PSYCHOANALYSIS

AND RATIONAL
CHOICE
PART 1:
PSYCHOANALYSIS
Psychoanalysis
• Psychoanalysis is defined as a set of
psychological theories and therapeutic
techniques that have their origin in the work and
theories of Sigmund Freud. The core of
psychoanalysis is the belief that all people
possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires,
and memories (Paris, 2017).
Psychoanalysis
• Eric Fromm (1992) in his book The Revision of Psychoanalysis provided the
basic tenets of psychoanalysis which include:
 A person's development is determined by often forgotten events in early childhood,
rather than by inherited traits alone.
 Human behavior and cognition are largely determined by instinctual drives that are
rooted in the unconscious.
 Attempts to bring such drives into awareness triggers resistance in the form of
defense mechanisms, particularly repression.
 Conflicts between conscious and unconscious material can result in mental
disturbances, such as neurosis, neurotic traits, anxiety, and depression.
 Unconscious material can be found in dreams and unintentional acts, including
mannerisms and slips of the tongue.
 Liberation from the effects of the unconscious is achieved by bringing this material
into the conscious mind through therapeutic intervention.
 The "centerpiece of the psychoanalytic process" is the transference, whereby patients
relive their infantile conflicts by projecting onto the analyst feelings of love,
dependence and anger (Chessick, 2007).
Sigmund Freud
• -was an Austrian neurologist and the founder
of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for
treating psychopathology through dialogue
between a patient and a psychoanalyst (Ford
and Urban, 1965).
Psychodynamic Theory
• Psychodynamic theory states that events in
our childhood have a great influence on our
adult lives, shaping our personality. Events
that occur in childhood can remain in the
unconscious, and cause problems as adults
(Mcleod, 2007).
Psychodynamic Theory
• Five Propositions:
 Much of mental life is unconscious, and consequently,
individuals may behave in ways that they do not
understand.
 Mental processes such as thoughts, emotions, and
motivations operate in parallel, and thus may lead to
conflicting feelings.
 Early experiences largely affect personality
development.
 Our mental representations of ourselves and of others
influence our interactions with others.
 Learning to regulate sexual and aggressive feelings is
the foundation for the development of personality.
Unconscious Mind
• Freud believed that the mind is divided into
three parts:
 The Preconscious Mind: it is where one’s
memories, information, and events are stored.
 The Conscious Mind: it is where one’s current
awareness exists.
 The Unconscious Mind: it is hidden at all
times and surfaces only in dreams, and in some
of the behavior people engage in without
actually knowing why they have done so.
Freud’s Tripartite Psyche
(Lumen, 2020)
• According to Freud, our personality develops
from the interactions among what he
proposed as the three fundamental structures
of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego.
Conflicts among these three structures, and
our efforts to find balance among what each of
them “desires,” determines how we behave
and approach the world.
Freud’s Tripartite Psyche
(Lumen, 2020)
• Id: it is the most primitive of the three structures
and is concerned with instant gratification of basic
physical needs and urges. It operates entirely
unconsciously (outside of conscious thought). This
need for instant gratification is called as the
pleasure principle which is defined as the desire
for immediate gratification of needs, with no
regard for the possible consequences. For example,
if your id walked past a stranger eating ice cream,
it would most likely take the ice cream for itself. It
does not know, or care, that it is rude to take
something belonging to someone else; it would
care only that you wanted the ice cream.
Freud’s Tripartite Psyche
(Lumen, 2020)
• Superego: The superego is concerned with social
rules and morals—similar to what many people
call as “conscience” or “moral compass.” It
develops as a child learns what their culture
considers right and wrong. If your superego
walked past the same stranger, it would not take
their ice cream because it would know that that
would be rude. However, if both your id and your
superego were involved, and your id was strong
enough to override your superego’s concern, you
would still take the ice cream, but afterward you
would most likely feel guilt and shame over your
actions.
Freud’s Tripartite Psyche
(Lumen, 2020)
• Ego: In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral
superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of our
personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly
conscious and partly unconscious.
• It is what Freud considered to be the “self,” and its job is
to balance the demands of the id and superego in the
practical context of reality. So, if you walked past the
stranger with ice cream one more time, your ego would
mediate the conflict between your id (“I want that ice
cream right now”) and superego (“It’s wrong to take
someone else’s ice cream”) and decide to go buy your own
ice cream. While this may mean you have to wait 10 more
minutes, which would frustrate your id, your ego decides
to make that sacrifice as part of the compromise–
satisfying your desire for ice cream while also avoiding an
unpleasant social situation and potential feelings of
shame.
Freud’s Tripartite Psyche
(Lumen, 2020)
• Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are
in constant conflict and that adult personality and
behavior are rooted in the results of these internal
struggles throughout childhood. He believed that
a person who has a strong ego has a healthy
personality and that imbalances in this system
can lead to neurosis (what we now think of as
anxiety and depression) and unhealthy behaviors
(Lumen, 2020).
