Lecture 8. Psychoanalytic concept (S. Freud)
1. Psychoanalysis: theory and method. Basic concepts.
2. Personality structure.
3. Psychosexual phases of development.
4. Limitations of psychoanalysis.
1. Psychoanalysis: theory and method. Basic concepts.
Psychoanalysis is the name of 1) a technique for studying mental processes that cannot be studied in other ways, 2) a method (based on scientific research) for the treatment of neurotic disorders and 3) a system of psychological knowledge obtained in these areas, which is gradually accumulated into a new scientific discipline .
Freud described the mental organization as being divided into three components: conscious, unconscious and preconscious.
The conscious is only a small part of the psychic organization; it includes only what we are aware of at a given time. Although Freud was interested in the mechanisms of consciousness, he was more attracted to the least discovered and studied areas of consciousness, which he designated as the preconscious and unconscious.
The unconscious mind is the repository of primitive instinctual drives plus emotions and memories that are so threatening to consciousness that they have been suppressed and repressed. A thought or memory, however, affects consciousness, but in an indirect way.
The preconscious is the part of the unconscious that can easily become conscious. Those areas of memory that are accessible are part of the preconscious. This area includes, for example, remembering everything a person did yesterday, names, street addresses, etc.
The concept of attraction. Attraction is sometimes incorrectly translated as "instinct" in some manuals. Drives, or drives, compel action in the direction of certain goals without the participation of conscious reflection. Freud designated the physical aspects of drives as needs and the mental aspects of drives as desires. These needs and desires motivate people to take actions.
All drives have four components: source, goal, stimulus and object. The source, that is, the place where the need arises, can be some part or the human body as a whole. The goal should weaken the need to such an extent that there is no need for action; this gives the body satisfaction of its actual desires. A stimulus is the amount of energy, force or pressure that is used to satisfy a drive. An object of desire is any thing or action that satisfies the original desire.
Freud suggested that the normal, common-sense pattern of behavior is to strive to reduce the state of tension to an acceptable level. A person who has a certain need will continue to search for ways that can ease the initial state of tension. The completed cycle of behavior - from relaxation to tension, action and back to relaxation - is called the tension-release model. Tension is relieved by returning the physical body to the state of balance that existed before the need arose.
Many seemingly helpful thoughts and behaviors do not actually relieve tension; on the contrary, they can cause and maintain a state of tension, stress or anxiety. According to Freud, such thoughts and behavior patterns indicate that the open expression of desire is distorted or blocked.
Basic drives. Freud discovered two types of basic drives. His early model described two opposing forces: sexual (more broadly erotic or physically pleasurable) and aggressive or destructive. He later described these forces on a larger scale: one as a life-sustaining force, the other as a death (and destruction) force. Both formulations imply a biological, behavioral and unresolved pair of contradictions.
The manifestation of this basic antagonism is not necessary for a person’s mental life, since most of our thoughts and actions are caused by the action of these instinctive forces, but not each separately, but in their single combination. Freud was struck by the variety and complexity inherent in human behavior, which is the result of the interaction of basic drives. Freud noted that the object of sexual desire can be many things. Sexual desire, for example, can be satisfied through sexual activity, but also through watching erotic films, looking at pictures, reading relevant literature, fantasizing, and, as research has shown, while eating, drinking and even doing physical exercise. The drives are channels through which energy can flow, but this energy is subject to its own laws.
Libido and aggressive energy. Each of these generalized drives has its own special source of energy. Libido (lat. libido - passionate attraction, strong desire) is the energy that is present in the desire for life.
One of the characteristics of libido is its “mobility” - this is the ease with which it can switch from one area of attention to another. Freud depicted the variable nature of emotional receptivity as a flow of energy flowing towards and flowing out of areas of immediate interest.
Aggressive energy, or the death drive, has no special name. Presumably its basic properties are the same as those of the libido, although Freud did not give a clear description.
Cathexis. Cathexis is the way in which available libidinal, psychic energy is attached to or invested in a person, idea or thing. The libido in a state of cathexis is no longer mobile and can no longer move to new objects. The reason for this lies in the area of the psyche that attracts and holds it (libido).
If you imagine your libido reserve as a certain given amount of money, then cathexis is a way of investing it. Once some of the money is invested or deposited, it stays there, allowing you to invest what's left elsewhere.
Psychoanalytic theory is concerned with understanding where the libido is "cathected" inappropriately. When this energy is released and redirected, then it becomes available to meet other existing needs.
