Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory
Why was Freud influential?
- Moved from philosophical speculation –> systematic psychological theory
- Believes much of human behaviour was driven by unconscious processes
Freud’s Structure of Personality
| Id: Drives & Desires | Ego: Reality & Mediation | Superego: Morality & Conscience |
| Instinctual, unconscious part of the mind driven by basic urges & desires | Conscious self that mediates between the id’s impulses and reality | Ideal self based on internalised moral standards and ideals guiding our sense of right and wrong |
Criticisms of Freud’s Theories
- No scientific testability
- Cultural assumptions
- Over-emphasis on sexuality
Contemporary Psychodynamic Approaches & the Unconscious
Classic vs Modern Theory
| Classic Psychoanalysis | Modern Psychodynamic Theory |
| – Founded by Freud – Emphasised influence of unconscious drives & psychosexual stages -id, ego, superego – introspection & case stages – Therapy focused on uncovering repressed memories & resolving inner tensions | – Emphasis role of unconscious processes without the sexual aspect – Defense mechanisms, interpersonal relationships – Incorporates empirical research – Therapy addresses current relational patterns & past influences |
How has the concept of the ‘unconscious’ evolved?
“Automatic, non-conscious, and implicit processes that influences thoughts, feelings and behaviours without our awareness.” – (Kihlstrom, 1987)
Research on Unconscious Processes
Blindsight
- A phenomenon where individuals with damage to visual cortex report being blind
- They can correctly guess visual stimuli presented to them
- They perform better than chance
- Supports theory that visual processing occurs outside conscious awareness
Subliminal Perception
- Stimuli presented so quickly, they aren’t consciously detected
- The stimuli still influence behaviour
- Words flashed fast can impact emotional responses
- Shows that information can be processed outside of conscious awareness
Mere Exposure Effect
- Repeated exposure to a stimulus increases our preference for it, even when we don’t remember being exposed to it
- Shows that unconscious familiarity can shape our attitudes & preferences
Social Priming
- Occurs when subtle cues/words subconsciously influence our judgements
- Emotional eating influenced by words of abandonment
- Unconscious cues in our environment can shape our actions & decisions
Defense Mechanisms
What are they?
- Unconscious strategies that help us manage negative emotions
- Protects the self from distressing thoughts/ feelings
- Often denies and distorts reality
Common Defense Mechanisms
| Mechanism | Description |
| Repression | Pushing/avoiding upsetting thoughts & memories out of conscious awareness |
| Projection | Attributing one’s own feelings & impulses to someone else |
| Reaction Formation | Behaving in a way that is opposite to one’s true feelings or desires |
| Displacement | Redirecting emotions from a threatening target to a safer substitute |
| Sublimation | Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities |
Evidence for Defense Mechanisms
Reaction Formation:
- Studies show people can express behaviours opposite to their true feelings (Perry & Henry, 2004)
- If people are made to think they have prejudiced views, they might respond with overly exaggerated inclusive behaviours (Baumeister et al., 1998).
Repression:
- Research on memory & trauma has found that people may have difficulty recalling distressing events
- Studies found male breast cancer patients might use repression to cope with their diagnosis (Weber et al., 2021)
Projection:
- Research in social psychology has shown that people under stress are more likely to project their undesirable traits onto other people
- Students use projection to cope with harsh critique (Cramer, 2015)
What Are Defensive Personality Styles?
