Psychodynamic Approachto Personality

Mr. KochAP Psychology

Forest Lake High School

Psychodynamic Approach• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

• Austrian physician - treated patients with “neurotic” disorders (no physical cause)

• Psychodynamic (psychoanalytic) theory• Personality is determined by

interaction of various unconscious psychological processes

• (Freud believed could access unconscious through various means – free association, dream analysis, “Freudian slips,” etc.)

“Freudian Slips”

“Freudian Slips”

Personality Structure• Id– Unconscious portion of personality

• Life instincts (Eros)– Positive, constructive behavior (esp. sex) and reflects

energy called “libido”• Death instincts (Thanatos)

– Responsible for aggression, destruction• Seeks immediate satisfaction (“pleasure principle”)

• Ego– develops from id as parents, teachers, etc.

place restrictions on id behavior• Mediates conflicts b/w demands of id, superego, real

world• Operates on “reality principle”

• Superego– Tells us what we should and should not do

• Internalized rules and values of parents and society– As relentless, unreasonable in demands as id

Defense Mechanisms

• Unconscious tactics used by the ego to protect against anxiety & guilt (from id & superego) by preventing material from surfacing or disguising it when it does– Examples: repression, rationalization,

projection, reaction formation, sublimination, displacement, denial, compensation, regression, etc.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

• Personality develops during childhood in series of stages, where we attempt to resolve certain conflicts– Failure to resolve conflict at a stage

results in fixation – unconscious preoccupation with area of pleasure associated with stage• Affects adult personality characteristics

Psychosexual Stages of Development

• Oral Stage (1st year)– Mouth is center of pleasure at this stage• Fixation can come from weaning too early or late• Can result in adult characteristics like overeating, childlike

dependence (late weaning), “biting” sarcasm (early weaning)

Psychosexual Stages of Development• Anal Stage (2nd year)– Child’s ego develops to cope with

parental/societal demands (toilet training clashes with freedom to “go” at will)• Fixation from toilet training too early

or harsh → “anal retentiveness” or stinginess/excessive neatness (symbolically withholding feces)• Fixation from training too late/lax

→ disorganized, impulsive behavior (symbolically expelling feces)

Psychosexual Stages of Development• Phallic Stage (ages 3-5 years)– Focus shifts to genital area– “Oedipus Complex”• Boy has sexual desire for mother and wants to

eliminate father’s competition for her attention– Fear of castration from father leads ego to repress desires and

“identify” with father – superego begins to develop

Oedipus Complex?...

Psychosexual Stages of Development• Phallic Stage (ages 3-5 years)– Focus shifts to genital area– “Oedipus Complex”

• Boy has sexual desire for mother and wants to eliminate father’s competition for her attention– Fear of castration from father leads ego to repress desires and

“identify” with father – superego begins to develop

– “Electra Complex”• Girl develops attachment to father (due to “penis envy”) and

competes with mother for attention– Girl identifies with and imitates mother to avoid disapproval –

basis of superego

– Fixation leads to difficulty dealing with authority figures, inability to maintain stable love relationships

Psychosexual Stages of Development

• Latency Period (childhood to puberty)– Peaceful interval where sexual impulses

remain in background• Focus on education, same-sex peer play,

develop social skills

• Genital Stage (adolescence on)– Sexual impulses reappear at conscious

level with genitals as focus