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Defense mechanism, in psychoanalytic theory,
any of a group of mental processes that enables
the mind to reach compromise solutions to
conflicts that it is unable to resolve. The process is
usually unconscious, and the compromise
generally involves concealing from oneself
internal drives or feelings that threaten to lower
self-esteem or provoke anxiety. The concept
derives from the psychoanalytic hypothesis that
there are forces in the mind that oppose and
battle against each other. The term was first used
in Sigmund Freud’s paper “The Neuro-Psychoses
of Defence” (1894).
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Some of the major defense mechanisms
described by psychoanalysts are the following:
 Repression is the withdrawal from
consciousness of an unwanted idea, affect, or
desire by pushing it down, or repressing it,
into the unconscious part of the mind. An
example may be found in a case of hysterical
amnesia, in which the victim has performed
or witnessed some disturbing act and then
completely forgotten the act itself and the
circumstances surrounding it.
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Some of the major defense mechanisms
described by psychoanalysts are the following:
 Reaction formation is the fixation in
consciousness of an idea, affect, or desire
that is opposite to a feared unconscious
impulse. A mother who bears an unwanted
child, for example, may react to her feelings
of guilt for not wanting the child by
becoming extremely solicitous and
overprotective to convince both the child and
herself that she is a good mother.
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Some of the major defense mechanisms
described by psychoanalysts are the following:
 Projection is a form of defense in which
unwanted feelings are displaced onto
another person, where they then appear as a
threat from the external world. A common
form of projection occurs when an individual,
threatened by his own angry feelings,
accuses another of harboring hostile
thoughts.
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Some of the major defense mechanisms
described by psychoanalysts are the following:
 Regression is a return to earlier stages of
development and abandoned forms of
gratification belonging to them, prompted by
dangers or conflicts arising at one of the later
stages. A young wife, for example, might retreat
to the security of her parents’ home after her
first quarrel with her husband
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Some of the major defense mechanisms
described by psychoanalysts are the following:
 Sublimation is the diversion or deflection of
instinctual drives, usually sexual ones, into
noninstinctual channels. Psychoanalytic theory
holds that the energy invested in sexual
impulses can be shifted to the pursuit of more
acceptable and even socially valuable
achievements, such as artistic or scientific
endeavors
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Some of the major defense mechanisms
described by psychoanalysts are the following:
 Denial is the conscious refusal to perceive that
painful facts exist. In denying latent feelings of
homosexuality or hostility, or mental defects in
one’s child, an individual can escape intolerable
thoughts, feelings, or events.
Defense Mechanism
(Britannica, 2020):
• Some of the major defense mechanisms
described by psychoanalysts are the following:
 Rationalization is the substitution of a safe
and reasonable explanation for the true (but
threatening) cause of behavior.
Psychoanalysts emphasize that the use of a
defense mechanism is a normal part of
personality function and not in and of itself a sign
of psychological disorder (Britannica, 2020).
Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages of Development
• Freudproposed that psychological
development in childhood takes place
during five psychosexual stages:
Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages of Development
1. Oral Stage (0 –1 year old): A child derives
pleasure from oral activities, such as sucking
and tasting. Successful fulfillment of the child’s
feeding needs, and proper weaning may result
in the establishment of trust. Too much or too
little gratification can bring about an oral
fixation for the adult individual
Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages of Development
2. Anal Stage (2 –3 years old): The main
source of gratification at this stage is the
ability to control bladder movement and the
elimination or retention of feces. A positive and
appropriate experience revolving around potty
training can encourage competence, creativity,
and productivity in individuals. Contrarily,
anal fixations can translate into obsession with
perfection, extreme cleanliness, and control or
the opposite which is messiness and
disorganization in adulthood.
Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages of Development
3. Phallic Stage (3 –6 years old): the focus of
pleasure is the genitals. Boys start to perceive
their father as rivals for their mother’s
affections (Oedipal Complex), while girls feel
similarly towards their mother (Electra
Complex). Fear of punishment can lead to
repression of feelings felt toward the opposite
sex parent. Fixation at this stage may bring
about sexual deviancy or weak sexual identity.
Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages of Development
4. Latency Period (6 years to puberty): At
this stage, sexual urges are usually repressed,
and the individual spends most of his/her time
interacting with same sex peers, engaging in
hobbies, and acquiring skills.
Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages of Development
5. Genital Stage (Puberty onward): The
focus at this Freud psychosexual stage is on the
sexual urges that are reawakened and are
directed toward opposite sex peers, with
genitals as the primary source of pleasure.
Individuals who completed the earlier stages
successfully become well-adjusted, caring, and
secure individuals.
Notable Neo-
Freudians (Lumen,
2020)
Alfred Adler (Lumen,
2020)
• Alfred Adler was the first to explore and develop
a comprehensive social theory of the
psychodynamic person. He founded a school of
psychology called individual psychology, which
focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of
inferiority. Adler proposed the concept of the
inferiority complex, which describes a person’s
feelings that they lack worth and do not measure
up to the standards of others or of society. He also
believed in the importance of social connections,
seeing childhood development as emerging
through social development rather than via the
sexual stages outlined by Freud. From these
ideas, Adler identified three fundamental social
tasks that all of us must experience: occupational
tasks (careers), societal tasks (friendship), and
love tasks (finding an intimate partner for a long-
term relationship).
