PSYCH 2B03 Lecture Notes - Freud'S Seduction Theory, Libido, Cathexis
15 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Freud and Psychoanalysis
Lecture 2
• Freud started off treating women with nerve disorders (paralysis, GI pains, etc.) noticed
that when someone re-experienced the time + feelings that the pain first began, they
stopped feeling pain
o Maladaptive memories of the past led to pain; psychological disorders rather than
nervous
• Free association – a practice in psychoanalysis where the client is asked to freely share
thoughts, words, and anything that comes to mind → leads you remember things and
memories that were lost begin to come back (could take hours/days)
• Believed that hysteria came from early, unwanted, childhood sexual experiences
(seduction theory of hysteria). He abandons this theory after realizing these experiences
weren’t memories; they were fantasies (adult understandings of their childhood wishes
which didn’t occur)
• Motivation – the things that make us set goals and do anything at all
o Hedonism – the philosophical view that the purpose of all life is the experience of
pleasure, choices are made for the purpose of experiencing pleasure and avoiding
unpleasurable things
▪ Two biological instincts guide our behaviour throughout our entire life:
sexuality & aggression
▪ Sexuality – instinct guides us towards things that produce sexual pleasure
▪ Aggression – or death, instinct where all pain can be ended by ending our
existence. Being aggressive activates the dopamine system like other
pleasurable things; aggression is a source of pleasure
o Libido is the psychic energy/source of pleasure that when used it, fulfils sexual
and aggressive instincts. Powers both urges/behaviours, usually mix of both
libidos are released. It is only present in the id
• Psychic Structures – structures/processes operate on libido to guide behaviour
o Id – only structure present at birth, located in the unconscious part of the mind
(can’t know what’s happening in the id)
▪ Translates need into drive (psychological desire to obtain those needs) –
some things don’t have a drive even if we need it (oxygen, minerals,
vitamins). Makes us feel desire to obtain something
▪ Pleasure principle – “if it feels good, do it now” wants to gain pleasure
right away
▪ Knows only images – it can’t see or hear, no direct contact w/ the world. It
only knows memories of events that happened in outside world
▪ Primary process – first way of gaining gratification. Drive is experienced
→ search through memories to find image associated w/ satisfaction of
that need → energy (libido) is invested into (cathexis) holding onto
imagining those images (hallucinatory wish fulfillment)
• Still used now when we dream about winning the lottery, ideal sex
partner, etc. Using less libido so it is not as satisfying as actually
doing the deed
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▪ Predicate thinking – id has difficulty distinguishing similar images (e.g.,
certain objects may be used to represent the penis/vagina in dreams),
tendency to accept these images
▪ No sense of cause & effect – doesn’t understand consequences of actions
in real world
▪ No past or future – doesn’t understand passage of time, only moment
known is NOW, pleasure is wanted right away
o Ego – developed immediately after birth or even in the birth canal, helps the id
get along in the real world. 80% of ego is unconscious, some parts are conscious
▪ Reality principle – “if it feels good, do it now, as long as it doesn’t hurt
us” understands negative consequences such as pain, punishment,
suffering
▪ Secondary process – looks at desired image and determines what is
wanted, then goes to find it IRL. Libido invested into imagining the image
is re-invested into the actual object IRL; additional libido is used, taken
from the id
• People w/ highly developed ego have lower sexual & aggressive
drive b/c many processes in the ego use up the libido
▪ Creates barrier to id – blocks the id’s access to images (e.g., objects r/t
pain & suffering is blocked. Ego taking libido and build a barrier/wall b/w
id and the memory image. This barrier is called an anti-cathexis)
▪ Understands cause & effect – understands the consequences of the world
(e.g., touching hot stove will lead to pain)
▪ Understands time – knows there will be a tomorrow, executes future plans
that could lead to maximum gratification
o Superego – developed around age 5-6. Morality, values, ethics. Mostly
unconscious, partly conscious. We have many values & morals that are
unconscious to us – developed when we were young
▪ Ego ideal – contains all the things we should be doing, things that are
valued by society (we learned this from our parents. Things we were
rewarded for thinking, saying, doing)
▪ Conscience – the list of behaviours, thoughts, emotions that were
punished by parents. These are the things we shouldn’t be doing even if
we could get away with it because it is wrong
▪ According to Freud, psychopaths failed to develop their superego. Only
have the id & ego so they only do things that satisfy sexual & aggressive
instincts
▪ Takes libido from the id. Can also block id from cathexis into immoral
images
Development
• Erogenous zones – parts of the body that produce sexual pleasure when stimulated. Lined
w/ moist mucous membranes (mouth, anus, phallus, vagina, etc.)
