psychodynamics
Unconscious behavior study
Psychodynamics refers to the interplay of emotional and mental forces that shape human behavior, particularly the interaction between conscious and unconscious motivations.
The term comes from psychoanalytic theory, where it describes how unresolved conflicts, early experiences, and hidden desires influence thoughts and actions.
In clinical settings, psychodynamic therapy or a psychodynamic approach focuses on uncovering these underlying patterns: Her therapist took a psychodynamic perspective on her relationship difficulties.
Unconscious instinctual drives
- egoOne's self-image
- superegoMind's moral overseer
- libidoInnate erotic drive
- Oedipus complexPsychosexual attachment to mother
psychosexual stages · oral stage · anal stage · latency · pleasure principle · Eros · castration anxiety · penis envy
Unconscious strategies avoiding distress
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- sublimationSolid to gas directly
denial · rationalization · reaction formation · regression · intellectualization · isolation · undoing · splitting
Redirecting feelings to substitutes
- countertransferenceTherapist's emotional response to patient
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
working through · free association · analyst · couch · session · termination · catharsis · abreaction
Unconscious blocking of thoughts
- dreamsInvoluntary sleep visions
- dream interpretationAnalyzing nocturnal vision symbolism
- free associationUnfiltered verbal thought flow
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
shadow · fantasies · impulses · instincts · primordial · undercurrents · subconscious · slip
Within one's own mind
- neurosisFunctional mental disorder
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- psychopathologyStudy of mental disorders
- ambivalenceConflicting emotions coexisting
adaptive · maladaptive · fixation · regression · resistance · acting out
Study of emotional bonds
- interpersonalBetween two or more people
- internalizationAbsorbing ideas as one's own
- introjectAbsorb into the psyche
- mirroringReproducing an image identically
idealization · twinship · mentalization · secure base · transitional object · holding · containment
Inherited psychological heritage of humanity
- archetypesUniversal symbolic patterns
- shadowLight blocked by object
- animaInner personality essence
- animusDeep-seated hostility
persona · individuation · complex · synchronicity · mandala · amplification · introversion · extraversion
id
Unconscious instinctual drives
Oedipus complex · psychosexual stages · oral stage · anal stage · latency · pleasure principle · Eros · castration anxiety · penis envy · primal scene
defense mechanisms
Unconscious strategies avoiding distress
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- displacementRemoval from usual location
sublimation · denial · rationalization · reaction formation · regression · intellectualization · isolation · undoing · splitting · dissociation
transference
Redirecting feelings to substitutes
- countertransferenceTherapist's emotional response to patient
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- interpretationAssigned meaning
insight · working through · free association · analyst · couch · session · termination · catharsis · abreaction · neutrality
repression
Unconscious blocking of thoughts
- dreamsInvoluntary sleep visions
- dream interpretationAnalyzing nocturnal vision symbolism
- free associationUnfiltered verbal thought flow
symbolism · shadow · fantasies · impulses · instincts · primordial · undercurrents · subconscious · slip · wish fulfillment
intrapsychic
Within one's own mind
- neurosisFunctional mental disorder
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- psychopathologyStudy of mental disorders
ambivalence · adaptive · maladaptive · fixation · regression · resistance · acting out
attachment theory
Study of emotional bonds
- interpersonalBetween two or more people
- internalizationAbsorbing ideas as one's own
- introjectAbsorb into the psyche
mirroring · idealization · twinship · mentalization · secure base · transitional object · holding · containment
collective unconscious
Inherited psychological heritage of humanity
- archetypesUniversal symbolic patterns
- shadowLight blocked by object
- animaInner personality essence
animus · persona · individuation · complex · synchronicity · mandala · amplification · introversion · extraversion · numinous
- psychoanalysisFreud, id, ego, unconscious, Sigmund Freud
- child developmentbaby, toddler, newborn, infancy, milestones
psychodynamicsbehaviorism
Psychology studying observable conduct
behavior therapy · cognitive-behavioral therapy · neuropsychiatry · behavioral psychology · pharmacotherapy
psychodynamicsbehaviorism
Psychology studying observable conduct
behavioral psychology · behavior modification · classical conditioning · operant conditioning · phenomenology