Diya Aggarwal

SID: 3038664124

CYP3: Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory: Structures and Stages (Chapter 3)

You’ll be able to answer most of these CYP questions by reviewing Chapter 3. Questions 3 and 4
(marked with an asterisk below) will be covered in the first Freud lectures--review the lecture
materials (e.g., lecture slides and videos posted on bcourses) to find the answers to these two
questions.

1--Give 3 reasons why we should study Freud in this class.

Answer 1:
a) His theories are still relevant in today’s time about instincts based on evolution. He also
spoke about sex, aggression which a lot of theorists have not. The ideas are startling, and
his works has immense intellectual quality and culture.
b) He also spoke about the life instinct(energy)like sex and death instinct(energy) like
aggression. He helped psychology think in ways no one perhaps could have earlier.
Psychoanalysis is one of the most famous theories ones used in the western area of study.
c) The fact that unconscious is still a very huge part of most theorists today. There have
been various ideas on dream analysis, childhood, personality, and other concepts like
sexuality too.

Thus, I think Freud helped shape most the ideas and was opposed by the theorists of his time,
even today. Freud should be studied because personality is highly dependent on out unconscious
patterns, childhood patterns which he talks about.

2--(a) Briefly define primary and secondary process thought and give an example for each; (b)
give an overview of Freud's structural model (id, ego, super-ego), and then (c) show how
primary and secondary process thought map onto id and ego.

Answer 2:
a) The primary process of thought is based on the pleasure principle. It drives the id to seek
gratification of one’s needs, desires, and wants. It is driven by maximum pleasure and
minimum pain. The secondary process of thought is based on the ego which is a level of
delayed gratification. These would be unmet urges and desires which is based on the
reality principle. For instance, when a child might see someone else having an ice-cream
snatching it from them would be an instinct at such a young age where the primary
process is at the top. The secondary process in this aspect wouldn’t instantly snatch the
ice-cream, however, would ask them whether they would want to give it. This is the core
difference between the two thought processes.

b) Structural Model: According to the model, the id operates because of objective reality
which may not have any dire consequences since it only considers the pleasure aspect.
However, the ego works on the reality principle which may not necessarily work on
attaining pleasure. It is a part of the conscious personality which is involved in decision
making. Unlike the id, ego works on realities of life without much harm. The superego is
the morality ground which may be developed from your genetics at a young age. It is
one’s conscience so to say. The superego's function is to control the id's impulses,
especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression. It also has the
function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones
and to strive for perfection.

c) The primary processes, directly animated by the drives, serve the pleasure principle and
work to actualize a free flow of psychic energy. The primary process involves creating a
mental image through daydreaming, fantasizing, hallucinating, or some other process. All
of these are taken into consideration about the id which works on pleasure principle of
instant gratification. Secondary processes, which presuppose the binding of this energy,
intermingle as a system of control and regulation in the service of the reality principle.
The ego uses the secondary process to temporarily discharge the id's energy until you can
safely and appropriately fulfill your need. Therefore, both primary and secondary process
thought map onto id and ego.
3*--Describe Kahneman's System 1 and System 2 in terms of 4 features; how do they map on
Freud's thought processes?

Answer 3:
System 1 produces the fast, intuitive reactions and instantaneous decisions that govern most of
our lives. It takes place without self-control or awareness. This system focuses on hypothetical
reasoning, fast decisions, unintentional thinking and has perception, reception and orientation.
System 2 is the deliberate type of thinking involved in focus, deliberation, reasoning or analysis
– such as solving a complex math problem. It focuses on conscious thinking, logical reasoning,
intentional thinking and may be slow. The two systems map on Freud’s thought processes via the
PRIMARY id which is conscious AND SECONDARY PROCESSES ego which is the
unconscious . System 1 is perhaps like pleasure principle and System 2 is like reality principle
both of which are used to determine similar goals to that of each system. Thus, both the system
and thought processes are interlinked with each other.

4*--What is the evidence for the existence of unconscious thought? Briefly summarize the
cocktail party phenomenon, the automatic vigilance studies, and the research on dichotic
listening. Do System 1 and System 2 talk to each other? How do you know?

Answer 4:

Evidence of Existence of Unconscious thought: According to evidence, it has been suggested s

that unconscious phenomena includes repressed feelings, automatic skills, subliminal
perceptions, and automatic reactions, moreover it includes complexes, hidden phobias, and

desires. The unconscious mind is still viewed by many psychological scientists as the shadow of
a “real” conscious mind, though now there exists substantial evidence that the unconscious is not
identifiably less flexible, complex, controlling, deliberative, or action-oriented than the

conscious. The unconscious is a more compatible theory and evidence in the field of
evolutionary biology, than is the “subliminal only” perspective of cognitive psychology.
Cocktail Party Phenomenon: The cocktail party effect refers to the ability of people to focus on a
single talker or conversation in a noisy environment. For instance, when your friend is talking to
you at a party you ignore the other aspects of the noisy environment to listen to them. This may
take place as a result of being able to focus on the aspects which are significantly more important
to you as a person.

