Psychological

Perspective
of the
WMSU
SELF
MAGNOLIA T. GREFALDE
Faculty, Psychology Department
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Sigmund Freud

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1. Anal stage • 2. Phallic stage
Pottery training- • Oedipus complex
a. Anal expulsive castration anxiety
personality • Electra complex
b. Anal retentive penis envy
personality

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 EGO - DEFENSE MECHANISM
– unconscious mental processes that
distort reality in order to protect the ego
against anxiety, shame, or other
unacceptable feelings or thoughts

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❖ DENIAL
Denial is the refusal to accept
reality or fact, acting as if a painful
event, thought or feeling did not exist.
❖ REGRESSION
Regression is the reversion to an
earlier stage of development in the face
of unacceptable thoughts or impulses.
❖ PROJECTION
Projection is the misattribution of a
person’s undesired thoughts, feelings,
or impulses onto another person. 7
Regression example:

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❖ REACTION FORMATION
Reaction Formation is the converting of
unwanted or dangerous thoughts, feelings or
impulses into their opposites.
❖ REPRESSION
Repression is the unconscious blocking
of unacceptable thoughts, feelings and
impulses. “Repressed memories” are
memories that have been unconsciously
blocked from access or view.
❖ DISPLACEMENT
Displacement is the redirecting of
thoughts feelings and impulses directed at
one person or object, but taken out upon 9
❖ INTELLECTUALIZATION
When a person intellectualizes, they shut down
all of their emotions and approach a situation
solely from a rational standpoint — especially
when the expression of emotions would be
inappropriate.
❖ RATIONALIZATION
Rationalization is putting something into a
different light or offering a different explanation
for one’s perceptions or behaviors in the face of
a changing reality.
❖ UNDOING
Undoing is the attempt to take back an
unconscious behavior or thought that is
unacceptable or hurtful. 10
Sour-graping
sweet-lemoning

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❖ SUBLIMATION
Sublimation is simply the channeling of
unacceptable impulses, thoughts and emotions
into more acceptable ones..
❖ FANTASY
Fantasy when used as a defense
mechanism, is the channeling of unacceptable
or unattainable desires into imagination.
❖ COMPENSATION
Compensation is a process of
psychologically counterbalancing perceived
weaknesses by emphasizing strength in other
arenas. 12
❖ INTROJECTION - occurs when a person
internalizes an idea of another person-
often an authority figure.

❖ HUMOR – the individual deals with

emotional conflicts, or internal or
external stressors, by emphasizing the
amusing or ironic aspects of the other
stressor.

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Coping means to invest
one's own conscious
effort, to solve personal
and interpersonal
problems, in order to try
to master, minimize or
tolerate stress and
conflict. The
psychological coping
mechanisms are
commonly termed
coping strategies or
coping skills.
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 3 TYPES OF COPING STRATEGIES

1. Appraisal – focused > occurs when the person

modifies the way they think (ex. rational
thinking, humor, aim-inhibition)
2. Problem – focused > directed towards reducing
or eliminating a stressor (ex. active problem
solving, seeking support, becoming more
assertive)
3. Problem – focused > directed towards changing
one’s own emotional reactions (ex. releasing
pent-up emotions, confrontative coping,
using relaxation procedures) 16
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