Erik Erikson (Lumen,
2020)
• Erik Erikson is influential for having proposed
the psychosocial theory of development, which
suggests that an individual’s personality develops
throughout the lifespan based on a series of social
relationships—a departure from Freud’s more
biology-oriented view. In his psychosocial theory,
Erikson emphasized the social relationships that
are important at each stage of personality
development, in contrast to Freud’s emphasis on
sex. Erikson identified eight stages, each of which
represents a conflict or developmental task. The
development of a healthy personality and a sense
of competence depend on the successful
completion of each task.
Carl Jung (Lumen, 2020)
• Carl Jung followed in Adler’s footsteps by developing a
theory of personality called analytical psychology. One of
Jung’s major contributions was his idea of the collective
unconscious, which he deemed a “universal” version of
Freud’s personal unconscious, holding mental patterns, or
memory traces, that are common to all of us (Jung, 1928).
These ancestral memories, which Jung called archetypes,
are represented by universal themes as expressed through
various cultures’ literature and art, as well as people’s
dreams. Jung also proposed the concept of the persona,
referring to a kind of “mask” that we adopt based on both
our conscious experiences and our collective unconscious.
Jung believed this persona served as a compromise
between who we really are (our true self) and what society
expects us to be; we hide those parts of ourselves that are
not aligned with society’s expectations behind this mask.
Karen Horney
(Lumen, 2020)
• Karen Horney was one of the first
women trained as a Freudian
psychoanalyst. Horney’s theories
focused on “unconscious anxiety,”
which she believed stemmed from early
childhood experiences of unmet needs,
loneliness, and/or isolation. She
theorized three styles of coping that
children adopt in relation to anxiety:
moving toward people, moving away
from people, and moving against
people.
Karen Horney
(Lumen, 2020)
• Karen Horney was also influential in the
advancement of feminism within the field of
psychodynamics. Freud has been widely
critiqued for his almost exclusive focus on men
and for what some perceive as a condescension
toward women; for example, Horney disagreed
with the Freudian idea that girls have “penis
envy” and are jealous of male biological
features. According to Horney, any jealousy is
most likely due to the greater privileges that
males are often given, meaning that the
differences between men’s and women’s
personalities are due to the dynamics of culture
rather than biology. She further suggested that
men have “womb envy” because they cannot
give birth
PART 2: RATIONAL
CHOICE
Rational Choice
• Rational choice theory states that individuals use rational
calculations to make rational choices and achieve outcomes
that are aligned with their own personal objectives. These
results are also associated with an individual’s best, self-
interests. Using rational choice theory is expected to result in
outcomes that provide people with the greatest benefit and
satisfaction given the choices they have available (Ganti,
2020). Rational choice theory states that individuals rely on
rational calculations to make rational choices that result in
outcomes aligned with their own best interests.
• At a micro-level theory, rational choice focuses on how actors
decide and given a set of possible options, select the option
that would provide them with the greatest satisfaction or
happiness. The individual or actor asserting his own interests
serves as the starting point for rational choice.
Rational Choice
• This theory enables them to create formal and predictive
models of behavior, given the following assumptions:
 Individuals are goal oriented. Individuals have certain
beliefs about the outcomes resulting from their actions. This
can either be deterministic or nondeterministic.
Deterministic beliefs have single outcome to a certain action.
On the other hand, nondeterministic beliefs, or probabilistic
beliefs, have several probabilities and outcomes for each
action. Because of this, certainty, uncertainty, and risk arise
from the individual. Since outcomes are the product of
actions and the environmental context where the actor is
situated, probabilistic beliefs are rooted in the actor’s limited
grasp of his context, or the choices of other actors
Rational Choice
• This theory enables them to create formal and predictive
models of behavior, given the following assumptions:
 Assuming that they know all possible choices or alternatives,
individuals rank their choices according to
preferences, or which choices they desire more over
other alternatives. This refers to utility, or how individuals
measure their preferences over choices.
Rational Choice
• This theory enables them to create formal and predictive
models of behavior, given the following assumptions:
 Individuals consider choices rationally according to
their beliefs and preferences. Assuming that they have
considered all available information and probabilities in
relation to their choices as well as the benefits and costs of
each option, they then choose the option which they think is
the optimal choice. This is also called utility maximization.
Rational Choice
• This theory enables them to create formal and predictive
models of behavior, given the following assumptions:
 A social event or phenomenon emerges from rational choices
made by individuals who have maximized their utility. This
may include social structures and collective behavior.
 This social event or phenomenon shapes the distribution of
resources and opportunities, and the nature of norms and
obligations among individuals.
Rational Choice
• Rational choice theorists do not claim that the theory describes
the choice process, but rather that it predicts the outcome and
pattern of choices. An assumption often added to the rational
choice paradigm is that individual preferences are self-
interested, in which case the individual can be referred to as a
homo economicus. Such an individual acts as if balancing costs
against benefits to arrive at action that maximizes personal
advantage (Friedman,1953).
• Thus, Rational choice theory has become increasingly
employed in social sciences other than economics, such as
sociology, evolutionary theory, and political science in recent
decades (Scott, 2009).