Class 2: Freud’s Psychodynamic theory
 
1 Discussion on Essays
1.1 Is astrology a theory? Both astrology and human development theories share some similarities and many differences. How are the two similar and how are they different? Is astrology a theory or not?
1.2 Most papers called astrology a theory
1.3 Many thought it was a dubious theory
1.4 Few papers analyzed whether the level of explanation of cause and effect in astrology was such that it qualified for theory status.
2 Course Notes
2.1 Many returned emails, will try to print but please be sure you gave me the correct email address.
3 Review Questions (will discuss after dinner)
4 Why Freud is still important
4.1

4.2 Freud the Victorian
4.3 Freud the Jew
4.4 Freud the Doctor
4.5 Some general notes
4.5.1 “sex” for Freud means any bodily pleasure; “libido” means energy; “ego” means positive not egotistical
4.5.2 psychodynamic means that mental structures are always moving, changing, energy
4.5.3 Freud’s theory may be dismissed but many of his ideas are embedded in our culture
4.5.3.1 Unconsciousness
4.5.3.2 Repression
4.5.3.3 Regression
4.5.3.4 The Talking Cure
4.5.3.5 PRIMACY
5 ISSUE/THEME
5.1 Development by stages or does it work continuously
5.2 Primacy / Critical Period in Development v No-critical dev
6 Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
6.1 Psychosexual Stages based on Shifting Erogenous Zones
6.1.1 Oral (infancy)
6.1.1.1 Autoerotic
6.1.1.2 Babies using others
6.1.2 Anal: toilet training trauma (toddlerhood)
6.1.2.1 retaining and giving away
6.1.3 Phallic (really genitals) & the Oedipal Complex (late preschool)
6.1.3.1 Boys (simplified)
6.1.3.1.1 fascination with penis and love-object
6.1.3.1.2 face new restrictions why daddy can do it what he wants
6.1.3.1.3 Castration anxiety
6.1.3.1.4 Repress desire for mom and hatred for dad
6.1.3.1.5 Sublimate love towards other direction
6.1.3.1.6 Identification with dad
6.1.3.1.7 Development of superego
6.1.3.2 Girls (simplified)
6.1.3.2.1 also fascination with genitals
6.1.3.2.2 mom provides less care (i.e. new sibling)
6.1.3.2.3 restrictions on masturbation
6.1.3.2.4 no penis but penis envy
6.1.3.2.5 flirtation with daddy “daddy’s little girl”
6.1.3.2.6 no castration anxiety, weaker superego, less internallized rules
6.1.4 Latent (ages 6-11) the calm before the storm
6.1.5 Genital (again returning to the genital)
6.1.5.1 Task: gain independence from parents while struggling with returning oedipal feelings
6.2 Structure of Personality
6.2.1 Id (the “it”) the pleasure principle
6.2.1.1 impulses instinctual, pleasure seeking
6.2.1.2 strive to discharge and return to quiet state
6.2.1.3 primary process thinking: id satisfies itself by fantasizing the desired object
6.2.2 Ego: the reality principle
6.2.2.1 secondary process thinking: how to accommodate and control the id as well as the superego
6.2.2.2 Key defense mechanism against the id: repression or subliminate
6.2.2.2.1 Mixed evidence for repression in memory research: we can force ourselves to forget; we are more likely to forget being abused by a trusted caregiver than a stranger.
6.2.2.3 Kris: creativity
6.2.2.4 Pollock: Number 8
6.2.2.5 Dreams: Originate in id but disguised when recalled by consciousness
6.2.2.5.1 Was he right? Neuroscientists believe that dreams are meaningless products of the primitive brains while others believe it is meaningful products of the frontal lobe
6.2.3 Superego: results from the Oedipal complex
6.2.3.1 conscience: shouldn’ts
6.2.3.2 ego ideal: shoulds
6.3 And now for something completely different... or is it different?
6.3.1 Little Red Riding Hood
6.3.1.1 How would you interpret this story from a Freudian view?
6.4 Subsequent work: Adolescence
6.4.1 Anna Freud: adolescents have special defense mechanisms to handle the Return of the Oedipal Complex
6.4.1.1 Contempt (not love) towards mother and father
6.4.1.2 contempt for parents
6.4.1.3 asceticism
6.4.1.4 intellectualism
6.5 REMINDER: 10 PRINTED COPIES OF LAST CLASS ON CHAIR
6.6 Subsequent work: Revising the Ego
6.6.1 Hartman: ego follows its own timetable of maturity--walking, talking
6.6.2 When id is at rest/quiet and life has little conflict, ego may develop independently
6.6.3 Object Relations
6.6.3.1 How ego develops in response to others
6.6.3.2 Example: consistent care ---> confidence ---> delay gratification
6.7 Limitations
6.7.1 Oedipal complex does not seem to exist in all cultures
6.7.1.1 Trobrianders: where uncle is more important than dad
6.7.1.2
gauguin.nave-moe.jpg
6.7.2 Girls do not show less internalized moral standards than do boys
6.7.3 Children acquire internalized moral standards more by reward than punishment
6.7.4 Difficult to test
6.7.5 NOT IN YOUR TEXTBOOK: Margaret Mead: Adolescence is not always conflictual. (Or was she wrong?)
6.7.6 NOT IN YOUR TEXTBOOK: the controversy about seduction theory
7 Applied Essay and Discussion
7.1 Short-Essay. At a teachers’ meeting your principal says that Freud had no good ideas for educating children. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss your reasons for why or why not Freudian psychodynamic theory may be relevant in the classroom. (Try to come up with at least two.)
7.2 Preview of Ericson (hints for the next quiz)
7.2.1 Know his stages
7.2.2 Freud’s driving force was the conflict among id, ego, superego; what was Ericson’s?
7.2.3 Must crisis be resolved to go to next stage?
7.2.4 Do these stages apply to YOU?
7.2.5 Finally, did Ericson’s theory experience similar limitations as Freud’s?