altruistic surrender

An ego-defense mechanism postulated by Anna Freud by which a person internalizes the values of another person and lives his or her life in accordance with those values

anal-expulsive character

Character type that results from a fixation at the early anal stage; such a person may have trouble with bowel control and may be overly generous.

anal-retentive character

Character type that results in fixation at the late anal stage; such a person may suffer from constipation and may be stingy

anal stage

Second psychosexual stage that occurs about the second year of life during which time the anal area is the primary erogenous zone

anticathexis

Expenditure of energy to prevent a cathexis that would cause anxiety

anxiety

Bernheim, Hippolyte (1840-1919)

French neurologist from whom Freud learned that one’s behavior can be determined by ideas that he or she is unaware.

He also learned from Bernheim that persons can become aware of unconscious ideas is pressured to do so.

Breuer, Joseph (1842-1925)

Physician who became Freud’s close friend and coauthored Studies of Hysteria (1895).

Breuer was the first to use the “talking cure” while treating hysteria, which later evolved into Freud’s technique of free association.

Castration Anxiety

Boy’s fear that he is going to lose his sex organs because they are regarded as the source of difficulty between the boy and his father

Catharsis

Emotional relief that results when a person is able to ponder pathogenic ideas consciously.

Physical disorders are often relived following catharsis.

Charcot, Jean-Martin (1825-1893)

French neurologist from whom Freud learned that physical disorders could have a psychological origin and that hysteria must therefore be taken seriously as a disease

Cathexis

Investment of psychic energy in the image of an object that will satisfy a need

Condensation

Form of dream distortion in which one dream element represents several ideas at the same time

Conscience

The part of the superego that results from the internalized experiences for which a child has been punished.

This component of the personality is responsible for the experience of guilt

countertransference

Phenomena that sometimes occurs during therapy in which the therapist becomes emotionally involved with a patient

denial of reality

Some potentially anxiety-provoking aspect of reality is denied despite abundant information testifying to its existence

displaced aggression

Aggression directed toward a person or object less threatening than the one causing the aggressive impulse

displacement

Substitution of one cathexis that is anxiety-provoking with one that is not.
Also a form of dream distortion in which an acceptable image is substituted for an unacceptable one.

(For example, when one dreams of mountains instead of breasts)

dream work

Various mechanisms that distort a dream’s latent content

ego

Executive of the personality whose job is to satisfy the needs of both the id and the superego by engaging in appropriate environmental activities.

The ego is governed by the reality principle

ego-defense mechanisms

Unconscious processes that falsify or distort reality to reduce or prevent anxiety

ego ideal

The portion of the superego that results from the internalized experiences for which a child has been rewarded.

This component of the personality is responsible for the experience of success and pride

erogenous zone

Area of the body that is a source of pleasure

eros

fixation

Arrested development at one of the psychosexual stages because of the undergratification of a need.

Fixation determines the point to which an adult regresses under stress.

free association

freudian slip

genital stage

Final psychosexual stage and the one that follows puberty.

It is a time when the full adult personality emerges and when the experiences that occured during the pregenital stages manifest themselves.

humor

hysteria

General term describing disorders such as paralysis of the arms or legs, loss of sensation, disturbances of sight and speech, nausea, and general confusion.
Because hysteria has no known organic cause, its root is assumed to be psychological.
Until Charcot, hysteria was generally assumed to be exclusively a female disease.
Hystera is the Greek word for uterus.

id

Component of the personality that is completely unconscious and contains all the instincts.
It is the animalistic portion of the personality that is governed by the pleasure principle.

identification

A term used in two ways by Freud:
1. The matching of an idinal image with its physical with its physical counterpart
2. The incorporation of another person’s values or characteristics either to enhance one’s self-esteem or to minimize that person as a threat

identification with the aggressor

An ego-defense mechanism postulated by Anna Freud by which fear caused by a person is reduced or eliminated by internalizing the feared person’s values and mannerisms

inheritance of acquired characteristics

Lamarck’s contention that the information learned during a person’s lifetime can be passed on to that person’s offspring

instinct

For Freud, instincts were the stuff from which personality is shaped.
An instinct in the cognitive reflection of a biological deficiency.
Instincts have four characteristics—a source, an aim, an object, and an impetus—and can be divided into two categories—life and death.

intellectualization

“Isolation of Affect”

The minimization of the negative emotions associated with an event by a detached, logical analysis of the event

latency stage

Psychosexual stage that lasts from about the sixth year to about the 12^th year of life.
It is a time when sexual activity is repressed and an abundance of substitute activities are engaged in, such as learning and athletics.

latent content of a dream

A dream’s true meaning that is disguised or distorted by dream work

libido

In Freud’s earlier writings, libido was the psychic energy associated with the sexual instinct but later he expanded the concept of libido to include the energy associated with all the life instincts—for instance, hunger and thirst in addition to sex

manifest content of a dream

What a dream appears to be about to the dreamer

moral anxiety

The guilt experienced when one either does or ponders doing something that violates the values of one’s superego

neurotic anxiety

Caused by the fear that the impulses of the id will overwhelm the ego, thereby causing the person to do something for which he or she will be punished

Oedipus complex

Male Oedipus Complex begins when a boy loves his mother and views his father as a dominant rival for her affection.
The Male Oedipus Complex is resolved when he defensively identifies with his father, thus completing the development of his superego.
The Female Oedipus Complex begins when the girl discovers she lacks a penis and blames her mother for the deficiency.
The Female Oedipus Complex is partially resolved when she symbolically takes her father as a love object and desires a baby from him.
This desire generalizes to other males, and the Female Oedipus Complex is more completely resolved only if she ultimately gives birth to a child, especially a male child.

oral-incorporative character

Character type that results from a fixation at the late oral stage.