2. Personality structure.
Freud proposed to distinguish three main components of mental organization in the personality structure: id (Id), ego (Ego) and superego (Superego). Id simply means “it”, Ego means “I” and Superego means “super-ego”.
ID. The id is the initial essence for other manifestations of personality. It is biological in nature and contains a source of energy for all instances in the structure of the personality. Despite the fact that other areas of consciousness developed from the id, the id itself is primitive and unorganized. Moreover, the id does not change as it develops and reaches adulthood. The id does not change under the influence of life experiences, since it is not in contact with the outside world. Its task is to reduce tension, enhance pleasure and minimize discomfort. The id tries to accomplish this through reflex actions (automatic reactions such as sneezing or blinking) and through psychological processes in other areas of the psyche.
The content of the id is almost entirely unconscious. It includes primitive thoughts that are never realized, and thoughts that consciousness rejects and justifies as unacceptable. According to Freud, experiences that are rejected or repressed still have the ability to influence a person's behavior with unrelenting intensity and without the involvement of any conscious control.
Ego. The ego is a structural component of the psyche that is in contact with the reality of the external world. It develops from the id as the child begins to recognize his own individuality and to satisfy and pacify the repeated demands of the id. To accomplish this, the ego, like the bark of a tree, protects the id but also feeds on its energy. Its task is to ensure the vitality of the individual, security and a healthy psyche. Freud postulated that the ego has special functions both in relation to the outer world and in relation to the inner world, whose impulses it tries to satisfy.
Its main properties include control over voluntary movements and that aspect of activity that is aimed at self-preservation. It is aware of events in the external world, relating them to past events, then through activity it either avoids certain circumstances, adapts to them, or changes the realities of the external world to make them safer or more comfortable. The ego's job is to regulate the level of tension created by internal or external stimuli. An increase in tension is felt as a state of discomfort, while a decrease in tension is felt as a state of pleasure. Therefore, the ego strives for pleasure and seeks ways to avoid and minimize suffering.
Thus, the ego is initially created by the id in an attempt to cope with stress. However, to accomplish this, the ego must in turn control or modulate the drives emanating from the id so that the individual can follow a realistic approach to life.
Superego. The last component of the personality structure is formed not from the id, but from the ego. The superego serves as the judge or censor of the ego's actions and thoughts. This is a repository of moral norms, standards of behavior and those formations that form prohibitions for the individual. Freud described three functions of the superego: conscience, introspection and ideal formation. As conscience, the superego plays the role of limiting, prohibiting or condemning the activities of consciousness, as well as unconscious actions. Unconscious restrictions are not direct restrictions, but manifest themselves in the form of coercions or prohibitions.
The superego develops, develops and approves the moral standards of the individual. “The child’s superego is actually based not on the images of the parents, but on their superego. The child therefore learns not only the real life limits in any situation, but also the moral beliefs of the parents before being able to act for pleasure or to relieve stress.
The relationship between the three substructures. The highest goal of mental activity is to maintain that acceptable level of dynamic balance, which maximizes pleasure as a result of reducing tension; the energy used is created by the id, which is of a primitive, instinctive nature. The ego, which develops from the id, exists to view realistically the basic drives emanating from the id. It also mediates between the forces that influence the id, the superego, and the demands of the reality of the external world. The superego, developing on the basis of the ego, plays the role of a moral brake or counterforce in relation to the practical activities of the ego. It sets up a series of attitudes that define and limit the flexibility of the ego.
The id is completely unconscious, while the ego and superego are only partially so. The main task of psychoanalysis, in this language, is to strengthen the ego, to make it independent of the overly strict attitude of the superego and to increase its capacity to consider material previously repressed or hidden in the id.
3. Psychosexual phases of development. As an infant becomes a child, a child becomes an adolescent, and an adolescent becomes an adult, characteristic changes occur in what is desired and how those desires are satisfied. These successive modes of obtaining pleasure and the physical aspects of pleasure represent the main elements in the phases of development described by Freud. Freud used the term fixation to describe what happens when a person does not develop normally from phase to phase, but remains in a particular phase of development. A person fixed in a certain phase tends to seek the satisfaction of his needs in simpler ways, more like a child than like an adult in normal development.
Oral phase. The oral phase begins from the moment of birth, when both needs and their satisfaction involve the lips, tongue and, a little later, teeth. The infant's primary stimulus is neither social nor interpersonal: simply to obtain food and relieve the tension of hunger and thirst. During feeding, the baby is also reassured, cuddled and lulled to sleep. The baby associates both pleasure and stress relief with the act of feeding.