• Throughout development from birth to death, different erogenous zones are stimulated to
produce sexual pleasure (time frames associated w/ stages differ depending on
individuals, cultures, etc.)
• The Oral Stage – birth to one year
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o During oral stage, only erogenous zone stimulated for pleasure is the mouth
o Early Oral Stage – birth to nine months. Oral incorporative stage
▪ Pleasure comes from putting things in mouth – sucking & swallowing
o Late Oral Stage – nine months to one year, when teeth erupt. Oral aggressive
stage
▪ Pleasure comes from biting & chewing
o Lesson learned: you can’t always have what you want (demand feeding/getting
food when it’s desired will shift to scheduled feeding)
• The Anal Stage – one to three years
o Early Anal Stage – anal expulsive stage. Pleasure from delivering feces
o Late Anal Stage – anal retentive stage. Pleasure from withholding feces (feces
against rectum area is stimulating)
o Lesson learned: have to choose appropriate place and time for gratification (can’t
poop anywhere)
• The Phallic Stage – three to five years, experienced by both males & females (penis &
clitoris)
o Boys enter stage earlier than girls b/c it’s easier to find & stimulate accidentally
o Ego and language has been developed in this stage; children can be manipulative
to get what they want. Will have a wider social circle, outside of family b/c going
to pre-school
o Beginnings of masturbation – thought to start in puberty but actually happens
during this stage
o Onset of Oedipus complex – major shift from narcissistic sexuality (from
stimulation of own body) to an external sexual object (person or part of person)
o The Oedipus Complex (boys)
▪ Sexual libido cathected to mom (or individual most closely associated to
the child’s pleasure) wants exclusive possession of mom (not have sex
with her), wants attention
▪ Boy sees dad as rival for mom’s attention, aggressive libido towards dad
(wants dad to go away, not dead)
▪ Castration anxiety – fear that dad will take away child’s penis (kids
believe that everyone has a penis and it can be lost)
• Will decathect most sexual libido from mom to prevent dad from
getting mad
• Will decathect most aggressive libido from dad (leftover libidos
will lead to trying to be better than dad)
▪ Identify w/ dad – will become like dad (values, beliefs, etc.) as protective
factor b/c we like people that are similar to us (defends from dad’s
aggression). We also feel gratified when someone similar to us feels
satisfied (mom and dad being together will bring child gratification)
▪ Some identification w/ mom – being like her (personality, morals, etc.)
will bring them closer to mom & have pieces of her
▪ Decathected libido – most of sexual libido is taken back from mom &
aggressive libido taken back from dad (ego & superego begins to put
barriers of images of mom & dad)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Being aggressive activates the dopamine system like other pleasurable things; aggression is a source of pleasure: libido is the psychic energy/source of pleasure that when used it, fulfils sexual and aggressive instincts. Powers both urges/behaviours, usually mix of both libidos are released. Makes us feel desire to obtain something: pleasure principle if it feels good, do it now wants to gain pleasure right away, knows only images it can"t see or hear, no direct contact w/ the world. It only knows memories of events that happened in outside world: primary process first way of gaining gratification. Ego taking libido and build a barrier/wall b/w id and the memory image. Things we were rewarded for thinking, saying, doing: conscience the list of behaviours, thoughts, emotions that were punished by parents. These are the things we shouldn"t be doing even if we could get away with it because it is wrong: according to freud, psychopaths failed to develop their superego.
