The Psychoanalysis Timeline: 

The Mini-Dictionary of Classic and Modern Trends in Psychoanalysis through the years!!! 

 

The Psychology Sessions: Classic and Modern Trends in Psychology

The essence of psychoanalysis

As Raymond Corsini and Alan Auerabach, 'lyrically', mention, Psychoanalysis was the 'brain child' of one of those great thinkers who 'disturb the sleep of the world', the Viennese-Jewish physician, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). The term psychoanalysis is used in three ways: 1) to designate a loosely knit body of ideas on the nature of the human mind, particularly, personality development and psychopathology, 2) to describe a technique of therapeutic intervention in a range of psychological disturbances, and, 3) to designate a method of investigation. 

The central task of psychoanalysis (as therapy) is to uncover liable pathogenic memories; this could give way to the search for fantasies, and with the theoretical shift away from 'instincts and their vicissitudes' to the discerning of configurations of characteristically adaptive patterns of human relationships and of work in a particular society.

After extensive research, I managed to put together the most interesting (in my opinion) psychoanalytical terms, which, still, have a considerable effect on everyday life. Let's get on the Psychoanalysis Timeline:

• Apathy: The absence of any emotion whatsoever. It must be distinguished from despair, which is the loss of hope, and boredom, which is due to blocking of expressive activity, whether for external or neurotic reasons. According to Greenson (1949), apathy can be a life-saving defence in extreme situations.

• Behaviour disorder: Psychiatric diagnostic term embracing psychopathy, perversions, and the addictions, conditions which have in common that their 'symptoms' consist of behaviour of which society disapproves. Theoretically, it can be regarded as the opposite of the neurosis, since it is characterised by deficiency not excess of inhibition.
  

• Borderline personality disorder: A borderline case is a patient who is on the border between psychosis and neurosis: The most salient symptom of ascribed to these personalities is the depth and variability of their moods, since they, typically, experience extended periods of dejection and disillusionment, interspersed on occasion with brief excursions of euphoria and significantly more frequent episodes of irritability, self-destructive acts, and impulsive anger (Raymond J. Corsini, 1998). Famous bipolar personalities: Marilyn Monroe, Catherine-Zeta Jones, Virginia Wolf, Amy Winehouse, Vincent Van Gogh, Britney Spears, Frank Sinatra, Edgar Allan Poe, Friedrich Nietzsche, Stephen Fry (www.wikipedia.org).  

•  Bulimia: 'A morbid hunger' - the complete medical term in Latin is bulimia nervosa. An eating disorder characterised by binge eating and self-induced vomiting and purging. It can alternate with anorexia nervosa (psychogenic absence of appetite of sufficient severity to threaten health or life).

• Causality (Charles Rycroft, 1995): The conception that events can be explained as the necessary consequence of prior events, the latter being the causes and the former the effects. Psychoanalysis is generally regarded as a causal theory, since it explains present events, symptoms, etc., in terms of the prior experiences of the subject. 

•  Creativity: The capacity to arrive at novel but valid solutions to problems, and, also, the capacity to create imaginative products, which can be compelling, convincing or significant. Acoording to Sigmund Freud (1908), creative activity is a form of neurotic daydreaming (this theory has been, later, challenged by Freud himself and other psychologists. 

• Defense mechanism: A usually unconscious mental process used to protect oneself from painful thoughts or feelings. It was, first, introduced as a term by Sigmund Freud (1905). Typical defence mechanisms include: denial, repression, projection and rationalization. 

• Displacement: The process by which the individual shifts interest from one object or an activity to another in such a way that the latter becomes an equivalent or substitute for the other (e.g., dreaming, symbolization and sublimation). 

• Dopamine (Christian Jarrett, 2011): A naturally occuring chemical which is produced in several areas of the brain. As well as assisting with motor functions and concentration, it promotes feelings of euphoria and joy.

• Emotion: A state of both body and mind consisting of a subjective feeling which is either pleasurable or unpleasant but never neutral, and is accompanied by expressive behaviour or posture and by physiological changes (Charles Rycroft, 1995).

• Empathy: According to recent research studies, it is 'the power of projecting one's personality into the object of contemplation'. Therefore, the capacity to put oneself into the other person's shoes.

• Intuition (from the Latin word intuito, meaning to look at): It is a type of knowledge gained through instinct, rather than a rational process. Additionally, it is the immediate apprehension of an object by the mind without the intervention of any reasoning process.

• Motive: The 'inner force' which drives a person towards an end or goal. The goal may have either a positive or negative effect.

