psychology paper

Clicker Question #1

According to Karen Horney, why do women envy men?

Men have penises.

Men do not have the burden of bearing children.

Men have more freedom to pursue their interests.

Men do not have basic anxiety.

33

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Correct answer: c

*

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

*

Discuss modern theories of psychoanalysis: object relations and attachment theory

Discuss important elements of several neo-Freudian theories: inferiority and compensation (Adler); collective unconscious, persona, and personality (Jung); feminine psychology and basic anxiety (Horney); psychosocial development (Erikson), object relations theory (Klein and Winnicott)

*

Refinements by clinical practitioners and theorists: Some are minor refinements of the theory to make it make sense in the current context; others are more drastic (less emphasis on sexual and aggressive instincts, more focus on interpersonal aspects of life, concern with early attachments)

Activity: Interpretation and Truthfulness of Quotes

*

*

Updating the theory to be reasonable today: The original theory is more than 100 years old.

Neo-Freudian psychology definition: a general term for the psychoanalytically oriented work of many theorists and researchers who are influenced by Freud’s theory

Anna Freud (defense mechanisms), Bruno Bettelheim (child psychiatry, parenting), Harry Stack Sullivan (interpersonal relationships, personifications), Henry Murray (refining projective measurement, needs, press)

Note: These neo-Freudians are mentioned but the book provides no further information on their areas of interest.

Used the same methods as Freud: case studies and introspection, not experimentation

*

*

Reinterpretation of the libido: as a general motivation behind life and creativity

Ego psychology: focus on the processes driving the perception and conscious comprehension of reality; Loevinger believed ego’s function is to make sense of everything a person experiences

Activity: Importance of Common Themes in Neo-Freudian Thought

*

Thought Freud focused too much on sex: as the ultimate motivator and organizer of thought and behavior

Social interest definition: the desire to relate positively and productively with other people

Organ inferiority definition: The idea that individuals are motivated to attain equality with or superiority over other people and try to accomplish this to compensate for what they felt in childhood was their weakest aspect.

*

Masculine protest definition: the desire of an adult to act and become powerful, because of feeling inadequate or inferior as a child; a particular kind of compensation

Also experienced by women: because everyone feels inferior as a child

Particularly acute for boys: because the most powerful person in their lives is their mother

Helps explain some universal needs: for power, love, and achievement; because they have their roots in early experience

Style of life definition: a particular mode of behavior based on compensations for perceived childhood inferiorities

*

Carl Jung: interested in mystical and spiritual matters

Collective unconscious definition: memories and ideas that all humans share, most of which reside in the unconscious, in the form of basic images

Archetypes definition: core ideas of how people think about the world, both consciously and unconsciously

Appear in dreams, fantasies, mythology, and modern literature: often symbolically; example: snakes in a sinister role

Activity: Jungian Archetype Image Identification

*

Persona definition: the social mask one wears in public

False to some degree: We all keep some aspects of our real selves private

Possible danger: identifying more with the persona than with the real self, which leads to being shallow and having social success as one’s life purpose

Anima definition: the idea, or prototype, of the female, as held in the mind of a male

Animus definition: the idea, or prototype, of the male as held in the mind of a female

Shape responses to the other sex: leads to problems if the perception is not accurate

*

Introverts versus extraverts: psychologically turned inward versus outward

Ways of thinking: rational (recognize meaning), feeling (determine the value of things), sensing (establishing what is present in the world), and intuiting (figuring out where something comes from and where it is going)

People vary in which way predominates, but having a balance is best.

*

Disagreed with “penis envy” and women’s desire to be male: Women envy freedom to pursue interests and ambitions, which is due to the structure of society, not women’s bodies

Basic anxiety definition: fear of being alone and helpless in a hostile world

Adult behavior is often based on efforts to overcome basic anxiety

Neurotic needs definition: needs that people feel but that are neither realistic nor truly desirable (finding a life partner who will solve all your problems; to be loved by everybody and to dominate everybody and to be independent of everybody); can lead to self-defeating behavior and relationship problems because the needs are contradictory

*

Basic trust versus mistrust (0–2 years): corresponds to the oral stage

Hope: a positive but not arrogant attitude toward life

Confidence that basic needs will be met

Autonomy versus shame and doubt (3–4 years); corresponds to the anal stage

Figuring out who is in charge: adults or the child him- or herself?

