PSYCO105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Inferiority Complex, Begging, Sexual Arousal
1 May 2018
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❏Freud’s Defense Mechanisms
❏Proposed defense mechanisms to solve anxiety.
1. Repression → Keep unacceptable things out of mind (memories, thoughts and desires)
→ Mixed evidence.
2. Denial → Denying bad news or things that make you anxious
a. More conscious than repression → North Americans tend to dismiss.
b. Negative feedback about failures (reading) → Self-serving bias.
3. Displacement → Moving the target of your emotions from dangerous target to a safer one
→ Not great evidence
a. Based on catharsis, but discredited. No clear target to aggression, can be
anyone.
4. Reaction Formation → Defending one’s peace of mind by creating the oppositve idea
a. Homophobia → Sexual arousal.
b. Racism → White versus black panhandler.
5. Projection → Attribute unwanted impulse or attribute in oneself to other people.
a. The false consensus effect → I think I’m awesome so others must think I’m
awesome too. → Not supported that only for unwanted attributes.
6. Sublimation → Convert base impulse to noble cause → Not supported.
❏Rethinking Freud and His Legacy
❏Much of mental life is unconscious → Cognitive, emotional, motivational, attentional.
❏Stable personality patterns begin in childhood → Attachment Styles.
❏Personality development entails management of sexual and aggressive feelings and
movement from dependence to independence.
❏Problems;
❏Excessive complexity → Simple theories are better.
❏Case study methods → Science should be public and it’s hard to judge
interpretations.
❏Untestable Theories → Can’t be tested.
❏Rampant Sexism.
❏Neo-Freudians (Adler)
❏View sex as less important → Libido as motivation towards life and creativity
❏Less emphasis on unconscious more on conscious thought
❏Less emphasis on drives more on interpersonal relationships
❏Freud and Neo-freudians tell different stories based on their experiences.
❏Adler (Inferiority and Compensation) → Worked with Freud but at odds
❏Instead of sex, social interest
❏Based on feelings of inferiority.
❏“Inferiority complex”
The Humanistic Approach
❏Maslow
❏The Hierarchy of Needs
❏Basic assumption → Ultimate needs or motive is to self-actualize, the realization of one’s
full talents and potentials.
❏The Lowest needs are met first.
❏Maslow’s Self-actualization → more and more what one idiosyncratically is, to become
everything that one is capable of.
❏Lack of pretense independence.
Document Summary
Proposed defense mechanisms to solve anxiety: repression keep unacceptable things out of mind (memories, thoughts and desires) Not great evidence anyone: based on catharsis, but discredited. Not supported that only for unwanted attributes: sublimation convert base impulse to noble cause not supported. Much of mental life is unconscious cognitive, emotional, motivational, attentional. Stable personality patterns begin in childhood attachment styles. Personality development entails management of sexual and aggressive feelings and movement from dependence to independence. Excessive complexity simple theories are better. Case study methods science should be public and it"s hard to judge interpretations. View sex as less important libido as motivation towards life and creativity. Less emphasis on unconscious more on conscious thought. Less emphasis on drives more on interpersonal relationships. Freud and neo-freudians tell different stories based on their experiences. Adler (inferiority and compensation) worked with freud but at odds. Basic assumption ultimate needs or motive is to self-actualize, the realization of one"s full talents and potentials.
