanisms
- today we refer to coping mechanisms more broadly
- regardless of the "part" of the mind in control, few would argue that these are not important determinants of behaviour (they do exist, but less in relation to the ego)
67
describe contemporary views on repression
- there is evidence that repressed memories occur
- problem is that false memories can also occur
- people are vulnerable to creating false memories under the right circumstances
- e.g. hearing others' childhood stories can lead people to think this happened to them
68
what strategy can be used to help people manage threats and anxiety successfully
meaning-focused coping --> influenced by Jung
69
describe Freud's theory of psychosexual development
- children pass through a series of developmental stages; each successive stage focuses on more mature expression of libido
- in each of the first 3 stages, individuals must face and resolve specific events/conflicts
- frustration or overindulgence results in a fixation at a particular stage
- challenges can define personality
- based on relationships with parents
- note: aligns with Erikson's stage theory, which is accepted
70
oral stage
- birth - 18mo
- key conflict is weaning from breast or bottle
- goal is to gain independence while still trusting the parent
- tension between dependence and independence, and trust
- fixation can occur in two ways:
- neglectful parents = oral aggressive personality (hostile, aggressive, sadistic, exploitative)
- over-protective = oral receptive personality (needy, codependence, masopchistic)
71
anal stage
- 18 mo to 3 years
- key conflict is toilet training (whether or not it is successful)
- goal is to achieve self-control (and develop a functioning ego
- fixation can occur in two ways:
- strict parents = anal retentive personality (stubborn, obsessive, overly tidy)
- liberal parents = anal expulsive personality (emotional, rebellious, messy)
72
phallic stage
- 3 to 5 years
- key conflict is unconscious attraction toward opposite-sex parent and feelings of hostility toward same-sex parent
- goal is to identify with/relate to parents in a healthy, mature way and to internalize their ideals, values, morals (thus developing a superego, including both conscience and ego-ideal)
- fixation = phallic personality (self-assured, vain, impulsive, narcissistic)
73
what did Freud believe about narcissism
- narcissism occurs when an individual's libido energy becomes invested in aspects of the self (self-love) including the ego-ideal
- not getting love from parents
- the ego-ideal becomes inflated (grandiose) and destructive because it contains infantile images of perfection and omnipotence that are impossible to attain
- narcissists are devoted to this infantile and destructive ego-ideal (this is their only reality)
74
what is the ego ideal
ideal image of the self that the child develops
75
genital stage
- puberty +
- libido directed outward toward other adults in healthy manner
- people reach this stage only if previous conflicts are resolved
- if successful, genital personality (well-adjusted, mature, able to love/be loved)
- most don't make it to this stage
76
based on Freud's psychosexual stages, how could we characterize Donald's relationship with his parents
- lack of closeness and intimacy (father was authoritative, mother was absent)
- phallic personality = self-assured, impulsive, vain, narcissistic
- oral aggressive = aggressive, sadistic (possible this fixation occurred very early on and thus fixation in other stages appear as well)
77
what did Jung say about individuation
- focused on personality development in 2nd half of life (devoted to forming a healthy ego, second half is going inward and letting go of it)
- individuation is the process of integrating the conscious and unconscious through improved self-awareness
- personal and collective unconscious assimilated into whole personality = "analytical personality"
78
describe how Jung would describe the self
- the self is a archetype of wholeness
- motivates the individuation process requires us to confront the shadow
- in order to express our true character, our whole personality and to hold firm out individuality
79
what are the contemporary views on Freud's theories
- no evidence of fixations
- latency stage is unlikely
- development is believed to continue beyond puberty
- parental relationships DO influence adult personality (e.g. mommy/daddy issues)
80
what are the contemporary views on Jung's theories
- self awareness is commonly identified as a key factor in psychological maturation and growth --> confronting repressed or suppressed conflicts is necessary for well-being
81
what was Freud's most important contribution
the value of talking about our emotion pains
82
what was Jung's most important contribution
stressed the importance of symbolism, spirituality and meaning in our lives --> did we listen to this?
83
what do Freud and Jung teach us about the mind
the mind is a deep and complex thing --> challenging if not impossible to understand
84
describe Freud's "basic instincts"
- strong innate forces that supply all psychic energy
- primary motives of behaviour
- can conflict within and between persons
- influenced by Darwin's writing on instincts
- present at birth
85
describe the three parts of Freud's structural model of personality
- Id: primitive part of mind, drives/urges, seeking of immediate gratification, acts of pleasure principle, basic instincts
- Ego:
86
describe the three parts of Freud's structural model of personality
- Id: primitive part of mind, drives/urges, seeking of immediate gratification, acts of pleasure principle, basic instincts
- Ego:
87
Id
88
Id
89
Superego
- internalized ideals, values and morals of parents (1st) society/culture/authority (2nd)
- includes conscience (sense of morality)
- includes ego ideal (ideal image of self)
- felt as guilt, shame and pride
PSYC 315 Personality
flashcards
Decks in class (16)
# Cards
-
305 Lecture 1 & 2162
-
Chapter 3: Traits and Trait Taxamonies112
-
Chapter 4: Theoretical and Measurement Issues in Trait Psychology72
-
Chapter 5: Personality Dispositions Over Time (stability/coherence/change)59
-
Chapter 6: Genetics and Personality72
-
305 Lecture 381
-
305 Lecture 451
-
Chapter 810
-
Lecture 589
-
Lecture 6103
-
Chapter 9: Psychoanalytic Approaches to Personality75
-
Lecture 789
-
Chapter 10: Psychoanalytic Approaches; Contemporary Issues75
-
Chapter 11: Motives and Personality104
-
Chapter 12: Cognitive Topics in Personality77
-
Chapter 14: Approaches to the Self63
