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History
and Systems of Psychology
PSY502
VU
Lesson
30
SIGMUND
FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYTICAL
MOVEMENT
Sigmund
Freud formulated a theory of defense
mechanisms. Some of them include denial,
repression,
regression
and projection. The id, the
ego, and the superego
formulate the model that Freud used
to
describe
the components of human personality. The
ego, tempered by the superego, is
that conscious part
that
acts as mediator between the instinctual
drives of the unconscious id and the
social environment.
According
to Freud, the ego has developed what he
calls defense mechanisms, to
cover for the wild
demands
of the id, which would
rarely be socially acceptable.
All of the defenses can be
described as a
combination
of denial or repression with different
ways of rationalization.
When
we rationalize, we are distorting the
facts to make the event or our
own impulses less
threatening;
that
is, diluting the anxiety to a manageable
level. We often come to believe
our own distortions, or
excuses,
or
even lies.
Repression
The
unconscious purpose of repression
operates in a person who is
not able to recall a threatening
situation
or
may completely forget that a disliked
person ever was a part of
his/her life. Phobias can be
examples of
repression
because the person has an
unreasonable fear but may
have no idea how it
originated.
Denial
Denial
is characterized by having a conscious
awareness at some level, but
simply denies the reality of the
experience
by pretending it is not there. An
example: a person who faints at a
horrible real-life occurrence,
such
as the death of a loved one.
Or, that same person
might intellectually know that a
person has died but
refuses
to "accept it" while she
may still wait for the usual
time the person came back
from work.
On
a lighter note, a student may
refuse to pick up her final
grade from a difficult class
because she knows it
is
not an acceptable grade. She
simply denies the reality of the grade. As a
defense mechanism, denial
becomes
more difficult to maintain as one
matures. Its use requires
much energy and the mind
looks at
other
possibilities of defense.
Regression
Regression
involves a movement back in developmental time to when a
person felt safe and
secure. Often,
that
is childhood. For example,
person who has suffered a
difficult divorce or death of a spouse
may want
to
revisit the home of his/her childhood
those tender years before pain
overruled all other
feelings.
Projection
Projection
is attributing your own
unacceptable impulses to someone
else. The impulses are
still judged
unacceptable
but they belong to someone else,
not you. At that point you
are free to criticize that
person
for
having such terrible impulses.
The final result is that
you no longer feel threatened and
you can maintain
your
self-esteem by ignoring an objectionable
aspect of yourself.
These
were some examples of
defenses that a person
develops. Based upon his
observations, Freud also
developed
a theory of neurosis. According to
his theory:
Neurosis=Predisposition
+ trauma
Which
means that Neurosis is the result of a
predisposition which is inclination or a
tilt toward
something,
and
trauma which is a sudden
shock resulting from, for
example, an unexpected incident.
Based
upon his experience he
formulated his method of treatment of
mental disorders which is
called
psychoanalysis.
The procedure of psychoanalysis
includes:
Free
association
o
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History
and Systems of Psychology
PSY502
VU
Interpretation
of dreams
o
Interpretation
of psychopathology of everyday
life
o
Analysis
of resistance
o
Analysis
of transference
o
Freud
also wrote extensively on
ancient religions, social psychology
and other topics.
Anna
Freud
Anna
Freud was born on December 3,
1895 and she died on October
9, 1982. She was the sixth
and last
child
of Sigmund and Martha Freud.
Born in Vienna, she followed
the path of her father and
contributed to
the
newly born field of
psychoanalysis.
Her
field of specialization was
Child Psychology. As such, the
formation of the fields of child
psychoanalysis
and child developmental psychology
can be attributed to Anna
Freud. Her main
contribution
in this field was the Identification
with aggressor among the
children who dominates the
rest
of
the children.
Anna
Freud furthermore developed different
techniques of assessment and treatment of
children disorders,
thereby
contributing to our understanding of
anxiety and depression as significant
problems among
children.
Heinz
Hartmann
Heinz
Hartmann was born in 1894 at
Vienna, Austria and he died in
1970. He was a psychiatrist
and
psychoanalyst.
He is considered one of the founders and
principal representatives of ego
psychology.
Hartmann
was born to a family known
for producing writers and
academics. His own father
was a
professor
of history, and his mother
was a pianist and sculptor. Hartmann's
interest was in Freudian
theories.
He
chose to enter into analysis
with Freud and was noted as
a shining star amongst analysts of
his
generation.
His work marked the development of the
theoretical movement known as Ego-psychology.
He
elaborated
the functions of ego. He stated
that Ego integrates and
coordinates tendencies in
humans.
Ernst
Kris
Being
a follower of Freud, Ernst
Kriss further elaborated the
role of ego. According to
him Ego controls
regression.
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