CONFLICT THEORIES

acceptable to the world. Ego spans all three

topographical
dimension
of
the
conscious,
preconscious and unconscious--verbal expression,
logical and abstract thinking is associated with
conscious
and
preconscious
while
defense
mechanisms reside in the unconscious. (Note: Ego is
free floating in all three levels)

SIGMUND FREUD
Proponent of the Psychoanalytic theory
He believed that all psychological issues were generated by
repressed sexual feelings. Infants already have sexual conflicts,
unconscious drives in personality development. He also
emphasized the importance of childhood experiences in
personality formation

Emphasis on the role of conflict within this model, wherein

conflict occurs initially between the id and the outside world,
only to be transformed later to conflict between the id and the
ego

Psychoanalytic Method - designed to help patients resolve

their conflicts by exploring unconscious thoughts, motivations,
and conflicts through the use of free association and other
techniques

c.

Free association patient just thinks of whatever comes into

mind without specific directives from the analyst so that
patient may be able to resolve his conflicts by using his
unconscious thoughts
I. TOPOGRAPHICAL MODEL OF THE MIND
a. Conscious the part of the mind in which perception
from out and inner world are brought into awareness.
Requires attention cathexis, in which a form of
neutralized energy is invested by a person to make
him or her aware of a certain idea or feeling.
b. Preconscious includes the mental events processes
and contents that can be brought into consciousness
when attention is focused. Between unconscious and
preconscious. Ex: Recalling name of seatmate in grade
school, trying hard it is at the tip of the tongue and
then you remember it. It emerges into the conscious
c. Unconscious Mental processes or contents which
are kept hidden from awareness via censorship or
what we call repression. It is closely related to
instinctual drives; it is limited to wishes seeking
fulfillment which provide the motivation for dream
and neurotic symptom formation. Also characterized
by primary process thinking. For unconscious
thoughts to become conscious, it should pass through
preconscious and it should be able to overcome
censorship, repression and verbalization

Two aspects of Superego:

i. Conscience: should nots of a persons world;
the things which he can be punished for.
ii. Ego ideal: shoulds; the positive morals the
person has been taught.
It can play both punishing and rewarding roles. If
you go against your moral values, conscience
punishes with guilt, shame fear. If you abide by the
moral values the ego reward with pride, self
righteousness

Primary process thinking - governed by pleasure principle

(not logical connections), has no concept of time, represents
wishes as fulfillments (to primarily gain satisfaction), permits
contradictions to exist simultaneously and denies existence of
negatives.
II. STRUCTURAL THEORY OF THE MIND
a. Id reservoir of unorganized instinctual drives; seat
of basic instincts; operates on the pleasure principle
(tension reduction); utilizes primary process thinking
which is primarily to gain satisfaction; lacks capacity
to delay or modify wishes with which an infant is
born with. It is not to be viewed as synonymous with the
unconscious, because both the ego and the superego have
unconscious components
b.

Ego executive organ of psyche; controls motility,

mobility, perception , our contact with reality;
operates on the reality principle; delays drive
expression; utilizes secondary process thinking for
problem solving;
becomes the decision maker;
negotiator; seeks to fulfill ids needs which are

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Superego - ongoing scrutiny of persons thoughts,

feelings and behavior; always compares with
standards of behavior; it can offer approval or
disapproval; moral conscience; usually established
when a child (5-6 y.o.) is expected to have
internalized from the parents ideals and values. Its
the agency that PROSCRIBES (dictates what a person
should NOT do). However, ego ideal is regarded as a
component of the superego that is an agency that
PRESCRIBES what a person SHOULD do according
to internalized standards and values. (Note: ego ideal
is like the ideal self that you wanted to become)

Fig.1: The iceberg metaphor of the human psyche according to Freud

Personality is the result of negotiation of ego with id,

environment, superego. The tripartite system is the ego, id,
superego and the reality that makes up the personality system.
Ex. Spiderman and the 1st LE in July
Id: Watch the movie, enjoy!
Superego: Study well if you dont study you might fail
Ego: compromise and seek a solution between the 3 reality, Id and Superego.
If my Id predominates I watch the movie. If Superego
predominates I will study, study, study. If ego predominates
I will study and if I pass, I will reward myself by watching
Spiderman.

