Psychoanalytic

Theory
of
Personality
Psychodynamic Theories

Personality is characterized by
a dynamic struggle between
elements that constitute it.

There are several

Psychodynamic theories. Each
can be traced back to Sigmund
Freud.
Sigmund Freud
 Biography
 Born May 6th, 1856 in
Freiberg, Moravia,
known now as the Czech
Republic.
 By the age of 8, he
could
He read Shakespeare.
attended the University of
Vienna, graduating in 1881 with a
degree in medicine.
Founded the Vienna
Psychoanalytical Circle in 1903
By 1906 branches were established
Biograp
hy
 Worked at Theodor
Meynert's Psychiatric
Clinic
 Began experimenting
with the drug, Cocaine.
 He believed that this
drug would become a
common treatment for
depression and
indigestion.
 He hoped it would cure
mental illness by
Biography
 Gradually became convinced of
the connection between neurosis
and sexual conflict.
 Believed that a large portion of
his patients probably were
suffering from sexually related
conflicts.
 After a life of successful studies,
he died in 1938.
 Psychoanalytical
theory consists
of…..
• Structure of
Personality.
• Defense mechanisms.
• Development of
Personality
1. Primarily concerned with internal psychological processes.
2. Importance of early childhood experiences.
3. Existence of unconscious motivation.
4. Existence of ego (rationality) & superego (morality).
5. Existence of defense mechanisms.
Conscious Awareness Preconscious
small part above
surface
Unconscious
below the
surface
(thoughts,
feelings,
wishes,
“the
“themind
mindisislike
likean memories)
aniceburg
iceburg --mostly
mostlyhidden”
hidden”
Personality Structure
Id - energy constantly striving to satisfy basic drives
Pleasure Principle

Ego - seeks to gratify the Id in realistic ways

Reality Principle
Ego
Super Ego
Super Ego
- voice of conscience
that focuses on how
Id
we ought to behave
 The “Id”
The id is present
at birth.
Represents our
instinctual drives
such as hunger,
sex and
aggression.
Completely
unconscious and
operates on the
 Instincts
Libido – sexual energy – survival
of the individual and human
race-oriented towards growth,
development & creativity –
Pleasure principle – goal of life
gain pleasure and avoid pain.
Death instinct – accounts for
aggressive drive – to die or to
hurt themselves or others.
Sex and aggressive drives-
 The “Ego”
 Begins to develop
during the first
year of life.
 Balances the id’s
urges with reality.
 Guided by the
“Reality
Principle”.
 While doing most
of its work in the
conscious, a
The “Superego”
 The embodiment of
societal rules, ethics
and morals.
 Sets high standards
for behavior.
 Monitors the
decisions of the ego.

 Causes feelings of
guilt and shame
 Primary
process
Life thinking
and death Reality
instincts principle Ego Ideal
Libido

Id Ego Superego

Sexual, Pleasure The conscience

aggressive principle
urges
The executive
The selfish
beast
 "One might compare the
relation of the ego to the id
with that between a rider and
his horse. The horse provides
the locomotor energy, and the
rider has the prerogative of
determining the goal and of
guiding the movements of his
powerful mount towards it.
But all too often in the
relations between the ego and
Defense Mechanisms

