EPPP: Clinical Psychology
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Accurate Answers 2025-2026 Updated.
Freudian Psychoanalysis - Answer Freudian psychoanalysis reflects a "deterministic and
pessimistic" view of human nature that views current psychological problems as being due to
unconscious, unresolved conflicts that arose during childhood.
It also assumes that these conflicts cause anxiety and are the result of the divergent demands of
the three aspects of personality - the id, ego, and superego.
Id, Ego, and Superego - Answer (a) The id:
present at birth, and its life (sexual) and death (aggression) instincts are the primary source of
psychic energy. It operates according to the "pleasure principle" and seeks immediate
gratification of its instinctual needs using unconscious irrational means.
(b) The ego:
develops at about 6 months of age and operates according to the "reality principle." Although it
also seeks to at least partially gratify the id's instincts, it attempts to do so in realistic rational
ways.
(c) The superego:
is the last aspect of personality to develop. It represents the internalization of society's values
and standards and acts as the conscience. It attempts to permanently block (rather than gratify)
the id's instincts.
Defense Mechanisms (Freud) - Answer Freud's theory also proposes that, when the ego is
unable to resolve a conflict between the id and superego using rational means, it resorts to one
of its defense mechanisms.
The defense mechanisms deny or distort reality and operate on an unconscious level, and they
include repression, denial, reaction formation, projection, and sublimation.
- Repression: is the basis of all other defense mechanisms, is involuntary, and involves keeping
undesirable thoughts and urges out of conscious awareness.
,Methods of denial include ignoring, distorting, and rejecting reality.
- Reaction formation: involves defending against an unacceptable impulse by expressing its
opposite
- Projection: involves attributing an unacceptable impulse to another person
- Sublimation: involves channeling an unacceptable impulse into a socially desirable (and often
admirable) endeavor.
The occasional use of defense mechanisms is adaptive, but repeated reliance on them keeps a
person from resolving the conflicts that are causing anxiety.
Main Goals of Psychoanalysis - Answer The main goals of Freudian psychoanalysis are "to
make the unconscious conscious and to strengthen the ego so that behavior is based more on
reality and less on instinctual cravings and irrational guilt" (Corey, 2016, p. 26).
Psychoanalysis Techniques - Answer The primary technique of psychoanalysis is analysis of the
client's free associations, dreams, resistance, and transference, and the process of analysis
consists of four steps (Greenson, 2016):
(1) Confrontation: involves helping clients recognize behaviors they've been unaware of and
their possible cause.
(2) Clarification: brings the cause of behaviors into sharper focus by separating important details
from extraneous material.
(3) Interpretation: involves explicitly linking conscious behaviors to unconscious processes.
(4) Repeated interpretation: leads to catharsis (the experience of repressed emotions) and
insight into the connection between unconscious material and current behavior and then to
working through, which is a gradual process during which the client accepts and integrates new
insights into his/her life.
Jung's Analytical Psychology - Answer Jung accepted some aspects of Freudian theory but
,Jung also divided the unconscious aspect of the psyche into the personal and collective
unconscious
Personal and Collective Unconscious (Jung) - Answer 1) The personal unconscious- consists of
a person's own forgotten or repressed memories
2) the collective unconscious- consists of memories that are shared by all people and are passed
down from one generation to the next.
The collective unconscious contains archetypes, which are universal thoughts and images that
predispose people to act in similar ways in certain circumstances.
They're expressed in myths, symbols, and dreams and include the persona, shadow, hero, and
anima and animus.
Primary goal of Jung's analytical psychotherapy - Answer The primary goal of analytical
psychotherapy is to bring unconscious material into consciousness to facilitate the process of
individuation, which occurs primarily during the second half of life and is "the process by which
a person becomes a psychological 'in-dividual,' that is, a separate, indivisible unity or whole"
(Jung, 1968, p. 275).
Jungian Techniques - Answer Techniques used to achieve this goal include dream
interpretation and the analysis of transference, which Jung viewed as being due to the
projection of elements of the personal and collective unconscious.