The mouth is the first area of the body that the child can control; most of the libidinal energy is directed there or focused on this area. As the child matures, other body parts develop. However, some amount of energy remains permanently attached or "charged" in relation to the methods of oral gratification. In adulthood, there are many improved habits and continued interest in maintaining oral pleasures. Eating, sucking, chewing, smoking, biting, licking or lip-smacking are physical expressions of these interests. Chewers, smokers and those who frequently overeat may be partially fixed in the oral phase; these are people whose psychological maturation may not be complete.
The late oral phase, after the child has teeth, contains the satisfaction of aggressive instincts. Breast biting, which causes pain in the mother and results in actual removal from the breast, is an example of this type. Adult sarcasm, forceful snatching of someone's food, and gossiping are described as being related to this phase of development.
Maintaining some interest in oral pleasure is normal. Oral gratification may be considered pathological if it is the dominant mode of gratification, that is, if the person depends on oral habits to relieve states of anxiety or tension.
Anal phase. As the child grows, new areas of tension and satisfaction are brought into awareness. Between the ages of two and four years, the child primarily learns how to control the anal sphincter and bladder. The child pays special attention to urination and defecation. Teaching toilet skills creates a natural interest in self-recognition. Increased physiological control is associated with the awareness that such control is a new source of pleasure.
In addition, children quickly learn that increasing control brings them attention and praise from their parents. Failure in learning toilet skills, which causes sincere distress to parents, allows the child to demand attention both in case of successful control and in case of error.
Characteristic adult characteristics associated with partial fixation in the anal phase are accuracy, thrift, and perseverance. Freud noted that these three character traits usually occur simultaneously. He mentions the combination "anal character", in which behavior patterns are closely related to difficult experiences experienced during this period in childhood.
Phallic stage. Starting at age three, the child enters the phallic phase of development, which focuses on the genitals. Freud argued that this phase is characterized as phallic, since during this period the child begins to realize whether he has a penis or not. This is the first phase in which children begin to understand gender differences.
Freud tried to understand the intense states of childhood experiences during sexual arousal, that is, pleasure from stimulation in the genital area. This excitement, in children's understanding, is associated with the close physical presence of parents. Satisfying the desire for such contact becomes increasingly difficult for the child; he fights for the intimacy that parents share with each other. This phase is characterized by the child's desire to go to bed with his parents and the resulting jealousy due to the attention that the parents pay to each other. Freud concluded from his observations that during this period both men and women developed fears related to sexual problems.
Freud saw that children in the phallic phase of development responded to their parents as a potential threat to the fulfillment of their needs. Thus, for a boy who wants to be close to his mother, the father takes on some of the characteristics of a rival. At the same time, boys want love and affection from their father, which makes the mother seem like a rival. A child in such a situation is in a contradictory state of desire and fear of both parents.
For boys, Freud named this conflict the Oedipus complex after the tragic hero of the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. In the famous version of this myth, Oedipus kills his father and then marries his mother (without knowing either parent). When he finally realized who he had killed and married, Oedipus gouged out his eyes. Freud believed that every male child experiences a similar inner drama. He wants to own his mother and to achieve this goal, remove his father as a rival. He is also afraid of his father and fears that he, the child, will be castrated by his father and remain desexed. Castration anxiety, fear and love for the father, and love and sexual desire for the mother can never be completely resolved. In childhood, this entire complex is suppressed. Among the first tasks of the developing superego is to keep this disturbing conflict repressed from the sphere of consciousness in order to protect the child from its influence.
For girls there is a similar problem, but its expression and solution takes different forms. The girl wants to possess her father and sees her mother as her main rival. Boys suppress their feelings partly out of fear of castration. For girls it looks different. The suppression of their desires is experienced less severely and not to such full extent. The lack of tension allows the girl to “remain in the oedipal situation for an indefinite period of time. She only postpones it until later in her life, leaving it unresolved.” Freud's views on the nature of women and her psychological development were subject to constant critical attacks.
Latent period. Whatever form of conflict resolution we consider, it turns out that most children modify their attachments to their parents and focus on relationships with peers, schoolwork, sports and other activities. This phase, lasting from 5 or 6 years of age until early adolescence, is called the latent period. This is the time when the unresolved sexual desires of the phallic phase are not dealt with by the ego, but are successfully suppressed by the superego.