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II. PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Shows the shifts in investment of drives associated with
pleasure: mouth, anus, genitalia
1. Oral (birth to 1 year)
early: sucking, swallowing
late: biting, chewing
*Thumb sucking, pencil chewing, overeating, smoking
2. Anal (1-3)
early: delivering feces
late: withholding feces
3. Phallic (3-6)
4. Latency (6-11)
5. Genital (adolescence)

Nice to know: I had to abandon the idea of the superordinate position of

the ego... I saw that everything, all
paths I had been following, all steps I
had taken, were leading back to a
single point -- namely, to the midpoint. It became increasingly plain to
me that the mandala is the centre. It is
the exponent of all paths. It is the path
to the centre, to individuationI knew
that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what
was for me the ultimate. - C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

HENRY MURRAY
Proposed Personology as a theory of personality.

Table.1. Psychosexual stages of development

Stage

Focus

Character traits

Oral
(0-18
months)

Pleasure centers on the

mouth-sucking, biting,
chewing

Capacity to give to and receive

from others without excessive
dependency

Anal
(18-36
months)

Pleasure focuses on
bowel and bladder
eliminations; coping
with demands for
control

Development of personal
autonomy, capacity for
independence and personal
initiative, capacity for selfdetermination

Phallic
(3-6
years)

Pleasure zone is the

genitals: coping with
incestuous sexual
feelings

Sense of sexual identity;

mastery of objects and persons
in the environment and over
internal processes and
impulses

Latency
(6 to
puberty)

Dormant sexual feelings

sense of industry and capacity

for mastery of objects and
concepts

Genital
(puberty
on)

Maturation of sexual
interests

Sense of identity and capacity

for meaningful participation
in love and work

It is focused on motivation which is a need aroused by both

internal and external stimulation. A need may be primary
(biological) or secondary (psychological). Once aroused,
motivation produces continued activity until need is reduced
or satisfied.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) projective technique
that reveals conscious & unconscious mental processes &
problem areas.

Fig.2: Examples of TAT pictures used for patients storytelling

KAREN HORNEY
Holistic psychology. It says that a person should be seen as a
unitary whole who influences and is influenced by the
environment

CARL GUSTAV JUNG

He expanded Freuds concept of unconscious. (Note: He was a
close friend and collaborator of Freud until he went his own
way because he disagreed with some of Freuds assumptions
such as the Oedipal complex. He was the proponent of the
Analytical psychology or Jungian psychology. The movie that
Dra mentioned is titled "A dangerous method" (2011). This is a
story concering Freud's and Jung's theories with Keira
Knightley as the actress who portrayed the patient.)
Collective unconscious - all humankinds common, shared
mythologic and symbolic past. It includes archetypes which
are representational images and configurations with universal
symbolic meanings. Ex: The Self, persona, the shadow, anima,
animus, great mother, wise old man (shaman), hero, the child,
trickster.
Persona The mask covering personality (the face that one
presents to the world)
Anima - mans undeveloped femininity
Animus - womans undeveloped masculinity
Complexes are feeling-toned ideas that develop as a result of
personal experience interacting with archetypal imagery
Ex: mother complex is determined by interaction of a child with his/
her mother and its conflict with the child's archetypal expectation
Two types of personality organizations:
(each person has a mixture of both)
1. Introvert- focus on their inner world of thoughts,
intuitions, emotions and sensations
2. Extrovert- oriented toward the outer world, other
persons and material goods
Individuation - ultimate goal for Jungian theory. It is the
process throughout life whereby persons develop a unique
sense of their own identity

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Persons current personality attributes result from interaction

between the person & environment. Different with Freuds
tripartite system, a person's current personality attributes are
not solely based on infantile libidinal strivings carried over
from childhood.
Self-realization explores distorting influences that prevent
personality from growing. Therapeutic process aims for selfrealization.
Basic anxiety & basic trust. Basic anxiety is caused by
emotional neglect in childhood whereby the child feels
helpless and isolated in a hostile world. This prevents him or
her from relating with others with the spontaneity of his or her
real feelings and leads to development of defensive strategies.
Three concepts of self
a. Actual self - sum total of a persons experience
b. Real self - harmonious, healthy person
c. Idealized self - neurotic expectation or glorified self
image that a person feels he or she should be.

