Terms

Freudian Terms

Anal Stage

Freudian stage of development, ages 1-3. During this stage the child's focus of pleasure is the anus. There is a conflict between the child's desire to expel feces and the parents' attempt to toilet train the child.

Cathexis

The process of attaching sexual energy (libido) to an object.

Dream Interpretation

The use of dreams as a source of information about the unconscious in psychoanalysis.

Ego

One of the three structures of the mind as conceived by psychoanalysis. Obeys the "reality principle," mediating between the real world and the desires of the id.

Eros

Freudian term for the sex instinct.

Fixation

In Freudian theory, the process by which libido is attached to various objects and erogenous zones (mouth, anus, genitals) during development. Fixation of different amounts of libido at various stages leads to differences in personality.

Free Association

In psychoanalysis, a technique in which the patient generates words by association. Supposed to act as a window into the unconscious.

Genital Period

The stage after puberty in Freudian theory; lasts throughout life. Focus is on reproduction and caring for the next generation.

Hysteria

A disorder common in Freud's female patients in turn-of-the-century Vienna, characterized by a grab-bag of somatic symptoms: limb paralysis, motor automatisms, sensory deficits, atonia, etc.

Id

One of the three structures of the mind in psychoanalysis. Of these structures, it is the most primitive; the source of sex and death drives; obeys the "pleasure principle."

Latency Period

In Freudian theory, a period of repressed sexuality between the Oedipal crisis and puberty (the genital period).

Libido

In Freudian theory, sexual energy. Each person has only a certain amount of libido that can be "cathected" and fixated onto various objects.

Oedipal Crisis

Takes place during the phallic stage in Freud's developmental theory. Boys want to kill father and sleep with mother because of sexual attraction to mother; girls want to kill mother and sleep with father because of "penis envy." The crisis leads to identification with the same-sex parent and development of superego.

Oral Stage

The first stage in Freud's developmental theory, in which the focus of pleasure is the mouth.

Penis Envy

Name used to describe girls' supposed desire to have a penis.

Phallic Stage

Third stage in Freud's developmental theory, during which the Oedipal crisis takes place and the superego develops. Focus is on the genitals, specifically the penis.

Pleasure Principle

The "instant gratification" policy followed by the id.

Psychoanalysis

A method of psychotherapy and psychological theorizing founded by Sigmund Freud in turn-of- the-century Vienna. Focuses on early life experiences, basic instincts, and the interplay of unconscious forces (thus a kind of "psychodynamic" theory).

Psychodynamic

General term referring to Freudian and post-Freudian theories that postulated the interplay of forces in the unconscious as the major determinants of behavior.

Reality Principle

In Freud's theory, the principle followed by the ego. Accommodates the constraints of reality while still trying to satisfy the id's urges and the superego's ideals.

Superego

One of the three structures in the psychoanalytic theory of mind. The superego develops during the phallic stage and is the internalized representation of society's morals and goals; the conscience.

Thanatos

Freudian name for the "death" instinct; the human tendency towards aggression, stagnation, and destruction.