Such a person spends considerable time engaged in activities such as eating, kissing, smoking, and listening.

oral-sadistic character

Character type that results from a fixation at the late oral stage.

Such a person is orally aggressive and may be a fingernail biter and sarcastic.

oral stage

First psychosexual state and the one that occurs during about the first year of life at which time the mouth is the primary erogenous zone

Parapraxes

Manifestations of repressed thoughts in everyday life such as slips of the tongue, “accidents,” forgetfulness, and errors in writing and speaking

penis envy

Jealousy a female experiences because a male has a penis and she does not

phallic stage

Third psychosexual state and the one that occurs from about the third to the fifth year of life, during which time the phallus is the primary erogenous zone.

Because Freud believed the clitoris to be a small penis, he used the term “phallic stage” to describe the development of both male and female children.

phylogenetically inherited endowment

Images we inherit the reflect the consistent experiences of our ancestors.
With his acceptance of such images Freud demonstrated his acceptance of Lamarck’s theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics.

pleasure principle

Hedonistic principle governing the id that demands the immediate reduction of any tension associated with an unsatisfied biological need

posthypnotic amnesia

Inability to remember what one has done while hypnotized

posthypnotic suggestion

Phenomenon whereby a person performs an act while awake that he or she was instructed to perform while under hypnosis.

Typically, the person is unaware of the reason for performing such an act.    

preconsious

State of information that is in the unconscious mind but has not been repressed.

Such information enters consciousness easily when it is needed.

primal repression

Repression of those anxiety-provoking thoughts that are innately part of the id and therefore independent of personal experience

primary processes

Processes available to the id for satisfaction of needs.

Those processes are reflex action and wish fulfillment.

principle of conservation of energy

Principle stating that the amount of energy within a system remains constant.

Although the amount of energy in a system cannot be increased or decreased, it can be rearranged and transformed freely within the system.

projection

Ego-defense mechanism by which an anxiety-provoking thought is attributed to someone or something else instead of recognizing it as one’s own

psychic energy

More or less fixed amount of energy that Freud believed was available to drive the entire personality.

According to Freud, psychic energy obeyed the principle of conservation of energy.

rationalization

Giving a rational, logical (but incorrect) excuse for behavior or thoughts that otherwise would cause anxiety

reaction formation

Inhibition of an anxiety-provoking thought by exaggerating its opposite.

For example, a person inclined toward pornography may become a censor.

reality anxiety

Caused by real, objective sources of danger in the environment.

It is the easiest type of anxiety to reduce or prevent.

reality principle

Principle governing the ego that causes it to commence with the environment in a way that satisfies both the id and the superego

reality testing

Process by which the ego finds environmental experiences capable of satisfying the needs of the is or superego

reflex action

Automatic reflexive response aimed at the removal of a source of irritation.
Blinking to remove something from the eye is an example.

regression

Returning to an earlier stage of development when stress is encountered

repression

Ego-defensive mechanism by which anxiety-provoking thoughts are held in the unconscious mind, thereby preventing a conscious awareness of them

repression proper

Repression of those anxiety-provoking thoughts that may result in punishments or sanctions

resistance

Patient’s unwillingness to ponder and report anxiety-producing thoughts during the therapeutic process.
Freud believed that resistance was highly informative because it suggested what were troublesome topics for the patient.

secondary processes

Realistic processes by which the ego operates to bring about true need reduction as opposed to the temporary need reduction that results from the wish fulfillments of the id

secondary revision

“Secondary Elaboration”
Resynthesizing dream elements after they have been distorted by dream work.
This resynthesizing gives the distorted dream elements enough meaning to be accepted into consciousness.

seduction theory

Freud’s early contention that hysteria results from an actual sexual seduction experienced during childhood.
For reasons that are not entirely clear, Freud revised his theory to state that most seductions were imagined rather than real.

sublimation

Displacement that results in a higher cultural achievement such as when an artistic or scientific activity is substituted for sexual activity

superego

Moral component of the personality that has two parts:
1. The conscious
2. The ego ideal

thanatos

Name given to the death instinct.
The source of aggression that Freud believed was self-destruction turned outward.

transference

Phenomenon that sometimes occurs during therapy in which a patient begins to respond to the therapist as if he or she were an important person in the patient’s life, such as the patient’s mother or father

undoing

An ego-defensive mechanism by which an attempt is made to atone for, or negate, an unacceptable act or though by engaging in some form of ritualistic activity

vitalism

Belief that life cannot be explained in terms of physical events and processes alone; rather, some nonphysical, vial force must be postulated

wish fulfillment

The conjuring of an image of an object or event that is capable of satisfying a biological need