• Narcissism: First used by Havelock Ellis and Nacke, it is a type of sexual perversion in which the subject's preferred object is his own body; it is a form of self-love, and it can, also, refer to the tendency to use oneself as the point of reference round which experience is organised. In a sense, it can be similar to egocentrism, and can lead to Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which was popularised by Kohut (1972, 1978).

• Neuroticism: One of the big five personality traits, which is associated with a stronger reaction to aversive situations - a struggle to cope with everyday stress - and in extreme cases may lead to depression and anxiety. All people have aspects of all 5 personality traits, to varying degrees.

• Obsession: It is the idea or group of ideas which persistently obtrudes itself on the patient's consciousness despite his will and despite the fact that he himself recognizes its abnormality (Charles Rycroft, 1995).

• Parapraxis: According to Sigmund Freud ('The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, 1901), it is a faulty action due to the interference of certain uncoscious wish, conflict, or train of thought. Classic examples of parapraxes are the slips of the tongue and pen.  

• Personality types: It was, first, introduced as a term by Carl Gustav Jung (1921) initially, referring to personality functions and dimensions such as extroversion - introversion, thinking - feeling and intuition - sensing. Based on his theory of 'Personality Types', people differ in the importance attached to external perceptions or internal ideas, and in the way they make decisions or gather information. 

• Phobia: It, usually, refers to the symptom of experiencing unnecessary and excessive anxiety in specific situations or in the presence of a particular object. The most common types of phobia are: agoraphobia: anxiety in open spaces and claustrophobia: anxiety in an enclosed space. 

• Psyche: It is a Freudian term, which indicates the mind. Its origin is Greek and is, usually, contrasted with 'soma' (from Greek, as well).

• Psychodrama (Charles Rycroft, 1995): It is a form of psychotherapy in which the patient is required to act a part in some drama constructed with special reference to his symptoms or problems, the other parts being taken by members of the therapeutic team.

• Repression: The defense mechanism by which an unacceptable idea or impulse is rendered unconscious. Further, repression presupposes a repressing agency, either the egoor the super-ego, and a stimulus, which is anxiety, leading to division of the personality into two parts.

• Rorschach test: It is considered the most sophisticated projective test, in which the subject must describe what he/she can see into a series of symmetrical ink-blots, some of which are coloured, his answers being used as evidence of his phantasy life, personality structure, psychiatric diagnosis and, even, intelligence. It was designed in 1921 by Swiss psychoanalyst, Hermann Rorschach. Although, it is not widely used anymore compared to the MMPI, it has influnced pop culture and, even, the pop and rock music scene: in 2006, it was used as the main theme of Gnarls Barkley's music video for his No1 smash hit, 'Crazy'.

 

• Schizophrenia: The term was invented by Eugen Bleuler (1908) in order to describe the mental illness previously known as dementia praecox and, nowadays, used generally by psychiatryto describe functional psychoses in which the symptoms are withdrawal and poverty of affect, delusions, hallucinations, confusion, autistic and schizophrenic thinking (in which syntax is disrupted) and disturbances in the sense of identity. 

• Sensation (Charles Rycroft, 1995): The irreducible elements of experience out of which perceptions and conceptions are constructed, e.g. light, sound, smell, touch, taste, pain, heat and cold. Sensations depend on the organ stimulated not on the object stimulating it.

• Thinking: One of the most important psychoanalytical terms of the 20th century, which refers to any form of mental activity in which ideas are involved. Furthermore, it is the mental activity which is concerned with the solution of problems; it was, initially, popularised by Sigmund Freud (1900, 1911, 1917) and, then, Carl Gustav Jung (1921). Freud distinguished thinking into the primary and secondaryprocesses, the former being that form of mental functioning characteristic of the unconscious (id), and the latter being that characteristic of consciousness (ego).  

  

References

Charles Rycroft (1995), A critical dictionary of Psychoanalysis, 2nd edition. London: Penguin Books.

Christian Jarrett (2011), 30-second psychology: The 50 most thought-provoking theories, each explained in half a minute. London: Icon Books UK.

www.wikipedia.org.

Raymond J. Corsini and Alan J. Auerbach (1998), Concise Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2nd edition. New York, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Picture Source Links

https://www.tes.com/lessons/ruRDevosyWc7VA/contemporary-psychological-perspectives

 http://www.narcissismcured.com/narcissistic-personality/the-disorder/,

http://www.ralphmag.org/GL/freud-mexico.html,

http://www.keyword-suggestions.com/cm9yc2NoYWNoIHRlc3QgY2FyZHM/,

http://izquotes.com/quote/230282,

http://mentalfloss.com/article/63241/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-son-man. 

