PSYC 356 Study Guide - Final Guide: Freud'S Seduction Theory, Preconscious, Oedipus Complex
19 Jun 2018
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Chapter 2
Freud: Psychoanalysis
1. Describe how Freud's childhood experiences may have influenced his theory
of personality.
Born in the Czech Republic in 1856, Sigmund Freud spent most of his life in
Vienna. Early in his professional career, Freud believed that hysteria was a result of
being seduced during childhood by a sexually mature person, often a parent or other
relative. In 1897, however, Freud abandoned his seduction theory and replaced it
with his notion of the Oedipus complex, a concept that remained the center of his
psychoanalytic theory. Near the end of his life and to escape Nazi rule, Freud
moved to London where he died in 1939.
2. Argue pro or con whether Freud was scientific in his writings.
Con: Freud regarded himself as a scientist, but many critics consider his methods to
be outdated, unscientific, and permeated with gender bias. On the six criteria of a
useful theory, psychoanalysis we rate its ability to generate research as high, its
openness to falsification as very low, and its ability to organize data as average. We
also rate psychoanalysis as average on its ability to guide action and to be
parsimonious. Because it lacks operational definitions, we rate it low on internal
consistency.
Pro: Although Freudian theory has generated much related research, it rates low on
falsifiability because most research findings can be explained by other theories. In
recent years, however, many researchers have investigated hypotheses inspired by
psychoanalytic theory. This research includes such topics as (1) unconscious mental
processing, (2) pleasure and the id: inhibition and the ego, (3) the defense
mechanisms, and (4) dreams.
3. Identify and explain the three levels of mental life.
Freud saw mental functioning as operating on three levels—unconscious,
preconscious, and conscious.
A. Unconscious
The unconscious includes drives and instincts that are beyond awareness but that
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motivate most human behaviors. Freud believed that unconscious drives can
become conscious only in disguised or distorted form, such as dream images, slips
of the tongue, or neurotic symptoms. Unconscious processes originate from two
sources: (1) repression, or the blocking out of anxiety-filled experiences and (2)
phylogenetic endowment, or inherited experiences that lie beyond an individual's
personal experience.
B. Preconscious
The preconscious contains images that are not in awareness but that can become
conscious either quite easily or with some level of difficulty.
C. Conscious
Consciousness plays a relatively minor role in Freudian theory. Conscious ideas
stem from either the perception of external stimuli (our perceptual conscious
system) or from the unconscious and preconscious after they have evaded
censorship.
4. Describe the three provinces of the mind and their characteristics.
Freud conceptualized three regions of the mind—the id, the ego, and the superego.
A. The Id
The id, which is completely unconscious, serves the pleasure principle and contains
our basic instincts. It operates through the primary process.
B. The Ego
The ego, or secondary process, is governed by the reality principle and is
responsible for reconciling the unrealistic demands of the id and the superego.
C. The Superego
The superego, which serves the idealistic principle, has two subsystems—the
conscience and the ego-ideal. The conscience results from punishment for improper
behavior whereas the ego-ideal stems from rewards for socially acceptable
behavior.
5. Explain Freud's concept of the sexual and aggressive instincts.
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