2024 Clinical Psychology (EPPP) Study Guide

Clinical Psychology - Answer-- the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological and behavioral disorders Assumptions of Psychodynamic Therapies - Answer-- human behavior is motivated by unconscious processes - early development has a profound effect on adult functioning - universal principles explain personality development and behavior - insight into unconscious processes is a key component of therapy Freudian Psychoanalysis - Answer-- human beings are determined by irrational forces, unconscious motivations, biological and instinctual needs and drives, and psychosexual events that occur during the first five years of life Freud's Personality Theory - Answer-- composed of two theories: structural (drive) theory and developmental theory Structural Theory (Freud) - Answer-- the personality is composed of three structures: the id, ego, and superego Id - Answer-- present at birth and consists of the person's life and death instincts - operates on pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification of its instinctual drives in order to avoid tension Ego - Answer-- develops at six months of age - operates ont eh reality principle that defers gratifcation until an appropriate object is available in reality and employs thinking - mediates conflicting demands of pleasure and reality Superego - Answer-- develops between four and five years Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology - represents an internalization of society's values and standards - attempts to permanently block socially unacceptable drives Developmental Theory (Freud) - Answer-- emphasizes the sexual drives of the id and proposes that an individual's personality is formed during childhood as a result of certain experiences during psychosexual stages of development - over or undergratification of a person's sexual needs during a stage is associated with different personality outcomes Oral Stage - Answer-- Freud's first stage of personality development, from birth to about age 2, during which the instincts of infants are focused on the mouth as the primary pleasure center. Anal Stage - Answer-- Freud's second stage of psychosexual development where the primary sexual focus is on the elimination or holding onto feces. The stage is often thought of as representing a child's ability to control his or her own world. Phallic Stage - Answer-- Freud's third stage of personality development, from about age 4 through age 7, during which children obtain gratification primarily from the genitals. Latency Stage - Answer-- Freud's fourth stage of psychosexual development where sexuality is repressed in the unconscious and children focus on identifying with their same sex parent and interact with same sex peers. Genital Stage - Answer-- Freud's last stage of personality development, from the onset of puberty through adulthood, during which the sexual conflicts of childhood resurface (at puberty) and are often resolved during adolescence). Defense Mechanisms - Answer-- occur when the ego is unable to ward off danger through rational, realistic means - these operate on an unconscious level and deny or distort reality