Tim Voridis

Organisational Psychologist/Consultant - Communication and Personality Specialist

'Innovation for a brighter future'.

 

Analytical Psychology Perspectives: 

The Dictionary of Archetypes and Symbols in Psychology through the years!!!!

The Psychology Sessions: Modern trends in Psychology for the 21st Century

As a personality specialist, I've, always, been fascinated by Carl Jung's theory of personality types and his concept of Extroversion-Introversion, which helped me understand the positive qualities and the 'darker' areas of human personality. However, after I finished reading a book about the Psychology of Advertising and the Media, I, just, realised the power of Archetypesand Symbols (the most popular and applied form of Archetypes) in our everyday life. It was clear to me that they can 'act' as visual codes, which can help people understand the world, and make decisions.

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), the eminent Swiss psychiatrist and 'Father' of Analytical Psychology, divided the human psyche into three parts: 1) the conscious ego, 2) the personal unconscious, and 3) the collective unconscious. As the third component of the psyche, the collective unconscious is the most controversial comprising a deeper level of unconsciousness. It is made up of powerful emotional symbols called archetypes, which are images common to all people and have been formed from the beginning of time. Therefore, their 'nature' is 'transpersonal' rather than individual or personal.These archetypes are derived from the emotional reactions of our ancestors to continually repeating events, such as the rising and setting of the sun, the changing of the seasons, and repeating interpersonal relationships such as mother-child (Howard S. Friedman, 1999). The presence of such archetypes, symbols or emotional patterns predisposes people to react in predictable ways to common, recurring stimuli.

Further, there are many archetypes, and though they can blend and mould into each other in different cultures, all people contain within them the model of each archetype. Consequently, since people use these symbolic forms to understand the world and their experiences , they appear in all human forms of expression such as literature, drama, art, media and advertising etc. It is interesting to say that the nature of an archetype is such that people can recognise it instantly and are able to attach to it a specific meaning. Therefore, archetypes can be associated with many kinds of behavioural and emotional patterns: a perfect modern example of such patterns are brandlogos, commercials and Social Media Emoticonsand Symbols.

Before 'entering' the secret world of Archetypes and Symbols, it is helpful to understand their slight differences: According to www.studyblue.com,archetypeis the universal symbol, which has a specific meaning for people across broad time and culture, whereas, a symbol has many different meanings for people, although it is, initially, based on archetypical features. The most significant common feature of Archetypes and Symbols is the fact that both are based on symbolization, which depends on displacement. Displacement is the process by which energy is transferred from one mental image to another in such a way that the latter becomes an equivalent or substitute for the other (Charles Rycroft, 1995).

Let's find out the magic of Archetypes and Symbols:

 The basic archetypes in Analytical Psychology

• the Animus - the Anima (Catherine Collin, 2012): It exists as the masculine component of the female personality and as the feminine attributes of the male psyche ,respectively. This is the 'other half', the half that was taken from us as we grew into a boy or girl. Both archetypes help people understand the nature of the opposite sex, and because they contain 'deposits of all impressions ever made' by a man or woman, so they, necessarily, reflect the traditional ideas of masculine and feminine. As these archetypes exist in our unconscious, they can affect our moods and reactions by manifesting themselves as either prophetic statements (Anima) or unbending rationality (Animus).  

• the True Self: According to Carl Gustav Jung, this is the most important of all archetypes. It is the central, organizing archetype which attempts to harmonize all other aspects into a unified, whole self. The real goal of human existence is to achieve an advanced, enlightened psychological state of being, which Jung refers to as 'self-realization'. The pathway to this lies in the TrueSelf, which can, then, be the source of wisdom and truth by connecting the self to the spiritual. Carl Jung, clearly, stated that self-realization does not happen automatically, but must be, consciously, sought. 

• the Persona (Latin for 'Mask'): It represents the socially acceptable front that people present to others. The archetype itself is an idealized picture of what people should be. Therefore,  it is modified by each individual's unique efforts to achieve this goal.

• the Shadow (Howard S. Friedman, 1999): It symbolizes the shameful desires and motives that people would rather not admit. These negative impulses lead to socially unacceptable thoughts and actions.

• the Hero and the Demon (Howard S. Friedman, 1999): The hero archetype describes a strong and positive force which battles with the enemy in order to rescue another person from harm.The opposite of the hero is the demon, which embodies cruelty and evil.

• the Wise Old Man or Woman: A, usually, dream archetype, which indicates guidance, direction and wisdom.

• the Great Mother: An archetype who might appear as the dreamer's own mother or grandmother; it symbolizes the nurturer.