From this moment until puberty, sexuality does not develop; on the contrary, sexual aspirations are weakened and much of what children knew or practiced before is abandoned and forgotten. During this period, after the early flowers of sexual development have withered, foundations in the ego structure of shame, aversion, and moral behavior are laid to withstand the storms of puberty and to control the newly awakened sexual desires.
For both parents and children, this is a relatively calm, uneventful period.
Genital phase. The final stage of biological and psychological development, it occurs with the onset of puberty and is the result of the return of libidinal energy to the sexual organs. Now boys and girls are forced to recognize their sexual differences and begin to look for ways to satisfy their erotic and interpersonal needs. Freud believed that homosexuality at this stage is the result of a lack of adequate development and that heterosexuality is a property of a healthy personality (a position that is still held in some countries, despite the modern understanding of the diversity of manifestations of normal sexual development).
4. Limitations of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis, as practiced by Freud and his closest followers, was not suitable for every case. Freud said: The field of application of psychoanalytic therapy lies in the transference of neuroses - various kinds of phobias, hysteria, obsessive-compulsive neuroses and character deviations caused by these diseases. Anything other than this - narcissism and psychotic states - is more or less unsuitable.
Some psychoanalysts say that people who are healthy in themselves and have a healthy and intact mental structure make the best candidates for psychoanalysis. Like any other form of treatment, it has inherent limitations, which are discussed from different perspectives. It can be compared to Buddhism because both Buddhism and psychoanalysis provide opportunities for man to alleviate his suffering.
Psychoanalysis is a real method of treatment, like any other. It has its achievements and its defeats, its difficulties, limitations and indications...
Freud's ideas continue to influence psychology, literature, art, anthropology, sociology, and medicine. Many of his views, such as the importance of dreams and the energy of unconscious processes, are generally accepted. Other aspects of his theory, such as the relationship between the ego, id and superego or the role of the Oedipus complex in adolescent development, are widely debated. However, some of his works, including his analysis of female sexuality and theories about the origins of civilization, are also widely criticized. His ideas are no less relevant today than they were during his lifetime. Those who want to study the mental life of man or try to understand other people must be guided by Freud's basic statement that this can be achieved by studying one's own inner life.
Regardless of time, Freud is a figure to be reckoned with in psychology.
Main conclusions:
12. The body is the fundamental basis of consciousness as a whole.
13. Emptiness is random in nature and is least of all characteristic of individual mental processes. Every thought and every behavior matters.
14. The conscious is only a small part of the psyche. The unconscious and preconscious are other components of consciousness, less explored and studied. A mental process is called unconscious in the case when its existence is inferred from the results of its influences. The preconscious is the part of the unconscious that contains accessible memories.
15. A person’s drives do not predetermine the outcome of an action. Two main types of drives are described: sexual (life-sustaining) and aggressive (death-indulgent).
16. The personality structure consists of id (it), ego (me) and superego (super-ego). The highest task of the psyche is to maintain an acceptable level of dynamic balance, which maximizes pleasure, perceived as a decrease in tension. The main task of psychoanalysis is to strengthen the ego, to make it independent of the overly demanding attention of the superego and to increase its capacity to consider previously repressed or hidden contents. Freud proposed a description of the psychosexual phases of development. The ways of satisfying desires and the physical zones of satisfaction change in each phase. The individual sequentially passes through the oral, anal and phallic phases of development. Problems associated with the Oedipus complex occur during the phallic phase. The latent period continues until the individual enters the genital phase of development. Fixation occurs when a person becomes excessively “stuck” in a particular phase.
17. Freud, after admitting that he did not fully understand the nature of women, proposed a biological basis for the feelings of inferiority that women described during psychoanalytic procedures. His theory regarding female sexuality representing "disillusioned" male sexuality has been heavily criticized since its publication.
18. Dreams are used in psychoanalysis as an aid to uncover unconscious content. Dreams are not random or disordered; they are seen as one of the ways to satisfy unfulfilled desires. The state of anxiety is the main psychological problem of a person’s mental life. If there is no direct threat to the body or psyche, then defense mechanisms come into play. The expenditure of energy required to maintain effective defenses limits the flexibility and strength of the ego.
19. The concept of energy flow is central to Freud's theoretical assumptions, linking concepts such as the unconscious, psychological development, personality and neuroses. Responses to a state of tension can be both mental and physical. Libidinal energy is produced from physical energy. Basic drives arise from somatic sources.