The Automatic Vigilance Studies: This phenomenon highlights differences between automatic
and controlled psychological processes, in that the effect is purely automatic. It is used to
evaluate the automatic stimulus which is used to direct attention toward events which may have
undesirable consequences for the perceiver's well-being. For instance, an individual may be
shown the image of a cockroach and the word ‘disease’ the latter would tend to drive its attention
to the cockroach due to automatic vigilance.

Research on dichotic listening: Dichotic listening (DL) is a psychological test commonly used to
investigate selective attention and the lateralization of brain function within the auditory system.
It is used within the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience which involves listening
with both ears. According to research, DL is the most frequently used method to reveal a left-
hemisphere dominance for language processing, particularly extraction of the phonetic code from
the speech signal.

5--Why can't you always get what you want? What are the two relevant principles and why are
they often in opposition? PLEASURE PRINCIPLE AND REALITY PRINCIPLE!!!

Answer 5:
This is because there is a play of two principles- one is the reality principle, the other one is the
pleasure principle. Thus in most cases, when we want something, the driving force of id is
played within the pleasure principle but the ego which focuses on reality based aspects often
times makes the conflict to take place. The reality principle is more focused on the long-term and
is more goal-oriented while the pleasure principle disregards everything except for the immediate
fulfilment and gratification of its desires.
It is a constant conflict between the two principles which may lead to us not getting what we
necessarily want always. For instance, sometimes we might want a new phone for satisfaction of
one’s needs however, the reality principle (driven by the ego) would come in place to make us
understand that we already have one and do not ‘need’ one since it is more focused on the
practical, real side of things.

6--Why do people use defense mechanisms? IOW, what is their function? List 4 specific defense
mechanisms (NOT repression, which is too broad) and come up with an example for each one.

Answer 6:
Defense mechanisms are used by individuals to distort realities and exclude feelings of
awareness, anxiety provoking situations. This is a way in which people ‘defend’ themselves
according to Freud as a result of the conflicting principles in the mind. They are driven by the
ego, which are used to cope with the socially unacceptable impulses of the id. They in a way
make the individual socially acceptable in a society.
Some of the defense mechanisms include:
a) Denial: It involves blocking external events from awareness. If a situation is too much to
handle the person tends to refuse to experience or accept it being in a constant denial
from it have occurred. For instance, someone has lost a very dear person from their lives,
they might tend to be in a denial phase and not accepting that the individual is no longer a
part of their life. The constant denial and driving away from reality are the use of this
defence mechanism.
b) Projection: This mechanism involves individuals attributing their own unacceptable
thoughts, motives, and feelings to another person. In this, they project most of the aspects
to keep themselves in a safer side. For instance, someone who might be feeling hostile
towards a friend would ask them why they are feeling so instead of them saying that I
feel a certain way.
c) Displacement: In this, individuals tend to satisfy their impulses by displacing it onto other
objects. This can take place to displace one’s emotions and feelings. For instance,
 someone who is perhaps angry their boss at work might tend to go back home and
displace the anger on their dog.
d) Regression: In this, the individual may tend to move back in their physiological
development when they might be faced with stress or anxiety. It may be placed with an
unpleasant memory or the unconscious. For instance, when a child grows even till the age
of 10-12, they continue to suck their thumbs because of the comfort they derive from it.

7--Stages: Make a table listing Freud's stages with their names and approximate ages and then
add in Erikson's stages. Write down who has more stages and which stages one has but the other
does not... why not? IOW, how did Freud and Erikson differ in their focus of interest and how
did that influence in the number and conceptualization of their stages?
Answer 7:

Freud’s 5 Psychosexual Stages:

Stage 1 : Oral Birth to one year Zone: Mouth
Stage 2: Anal One to three years Zone: Bowel, Bladder
Stage 3: Phallic Three to six years Zone: Genitals
Stage 4: Latent Six to Puberty (13) Zone: Sexual Feelings
(Inactive)
Stage 5: Genital Puberty to Death Zone: Maturing
Sexual Interests

Erikson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages:

Stage 1: Trust vs Mistrust
Stage 2: Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt
Stage 3: Initiative vs Guilt
Stage 4: Inferiority vs Industry
Stage 5: Identity vs Confusion
Stage 6: Intimacy vs Isolation
Stage 7: Generativity vs Stagnation
Infancy from birth to 18 months
Toddler years from 18 months to three years
Preschool years from three to five
Middle school years from six to 11
Teen years from 12 to 18
Young adult years from 18 to 40
Middle age from 40 to 65
Stage 8: Integrity vs Despair Older adulthood from 65 to death

Erikson has more stages than Freud since stage 6,7,8 has been divided for Erikson whereas Freud
has used that as one stage to be covered. Erikson has divided it further based on age say from
young adult, middle age adult and older adulthood. This could be because Freud considered the
psychosexual needs whereas Erikson considered psychosocial needs.
Freud's and Erikson's theories of development share a number of important similarities. Both
emphasised on the importance of social experiences and recognized the role that childhood plays
in shaping the personality of an adult. Unlike Freud's psychosexual approach, Erikson's
psychosocial stage theory took a more expansive view of development, encompassing childhood,
adolescence, and adulthood. While Freud believed that development was largely complete fairly
early on, Erikson felt that it was a process that continued throughout the entire course of a
person's life.