Neoanalytic Theories - Professor Chen PDF

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Neoanalytic Theories (2) Heinz Hartman – 2 Functions of the Ego: 1) Expression and satisfaction of Id impulses  Operates in the conflict sphere  Reduces conflict between Id and Superego  Consistent with Freud’s views 2) Promote adaptation (conflict-free sphere)  Develops purposes independently of the Id  Area in which neoanalytic perspective focuses Heinz Hartman is one example of a theorists who focused on defining an expanded role for the Ego, without rejecting the Id or Freud’s idea that the Ego could be defined as a drone or non-autonomous agent of the Id. o He spoke of two spheres of influence that the Ego operates in. A conflict Sphere and a Conflict-free Area.  The Conflict Area represents the function of the Ego that Freud emphasized, while the Conflict-Free is the new “moving-forward action” o The move toward expanding the theorized role of the Ego wasn’t something that was done whimsically, even though it might sound a little like that. The change was data driven, based on experiments and observations of the world that Freud’s original theory could not accommodate. o And the central observation that was made by a number of these theorists relates to a category of behavior or motivation that has come to be called “Competence Motivation” or motivation to adapt to and master one’s environment. Adaptation and Autonomy:  Adaptation to environment is the ultimate goal of behavior – rather than the pathological perspective of Freud  Impulse control is critical for adaptive behavior  Impulse control rooted in goals of Ego rather than in avoiding anxiety Negotiating Adaptation to the environment is really always the function of the Ego whether we’re talking about the conflict sphere (classical psychoanalytic theory) or the conflict-free sphere (neoanalytic theories). So “What’s” happening hasn’t really changed much.  What’s new here is the explanation for WHY adaptation occurs.  Whereas, classical theory stated that we adapt because we’re frightened of the consequences we might incur if we expressed our Id impulses directly, Neoanalytic theorists are saying that people have evolved to actually find satisfaction from the process of self-regulation itself.  This kind of energy relating to the ego finding self-regulation satisfying for its own sake is referred to as “Autonomy” a term that gets used in many theories in psychology to

mean many different things. In this theory there is a distinction between primary ego autonomy and secondary ego autonomy.  The first means that the satisfaction inherent in self-regulation was the only thing involved, start to finish.  Secondary Ego autonomy simply means that sometimes we may initiate a goal in the service of the Id, but after that drive has been reduced, we may continue to be motivated for long periods of time (and these patterns were difficult to reconcile with Freud’s original model). Ego, Adaptation, and Competence Motivation:    

Effectance Motivation—basic human desire to have an impact on surroundings Competence Motivation—desire to be effective when dealing with environment Evolves from effectance motivation Has limitless boundaries

This idea that the ego can find self-regulation rewarding for its own sake – Or that PEOPLE can find self-regulating rewarding for its own sake, is an idea that has generated a great deal of attention both from theorists and empirically.  One of the terms that is now used to describe a lot of different theories that have adopted this position is a term Robert White used called “Effectance Motivation”. Effectance Motivation is about the idea that we have an evolved human desire to try and change our surroundings. We’ll talk more about Robert White in a moment…  But the heart of this idea is really that we want to impact our environments, BECAUSE we want to FEEL effective.  And further that this basic motivation to feel effective is INSATIABLE. So that makes this different from the biological drives that define and energize the Id. In the case of drives, when you’ve met a goal, the motivation goes away, at least temporarily.  What is especially novel about this concept is that this form of motivation (that is, Competence Motivation) is theoretically limitless. Motivating you toward selfimprovement in a potentially endless spiral toward perfection. Major contributors to Competence Motivation:  Alfred Adler (1870 - 1937)  Robert White (1904-2001) Adler Biography:  As a child, he was weak and sickly, always outshone by the achievements of his older brother. This childhood experience propelled him to become a physician later, and contributed to his founding of individual psychology.  Some people thought of Adler as a disciple of Freud, because of the intellectual root of individual psychology in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Adler was infuriated by such belief. They mutually considered each other adversaries.

 Like, Freud, Adler also lost an infant brother at a young age, unlike Freud, who was filled with guild and self-reproach because he had wished for the death of his younger brother, Adler was determined to conquer death after he had witness his brother’s death. Freud and Adler – collaboration (1902 - 1908):  Vienna Psychoanalytic Society (Wednesday psychological society)  In 1911, Adler resigned his presidency and membership in the society, along with nine other members of the Freudian circle, and formed the Society for Individual Psychology Adler’s Individual Psychology:  Emphasizes the importance of social conditions on personality  Three fundamental social issues:  Occupational tasks  Societal tasks  Love tasks  Expansion of Freud’s approach to increase emphasis on society and social relations Adler’s main thesis:  Life is a constant cycle of feelings of inferiority and superiority striving  Lifestyle:  Preferred strategies for compensating for inferiority (superiority striving)  Move people forward on an adaptive path through life  Facilitate goal attainment and relationship formation Freud vs. Adler- 1. Motivation of Behavior:  Freud:  Sex drive and aggression drive  Adler:  Striving for superiority (feeling of inferiority) Alfred Adler’s Perspective:  From Adler’s perspective, this independent Ego energy, or desire for self-improvement for its own sake could be understood in terms of feelings of inferiority.  The idea is that, even from birth, we are predisposed to recognize our own shortcomings, and to naturally feel motivated to try and overcome them. So, you can see how this is something that can’t easily be explained well by the Id’s libidinal or aggressive energy, and it can’t be explained well by the Super Ego either.

 These feelings of inferiority aren’t about Super Ego induced shame because you’re not meeting societies standards, these are about your own standards. So these processes should be active even if you’re on a deserted island sitting under a coconut tree.  In fact, socialization can only INTERFER with this natural and health process. Adler talked about how people could become misdirected from this natural course into “Mistaken Lifestyles” that involved just accepting these negative feelings of inferiority, or coping with your inferiority by helping others weaker than you (which Adler actually saw this as actually less than optimal, because it stunted your own potential for growth).  Note that the mechanism underlying Competence Motivation from Adler’s perspective is avoidant in nature. We are pushed by a desire to avoid feelings of inferiority, which might be considered a kind of anxiety. This parallel’s Freud’s theory that we are pushed by other kinds of anxiety. Freud vs. Adler- 2. Shaping of Personality:  Freud:  Individuals have no choice  Adler:  People are largely responsible for who they are Freud vs. Adler-3. Present Behavior Caused By:  Freud:  By past experiences  Adler:  By people’s view of the future Freud vs. Adler- 4. Unconscious Mind:  Freud:  Placed heavy emphasis on unconscious components of behavior  Adler:  Psychologically healthy people are aware of what they are doing and why they do it Freud vs. Adler- 5. WWI Influence:  Freud:  Elevated aggression to be one of the two human drives  Adler:  Social interest and compassion could be cornerstones of human motivation  Hearing Adler’s death, Freud remarked: “For a Jew boy out of a Viennese suburb a death in Aberdeen is an unheard-of career in itself and a proof of how far he had got on. The world really rewarded him richly for his service in having contradicted psychoanalysis. ”

Underdog Psychology:  Unfortunately, Adler didn’t do a great job at making specific predictions about when one would respond by trying to achieve superiority, versus give up and say the heck with it.  The Theory is still considered an important contribution because it explains what seems to be a real phenomenon.  One that couldn’t be explained by earlier models.  Maybe some of us have experienced this kind of inferiority motivation that Adler was talking about....