ABSTRACT
Case Vignette 50 Historical Context 51 Key Concepts 53 Domains of Consciousness 53 Drives 54 All Behavior Is Motivated 55 Three Structures of Personality 55 Stages of Psychosexual Development 57 Defense Mechanisms 59 Identification and Transference 61 New Directions 62 Ego Psychology 62 Object Relations Theory 64 A Research Example: The Rediscovery of the Unconscious 66 Unconscious Perception 68 Selective Attention 69 Neurological Damage 69 Unconscious Insights 70 An Application: Psychoanalytic Theory and Parenting 71 How Does Psychoanalytic Theory Answer the Basic Questions That a Theory of Human Development Is Expected to Address? 74 Critique of Psychoanalytic Theory 77 Strengths 77 Weaknesses 79 Critical Thinking Questions and Exercises 81 Key Terms 82 Recommended Resources 82 References 83
CASE VIGNETTE
“Tim (who was four years old) had a compulsive need to collect litter such as ice cream wrappers, stones, and cigarette butts. If someone tried to take the litter away from him or clean his room, he became furious and filled with anxiety. At night he often woke up in fear, and did not respond to any parental comfort. Constantly on alert, he continuously tracked the location of his parents in the apartment, and devised ways not to be left alone in his room. He had to go to the bathroom as often as every fifteen minutes, and had sudden, inexplicable outbursts of rage. At nursery school, Tim was provocative towards both children and staff. Over time, the staff found it more and more difficult to like him. In their frustrated efforts to help him, they felt disappointed, despairing and angry. When classmates occasionally attacked him, Tim made no attempt to defend himself, nor did he protest” (American Psychoanalytic Association, 2014). Eventually Tim’s teachers and his parents agreed to have him start psychoanalysis.
