(Prof. Wagner, 31 Aug 2000, by Brian Buschman)
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Freud proposed that the topography of the mind was made up of the:
1) Conscious
2) Unconscious
3) Preconscious
He also proposed it’s structural system to be made of the:
1) Id
2) Ego
3) Superego
Defense mechanisms can be divided into four categories based on developmental level.
1) Projection – Projecting your feelings and attributes into the personality, behavior and character of another.
2) Denial – Not believing that it actually happened.
3) Splitting – You separate everything into two extremes. It’s all good or bad.
1) Blocking is a temporary inability to remember.
2) Regression is to return to an earlier developmental state.
3) Somatization involves creating physical symptoms with your mind. (Somatic illness).
4) Introjection is taking the external world into yourself.
1) Displacement – To change the target of your emotion.
2) Repression is to push the thought out of the mind. You force yourself to forget.
3) Isolation of affect – You accept the reality but do not have the normal emotional response. You isolate yourself from the formal affects.
4) Intellectualization – You know what is going on but you look at it intellectually rather then personally.
5) Acting out – You have an outward response to hide your true emotions. Such as whistling in the dark to hide your fear.
6) Reaction formation – You respond in the opposite of what would normally be expected.
7) Rationalization – You come up with a list of reasons for why the outcome is what you really wanted in the first place.
8) Undoing – Acting out the reverse of unacceptable behavior. You lust after a beautiful woman and then go home and have sex with your wife.
9) Passive aggressive – You set up as if you are going to take action and then don’t. Like the Dominica government does when it comes to issues of student safty.
10) Dissociation – You separate yourself from the issue. You take a third person stance on things personal to you.
1) Humor
2) Sublimation – You change a socially unacceptable behavior into an acceptable one.
3) Suppression – You make a conscious decision to forget about it.
4) Altruism – Do good to balance out the bad you have done.
5) Anticipation – You unconsciously prepare for the bad that you think is coming. Like when you know you failed the exam you get yourself ready to accept seeing the F when you look at the board.
Cathexis is to find an emotional response to things. It may be an emotional response to chocolate, Beethoven, or just whatever. Positive cathexis means that you like it and negative cathexis means you have it.
Resistance is blocking of free association.
There are two main theories of development. One is the psychosexual theory proposed by Freud and the other the psychosocial of Erickson. Freud’s theory outlines where children derive satisfaction and pleasure while the develop. Erickson’s theory discusses developmental conflicts that each person must overcome at given stages in their life. On a time table they are similar up till the early 20’s.
This is Freud’s oral stage where primary gratification is derived from the mouth. At this stage children put everything into their mouth.
Erickson labeled this stage as trust v. mistrust saying that during this time period is when children learn to trust or not to trust their parents.
This is Freud’s anal stage where children have a fixation on their behind. This makes it a good stage to begin “potty” training.
Erickson calls this one autonomy v. shame stating that children learn to consciously control themselves or else feel shame. This striving for control of functions also makes it the perfect time to teach them to “shoot the cheerio (for the boys).”
Freud called this the phallic stage where children becomes interested in the differences between boys and girls. It’s the time when a oedipal conflict may develop and when the child bonds well with the opposite sex parent.
Erickson noted this as the time for initiative v. guilt. A child begins to feel the need to take the initiative to do things of their own interest. They really begin to test the limits.
This is the latency stage according to Freud. It is when children loose interest in the opposite sex and develop relationship with their same sex parent and with same sex friends. The years of cooties.
Erickson sees this time as industry v. inferiority. Children feel the need to be productive in society in some way and will begin to get involved in things. It’s the age for little leagues and stuff like that to begin.
This is Freud’s genital stage characterized by gaining pleasure from the genitals. It is where people develop opposite sex friendships and is Freud’s final life state.
Erickson noticed that teenagers struggle with identity v. confusion of roles. It is where teenagers need to develop an independence and learn to take care of themselves.
Intimacy v. isolation is where people seek that life long companion and intimacy or feel destined to be in isolation.
Generation v. stagnation is when adults must feel productive in their life. This is the time when their age group truly holds the power in society. Many adults feel great satisfaction at this age. In the middle is also when the mid-life crisis may occur in someone who does not feel they have been productive enough and wants a life change.
Integrity v. despair. This time adults feel pride in the things that they have accomplished in their life or they feel despair over having not lived the life they want.
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