PSYCH1000: CHAPTER 14: PERSONALITY
Sigmund Freud
• Born in Moravia —> grew up in Vienna
• Weird family life (born to dad on 3rd marriage, dad already had grandchildren)
• Originally wanted to be a lawyer before med school
• Did cocaine in med school (idea to use it as anesthetic)
• Interns at Salpetiere in Paris (leading mental institution in the world)
• Studies under Charcot (who treats women with hysteria —> psychosomatic disorder)
• Charcot used hypnotism + taught it to Freud
• Opens consulting practice in Vienna
• Found that hypnotism wasn’t as effective here
• Friend named Fleece comes up with “psychoanalysis” (analyzing what people say about
their own psychological problems)
• Freud doesn’t want to be seen by the patients when they talk so they talk more freely
• Obsessed with Egyptian artifacts / myths (they tell us about human nature)
• APA rejects Freud’s psychodynamic theory (not based in empirical data)
• Theories built on clinical observations of clients (use as case studies)
• Freud leaves Vienna b/c of Nazis —> moves to London
• Died of jaw cancer (smoked a lot of cigars)
The Psychodynamic Perspective
• Freud’s psychoanalytic theory = personality as energy system w/ dynamic exchanges
• Mental events can be conscious, preconscious, unconscious
• 3 Structures of the Mind
• ID: most primitive portion (there at birth) —> basic biological urges
• Irrational, seeks immediate instinctual gratification, dark side of the personality
• Unconscious & without moral constraint
• All other portions derived from ID
• Fuelled by libidinal energy, pleasure principle (maximize pleasure, minimize pain)
• If needs can’t be met in reality, fantasy will do —> primary process thinking
• EGO: satisfies the ID in accord with constraints in real world (primary process thinking)
• Developed by ID in response to needs not being available/met
• Reality principle (tests reality & mediates id desires w/ superego & reality)
• Acts as manager—> adjusts cognitive / perceptual processes, control ID, suggest options
• ID/SUPEREGO often in conflict (EGO must satisfy ID while avoiding guilt)
• SUPEREGO: moral arm, internalized values of parents, society
• Developed by ID to decide whether EGO has been “good” or “bad”
• Irrational (blind DOs and DONTs)
• Ego used to only deal with external reality (punishment)
• SUPEREGO begins to control EGO by giving rewards (pride) & punishment (guilt)
• Interaction of id/ego/superego results in struggle —> anxiety
• Freud believed we are always anxious and nobody is completely calm/composed
• Reality anxiety: ego’s fear of real world threats
• Neurotic anxiety: ego’s fear of id’s desires
• Moral anxiety: ego’s fear of guilt from superego
• Threat in real world —> ego rationally decides to flee & avoid
• Threats from within —> ego removes from consciousness (repression)
• Ego copes w/ defence mechanisms (disguised instinctual gratification, reduce anxiety)
• Psychosexual theory: adult personality = how children learn to deal w/ sexual urges
• Neo-analytic theorists modify + extend Freud’s ideas
• Stress social & cultural factors in personality development
Sigmund Freud
• Born in Moravia —> grew up in Vienna
• Weird family life (born to dad on 3rd marriage, dad already had grandchildren)
• Originally wanted to be a lawyer before med school
• Did cocaine in med school (idea to use it as anesthetic)
• Interns at Salpetiere in Paris (leading mental institution in the world)
• Studies under Charcot (who treats women with hysteria —> psychosomatic disorder)
• Charcot used hypnotism + taught it to Freud
• Opens consulting practice in Vienna
• Found that hypnotism wasn’t as effective here
• Friend named Fleece comes up with “psychoanalysis” (analyzing what people say about
their own psychological problems)
• Freud doesn’t want to be seen by the patients when they talk so they talk more freely
• Obsessed with Egyptian artifacts / myths (they tell us about human nature)
• APA rejects Freud’s psychodynamic theory (not based in empirical data)
• Theories built on clinical observations of clients (use as case studies)
• Freud leaves Vienna b/c of Nazis —> moves to London
• Died of jaw cancer (smoked a lot of cigars)
The Psychodynamic Perspective
• Freud’s psychoanalytic theory = personality as energy system w/ dynamic exchanges
• Mental events can be conscious, preconscious, unconscious
• 3 Structures of the Mind
• ID: most primitive portion (there at birth) —> basic biological urges
• Irrational, seeks immediate instinctual gratification, dark side of the personality
• Unconscious & without moral constraint
• All other portions derived from ID
• Fuelled by libidinal energy, pleasure principle (maximize pleasure, minimize pain)
• If needs can’t be met in reality, fantasy will do —> primary process thinking
• EGO: satisfies the ID in accord with constraints in real world (primary process thinking)
• Developed by ID in response to needs not being available/met
• Reality principle (tests reality & mediates id desires w/ superego & reality)
• Acts as manager—> adjusts cognitive / perceptual processes, control ID, suggest options
• ID/SUPEREGO often in conflict (EGO must satisfy ID while avoiding guilt)
• SUPEREGO: moral arm, internalized values of parents, society
• Developed by ID to decide whether EGO has been “good” or “bad”
• Irrational (blind DOs and DONTs)
• Ego used to only deal with external reality (punishment)
• SUPEREGO begins to control EGO by giving rewards (pride) & punishment (guilt)
• Interaction of id/ego/superego results in struggle —> anxiety
• Freud believed we are always anxious and nobody is completely calm/composed
• Reality anxiety: ego’s fear of real world threats
• Neurotic anxiety: ego’s fear of id’s desires
• Moral anxiety: ego’s fear of guilt from superego
• Threat in real world —> ego rationally decides to flee & avoid
• Threats from within —> ego removes from consciousness (repression)
• Ego copes w/ defence mechanisms (disguised instinctual gratification, reduce anxiety)
• Psychosexual theory: adult personality = how children learn to deal w/ sexual urges
• Neo-analytic theorists modify + extend Freud’s ideas
• Stress social & cultural factors in personality development
