...Psychotherapy Volume 32/Winter 1995/Number 4 DOES THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX EXIST? JOEL KUPFERSMID PSI, Twinsburg, Ohio The Oedipus complex is considered to be the nucleus of neurosis for Freud and many psychoanalysts. Examination of the nature and origins of the Oedipus complex presented by psychoanalysts and critics suggests, that as a hypothetical construct, there is little evidence to support its existence. sity students taking courses in psychology. Thus, it appears that an examination of the historical roots and current status of the Oedipus complex might aid psychotherapists as well as others who have been introduced to the concept. The primary focus of this article will be on the validity of the Oedipus complex and the reasonableness of believing that it is a viable hypothetical construct in the analysis of human psychopathology and, thus, that it should be placed at the core of clinical procedures. What Is the Oedipus Complex? The Oedipus complex has two forms, one for the male and one for the female. Freud's writings on both forms spans several decades. There is no single publication in which he fully described all aspects of the Oedipus complex for both males and females. A researcher must piece together the nature of both forms from his many writings on the topic. The essence of the Oedipus complex is a desire on the part of the child to have a sexual relationship with the opposite sex parent and feelings of hostility toward the same sex parent. These desire/feelings...
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..."cured". Psychoanalysis Assumptions · Psychoanalytic psychologists see psychological problems as rooted in the unconscious mind. · Manifest symptoms are caused by latent (hidden) disturbances. · Typical causes include unresolved issues during development or repressed trauma. · Treatment focuses on bringing the repressed conflict to consciousness, where the client can deal with it. How can we understand the unconscious mind? freud's couch Remember, psychoanalysis is a therapy as well as a Freudian theory. In psychoanalysis (therapy) Freud would have a patient lie on a couch to relax, and he would sit behind them taking notes while they told him about their dreams and childhood memories. Psychoanalysis would be a lengthy process, involving many sessions with the psychoanalyst. Due to the nature of defense mechanisms and the inaccessibility of the deterministic forces operating in the unconscious, psychoanalysis in its classic form is a lengthy process often involving 2 to 5 sessions per week for several years. This approach assumes that the reduction of symptoms alone is relatively inconsequential as if the underlying conflict is not resolved, more neurotic symptoms will simply be substituted. The analyst typically is a 'blank screen', disclosing very little about themselves in order that the client can use the space in the relationship to work on their unconscious...
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...used since the 1900’s to treat patients with underlying psychological problems. • Psychoanalytic psychologists see psychological problems as rooted in the unconscious mind. • Manifest symptoms are caused by latent (hidden) disturbances. • Typical causes include unresolved issues during development or repressed trauma. • Treatment focuses on bringing the repressed conflict to consciousness, where the client can deal with it. (McLeod) According to Freud, the mind was made up of three egos. The Id, ego, and superego. “The ego represents ongoing conscious experience or awareness, while the id and superego represent the subconscious, of which we are not aware. The interesting notion about the subconscious, as conceived by the psychoanalysts, is that it controls the vast majority of our behavior. It would follow then, that most of the things we do are controlled by forces of which we are completely unaware. In fact, it is virtually impossible for you or I to become aware of what is...
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...thoughts that the immature ego can not handle. The role of the psychoanalyst was to recover these repressed memories that was causing the patients undesirable behaviour, these memories would then be talked and discussed with the therapist in the safety of their surgery. Freud suggested the key to unlocking these thoughts was for the surgery to be the right situation for them to come out and develop. This therapy technique is said to be the principle on what all other psychodynamic therapies work on such as word association, free association, dream analyses and psycho drama. Free association is another such psychodynamic therapy, in this therapy a patient is required to lay down and get into the right atmosphere by being relaxed to allow the free flow of thoughts to come to mind. The first thoughts that enter the patients mind must be recalled to the practitioner because these thoughts are supposed to represent unconscious drives and desires . This aims to recall underlying thoughts that you may not be aware you are thinking about. Patients and the practitioner would then discuss these and elaborate on them till a cause is found. Another therapy that is similar to this one is picture association (Projective and thematic tests) this is very similar however in this case a picture is shown and the client must immediately say what they think of again both of these therapies work on the same principles as the psychoanalyst...
