Read, analyze and copy the important details in your notebook. Then answer the activity below.
Lesson 1: Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is defined as a set of psychological
theories and therapeutic methods that have their origin in the work
and theories of Sigmund Freud. The primary assumption of
psychoanalysis is the belief that all people possess unconscious
thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories.
Psychoanalysis therapy aims to release repressed
emotions and experiences, i.e., make the unconscious conscious. It is only having a cathartic (i.e.,
healing) experience can the person be helped and "cured." Remember, psychoanalysis is a therapy
as well as a theory. Psychoanalysis is commonly used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.
In psychoanalysis (therapy), Freud would have a patient lie on a couch to relax, and he
would sit behind them taking notes while they told him about their a n d c h i l d h o o d memories.
Psychoanalysis would be a lengthy process, involving many sessions with the psychoanalyst.
Due to the nature of defense mechanisms and the inaccessibility of the deterministic forces operating
in the unconscious, psychoanalysis in its classic form is a lengthy process often involving 2 to 5
sessions per week for several years.
This approach assumes that the reduction of symptoms
alone is relatively inconsequential as if the underlying conflict is not
resolved, more neurotic symptoms will simply be substituted. The
analyst serves as a 'blank screen,' disclosing very little about
themselves so that the client can use the space in the relationship
to work on their unconscious without interference from outside.
The psychoanalyst uses various techniques as
encouragement for the client to develop insights into their behavior
and the meanings of symptoms, including ink blots, parapraxes, free association, interpretation
(including dream analysis), resistance analysis, and transference analysis.
Freud’s Structure of Personality
According to Freud, our personality develops from the
interactions among what he proposed as the three fundamental
structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego. Conflicts
among these three structures, and our efforts to find balance among
what each of them “desires,” determines how we behave and
approach the world. What balance we strike in any given situation
determines how we will resolve the conflict between two overarching
behavioral tendencies: our biological aggressive and pleasure-
seeking drives vs. our socialized internal control over those drives.
The Id-the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with
the instant satisfaction of basic physical needs and urges. It operates
entirely unconsciously (outside of conscious thought). For example, if
your id walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it would most likely
take the ice cream for itself. It doesn’t know, or care, that it is rude to take something belonging to
someone else; it would care only that you wanted the ice.
Superego is concerned with social rules and morals—like what many people call their” conscience”
or their “moral compass.” It develops as a child learns what their culture considers right and wrong. If
your superego walked past the same stranger, it would not take their ice cream because it would
know that that would be rude. However, if both your id and your superego were involved, and your id
was strong enough to override your superego’s concern, you would still take the ice cream, but
afterward you would most likely feel guilt and shame over your actions.
The Ego in contrast to the instinctual ID and the moral superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic
part of our personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious and partly unconscious.
It’s what Freud considered to be the “self,” and its job is to balance the demands of the id and
superego in the practical context of reality. So, if you walked past the stranger with ice cream one
more time, your ego would mediate the conflict between your id (“I want that ice cream right now”)
and superego (“It’s wrong to take someone else’s ice cream”) and decide to go buy your ice cream.
While this may mean you have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate your id, your ego
decides to make that sacrifice as part of the compromise– satisfying your desire for ice cream while
also avoiding an unpleasant social situation and potential feelings of shame.
Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are in constant conflict and that adult personality and
behavior are rooted in the results of these internal struggles throughout childhood. He believed that a
person who has a strong ego has a healthy personality and that imbalances in this system can lead to
neurosis (what we now think of as anxiety and depression) and unhealthy behaviors.
Defense Mechanism is most notably used by Sigmund Freud in his psychoanalytic theory, a defense
mechanism is a tactic developed by the ego to protect against anxiety. Defense mechanisms are
thought to safeguard the mind against feelings and thoughts that are too difficult for the conscious
mind to cope with. In some instances, defense mechanisms are thought to keep inappropriate or
unwanted thoughts and impulses from entering the conscious mind.
Types of Defense Mechanism
1. Rationalization - justification of an unacceptable behavior
2. Intellectualization - reasoning to block emotional distress
3. Reaction formation - changing unwanted emotions or feelings
4. Acting Out – carrying out extreme behavior
5. Projection – transferring the drive or behavior that causes anxiety to others
6. Dissociation – separating of the memories one can’t deal with or doesn’t want
7. Compartmentalization – separating part of oneself from awareness of other parts
8. Displacement – transferring of negative emotion from one person or thing
9. Regression – seeking the safety of an earlier development stage
10. Sublimation – diverting intolerable impulse to a socially desirable one
11. Compensation – balancing apparent weakness by accentuating the strength
12. Repression – unconscious forgetting of unwanted thought or trauma
13. Suppression – conscious type of forgetting to escape from the problem
14. Splitting – seeing everything as bad with nothing in between
15. Using Humor – directing on funny aspects of a painful situation
FIRST WRITTEN OUTPUT:
ACTIVITY: Do it in your notebook.
Read and discuss each question below. Don’t use an AI app in answering the questions because you
will get an automatic score of 0. Write 3-5 sentences in each question. Use the rubrics below as a
guide in scoring your answers.
Rubrics:
Content: 15
Organization of ideas: 10
Grammar, Usage & Mechanics: 5
Total: 30 points
1. What is the role of the unconscious mind in psychoanalysis?
2. Can you explain the significance of Freud’s structural model of the psyche, including the id, ego,
and superego?
3. How do defense mechanisms function according to psychoanalytic theory? Provide examples.
4. How does the concept of repression contribute to mental health issues in psychoanalysis?
5. How does the concept of childhood experiences shape adult personality in Freud's theory?