PSYB32H3 Chapter 2: (b) The Psychoanalytic, Humanistic, and Biopsychosocial Paradigm
28 May 2018
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Chapter 2
2.4 - The Psychoanalytic Paradigm
• Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic paradigm = General view or conceptual framework
based on psychoanalysis where psychopathology results from unconscious conflicts in
the individual→ originally developed by Sigmund Freud
• Freud divided the mind into 3 principal parts: id, ego, and superego
• Id = In psychoanalytic theory, that part of the personality present at birth, composed of
all the energy of the psyche, and expressed as biological urges that strive continually for
gratification.
o It comprises the basic urges for food, water, warmth, affection, and sex
o Libido = In Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the instinctual drives of the id, primarily
sexual in nature.
o Unconscious = A state of unawareness without sensation or thought. In
psychoanalytic theory, it is the part of the personality, in particular the id
impulses, or id energy, of which the ego is unaware.
o Pleasure principle = In psychoanalytic theory, the demanding manner by which
the id operates, seeking immediate gratification of its needs → id operates by
pleasure principle
▪ When the id is not satisfied, tension is produced, and the id strives to
eliminate this tension. Ex. the infant feels hunger, an aversive drive, and
is impelled to move about, sucking, to reduce the tension.
o Primary process thinking = The tendency to generate cognitive images
(generating images—in essence, fantasies) of highly pleasurable things to
presumably satisfy a current need for gratification and pleasure.
▪ The infant who wants the mother’s milk imagines sucking at the mother’s
breast and thereby obtains some short-term satisfaction
• Ego = In psychoanalytic theory, the predominantly conscious part of the personality,
responsible for decision-making and for dealing with reality.
o The ego is the next aspect of the psyche to develop during the second six
months of life
o Secondary process thinking = The reality-based decision-making and problem-
solving activities of the ego.
o Reality principle = In psychoanalytic theory, the manner in which the ego delays
gratification and otherwise deals with the environment in a planned, rational
fashion. → ego operates by reality principle, mediates between the demands of
reality and the immediate gratification desired by the id
• Superego = In psychoanalytic theory, the part of the personality that acts as the
conscience and reflects society’s moral standards as learned from parents and teachers.
o Behaviour of the humans is a complex interplay of these 3 parts of the psyche
▪ Psychodynamics = In psychoanalytic theory, the mental and emotional
forces and processes that develop in early childhood and their effects on
behaviour and mental states.
• Freud considered most of the important determinants of behaviour to be unconscious.
• Objective (realistic) anxiety = In psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s reaction to danger in
the external world; realistic fear.
• Neurotic anxiety = In psychoanalytic theory, a fear of the consequences of expressing
previously punished and repressed id impulses; more generally, unrealistic fear.
• Moral anxiety = In psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s fear of punishment for failure to
adhere to the superego’s standards of proper conduct.
• Defence Mechanisms: Coping with Anxiety
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o discomfort experienced by the anxious ego can be reduced in several ways -
Neurotic anxiety can be handled by means of a defence mechanism
o Defence mechanism = In psychoanalytic theory, reality-distorting strategies
unconsciously adopted to protect the ego from anxiety.
▪ Repression = A defence mechanism whereby impulses and thoughts
unacceptable to the ego are pushed into the unconscious.
▪ Denial = Defence mechanism in which a thought, feeling, or action is
disavowed by the person.
• Ex. disavowing a traumatic experience, such as being raped, and
pushing it into the unconscious.
▪ Projection = A defence mechanism whereby characteristics or desires
unacceptable to the ego are attributed to someone else → projecting
undesirable feelings or emotions onto someone else, rather than
admitting to or dealing with the unwanted feelings.
• Ex. a woman who unconsciously is averse to regarding herself as
angry at others may instead see others as angry with her.
▪ Displacement = A defence mechanism whereby an emotional response is
unconsciously redirected from an object or concept perceived as
dangerous to a substitute less threatening to the ego.
• e.g., yelling at one’s spouse instead of at one’s boss)
▪ Reaction formation = A defence mechanism whereby an unconscious and
unacceptable impulse or feeling that would cause anxiety is converted
into its opposite so that it can become conscious and can be expressed.
• converting one feeling (e.g., hate) into its opposite (in this case,
love
▪ Regression = A defence mechanism in which anxiety is avoided by
retreating to the behaviour patterns of an earlier psychosexual stage.
• Ex. stress from college results in someone sucking on their thumb
▪ Rationalization = A defence mechanism in which a plausible reason is
unconsciously invented by the ego to protect itself from confronting the
real reason for an action, thought, or emotion.
▪ Sublimation = Defence mechanism entailing the conversion of sexual or
aggressive impulses into socially valued behaviours, especially creative
activity.
• Becoming a gourmet cook as a sublimation of the wish to overeat
• Psychoanalytic therapy is an insight therapy. It attempts to remove the earlier repression
and help the client face the childhood conflict, gain insight into it, and resolve it in the
light of adult reality.
o Psychotherapy = A primarily verbal means of helping troubled individuals change
their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour to reduce distress and to achieve greater
life satisfaction.
o Insight therapies = Any psychotherapy that assumes that people become
disordered because they do not adequately understand what motivates them,
especially when their needs and drives conflict.
o Action (behavioural) therapies = A term sometimes applied to behavioural
therapies because they involve work on behaviour as opposed to work on
dreams or transference, as occurs in psychodynamic therapies.
o Analysts employ a number of techniques in their efforts to lift repressions
▪ Free association = A key psychoanalytic procedure in which the client is
encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings,
verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content.
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Document Summary
Id = in psychoanalytic theory, that part of the personality present at birth, composed of all the energy of the psyche, and expressed as biological urges that strive continually for gratification. It comprises the basic urges for food, water, warmth, affection, and sex: libido = in freud"s psychoanalytic theory, the instinctual drives of the id, primarily sexual in nature, unconscious = a state of unawareness without sensation or thought. It is assumed that the client can learn this skill, gradually overcoming defences built up over many years, but there often arise blocks to free association. The analyst will at some point interpret the client"s behaviour, pointing out its defensive nature in the hope of stimulating the client to acknowledge that he has trouble with intimacy: psychoanalytic therapy has evolved substantially over time. One innovation was to apply it to groups of people rather than only to individuals.