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...started by Sigmund Freud. This in which dream analysis, free association, and examination of opposition and transference are used to research blocked or unconscious urges, anxieties, and internal struggles. This is also called psychoanalytic therapy to others. In 1896, aged forty, Freud published Heredity and the Etiology of the Neuroses, in which the term “psychoanalysis” initially came about. After Freud’s father’s death in 1896, Freud began to pay certain attention to the abundant making of dreams and anxieties which came upon his mourning. In 1897 he devoted himself to an intense and rigorous self-analysis. When he was forty four years of age he described the mental apparatus, on the basis of a certain number of processes or systems, and the relationships between them. His publication of “The Interpretation of Dreams” increasingly conveyed him on to fame. Freud was then joined by equals in this field whom he trained in psychoanalysis. These followers of his explored, and tested in the farthest grasps of the human psyche. All of this allowed Freud to speed up the expansion & development of his psychoanalysis theories. Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: “the id, the ego, and the superego.” In psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud would have a patient lie on a couch to relax. Freud would sit down behind his patients, acquiring notes, and during this they had to tell Freud their thoughts. They told him about their dreams and younger memories etc. Psychoanalysis...
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...Dream Perspectives Scott M. Standen Helga Parker November 28, 2011 Abstract This paper will explore the three perspectives of dreaming. The psychoanalytic perspective, the cognitive perspective and the biological perspective. The psychoanalytic perspective, as conveyed by celebrated neurologist and founding psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, is examined through his literary work The Interpretation of Dreams. This book serves as the basis of the psychoanalytic perspective which the other perspectives will be set against. The cognitive perspective will be viewed through the writing of David Foulkes in his book Dreaming: A Cognitive Psychoanalytic Analysis and the biological perspective will be discussed through the writings of Drs. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley of Harvard University. Through these sources it will be shown how the perspectives relate to one another so that a basic understanding of them can exist in the scientific community. The recorded history of dreams dates back to 3100 B.C. through clay tablets describing the story of king Gilgamesh who reported his recurring dreams to his goddess-mother Ninsun, who made the first known dream interpretation (Seligman, 1948). Babylonians and other ancient cultures divided dreams into good ones that came from the gods and bad ones that came from demons (Oppenheim, 1966). Various other ancient cultures believed dreams to...
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...Reliability of Freud’s narration of Dora. The case-study of An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria (Dora) is Sigmund Freud’s retold account and interpretation of an eighteen-year-old girl’s experiences throughout adolescence. Throughout the text, the matter of reliability is brought to focus. Due to Freud’s profession, his narration of Dora’s recount comes from a neuropsychological perspective. In Freud’s Afterword he states, “The disadvantage of this is that the reader is unable to confirm the correctness of my working method on the basis of my account” (100). In this quote, Freud highlights that his and Dora’s views completely differ from one another. How reliable is Freud’s interpretation of Dora’s personal truth? Freud’s patronising mannerism...
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...Psychotherapy, treatment of mental or emotional disorders or personal problems using psychological techniques that rely heavily on verbal and emotional communication and other symbolic behavior. Psychotherapy differs in two ways from the informal help one person gives another. First, it is conducted by a psychotherapist who is specially trained and licensed or otherwise culturally sanctioned. Second, psychotherapy is guided by theories about the sources of distress and the methods needed to alleviate it. Because communication is the primary means of healing in most forms of psychotherapy, the relationship between the therapist and patient, or client, is much more important than in other medical treatments. The therapist’s personality influences the patient and may be used quite deliberately to achieve therapeutic ends. Psychotherapy is often used in conjunction with other treatments, especially psychotropic drug therapy (seePsychoactive Drug; Psychiatry). These drugs may be prescribed by a mental health professional, usually a psychiatrist (a physician who specializes in the treatment of psychological problems). (See also Mental Disorders; Mental Health.) Attempts to ameliorate emotional and mental disorders through psychological means date from ancient time. Psychotherapeutic practices based on scientific principles date from about 1772, when the Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer defined and used a form of hypnosis called animal magnetism. Neuroses were treated in the 19th...