*

Initiative versus guilt (4–7 years): corresponds to the phallic stage

Develop a sense of right and wrong: the beginning of adult morality

*

Industry versus inferiority (8–12 years): corresponds to the latency period

*

Identity versus identity confusion (adolescence): corresponds to the genital stage

*

Intimacy versus isolation (young adulthood)

Generativity versus stagnation (middle age)

Integrity versus despair (old age)

Activity: Identification of Stages of Psychosocial Development

*

Life-span development: Psychological growth is ongoing throughout life.

*

*

Based on the idea that the most important part of life is probably relationships and that the superego is built from childhood identifications with important people

Objects definition: emotionally important people

Object relations theory: the analysis of interpersonal relationships

The images do not always match reality: This causes problems.

Currently the most active area of psychoanalytic thinking

*

The mix of love and hate: important people are sources of pleasure and frustration

Distinction between parts of the love object and the whole person: breast versus mother; wealth versus whole person

*

Play therapy definition: communicating with and diagnosing children through play

Allows the symbolic expression of emotions, such as hate, anger, love, and fear

Splitting of love objects into good and bad parts: it is contradictory to love and hate the same person; may use neurotic defenses to ignore the bad (such as idealization of the person)

*

Transitional objects: used to bridge the gap between private fantasy and reality; source of comfort when the adult is not available; help the child face the world alone

The false self: similar to Jung’s persona; to some degree, this is normal and necessary (basic social etiquette and politeness)

Prevents exposure of the true self, which protects the true self from exploitation or harm

*

To help the client see important people in his or her life the way they actually are: as whole individuals with both good and bad parts

*

Most research is done by academics: not practicing psychoanalysts

Some researchers do not realize that what they study is Freudian: topics on this slide are related to Freudian or neo-Freudian theory

The influence of the past: especially childhood, on current functioning

The influence of sexual or aggressive wishes: on thought, feeling, and behavior

*

To prevent anxiety: supports the defense mechanism of denial

Recognition of “dirty” versus neutral words: when flashed on a screen, participants do not report recognizing “dirty” words but do recognize other words; the unconscious mind realized the “dirty” words were obscene and blocked them from consciousness

PDP: the mind does many different things at once and only some of this is conscious; conscious thoughts and behavior are a compromise of the unconscious processes

*

Transference definition: applying old patterns of behavior and emotions to new relationships; focuses on patterns of relationships with others that are consistently repeated with different partners throughout life

Focus: patterns of relationships that are consistently repeated with different partners throughout life

Consistency of attachment styles is empirically supported

*

Based on evolutionary theory: Humans evolved in a risky environment and feared being alone, which motivated the desire for protection from someone else interested in the person’s survival and well-being; desire is especially strong in infancy and early childhood

Based on childhood experiences: expectations about attachment relationships are developed, for what the other person will do and for how the self will feel and behave

Lessons learned by the child from early experiences with adult caregivers: reliability of attachment figure; whether one is the kind of person to whom attachment figures respond in a helpful way

*

Developed the strange situation task: child is briefly separated from, and then reunited with, the mother; look at reactions to mother leaving and returning to determine type of attachment

Anxious-ambivalent: vigilant about mother’s presence and becomes upset when she leaves

Adult characteristics: attempt to cling to others drives them away; obsessed with romantic partners; frequent worry that partners don’t really love them; extremely jealous; high rate of relationship failure; highly emotional when under stress

*

Avoidant attachment: not distressed when mother leaves (but there are physiological signs of tension and anxiety) and ignore her when she returns

Adult characteristics: angry self-reliance and cold, distant attitude toward others; feel uncomfortable being close to others; difficult to trust others completely; uninterested in romantic relationships; like to work alone; withdraw from romantic partners when under stress

Secure attachment: greet mother happily when she returns

Adult characteristics: positive attitude toward relationships; finds it easy to get close to others and depend on them; tend to have long and stable relationships; seek out others for emotional support when under stress

Activity: Mother-Child Attachment

Attachment patterns are self-fulfilling: learned in childhood, reinforced across young adulthood

People high in anxiety and avoidance do not pay attention to signs of emotion from others

Evidence of unconscious priming of attachment figures: people responded faster to names of people with whom they were emotionally attached after a threatening subliminal prime than after a neutral prime; there was not a difference for names of people with whom they were not attached

The doctrine of opposites: too anxious or too avoidant is bad; the ideal is in the middle

*

It’s difficult to evaluate the theory because there are many different versions.

Much of mental life is unconscious: explain why sometimes people don’t understand their own behavior

Events of childhood shape adult personality: especially in styles of social relationships

*

Not everyone believes these conclusions or thinks they are relevant to psychoanalysis.

*

Correct answer: c

*

Correct answer: b

*

Correct answer: a

*