• the Divine Child (Catherine Collin, 2012): It represents our True Self in its purest form, symbolizing innocence or vulnerability, would appear as a baby or child in dreams, suggesting openness or potential.  

• the Trickster: It is a playful archetype which exposes the dreamer's vulnerabilities and plays jokes, preventing the individual from taking himself and his desires too seriously.   

The power of symbols: Their psychological meaning in Advertising, Art, Pop Culture, Cinema, Literature and our everyday life

The house: A  symbol of the self, and the way we depict it can symbolize aspects of our personality or attitudes. It is, also, the source of warmth and light, and symbolizes safety, comfort and the sense of belonging.

The television: In modern times, it has replaced the hearth as a source of focus and symbolism for the family.

The key: It is a symbol of happiness.

The winding road: It symbolizes the twists and turns of the pathway through life.

  

The horse: It is an archetypal motif, which symbolizes life-giving but dangerous forces, as well as power and strength.

The red car: It symbolizes male sexual potency and drive. It,also, suggests the thrill of speed and power.

The crossroads: Traditionally, a crossroads marks an important point of decision, as it is a place of transition, a symbol of risk, opportunity, change, choice and transformation. 

The V for victory sign (Body language gesture): Two fingers raised in a 'V' shape was, first, used by Winston Churchill, Britain's Prime Minister during the First World War (Mark O' Connor, 2007). Nowadays, it is used as a sign of triumph over adversity all over the world.

The handshake (Body language gesture): It is valuable both for guarding personal space and for breaking through spatial barriers.

The tattoo: It has become common in the youth culture of the West as an identity statement or to enhance beauty and sex appeal.

The number 1: The symbol of beginnings.

The number 9: Through its association with pregnancy, it is associated with gestation and the fulfilment of creation.

The number 12: It relates to the space-time continuum (e.g., the months of the year) and represents a completed cycle.

The horizontal and vertical lines or planes (e.g., in buildings): The horizontal planes of floors and ceilings provide grounding and enclosure or protection, while the vertical represent stature, growth and aspiration.

  

The ring: It can symbolize eternity, hence their use as love tokens.

The spiral: It symbolizes movement, energy, and connection with nature.

The red colour: It is the colour of sexual and romantic love, and symbolizes intense passion, fertility, aggressiveness, warmth, decisiveness, but, also, anger and danger. Not by accident, It is one of the most used colours for women's lipstick.

The yellow colour: It represents youth, playfulness, optimism, wisdom, extroversion, whereas, pale yellow can symbolize treachery and envy. School buses are, usually, yellow. 

The orange colour: Midway between red and yellow represents a point of balance between the libido and spirit. Through its association with the fruit, it, also, symbolizes fertility and abundance.

The green colour: It can stand for awakenings, new beginnings, growth, renewal and spiritual refreshment. In some occasions, it can express envy, but, also, support and nurturing. Many hospitals are painted green, and many doctors are dressed in green, while performing a surgery.

The blue colour: It can evoke wide, open spaces and is linked with infinity and primordial emptiness.The blue of the sky has been associated with the male principle, while, the deep blue colour with the female principle. It is the symbol of peace, purity, dreamlike states, contemplation, introspection and yearning.

The purple colour: It is, symbolically, associated with royalty and rarity.

The black colour: It can symbolize mystery, authority and power, but, also,  resurrection and eternal life, because new life was seen as emerging from the darkness.

The grey colour: It is associated with old age and wisdom.

The white colour: It is linked with purity and innocence, and in some cases, it is believed to have the power to drive death away and provide healing.

The forbidden fruit: It is, often, the apple that is portrayed as the forbidden fruit, which is eaten by Adam and Eve, the first Man and Woman. It represents human transition from the state of innocence and ignorance into the state of moral sense and responsibility.

The maze: It, often, represents modern cosmopolitan life and its various problems, which need to be resolved. There is, always, a way out of the maze!

The head: It is associated with humans' thinking capacity. It can, also, describe a person in charge.

The heart: It is not, only, the symbol of love, but, also, of truth.

The four humours ( Mark O'Connor, 2007): The Greek physician Hippocrates related bodily fluids to four 'humours', each governing a particular aspect of health and character. They were, also, associated with the 4 basic elements of the world and 4 particular colours. Blood was associated with the sanguine temperament (defined as optimistic, loving and generous), with the colour red and its element was air. Gall or yellow bile was associated with fire and a choleric temperament (defined as angry, hot-headed and vengeful). Black bile was melancholic (defined as depressive, lazy and gluttonous); its element was earth and its colour was blue. Phlegm was associated with water and the colour green; its temperament was phlegmatic (defined as dull, slow and cowardly).

   

The wheel: It is an enduring symbol of human endeavour and advancement.

The stork: It is said to bring babies to their mothers, while, it can, also, be the bearer of good news.

The ocean waves: They symbolize the movement of life from its most gentle to its most stormy aspects.

The whirlpool: It can represent the change from one state to another, e.g., life to death.

The rainbow: It is linked to healing and good fortune, dreams, and imaginary worlds, fertility and childbirth.

The psychological effect of archetypes and symbols through the years

According to Carl Jung, the archetypes exist in our minds before conscious thought, and can therefore have an immensely powerful impact on our perception of experience. Whatever people may consciously think is happening, what they choose to perceive, and, therefore, experience, is governed by these preformed ideas within the unconscious (Catherine Collin, 2012). Based on these ideas, archetypes and symbols have been used extensively in order to unveil the secrets of the human soul in many areas such as: 

Literature: The Persona and the Shadowarchetypes were descriptively presented in the horror novel, 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson. Dr. Jekyll symbolizes the Persona, the self that we show to the world, whereas, Mr. Hyde symbolizes the idea of the 'darker self' and the 'bad' or 'unacceptable side' of human personality. In the novel, Dr. Jekyll, often, transforms into the evil Mr. Hyde.

Fairy tales: Jung attributed the universal popularity of fairy tales and myths to their use of archetypal characters. One of the most widely known fairy tales is 'Snow White' (1812) by the Brothers Grimm, which was based on the eternal struggle between two of the most important archetypes: the Good and the Evil. Snow White represents the positive human qualities such as kindness, fairness and gratitude, whereas, the Queen the negative and harmful qualities such as jealousy, bitterness, vengeance and, finally, intention to kill in order for the Evil to win. The tale of Snow White can be found all over the world with slight variations (Catherine Collin, 2012).

Popular Psychology: John Gray's best-seller 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' (1992) reflected upon the opposite qualities of the Animus and Anima archetypes in the form of gender differences in communication. Male qualities vs female qualitites has, always, been one of the 'hottest' issues to wrestle with.    

Art: One of the most fascinating examples of the effect of archetypes and symbols in modern painting is 'Summer and Winter' (2007) by fantasy and magic realism artist, Michael Parkes. The painting plays upon the concept of the opposite qualities of Summer and Winter and the Animus-the Anima Archetypes: Winter (Animus) is represented by the melancholic middle-aged man dressed in formal black clothes, whereas, Summer (Anima) by the seductive young woman in white stockings, seating half-naked on top of the middle-aged man. Concepts such as optimism vs pessimism, rationality vs emotion, confidence vs insecurity, black vs white and extroversion vs introversion are, also, depicted in the painting.

Cinema: Maybe, the most representative example of the power of symbols and archetypes in cinema is 'Spellbound' (1945) by Alfred Hitchcock. The two leading stars, Gregory Peck ('the patient') and Ingrid Bergman (the psychoanalyst), successfully, symbolize the opposite qualities of the Animusand the Anima archetypes, respectively, in an attempt to 'dive' into the secrets of the human soul. The dream sequence, which was designed by famous surrealist painter, Salvador Dali includes various psychoanalytic symbols such as the eyes, the curtains, the scissors and a man with no face. It was the first time that Analytical Psychology, Symbols and Archetypes had such an influence on cinema. 

References

Mark O' Connor and Raje Airey (2007), Symbols, signs and visual codes. Southwater, Anness Publishing Ltd: London, UK.  

Catherine Collin, Voula Grand, Nigel Benson, Merrin Lazyan, Joannah Ginsburg and Marcus Weeks (2012), The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply explained, London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.

Philip G. Zimbardo and Ann L. Weber (1997). Psychology, 2nd edition. New York: Longman.

Howard S. Friedman and Miriam W. Schustack (1999), Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research. Boston, MA, USA: Allyn & Bacon.

https://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/archetypes-and-symbols/deck/1870320.

Charles Rycroft (1995), A critical dictionary of Psychoanalysis, 2nd edition. London: Penguin Books.

Picture Source Links

http://christianresearchnetwork.org/2015/07/28/in-defense-of-the-historical-adam/

https://gr.pinterest.com/tiana3956/luck-fortune/,

https://gr.pinterest.com/arealface/dreams/, 

https://designschool.canva.com/blog/social-media-icons/.  

Tim Voridis

Organisational Psychologist/Consultant - Communication and Personality Specialist

'Innovation for a brighter future'.