Adler's Individual Psychology - Answer Adler, like Jung, also rejected some aspects of Freudian
theory.
For instance, he replaced Freud's sexual instincts with an innate social interest and desire for
social connectedness and adopted a teleological approach that emphasizes the effects of future
goals on current behavior.
He also proposed that people are motivated by feelings of inferiority that arise during childhood
in response to real or imagined inadequacies and by a striving for superiority to overcome
inferiority feelings.
, Adler's Style of Life - Answer Adler used the term "style of life" to describe the ways in which a
person strives for superiority and proposed that a person's style of life develops during early
childhood.
According to Adler, people have adopted a healthy style of life when their goals reflect not only
concerns for personal achievement but also for the well-being of others.
In contrast, they've adopted a mistaken (unhealthy) style of life when their goals focus on
overcompensating for feelings of inferiority and reflect a lack of concern about the well-being of
others.
From this perspective, neurosis, psychosis, addiction, and other problems are manifestations of
a mistaken style of life.
primary goal of Adlerian psychotherapy - Answer The primary goal of Adlerian psychotherapy
is to replace the client's mistaken style of life with a healthier, more adaptive one by helping the
client overcome feelings of inferiority and develop a stronger social interest.
Adlerian techniques - Answer Strategies used to achieve this goal include identifying early
recollections, dream analysis, and having clients act "as if" they're already the people they want
to be.
Object Relations Theory - Answer Therapies based on object relations theory view behavior as
being motivated primarily by a desire for human relationships, and they focus on the impact of
early relationships between a child and primary caregivers (objects) on the child's future
relationships.
An important concept in object relations theory is "object constancy," which refers to the
development of mental representations (introjects) of the self and objects that allow the
individual to value an object for reasons other than its ability to satisfy the individual's needs.
Development of Object Constancy - Answer According to Mahler (Mahler, Pine, & Bergman,
1975), the development of object constancy takes place during 3 stages:
1) The normal autistic stage:
occurs during the first few weeks of life.
Comprehensive Exam With 100%
Accurate Answers 2025-2026 Updated.
Freudian Psychoanalysis - Answer Freudian psychoanalysis reflects a "deterministic and
pessimistic" view of human nature that views current psychological problems as being due to
unconscious, unresolved conflicts that arose during childhood.
It also assumes that these conflicts cause anxiety and are the result of the divergent demands of
the three aspects of personality - the id, ego, and superego.
Id, Ego, and Superego - Answer (a) The id:
present at birth, and its life (sexual) and death (aggression) instincts are the primary source of
psychic energy. It operates according to the "pleasure principle" and seeks immediate
gratification of its instinctual needs using unconscious irrational means.
(b) The ego:
develops at about 6 months of age and operates according to the "reality principle." Although it
also seeks to at least partially gratify the id's instincts, it attempts to do so in realistic rational
ways.
(c) The superego:
is the last aspect of personality to develop. It represents the internalization of society's values
and standards and acts as the conscience. It attempts to permanently block (rather than gratify)
the id's instincts.
Defense Mechanisms (Freud) - Answer Freud's theory also proposes that, when the ego is
unable to resolve a conflict between the id and superego using rational means, it resorts to one
of its defense mechanisms.
The defense mechanisms deny or distort reality and operate on an unconscious level, and they
include repression, denial, reaction formation, projection, and sublimation.
- Repression: is the basis of all other defense mechanisms, is involuntary, and involves keeping
undesirable thoughts and urges out of conscious awareness.
,Methods of denial include ignoring, distorting, and rejecting reality.
- Reaction formation: involves defending against an unacceptable impulse by expressing its
opposite
- Projection: involves attributing an unacceptable impulse to another person
- Sublimation: involves channeling an unacceptable impulse into a socially desirable (and often
admirable) endeavor.
The occasional use of defense mechanisms is adaptive, but repeated reliance on them keeps a
person from resolving the conflicts that are causing anxiety.