ERIK ERIKSON
Epigenetic principle - development occurs in sequential
clearly defined stages, and that each stage must be
satisfactorily resolved for development to proceed smoothly. If
successful resolution of a stage does not occur, all subsequent
stages reflect failure in the form of physical, cognitive, social or
emotional maladjustment.
Psychosocial crisis - not a threat of catastrophe, but a turning
point, a crucial period of increased vulnerability and
heightened potential and therefore the ontogenetic source of
generational strength and maladjustment
Psychosocial virtue - inherent strength

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PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Table.2: Stages of Psychosocial development

Proximity - essence of attachment (i.e., tendency of a child to

stay close to the mother or caregiver). Without this, the child
does not develop a secure base
Secure base - launching pad for independence. In its absence,
the child feels frightened or threatened, and development is
severely compromised
Bonding - concerns the mothers feelings for her infant. Differs
from attachment where the infant seeks security from mother
and the mother does not necessarily rely on infant for security.

OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY

A psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology
that describes the process of developing a psyche as one grows
in relation to others in the environment. One proponent under
this is Margaret Mahler.

MARGARET MAHLER
Separation-Individuation theory. It is interested in how
children acquired identity separate from their mothers. She
elaborated objects-relations approach (the main focus of
contemporary psychoanalysis)
Psychological Birth of Human Infant
a. Normal Autism sleep outweighs periods of arousal,
detached, self absorbed
b. Symbiosis (2-5mos) increasing perceptual abilities, can
distinguish form inner from outer world
c. Hatching/ Differentiation (5-10mos) ignorant of
differences between him and mother; rupture of shell;
begin to be interested in the outside world, uses mother
as point of orientation
d. Practicing (10-18mos) crawling, moving, walking
Checking comparative scanning; checking back
(most important normal pattern of cognitive and
emotional development)
Optimal distance distance allow child to explore but
safely with the mother
Emotional refueling explores and absorbed but
perks up with mother contact
e. Rapprochement (18-24mos) infant again becomes close
to the mother
Beginning
Crisis
Resolution
f. Object constancy (2-5y)-can invoke a stable internal
image of the mother even if she isnt around

Phases of Attachment (not mentioned in the lecture)

1. Preattachment stage (birth to 8 or 12 weeks)- babies orient to
their mothers, follow them with their eyes over a 180- degree
range, and turn toward and move rhythmically with their
mother's voice
2. Attachment in the making (8 to 12 weeks to 6 months)infants become attached to other persons in the environment
3. Clear- cut attachment (6 through 24 months)- infants cry
and show other signs of distress when separated from caretaker
and on being returned stops crying and clings to gain further
assurance of mother's return
4. 24 months and beyond- mother figure is seen as independent
and a more complex relationship between mother and child
develops

MARY AINSOWRTH
She confirmed that attachment reduces anxiety. Interaction
between the mother and her baby during the attachment
period significantly influences the baby's current and future
behavior (ex: sensitive responsiveness of the mother and close
bodily contact when the infant signals are associated with less
crying and growth of self- reliance as baby grows older)
Strange situation assessment - protocol that assesses the
quality and security of an infant's attachment.
The infant is exposed to escalating amounts of stress: infant
and parent enter an unfamiliar room- stranger enters- parent
leaves. When the parent returns, the responses of the baby
exhibit their attachment styles:
Secure and Insecure (Avoidant, Ambivalent, Disorganized)
*About 65% of infants are securely attached by the age
of 24 months
Secure base effect - enables children to move away from
attachment figures and to explore the environment. It can be
played by an inanimate object (AKA transitional object by
Winnicott, ex: teddy bear and blanket) which will accompany
the child during his or her exploration

FULFILLMENT THEORIES
Emphasized peoples self-perceptions and their drive for selfactualization as determinants of personality
People are innately inclined toward goodness, love, and
creativity and that the primary natural motivation is the drive
to fulfill ones potential

ALFRED ADLER
Theory of Individual Psychology

ATTACHMENT THEORIES
JOHN BOWLBY
Father of attachment theory
Attachment - the emotional tone between children and their
caregivers. It occurs when there is a "warm, intimate and
continuous relationship with the mother (or a surrogate) in
which both find satisfaction and enjoyment". Normal
attachment in infancy is crucial to a person's healthy
development.
Readiness for attachment is biologically driven (towards
attachment) and will result in the infant's inherent want to be
with a preferred person which he or she perceives as stronger,
wiser and able to reduce anxiety and thus able to make the
infant secure.
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Peoples perceptions of their own body and its shortcomings

were a major factor in shaping their goals in life what we
feel we lack determines what we will become in life. Goal of
treatment under this theory is to overcome feelings of
inferiority by encouragement.
Inferiority complex - sense of inadequacy and weakness
that is universal and inborn
Organ inferiority - phenomenon in which self esteem is
compromised by a physical defect
He sees aggression, specifically its manifestation as a striving
for power, as more important and not Freud's overemphasis
on sexual theory of neurosis.
Masculine protest - tendency to move from a passive,
feminine role to a masculine, active role
He recognized importance of birth order on character:
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First born - usually natural leaders. But when a sibling

comes in, there is anger toward the sibling who tried to
displace them. They are more compliant, follows the rules
set by parents.
Middle child - highly competitive. They want to assert their
position in the world.
Last born - spoiled but highly independent, more likely to
rebel against the natural order of things

