II. The Psychoanalytic Approach

(rooted in the psychobiological approach) - this theory is extremely popular, and was developed by Freud.

A. Psychosexual Theory of the Structure of Personality

1) Id (Latin for "it") -- contains innate biological drives, seeks immediate gratification, and operates by the pleasure principle (seeking gratification of impulses).

2) Ego (Latin for "I") -- helps the individual adapt to external reality by making compromises between the id, the superego, and the environment. Operates by the "reality principle" -- directs the individual to express sexual and aggressive impulses in socially acceptable ways.

3) Superego (Latin for "over the I") -- acts as our moral guide; contains the conscience, which makes us feel guilty for doing or thinking something wrong; also contains the ego ideal, which makes us feel good for wanting or doing something good.

4) Defense Mechanisms -- distort reality to protect the ego from anxiety caused by id impulses. There are many different types of defense mechanisms:

a) repression -- this is the most often used and central main defense mechanism; it is common to all the others. Repression can be defined as the banishment of threatening thoughts, feelings, and memories into the unconscious mind.

b) denial -- refusal to admit a particular aspect of reality.

c) regression -- individual displays immature behaviors that have relieved anxiety in the past

d) rationalization -- providing socially acceptable reasons for our inappropriate behavior

e) intellectualization -- reducing anxiety by reacting to emotional situations in a detached, unemotional way.

f) projection -- attributing our undesirable feelings to others.

g) displacement -- expressing feelings toward something or someone besides the target person, because they are perceived as less threatening.

h) reaction formation -- acting in a manner opposite our true feelings.

i) compensation -- reacting to a personal deficiency by developing another talent.

j) sublimation -- expression of sexual or aggressive impulses through indirect, socially acceptable ones.

B. Analytic Psychology -- Carl Jung

Unlike the Psychosexual approach, the analytic approach de-emphasizes the sex motive

1) Personal Unconscious -- the individuals own unconscious mind.

2) Collective Unconscious -- the unconscious mind that is shared by all human beings and that contains archetypal images passed down from our prehistoric ancestors.

3) Archetypes -- inherited images which are passed down from our prehistoric ancestors and reveal themselves as universal symbols in art, dreams, and religion.

4) Extrovert -- a person who tend to focus on the external world and people. People often associate being socially outgoing with extroversion, but that is a little too simplistic. Extroverts may be more outgoing in that they gain energy from the other people and the external environment, and usually prefer to be with others.

5) Introvert -- a person who is focused on (often preoccupied) with his or her private mental experiences, feelings, and thoughts.