Psychology – is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

- The word Psychology literally means, “The study of the soul”.

Wilhelm Wundt – Father of Psychology
- Founded the school of structuralism.
Sigmund Freud – Father of Modern Psychology
William James – Father of American Psychology

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN PSYCHOLOGY

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT LEADERS TENETS METHODS

Structuralism was the first Wilhelm Wundt and Analysis (i.e the logical
Experiment is the most
school of psychology, and Edward Titchener criticism of precursor and
useful of all scientific
focused on breaking down contemporary views of the
methods because of the
mental processes into the most mind) basic facts in
basic components. psychology are supplied
by the results of
experimental studies.
This method is
generally done in a
laboratory setting
involving many
controlled variables.
Behaviorism suggest that all John B. Watson, Introspection (i.e the Survey is the most
behaviors can be explained by Ivan Pavlov, B.F. psychologist’s study of his common method. There
environmental causes rather Skinner own state of mind) are two tools a
than by internal forces. researcher can use in a
Behaviorism is focused on survey method –
observable behavior. Theories questionnaire and
of learning include classical interview.
conditioning (association
between stimuli and responses –
Ivan Pavlov) and operant
conditioning (behaviors occur
through positive and negative
reinforcement – B.F. Skinner).
Functionalism formed as a William James, John Experiment (i.e in Case histories and
reaction to the theories of the Dewey, Harvey Carr hypnosis or neurology) Clinical studies – this
structuralist school of thought method is used when an
and was heavily influenced by intensive investigation
the work of William James. about a certain case is
needed.
Psychoanalysis emphasizes the Sigmund Freud, Comparison (the use of
influence of the unconscious Anna Freud, Carl statistical means to
mind on behavior. Jung, Erik Erikson distinguish norms from
anomalies)

Gestalt Psychology is a school Max Wertheimer,

of psychology based upon the Kurt Koffka,
idea that we experience things as Wolfgang Kohler
unified wholes.
SIGMUND FREUD
(May 6, 1856–September 23, 1939) was a physiologist, medical doctor, and father of psychoanalysis, and
is generally recognized as one of the most influential and authoritative thinkers of the twentieth century.
He was an Austrian neurologist and the co-founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology.
Freud’s lexicon has become embedded within the vocabulary of western society. Words he introduced
through his theories are now used by everyday people, such as anal (personality), libido (sexual drive),
denial, repression, cathartic, Freudian slip, and neurotic.
Freud believed that when we explain our own behaviour to ourselves or others (conscious mental activity)
we rarely give a true account of our motivation. This is not because we are deliberately lying. Whilst human
beings are great deceivers of others, they are even more adept at self-deception. Our rationalizations of our
conduct are therefore disguising the real reasons.
Freud was the founding father of psychoanalysis, a method for treating mental illness and also a theory
which explains human behavior.
Psychoanalysis is often known as the talking cure. Typically, Freud would encourage his patients to talk
freely (on his famous couch) regarding their symptoms, and to describe exactly what was on their mind.

ID, EGO, SUPEREGO

Id: Meeting Basic Needs
The id is the most basic part of the personality, and wants instant gratification for our wants and needs. If
these needs or wants are not met, a person becomes tense or anxious.

Ego: Dealing with Reality

The ego deals with reality, trying to meet the desires of the id in a way that is socially acceptable in the
world. This may mean delaying gratification, and helping to get rid of the tension the id feels if a desire is
not met right away. The ego recognizes that other people have needs and wants too, and that being selfish
is not always good for us in the long run.

Superego: Adding Morals

The superego develops last, and is based on morals and judgments about right and wrong. Even though the
superego and the ego may reach the same decision about something, the superego’s reason for that decision
is more based on moral values, while the ego’s decision is based more on what others will think or what
the consequences of an action could be.

PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES

Freud (1905) proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series of fixed stages.
These are called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (roughly translated
as sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body. As a person grows physically certain areas of
their body become important as sources of potential frustration (erogenous zones), pleasure or both.
Freud believed that life was built round tension and pleasure. Freud also believed that all tension was due
to the build up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from its discharge.
*ROLE OF CONFLICT
Each of the psychosexual stages is associated with a particular conflict that must be resolved before the
individual can successfully advance to the next stage. The resolution of each of these conflicts requires the
expenditure of sexual energy and the more energy that is expended at a particular stage the more the
important characteristics of that stage remain with the individual as he/she matures psychologically.
Fixation - refers to the theoretical notion that a portion of the individual's libido has been permanently
'invested' in a particular stage of his development.
Oral Stage (0-1 year)
In the first stage of personality development the libido is centered in a baby's mouth. It gets much
satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to satisfy the libido, and thus its id demands. Which
at this stage in life are oral, or mouth orientated, such as sucking, biting, and breastfeeding.
Freud said oral stimulation could lead to an oral fixation in later life. We see oral personalities all around
us such as smokers, nail-biters, finger-chewers, and thumb suckers. Oral personalities engage in such oral
behaviors, particularly when under stress.
Anal Stage (1-3 years)
The libido now becomes focused on the anus and the child derives great pleasure from defecating. The
child is now fully aware that they are a person in their own right and that their wishes can bring them into
conflict with the demands of the outside world (i.e. their ego has developed).
Freud believed that this type of conflict tends to come to a head in potty training, in which adults impose
restrictions on when and where the child can defecate. The nature of this first conflict with authority can
determine the child's future relationship with all forms of authority.
Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive personality who hates mess,
is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of authority. They can be stubborn and tight-fisted with their
cash and possessions. This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to their faeces when toddlers, and
their mum's then insisting that they get rid of it by placing them on the potty until they perform!
Not as daft as it sounds. The anal expulsive, on the other hand, underwent a liberal toilet-training regime
during the anal stage. In adulthood the anal expulsive is the person who wants to share things with
you. They like giving things away. An anal-expulsive personality is also messy, disorganized and
rebellious.

Phallic Stage (3 to 5 or 6 years)

Sensitivity now becomes concentrated in the genitals and masturbation (in both sexes) becomes a new
source of pleasure. The child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in motion the
conflict between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus
complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls).
This is resolved through the process of identification, which involves the child adopting the characteristics
of the same sex parent.
*Oedipus Complex
The most important aspect of the phallic stage is the Oedipus complex. This is one of Freud's most
controversial ideas and one that many people reject outright.
The name of the Oedipus complex derives from the Greek myth where Oedipus, a young man, kills his
father and marries his mother. Upon discovering this he pokes his eyes out and becomes blind. This Oedipal
is the generic (i.e. general) term for both Oedipus and Electra complexes.
In the young boy, the Oedipus complex or more correctly, conflict, arises because the boy develops sexual
(pleasurable) desires for his mother. He wants to possess his mother exclusively and get rid of his father to
enable him to do so. Irrationally, the boy thinks that if his father were to find out about all this, his father
would take away what he loves the most. During the phallic stage what the boy loves most is his
penis. Hence the boy develops castration anxiety.
The little boy then sets out to resolve this problem by imitating, copying and joining in masculine dad-type
behaviors. This is called identification, and is how the three-to-five year old boy resolves his Oedipus
complex. Identification means internally adopting the values, attitudes and behaviors of another
person. The consequence of this is that the boy takes on the male gender role, and adopts an ego ideal and
values that become the superego.
Freud (1909) offered the Little Hans case study as evidence of the Oedipus complex.
*Electra Complex
For girls, the Oedipus or Electra complex is less than satisfactory. Briefly, the girl desires the father, but
realizes that she does not have a penis. This leads to the development of penis envy and the wish to be a
boy.
The girl resolves this by repressing her desire for her father and substituting the wish for a penis with the
wish for a baby. The girl blames her mother for her 'castrated state' and this creates great tension. The girl
then represses her feelings (to remove the tension) and identifies with the mother to take on the female
gender role.

Latency Stage (5 or 6 to puberty)

No further psychosexual development takes place during this stage (latent means hidden). The libido is
dormant. Freud thought that most sexual impulses are repressed during the latent stage and sexual energy
can be sublimated (re: defense mechanisms) towards school work, hobbies and friendships.
Much of the child's energy is channeled into developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge and play
becomes largely confined to other children of the same gender.
Genital Stage (puberty to adult)
This is the last stage of Freud's psychosexual theory of personality development and begins in puberty. It
is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful resolution of which is settling down in a
loving one-to-one relationship with another person in our 20's. Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual
pleasure, rather than self-pleasure like during the phallic stage.
For Freud, the proper outlet of the sexual instinct in adults was through heterosexual intercourse. Fixation
and conflict may prevent this with the consequence that sexual perversions may develop.
For example, fixation at the oral stage may result in a person gaining sexual pleasure primarily from kissing
and oral sex, rather than sexual intercourse.