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...developing the new dream theory on extensive base of brain science, Allan J. Hobson comes to public attention with his Activation-Synthesis hypothesis. He claims to take up what Sigmund Freud, historically the best known dream investigator, has left off in the brain side of dreaming and, further, to revise this far-reaching dream speculation of Freud’s into a more scientifically valid way. However, as the psychological approach to dreams has been preoccupied with Freud’s dream theory in such an extent that the marching on neurophysiological hypothesis has inevitably brought up an uncomfortable disturbance among psychoanalysts. Dating back to twentieth century, Freud reached to the field of mental functioning based on his clinical observations of dream cases. As his censorship-disguise notion becomes outmoded along with the advancement in brain science, the contemporary Freudian psychologist, Mark Solms comes to the rescue. He tries to validate the theoretical inference that Freud has sketched with the newly released experimental data, drawing mainly from brain imaging and lesion study. In spite of the ongoing attempt to bring psychoanalysis back to its prominent role in dream study, Hobson stresses the fact that no amount of tinkering is going to improve the erroneous Freudian psychoanalysis. Formative Approach in Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis Intended to build up a universally applicable dream theory, Hobson has made a radical change in emphasis, from content analysis to formal analysis...
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...Lastly, sophistication of any child cognitive structure intensifies as a child develops as it did with a child’s schemas. A child’s schema is a tool case of responses and actions to make things happen, initiating with rudimentary connections like grabbing or mouthing items and finally progress towards extremely sophisticated skills like scientific observation. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, is the naissance father of the process of psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud’s main concerns were psychoanalysis which is a clinic methodology of treating psychopathology done by means of dialogue between patients and psychoanalysts. Freud came up with therapeutic techniques like using free associations whereby patients convey their thought or ideas without reservations, and this is done in any order that they spontaneously occurred. Freud came to the finding that the dreams of the patients could be successfully...
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...Born on December 3, 1895, Anna Freud was the youngest daughter of Sigmund and Martha Freud’s six children. As a young girl, Anna was always fighting for Martha's attention. Constantly in the shadows of older sister Sophie’s beauty, Anna learned to loath Sophie and Martha and took to her father. Anna was continuously reading the works of Sigmund and became instantly interested in psychoanalysis. As Anna grew, she began to work with Sigmund exploring the idea of psychoanalysis and together they turned it into one of the most widely used methods of psychology. The mutual interest in psychoanalysis brought father and daughter together and formed a close bond between them. Sigmund stated in his book “The Interpretation of Dreams” that, “Annerl had a masculine appetite and aggression, and is beautiful with naughtiness” (Hernandaz, 2008). When Anna was around seventeen years old, she took a two year vacation in which she stayed in Vienna with her grandmother. At the time, Anna was suffering from an illness that was then called, “it”, but can be safely labeled as depression (Hernandaz, 2008). While on vacation, Sigmund wrote to his daughter often and offered advice on how to overcome the “it” she was suffering from. Half way through the vacation however, Anna received a letter from Sigmund stating she was not invited to her sister Sophie’s wedding and subsequently, Anna was once again overtaken with depression. After her two year stay in Vienna, Anna, "...worked as an elementary school...
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...film is not for you. A barrage of dream sequences interrupted by brief encounters with endless characters; this is a piece of shamelessly self indulgent psychoanalysis on Fellini's part. Of course, this is exactly what he intended. The main character is that of Guido (played by Fellini himself) a director unable to complete his latest film and loosely based on the identity of his own creator (Fellini). Fellini has been able to achieve the effect of mise en abyme not only through the dream sequences but also with this being an autobiographical piece. Viewers are intentionally lulled into the false belief that they are watching a film about Fellini, not the character Guido. Throughout, obvious references to the films chaos and irregularities are made by characters through their criticism of the unfinished, fictional film. When giving Guido notes on his film, one character calls it 'a chain of gratuitous episodes' which pretty much describes Fellini's 8½ to perfection. In another scene Guido is criticised for his obsession with depicting 'Italy's Catholic conscience' which is also a reoccurring motif of Fellini's. He plays this game with the viewer by highlighting the inadequacies of his own film through the criticism of the fictional one. An endless array of different female characters appear throughout the film as viewers are forced to analyse the protagonists relationships with women starting from his childhood. It is a psychoanalysts dream as almost every stereotype of woman...