When the ego is

threatened by
unconscious impulses,
it will employ defense
mechanisms to protect
the conscious self.
Defense Mechanisms
To protect the ego against
the painful and threatening
impulses arising from the id
we distort the reality.
The processes that distort
the reality for the ego are
called defense mechanisms.
 Defense
Mechanisms
Have adaptive value if
they do not become a
style of life to avoid
facing reality.
Help the individual cope
with anxiety and prevent
the ego from being
overwhelmed.
 Defense
Mechanisms
 Repression - banishes certain
thoughts/feelings from
consciousness (underlies all other
defense
mechanisms).
 Regression - retreating to earlier
stage of
development.
 Reaction Formation - ego makes
unacceptable impulses appear as
their opposites.
 Projection - attributes threatening
 Defense
Mechanisms
Displacement - divert
impulses toward a more
acceptable object.
Sublimation - transform
unacceptable impulse into
something socially valued.
Denial – Refusal to
acknowledge an undesirable
memory, experience, event or
Theory of Psycho-
sexual
Development
 Freud’s
Theory
 Personality develops
through a series of
childhood stages.
 The pleasure-seeking
energies of the self
become focused on
certain “erotic” areas.
 This psychosexual
energy, or “libido”, was
described as the driving
force behind behavior.
 If the stages are
 Freud’s
Theory
If certain issues are not
resolved at the appropriate
stage, fixation can occur. A
fixation is a continuous focus
on an earlier psychosexual
stage.
Until this conflict is resolved,
the individual will remain
Psychosexual Stages
Oral Stage: Birth to
2 years
Satisfy drive of hunger and
thirst by breast or bottle
If fixated after weaned:
Over Dependency
Over Attachment
“Intake” of interesting
substances/ideas
 Anal Stage: 2- 4 years
Id wants pleasure of reducing
tension by defecating &
urinating
Toilet training – get superego to
impose societal norms
Self-control
Holding back
Freedom of action no control
Phallic Stage: 4 – 6 years
Sexual energy focused on
genitals
Masturbation
Differences between boys and
girls
Emerging sexual gender identity
Personality fixed by end of this
stage
 Oedipus Complex
A boy’s sexual feeling for his
mother and rivalries with his
father
Psychological defenses
against these threatening
thoughts and feelings
Form reaction pattern used
throughout life
Form personality through
identification with father
Castration Anxiety
Unconscious fear of loss of
penis and becoming like a
female
Fear of powerful people
overcoming them
Fear of revenge of the
powerful people
 Penis Envy
A girl’s feelings of inferiority
and jealousy
Turns affections from mother to
father since blame mom for no
penis
Although can’t have penis can
have baby
Wants to find a good man like
her father and produce a baby
 Latency Period 5-11 years of
age
• Time between resolution of
Oedipus complex and puberty
• Usually not possible for sexual
urges to be directly expressed
• Sexual energies are
channeled into school and
friends
 Genital Stage
Adolescence -
Adulthood
Normal sexual relations
Marriage
Child-rearing
 Freud claimed that some
people get stuck at one
particular stage . . . They
become fixated.
Sometimes the fixation is
caused by frustration,
sometimes by
overindulgence . . .
Assignment: Write about
the fixations in each stage
Application: Psychoanalysis

Goal is to bring crucial

unconscious material
into consciousness,
where it can be
examined in a
rational manner.
 The Therapy
Dreams
Slips of the tongue
Posthypnotic suggestions
Material derived from free-
association
Material derived from projective
techniques
Symbolic content of psychotic
symptoms
 and
Countertransfer
 Transference
ence
The client reacts to the therapist as he did to an earlier
significant other
This allows the client to experience feelings that
would otherwise be inaccessible
ANALYSIS OF TRANSFERENCE — allows the client to
achieve insight into the influence of the past
 Countertransference
The reaction of the therapist toward the client that may
interfere with objectivity
 Psychoanalytic
Techniques
 Free Association
Client reports immediately without
censoring any feelings or thoughts
 Interpretation
Therapist points out, explains, and
teaches the meanings of whatever
is revealed
 Dream Analysis
Therapist uses the “royal road to
the unconscious” to bring
 Assessing the
Unconscious
Projective Tests
• Thematic Apperception Test-
people view ambiguous pictures
and then make up stories.

• Rorschach Inkblot Test-a set of 10

inkblots, seeks to identify people’s
inner feelings by analyzing their
interpretations of the inkblots.
 Contributions of Freud
• First comprehensive personality theory
& psychotherapy
• Emphasis on sexuality as influence
• Importance of early childhood
experience
• Concept of unconscious
• Emphasis on Helper Role in therapeutic
relationship
• Scientific approach to mental health on
continuum from physical health
 Limitations of
Freud’s Work
Pessimistic and deterministic
approach to personality
No controlled studies-poor
research
Overemphasis on differences
between men and women
Unconcerned with interpersonal
relations, individual identity and
adaptation over one’s lifetime