Freud's personality theory
phallic
3-6 yr; pleasure zone is the genitals; coming with incestuous sexual feeling
latency
6-pub; a phase of dormant sexual feelings
projection
disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
regression
retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated
sublimation
transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives
rationalization
offering self-justifying explanations in place of real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one's actions
genital
pub-on; maturation of sexual interests
denial
refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities
7 Defense mechanisms
regression, reaction formation, projection, rationalization, displacement, sublimation and denial
oral
0-18 mo; pleasure centers on mouth - sucking, biting, chewing
anal
18-36 mo; pleasure focused on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control
id
a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that according to Freud strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle demanding immediate gratification
oedipus complex
according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
fixation
according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage in which conflicts were unresolved
unconscious
according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware
superego
around 4-5; the part of personality, that according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement (the conscience) and for future aspirations
psychoanalysis
freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
free association
in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing; allowed freud to retrace the line of thought leading into a patient's unconscious where memories, often from childhood could be retrieved and released
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from unconsciousness anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings and memories
defense mechanisms
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
erogenous zones
is an area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity, which when stimulated, may create a sexual response such as relaxation, thoughts of sexual fantasies, sexual arousal and orgasm
displacement
shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person
reaction formation
switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites
psychosexual stages
the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
ego
the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate attention
identification
the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos