psychosexual stagesA series of developmental
stages posited by Freud, each of which is marked
by the involvement of a particular erogenous zone
of the body.
reaction formationThe defense mechanism that
occurs when an unconscious impulse is consciously
expressed by its behavioral opposite.
reality anxietyAnxiety that arises from the
presence of a real danger in the outside world.
reality principleTheruleofconductbywhich
one defers the gratification of instinctual urges
until a suitable object and mode of satisfaction are
discovered. The ego operates according to the
reality principle.
regressionThe defense mechanism that occurs
when extensive frustration causes a person to
return to a stage that once provided a great deal of
gratification.
repressionThe most basic defense mechanism.
Repression serves to keep highly threatening
sexual or aggressive material out of conscious
awareness, often involuntarily.
resistanceAny attempt by the patient to ward off
the therapist’seffortstodissolvehisorherneurotic
methods for resolving problems. Any client action
or behavior that prevents insight or prevents
bringing unconscious material into consciousness.
secondary processThe rational and self-
preservative type of thinking that characterizes
the ego.
superegoThe component of the personality that
represents the ideals and values of society as they
are conveyed to the child through the words
and deeds of his or her parents. The role of the
superego is to block unacceptable id impulses and
to pressure the ego to serve the ends of morality
rather than those of expediency.
talking cureDiscovered by Breuer, the use of
techniques that encourage patient talking as a way
of addressing and alleviating neurotic symptoms.
therapeutic allianceThe bond between patient
and therapist. A strong therapeutic alliance is
believed to contribute significantly to a positive
therapeutic outcome.
transferenceA key phenomenon in psycho-
analytic therapy in which the patient reacts to the
therapist as if the therapist represented an impor-
tant figure from the patient’s past.
unconsciousThe portion of the mind that is not
accessible to awareness.
unconscious motivationMotivation that resides
outside conscious awareness. Freud posited the
existence of unconscious motivation and asserted
that it was responsible, in large part, for disturbed
behavior.
working-through processA careful and
repeated examination of how one’s conflicts and
defenses have operated in many areas of one’slife.
It is through this process that an insight achieves
true, full meaning for the patient.WEB SITES OF INTEREST
To visit any of the following Web sites, go to
http://www.wadsworth.com and click Links.
12-1American Psychoanalytic Association
http://www.apsa.org/
12-2Online overview of the exhibition“Sigmund
Freud: Conflict and Culture”
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/freud/
12-3Sigmund Freud on the Internet
http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/
freud_links.html
12-4Burying Freud: Online debate between Freud
critics and supporters
http://human-nature.com/freud/
12-5APA Division of Psychoanalysis (Division 39)
http://www.apadivisions.org/division-39/PSYCHOTHERAPY: THE PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE 369