DEFENSE MECHANISMS
In order to deal with conflict and problems in life, Freud stated that the ego employs a range of defense
mechanisms. Defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings
(i.e. anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual.
We use defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or guilt, which arise because we
feel threatened, or because our id or superego becomes too demanding. They are not under our conscious
control, and are non-voluntaristic. With the ego, our unconscious will use one or more to protect us when
we come up against a stressful situation in life. Ego-defense mechanisms are natural and normal. When
they get out of proportion, neuroses develop, such as anxiety states, phobias, obsessions, or hysteria.
Identification with the Aggressor
A focus on negative or feared traits. I.e. if you are afraid of someone, you can practically conquer that fear
by becoming more like them.
An extreme example of this is the Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages identify with the terrorists. E.g.
Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Patty was abused and raped by her captors, yet she
joined their movement and even took part in one of their bank robberies. At her trial she was acquitted
because she was a victim suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.
Repression
This was the first defense mechanism that Freud discovered, and arguably the most important. Repression
is an unconscious mechanism employed by the ego to keep disturbing or threatening thoughts from
becoming conscious. Thoughts that are often repressed are those that would result in feelings of guilt from
the superego. For example, in the Oedipus complex, aggressive thoughts about the same sex parents are
repressed.
This is not a very successful defense in the long term since it involves forcing disturbing wishes, ideas or
memories into the unconscious, where, although hidden, they will create anxiety.

Projection
This involves individuals attributing their own thoughts, feeling and motives to another person. Thoughts
most commonly projected onto another are the ones that would cause guilt such as aggressive and sexual
fantasies or thoughts. For instance, you might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such hatred
is unacceptable. You can 'solve' the problem by believing that they hate you.
Displacement
Displacement is the redirection of an impulse (usually aggression) onto a powerless substitute target. The
target can be a person or an object that can serve as a symbolic substitute. Someone who feels
uncomfortable with their sexual desire for a real person may substitute a fetish. Someone who is frustrated
by his or her superiors may go home and kick the dog, beat up a family member, or engage in cross-
burnings.
Sublimation
This is similar to displacement, but takes place when we manage to displace our emotions into a constructive
rather than destructive activity. This might for example be artistic. Many great artists and musicians have
had unhappy lives and have used the medium of art of music to express themselves. Sport is another
example of putting our emotions (e.g. aggression) into something constructive.
For example, fixation at the oral stage of development may later lead to seeking oral pleasure as an adult
through sucking ones thumb, pen or cigarette. Also, fixation during the anal stage may cause a person to
sublimate their desire to handle faeces with an enjoyment of pottery.
Sublimation for Freud was the cornerstone of civilized life, arts and science are all sublimated
sexuality. (NB. this is a value laden concept, based on the aspirations of a European society at the end of
the 1800 century).
Denial
Denial involves blocking external events from awareness. If some situation is just too much to handle, the
person just refuses to experience it. As you might imagine, this is a primitive and dangerous defense - no
one disregards reality and gets away with it for long! It can operate by itself or, more commonly, in
combination with other, more subtle mechanisms that support it. For example, smokers may refuse to admit
to themselves that smoking is bad for their health.
Regression
This is a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with stress. When we are troubled or
frightened, our behaviors often become more childish or primitive. A child may begin to suck their thumb
again or wet the bed when they need to spend some time in the hospital. Teenagers may giggle
uncontrollably when introduced into a social situation involving the opposite sex.
Rationalization
Rationalization is the cognitive distortion of "the facts" to make an event or an impulse less threatening. We
do it often enough on a fairly conscious level when we provide ourselves with excuses. But for many
people, with sensitive egos, making excuses comes so easy that they never are truly aware of it. In other
words, many of us are quite prepared to believe our lies.
Reaction Formation
This is where a person goes beyond denial and behaves in the opposite way to which he or she thinks or
feels. By using the reaction formation the id is satisfied while keeping the ego in ignorance of the true
motives. Conscious feelings are the opposite of the unconscious. Love - hate. Shame - disgust and
moralizing are reaction formation against sexuality.
Usually a reaction formation is marked by showiness and compulsiveness. For example, Freud claimed
that men who are prejudice against homosexuals are making a defense against their own homosexual
feelings by adopting a harsh anti-homosexual attitude which helps convince them of their
heterosexuality. Other examples include:
* The dutiful daughter who loves her mother is reacting to her Oedipus hatred of her mother.
* Anal fixation usually leads to meanness, but occasionally a person will react against this (unconsciously)
leading to over-generosity.