Psychology 2550A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Psychological Repression, Prefrontal Cortex, Amygdala
Document Summary
Freud"s theory of me(cid:374)tal tructures a(cid:374)d their biological bases. Psychodynamics involve the processes though which the ego struggles to: deal with unacceptable impulses from the id and pressures from the super ego inhibitions and demands, avoid pain produced by this internal conflict. Transformation of motives, where id impulses persist, but the objects at which they are directed are transformed. Denial may occur when the person can neither escape nor attack the threat. Neuroses- when defenses fail: neurotic anxiety and conflict. Defenses can be generated, particularly when they are relaxed, as in dreams and slips of the tongue and the person reveals himself. In dreams, distortion and displacement occur when private meanings, as objects and events, become transformed into symbols. If repression is only partly successful (weak ego) instinctual impulses persisting. They may build up, causing a partial breakdown of repression. Some may break through, producing neurotic anxiety- a warning that repressed impulses are breaking though defenses.