CARL ROGERS
Person-centered or client-centered psychotherapy - patients
guide the direction of the process.
Primary therapeutic approach - encouragement
He said that persons are born with a capacity to direct
themselves in the healthiest way, toward a level of
completeness called self-actualization. He viewed authentic
experience of ones self as the basic component of growth and
well-being. He says that a genuine relationship or interaction is
one in which you are comfortable to be yourself, and in which
the other person clearly sees your potential.
For him, personality is a dynamic phenomenon involving everchanging communications, relationships and self- concepts.

4. Esteem Needs
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs
becomes increasingly important. These include the need for
things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social
recognition, and accomplishment.
5. Self-actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Selfactualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal
growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and
interested in fulfilling their potential.

LEARNING THEORIES
Traditional behavioral theories only look at behaviors which are
observable and measurable in understanding personality. It does not
recognize the role of internal motivations in the development of
personality.
Traditional behavioral theories view personality as a pattern
of learned behaviors acquired through classical or operant
conditioning and shaped by reinforcement in the form of
rewards or punishment. This suggests that personality is a
result of interaction between the individual and the
environment.

Unconditional positive regard - outlook of therapists that is

the total non- judgmental acceptance of clients as they are.

Social-cognitive approach emphasizes the role cognition plays

in the learning process. Focuses on learning that takes place in
social situations through observation and reinforcement

ABRAHAM MASLOW

IVAN PAVLOV

Self-actualization theory. Human motivation is based on a

hierarchy of needs. As the more primitive needs such as
hunger and thirst are satisfied, more advanced psychological
needs such as affection and self- esteem become the primary
motivators. Self-actualization is the highest need.

Classical conditioning aka respondent conditioning

Repeated pairing of neutral stimulus (ex. bell) with another
stimulus (ex. food) that evokes a response (ex. salivation) ->
Eventually, the neutral stimulus (bell) comes to evoke the
response (salivation) even without the stimulus that naturally
produces the response (food)

Peak experience - episodic brief occurence in which a person

suddenly experiences a powerful transcendental state of
consciousness frequently occuring in self- actualizers.
He also believed that we are aware of our motives and drives
for the most part and that without the obstacles of life, we
would all become psychologically healthy individuals with a
deep understanding of ourselves and an acceptance of the
world around us.

Unconditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response

Neutral stimulus + Unconditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus -> conditioned response

We make associations which cause us to generalize our

response to one stimuli onto a neutral stimuli it is paired with

BF SKINNER
Operant conditioning. Behavior is maintained or strengthened
by a reward or reinforcement and suppresses or weakened by
an aversive stimulus called punishment. "Operant" refers to
how an organism operates on the environment. Operant
conditioning comes from how we respond to what is presented
to us in our environment. Learning is due to the natural
consequences of our actions.

Fig.3: Hierarchy of needs

1. Physiological Needs
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival,
including the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow
believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive
needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary
until these physiological needs are met.
2. Security Needs
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs
are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as
the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include
a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe
neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
3. Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection.
Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than
physiological and security needs. Relationships such as
friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill
this need for companionship and acceptance, as do
involvement in social, community or religious groups.
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Personality is the set of responses to the world of stimuli a

person experiences that is acquired, maintained, and
strengthened or weakened according to the same rules of
reward and punishment that alter any other form of behavior

ALBERT BANDURA
Social learning theory. Demonstrated that it is through
modeling (imitation or observational learning) that a person
learns. Persons choice of model is influenced by age, sex,
status & similarity. If chosen model reflects healthy norms &
values, person develops self-efficacy (capacity to adapt to
normal everyday life as well as to threatening situations).
Application: demonstrating a fearless approach to a phobic
sitation may be useful to motivate a patient's approach to the
feared object or situation; group therapy in weight education
and smoking cessation
Reciprocal determinism - behavior results from interplay
between cognitive & environmental factors
Ex: Baby claps hands after mother does so; Child angrily hits
playmate in same way as punished at home; Teenager wears
same clothes & hairstyle as friends in school.
Read book on theories of personality development

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