Практическое занятие №16. ТЕМА 8: Personality by S. FREUD

Personality by S. FREUD

Task1: Read and translate the text. Answer to the problem. (in written form)

Freud proposed that personality consists of three components: the id, the ego, and the superego.

The id consists of basic biological urges, such as hunger, thirst and sexual impulses. Whenever these needs are not met, the id generates strong motivation for the person to find a way to satisfy them, and do so immediately! Regardless of reason, logic, safety or morality. Freud believed that there are dark, antisocial and dangerous instinctual urges (especially sexual ones) present in everyone’s id. You are not usually aware of these because the id operates on the unconscious level, on what Freud called «the pleasure principle».

According to Freud, the ego operates on the «reality principle», which means it is alert to the real world and the consequences of behaviour. The ego is conscious, its job is to satisfy your id’s urges but to do so using means that are rational, socially acceptable and reasonably safe.

However, the ego also has limits placed upon by the superego. Your superego requires that the solutions the ego finds to the id’s needs are moral and ethical, according to your own internalized set of rules what is good or bad. These rules were instilled in you by your parents. If you behave in ways that violate them your superego will punish you with its own effective weapon: guilt. Do you recognize this? It is commonly referred to as your conscience. Freud believed that the superego operates on both conscious and unconscious levels. So, the ego is constantly trying to balance the needs and the urges of the id with the moral requirements of the superego in determining your behaviour.

 

The behavioral/social learning approach examines the type of environment surrounding the development of depression. Behaviorists argue that depression results from a lack of positive rein forcers in a person’s life. That is, you may feel down and unmotivated because you see few activities in your life worth doing. A more extensive behavioral model of depression proposes that depression develops from experiences with aversive situations over which people feel they have little control. This theory, called learned helplessness, maintains that exposure to uncontrollable events creates a perception of helplessness that is generalized to other situations. For example, people who attribute their inability to get a promotion to their personal inadequacies believe they also cannot control other important aspects of their lives. The resulting pattern of helpless behaviour resembles classic depression symptoms.

Cognitive explanation of depression introduces the concept of a depressive schema. This model proposes that we use something like a depressive filter to interpret and process information. That is, depressed people are prepared to see the world in the most depressing terms possible, as if they look at it through depressing lenses. Because of this depressive schema, depressed people can easily recall depressing experiences. People and places they encounter are likely to remind them of some sad or unpleasant time. In short, people become depressed because they are prepared to generate depressing thoughts.

So, which of these theories is the most accurate? You may have found that more than one of these approaches may correctly explain depression or aggression. These theories can at times complement each other. For example, a behavioral theory of depression can include cognitive mechanisms to explain why some people are more likely than others to develop and maintain depressive episodes. Each of the five approaches has something to offer.

Task 2: Freud proposed that personality consists of three components: the id, the ego, and the superego.(annotate)

The id consists of basic biological urges, such as hunger, thirst and sexual impulses. Whenever these needs are not met, the id generates strong motivation for the person to find a way to satisfy them, and do so immediately! Regardless of reason, logic, safety or morality. Freud believed that there are dark, antisocial and dangerous instinctual urges (especially sexual ones) present in everyone’s id. You are not usually aware of these because the id operates on the unconscious level, on what Freud called «the pleasure principle».

According to Freud, the ego operates on the «reality principle», which means it is alert to the real world and the consequences of behaviour. The ego is conscious, its job is to satisfy your id’s urges but to do so using means that are rational, socially acceptable and reasonably safe.

However, the ego also has limits placed upon by the superego. Your superego requires that the solutions the ego finds to the id’s needs are moral and ethical, according to your own internalized set of rules what is good or bad. These rules were instilled in you by your parents. If you behave in ways that violate them your superego will punish you with its own effective weapon: guilt. Do you recognize this? It is commonly referred to as your conscience. Freud believed that the superego operates on both conscious and unconscious levels. So, the ego is constantly trying to balance the needs and the urges of the id with the moral requirements of the superego in determining your behaviour.