- Consistent patterns in how people use defense mechanisms to cope with stress
- 3 keys styles (repressors, monitors, blunters)
| Repressors | Monitors | Blunters |
| – Habitually suppresses awareness of any anxiety-provoking information – Report low levels of anxiety and look relaxed but have high physiological – Health issues from unacknowledged stress | – Very vigilant to potential threats – Constantly seeking out information and scanning for danger – More prepared – Increased anxiety – Difficulty coping with ambiguous situations | – Ignores threats – Distracts themselves from stress & downplays risks – Reduces immediate anxiety -Don’t address issues or adapt to change |
Dreams & Neuropsychoanalysis
Freud’s view of dreams
- Dreams = ‘royal road to the unconscious’
- Revealed hidden desires and conflicts that can’t be processed in waking life
- Mind processes internal conflict through symbols
- Behaviour can have unconscious motivations
Key Freudian Terms
| Term | Definition |
| Wish-fulfilment | Concept that dreams express unconscious desires which allow us to safely satisfy our deepest wishes |
| Manifest Content | The content of the dream as remembered when you wake up |
| Latent Content | Hidden, symbolic meaning of dream which reflects unconscious wishes and conflict |
| Primary Process | Primitive, illogical mental activity influencing dream imagery |
| Psychical Conflict | Internal struggle between opposing desires in the mind |
Evidence for Freud
Minnesota Starvation Experiment (1944)
- Freud believed if you eat salty food before bed, you wake up salty and would dream of water
- Study found that starved participants frequently dreamt of food
- Some support that dreams can reflect desires, however findings are indirect
Nightmares & Psychical Conflict
- Freud argued that distressing dreams can represent complex wish-fulfilment
- Id-Ego conflict = we are fighting our own wishes
- Not all nightmares fit this explanation
Testing Wish-Fulfilment
- Hard to design studies to empirically test theory
- Dream interpretation is subjective
Freud’s Dream Process
Latent Content: Dreams originate from unconscious wishes
Primary Process: Dreams undergo censorship & transformation
Manifest Content: Some content of dream is remembered as a storyline, disguising true meaning behind symbols
REM Sleep: Science of Dreaming
What is REM?
- Rapid eye movement during sleep
- Closely linked with dreaming
- Activation-synthesis model = dreams arise from random brainstem activity during REM, which the mind weaves into a narrative
- Suggests dreams are meaningless and illogical
Comparing Models
| Freud’s Wish-Fulfilment | Activation-synthesis Model |
| Dreams= meaningful expressions of unconscious desires & conflicts using symbols Evidence –> clinical observations + case studies | Developed by Hobson & McCarley (1977) Dreams = random neural activity in brainstem during REM sleep which the cortex turns into narratives Evidence –> studies on REM sleep & dreaming |
Alternate Research
Dreaming without REM
- Research shows vivid dreaming can happen outside of REM (Solms, 1999-2000)
- Other brain mechanisms are also involved
Effects of Brain lesions
- People with brainstem lesions that get rid of REM sleep can still dreem
- Damage to other regions can impact dreaming even if they still have REM sleep
- Shows that dreaming and REM are not identical processes
Role of Dopamine
- Mesolimbic-mesocortical pathway is important for dreaming
- Dopamine is crucial for dreaming
- Damage to dopamine pathways = less dreaming
- Dopamine stimulation = more vivid dreaming
- Dreams are linked to emotional and motivation systems
- They used to treat schizophrenia with prefrontal lobotomies, which stopped dreaming as dopamine pathways were damaged
- Anti-pychotics inhibit dreaming
Drug dreams
- Biological Drive Frustration Paradigm (Colace, 2014) –> addictive drugs hijack brain reward system
- Freud would say dreaming of drugs is wish-fulfilment
- Studies show that patients with substance addiction do dream of using drugs, sometimes even years after stopping
- Some evidence to support Freud’s claims that dreams have meaning
Neuropsychoanalysis
- An emerging field combining psychoanalytic concepts with neuroscience
- Looks at neural basis for instinctual drives, emotions, consciousness
- Update to psychodynamic theory
- Emphasis on how brain networks shape personality & psychological functioning
| Dopamine & Motivation | ID & Brain networks | Consciousness revisited |
| Dopamine is important to dream generation Dreams linked to basic drives & emotional states | Primary emotional systems in brain might correspond to Freud’s concept of id. Subcortical networks are biological foundations for instinctual drives | Consciousness might come from brainstem functions rather than cortex. Suggests that instinctual processes are central to consciousness. |
Controversies In The Field
Reductionism vs Meaning
- People argue that reducing psychological phenomena to brain mechanisms ignores the importance of symbolism and subjective experience
Relevance to Clinical Practice
- Debates about whether neuropsychoanalytic findings actually enhance therapeutic practice
Limits of Biological Explanations
- How much of the mind can we explain with biology?
- Are we oversimplifying human experiences?
