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Psychodynamic Approach�to Personality

Mr. Koch

AP Psychology

Andover High School

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Psychodynamic Approach

  • Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
      • Austrian physician - treated patients with “neurotic” disorders (no physical cause)
  • Psychodynamic (psychoanalytic) theory
      • Personality is determined by interaction of various unconscious psychological processes

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        • (Freud believed could access unconscious through various means – free association, dream analysis, “Freudian slips,” etc.)

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“Freudian Slips”

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“Freudian Slips”

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Personality Structure

  • Id
    • Unconscious portion of personality
      • Life instincts (Eros)
        • Positive, constructive behavior (esp. sex) and reflects energy called “libido”
      • Death instincts (Thanatos)
        • Responsible for aggression, destruction
      • Seeks immediate satisfaction (“pleasure principle”)
  • Ego
    • develops from id as parents, teachers, etc. place restrictions on id behavior
      • Mediates conflicts b/w demands of id, superego, real world
      • Operates on “reality principle”
  • Superego
    • Tells us what we should and should not do
      • Internalized rules and values of parents and society
        • As relentless, unreasonable in demands as id

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Defense Mechanisms

  • Unconscious tactics used by the ego to protect against anxiety & guilt (from id & superego) by preventing material from surfacing or disguising it when it does
    • Examples: repression, rationalization, projection, reaction formation, sublimation, displacement, denial, compensation, regression, etc.