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...Study Guide for Chapter One Test Know the following terms: Theory—set of assumptions used to explain phenomena and offered for scientific study Hypothesis—assumption or prediction about behavior that is test through scientific research Scientific Method—general approach to gathering information and answering questions so that errors and biases are minimized Psychology—scientific study of behavior that is tested through scientific research Dualism Free Association Dream Analysis Heredity—all traits and properties that are passed along biologically from parent to child Physiological—having to do with an organism’s physical processes Introspection Psychiatry You should know the definition/major characteristics of the three Historical Approaches and the six Contemporary Approaches: Functionalism—psychologist who studied the function of consciousness structuralism—psychologist who studied the basic elements that make up conscious mental experiences inheritable traits—heredity influences a person’s abilities, character, and behavior Humanism—psychologist who believes that each person has freedom in directing his or her future and achieving personal growth psychoanalysis—studies how unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behavior, feelings, and thoughts cognitive—organism’s thinking and understanding behaviorism—analyzes how organisms learn or modify their behavior based on their response to events in the environment biological—impact...
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...Report: Dream Psychology by Sigmund Freud Yvette R. Gibbs Grand Canyon University: Personality Psychology June 27, 2014 Dream Psychology Chapter Summaries Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was a physiologist, medicinal physician, psychologist, and instrumental intellectual of the 1900’s. Freud said dreams are windows into our unconscious mind where the angsts, longings, and feelings exist that we stifle in some type or another to conceal from conscious thought. In other words, we do not want to realize them so they get constrained into the alcoves of the subconscious. Thus, with respect to the concept of wish- fulfilment and dreaming, we desire that the thing that concerns us in the subconscious, expressed by means of the dreams. Consequently, on this basis, both “undesirable” and “positive” (things we wish do happen) dreams are the result of wish-fulfilment. Chapter I: Dreams Have a Meaning Freud was a true believer that all dreams had some meaning. Dreams are our unconscious feelings. Whether good or bad thoughts we have and do not act on manifest into our dreams; they are usually indirect clues. Freud (1920) states the basis on “a peculiar state of psychical activity”. Some spectators recognize the dream may be capable of exceptional successes in selected areas (e.g. Memory) (Freud, 1920). Some medical writers believe that dreams are merely stimuli from the body; contrary to their beliefs, dreams do have some meaning (Freud, 1920). Reading one’s dream the...
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...Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud Introduction Carl Jung (1875-1961) and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) were two individuals whose theories on human personality would completely affect the way that people viewed the human mind. Carl Gustav was a practicing psychotherapist while Sigmund Freud created the discipline of psychoanalysis. The two men had seemingly identical beliefs about human behavior, but also had contrasting beliefs about concepts such as the ego, the psyche, and the state of unconsciousness. Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud’s Theories Sigmund Freud’s beliefs about personality were based on past experiences in an individual’s childhood. Freud stated that all human beings had three personality levels. These were the ego, the id, and the superego. The level of the id is the one that houses a person’s primitive drives and supports the enactment of decisions that are purely based on pleasure. The id’s objective is to avoid pain at all costs and only seek pleasurable sensations. The ego, on the other hand, identifies the significance of reality and makes decisions based on concepts such as judgment, perception recognition, and memory. The last level, the superego, is dedicated to seeking perfection (Reber, 2006). This level houses the individual’s accepted social morals and ideals in the conscience. Jung had different views about the different mental levels in the conscious mind. Instead of the ego, id, and superego, Jung perceived the human thought process as constituting of...
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