Main Goals of Psychoanalysis - Answer The main goals of Freudian psychoanalysis are "to
make the unconscious conscious and to strengthen the ego so that behavior is based more on
reality and less on instinctual cravings and irrational guilt" (Corey, 2016, p. 26).
Psychoanalysis Techniques - Answer The primary technique of psychoanalysis is analysis of the
client's free associations, dreams, resistance, and transference, and the process of analysis
consists of four steps (Greenson, 2016):
(1) Confrontation: involves helping clients recognize behaviors they've been unaware of and
their possible cause.
(2) Clarification: brings the cause of behaviors into sharper focus by separating important details
from extraneous material.
(3) Interpretation: involves explicitly linking conscious behaviors to unconscious processes.
(4) Repeated interpretation: leads to catharsis (the experience of repressed emotions) and
insight into the connection between unconscious material and current behavior and then to
working through, which is a gradual process during which the client accepts and integrates new
insights into his/her life.
Jung's Analytical Psychology - Answer Jung accepted some aspects of Freudian theory but
,Jung also divided the unconscious aspect of the psyche into the personal and collective
unconscious
Personal and Collective Unconscious (Jung) - Answer 1) The personal unconscious- consists of
a person's own forgotten or repressed memories
2) the collective unconscious- consists of memories that are shared by all people and are passed
down from one generation to the next.
The collective unconscious contains archetypes, which are universal thoughts and images that
predispose people to act in similar ways in certain circumstances.
They're expressed in myths, symbols, and dreams and include the persona, shadow, hero, and
anima and animus.
Primary goal of Jung's analytical psychotherapy - Answer The primary goal of analytical
psychotherapy is to bring unconscious material into consciousness to facilitate the process of
individuation, which occurs primarily during the second half of life and is "the process by which
a person becomes a psychological 'in-dividual,' that is, a separate, indivisible unity or whole"
(Jung, 1968, p. 275).
Jungian Techniques - Answer Techniques used to achieve this goal include dream
interpretation and the analysis of transference, which Jung viewed as being due to the
projection of elements of the personal and collective unconscious.
Adler's Individual Psychology - Answer Adler, like Jung, also rejected some aspects of Freudian
theory.
For instance, he replaced Freud's sexual instincts with an innate social interest and desire for
social connectedness and adopted a teleological approach that emphasizes the effects of future
goals on current behavior.
He also proposed that people are motivated by feelings of inferiority that arise during childhood
in response to real or imagined inadequacies and by a striving for superiority to overcome
inferiority feelings.
, Adler's Style of Life - Answer Adler used the term "style of life" to describe the ways in which a
person strives for superiority and proposed that a person's style of life develops during early
childhood.
According to Adler, people have adopted a healthy style of life when their goals reflect not only
concerns for personal achievement but also for the well-being of others.
In contrast, they've adopted a mistaken (unhealthy) style of life when their goals focus on
overcompensating for feelings of inferiority and reflect a lack of concern about the well-being of
others.
From this perspective, neurosis, psychosis, addiction, and other problems are manifestations of
a mistaken style of life.
primary goal of Adlerian psychotherapy - Answer The primary goal of Adlerian psychotherapy
is to replace the client's mistaken style of life with a healthier, more adaptive one by helping the
client overcome feelings of inferiority and develop a stronger social interest.
Adlerian techniques - Answer Strategies used to achieve this goal include identifying early
recollections, dream analysis, and having clients act "as if" they're already the people they want
to be.
Object Relations Theory - Answer Therapies based on object relations theory view behavior as
being motivated primarily by a desire for human relationships, and they focus on the impact of
early relationships between a child and primary caregivers (objects) on the child's future
relationships.
An important concept in object relations theory is "object constancy," which refers to the
development of mental representations (introjects) of the self and objects that allow the
individual to value an object for reasons other than its ability to satisfy the individual's needs.
Development of Object Constancy - Answer According to Mahler (Mahler, Pine, & Bergman,
1975), the development of object constancy takes place during 3 stages:
1) The normal autistic stage:
occurs during the first few weeks of life.