20. Early childhood experiences have a significant impact on the nature of relationships that develop in adolescence, youth and adulthood. The relationships that take place in the family of origin between parents and children are decisive throughout the entire subsequent life of a person. We are not, first of all, rational animals. Rather, we are often driven by powerful emotional forces that can provide us with the means to release tension and understand pleasure and help us keep certain memories out of conscious awareness.
21. These contradictions are the inevitable result of the influence of the external environment, the superego and the inexorable instinctive demands of the id. The goal of psychotherapy is to help establish the best possible level of ego functioning.
22. The role of the psychotherapist is to recall, bring back into awareness and reintegrate unconscious contents so that the patient's life can be more satisfying.
Key concepts of S. Freud's theory: Aggressive energy. Anal phase of development. Anxiety. Cathexis. Dream activity. Attractions, urges. Ego (I). Fixation. Genital phase of development. Id (it). Latent period of development. Libido. Neuroses. Oedipus complex. Oral phase of development. Penis envy. Phallic phase of development. Psychoanalysis. Superego (super-ego). Transfer, "transfer". A wish come true.
Literature:
7. Pervin L., John O. Personality psychology: Theory and research / Transl. From English M.S. Zhamkochyan, ed. S. Maguna. - M.: Aspect - Press, 2001. - 607 p.
8. Frager R., Faydman J. Personality: theories, experiments, exercises. - SPb.: Prime - EUROZNAK, 2002. - 864 p.
9. Kjell L., Ziegler D. Theories of personality. - St. Petersburg, 1997.
10. Personality psychology in 2 volumes. Reader. - Samara: Publishing house "BAKHRAH", 1999. - vol. 1. - 448 p.
Additional literature:
8. Blum J. Psychoanalytic theories of personality: Transl. from English — M.: Academic project; Ekaterinburg: Business book. - 1999. - 224 p.
9. Tyson T., Tyson F. Psychoanalytic theories of development. - Ekaterinoburg, 1998. - 528 p.
10. Tome H., Kahele H. Modern psychoanalysis. T. 1, 2. - M.: Progress, 1996.
11. Freud Z. Psychology of the unconscious. M., 1989.
Briefly about psychoanalysis
Recently I discovered my attempts to fit all the main points of the theory of psychoanalysis on one sheet of paper. This was when I was in my first year at university.
1) Hysterics suffer from their memories, which are repressed into the unconscious. This is treated by bringing these memories to the surface. (“On the mental mechanism of hysterical phenomena”, 1893)
2) Neuroses are a defensive reaction of consciousness to one’s actions or desires that conflict with a person’s upbringing or accepted norms in society. (“Neuroses of Defense”, 1894)
3) The psyche consists of the “Super-I” (moral attitudes, education), the “I” (responsible for communication with reality, makes decisions in balance between the “Super-I” and “It”) and the “It” (unconscious, subordinate pleasure principle). (“I and It”, 1923)
4) Dreams in a significant part of cases are the fulfillment of desires. Secret desires appear in a dream in a disguised form due to their conflict with upbringing or norms, so it is sometimes difficult to understand their meaning. (“The Interpretation of Dreams”, 1900)
5) In early childhood, the child views one of the parents as a sexual object, and as a result experiences unconscious hatred towards the second (Oedipus complex). (“On Psychoanalysis”, 1910)
6) In childhood memories, secondary and indifferent things are usually preserved (while important ones often leave no trace). They most often mask the fact that a person does not want to remember his childhood. (“On Masking Memory”, 1899)
7) People prone to narcissism experience an overestimation of the object of love due to the deprivation of libido from the ego in favor of the object. ("An Introduction to Narcissism", 1914)
Almost all literary heroes are the writer himself, who tries on the role of one or another person. A significant part of the material is drawn from childhood. (“The Artist and Imagination”, 1908)
9) Humor occurs when the mind tries to express thoughts that conflict with the moral principles of society. (“Wit and its relation to the unconscious”, 1905)
10) A huge number of actions that we observe in people every day - slips of the tongue, typos, forgetting names, stories about seemingly uninteresting things - can tell about the thoughts that they want to hide in the unconscious. (“Psychopathology of everyday life”, 1904)
It is “Psychopathology...” that is the work that gave birth to the expressions “Freudian slip”, “Freudian typo” and others.
When I read these extracts now, it seems that this is not enough to understand the entire principle of the method. But enough for the basic understanding - many of Freud's works can really be compressed into one sentence, it seems to me. There are quite a few correct assumptions in his teaching, but many are far-fetched. In any case, even perfect knowledge of it will not allow one to penetrate thoughts as deeply as Hopkins’ character did in “The Silence of the Lambs”:
