Sigmund Freud; Psychoanalytical Theory; 'Dentity Crisis

Period 1: (Classroom)

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Theory of Unconscious:
The part of the mind that thinks and feels without you being aware of these thoughts and feelings is called the UNCONSCIOUS.
The UNCONSCIOUS is comprised of 3 sections: The Ego, the Id, and the Superego.

1. The Ego is the self
2. The Id is the animalistic or primitive side of the unconscious.
3. The Superego is the control

Dreams are one way of communicating with the unconscious. They are coded messages mailed to your conscious self.

Freud also stated that:

• We all have desires.
• Sometimes the self cannot admit that it wants certain things, because we all learn (usually during infancy) that some things are bad for us.
• As a result, the mind REPRESSES (repression) or hides these desires in the unconscious until they resurface as expensive psychoanalysis bills.
• In general, most repressed desires are sexual in nature.

We are sexually motivated from birth. Freud divided people into three major developmental stages:

1. Oral (infancy to about 1 year old)
2. Anal (2-3 years)
3. Genital (until about adulthood)

Freud had two major principles:

1. Pleasure Principle: we pursue pleasure. From the moment we're born, we want to be comforted, fed, etc. This pleasure seeking can be both physical and emotional.
2. Reality Principle: You can't always get what you want. Sometimes you have to alter your instinctual behavior to get what you want. Often this leads to suppression.

These two principles combine to affect our personalities and make us who we are.
Jokes, dreams, myths, compulsions, obsessions, fetishes, hysterical fits, etc. all are part of our repressed desires, says Freud.

Two Famous Complexes:

Oedipus Complex: A desire to get rid of one's father and "marry" one's mother.
Virtually all men deal with this repressed desire, says Freud.
A male child develops an Oedipus complex as a result of having to compete with their fathers for their mother's attention/affection. They have not learned to accept their fathers' authority and are still dependent on the mother.

Girls go through the Electra Complex - basically the same thing, but reversed gender roles: daughter wants father, etc.

More Freudian Theory: (hang on to your pencils...sometimes a pencil is just a pencil...)

Here's a bit more information about Freud's theories. Feel free to research these links as much as you'd like to get smarter. To learn more about Freud as a person and historical figure, click there.

Mental Defenses

Repression: When painful memories or anxiety or negative thoughts occur, repression is the process of pushing or keeping them out of the mind. Be aware a person is not AWARE of Repression, as it is a subconscious event. The goal in psychoanalysis is that these repressed memories or thoughts break through to the conscious level where they can be worked on and resolved.

Suppression: Similar to repression, except that this is in the conscious mind. A person chooses not to think about a desire, wish, etc. instead of seeking for it. (Puts it out of the mind). We do this often when we want to change the subject of a conversation because its too difficult to bear, or if the topic makes us uncomfortable.

Projection: when someone consciously experiences an unconscious drive, wish, or feeling as though it belongs to someone else. A person with intense unconscious anger may project that anger onto her friend and think it is her friend who is angry, for example.

Rationalization: to explain away anxiety provoking thoughts or feelings. Usually a person who cannot face an aspect of himself, may rationalize his actions as being normal  or okay.

Reaction Formation: A person says or does the exact opposite of how he or she really feels. A desire or wish may be unacceptable, so this is turned into its exact opposite. We see a lot of this sort of thing when evangelists or preachers go on about hating homosexuality, then later are caught engaging in that sort of behavior. Before the psyche breaks down, the individual is using reaction formation to keep unwanted desires at bay.

Displacement: When an unacceptable desire is redirected toward a more acceptable alternative. Instead of unconsciously desiring sex, a woman might buy a warehouse full of shoes. Shoes are, of course, a symbol for a vagina (something that allows something else to fit into it...)

Sublimation: Like displacement, when you sublimate a desire you turn unacceptable urges into their opposites - an acceptable outlet for ones feelings/desires. Artists often do this when they channel their rage or anger into their art or music. Sylvia Plath is a good example of how her disturbed subconscious bubbled up into her poetry. In sublimation, for example, sexual frustration might end up as an angry heavy-metal album...what might we say about Lady Gaga or Marilyn Manson?

LAB/HOMEWORK (do some now, finish during the week):

1. Watch the psychology videos (see below) and take some notes if you care to remember any of this. Perhaps it was all a dream anyway. What does that say about you? In any case, use what you learn to write an essay (even a fictional essay) or poem or play scene or story or...you get the idea wrestling with one or more of these psychological ideas. Use the packet o' info for similar creativity. Dust off your creative brain and use it.

2. Write a new story or revise one about yourself. See it's so important it sounds just like #1 above. Write, write, write, write.

3. Watch these videos. Use some of these ideas in a poem, play, scene, film, non-fiction memoir, comic strip, short story, etc.

Psychology videos:

• Rorschach & Freudians
• Perception
• Consciousness
• Cognition
• How to Train Your Brain: Behavioral Psychology
• How We Make Memories
• Knowing
• The Power of Motivation
• Sex
• Psychological Disorders

How to Develop Character: How to use psychological criticism in our writing:

• Characterization includes the physical description of a character, but also details about the setting; a description of what a character does, a character's psychological personality, and, of course, with a character's dialogue--what they say--and what other characters say about a character or event. 
• Since, as writers, we need to develop our characters, that means we need to understand our character's minds. Knowing some psychology can be helpful by testing out these psychological theories. 
• Select ideas that intrigue you from what we're reading. Use the theory (for example Freud's theory of displacement) when developing how a character reacts to a situation or use details about the theory in a character's stream-of-consciousness.
• Because these theories are generally interesting, it's a good idea to use them in your writing--as they are universal, and infuse your stories and character voices with authentic ideas.
• Let's take a look at how this works with Christopher Durang's comic play 'Dentity Crisis.

Continue your utopian presentation. We'll take a look at these presentations Wednesday, next week.

Period 2: Let's read about Emil Kraepelin's theories concerning schizophrenia, Karen Horney's theories about "norms" in society, and Viktor Frankl's logotherapy. Read about compulsive behavior theories of Paul Salkovskis, and memory with Roger Brown's theories on your own. (See handout).

Christopher Durang's 'dentity Crisis. Let's read this play. As we read, notice how an author uses psychological theories to motivate and create theme in a creative work.

HOMEWORK: Complete the novel you chose (Brave New World or A Clockwork Orange) by next class you should be prepared to discuss major themes, styles, characters, and psychology inherent in the chosen book. Write short summaries for each chapter to help you remember main plot events, characters, or themes in the author's writing. You will be asked to evaluate the book you read--in which you may use your chapter summary notes to assist your endeavors. You will also be asked to use some of the psychology we have been covering and apply it to your novel.

Resources and help:

• Brave New World (Thug Notes)
• A Clockwork Orange (Thug Notes)
• Find other resources online if you need them beyond what I've given you.