This will cover the following topics:

1. Review on the Regions and Levels of the Mind

2. Instincts

3. Anxieties

4. Defense Mechanisms

​Not in conscious awareness, but can be

​Preconscious

Beyond awareness:

• Includes drives, urges, or instincts

• is known only indirectly​

Unconscious

Levels of Mental Life

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

Conscious

Mental life that is directly available to us

Wormtail's betrayal of the Potter's may underlie unconscious feelings (anger and jealousy) and drives which was expressed when he gave up the Potter's location to Voldemort.

​Source: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Regions of the Mind

• The Id

  • Follows the Pleasure Principle

• The Ego

  • Follows the Reality Principle

• The Superego

  • Follows the Idealistic Principle

  • Contains the conscience (internalized rules and standards of parents and authority figures) and ego-ideal (internalized ideal self based on parents, authority figures, society)

Source: https://aoecounseling.com/

Both the Superego and the Id do not care about the constraints of reality and its rules. They simply care about seeking perfection or fulfilling needs, even if it is not possible or appropriate.

How easy is it for you to notice when these two regions take over?

Basic Drives

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

Aim: return the person to an inorganic state​;

Aggression: death instinct turned outwards​

​Thanatos

Aim: seek pleasure;

Object: ​any person or thing that brings sexual pleasure

​Eros

​Freud believes that we are constantly motivated by one, or both, of these drives. Everything we do is due to these two.

Source: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Bellatrix_Lestrange

Bellatrix's utter devotion to Voldemort is an example of how both Eros and Thanatos motivate a person.

Anxiety

• ​Neurotic: apprehension about unknown danger

• Moral: similar to guilt; conflict between the ego and superego (usually about standards and expectations set by the superego)

• Rea​listic: similar to fear; unpleasant, nonspecific feeling involving possible danger

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

Let's look at the Golden Trio in the Harry Potter Series. Hermione's fear of being expelled from Hogwarts is an example of Moral Anxiety. We know her as responsible and rule abiding. Getting kicked out implies a failure to follow standards and expectations set out for her. Ron's fear of spiders on the other hand, can be likened to phobias, and is an example of Neurotic Anxiety. Yes they are scary, but they generally do not pose harm to us. Often times, we also do not know where our fears came from.
Why is Harry's fear of Voldemort an example
of Realistic Anxiety?

​Source: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Wormtail's betrayal of the Potter's may underlie unconscious drives and feelings such as anger and jealousy towards his friends. His Superego may have deem these inappropriate and unacceptable (it is wrong to betray friends!) and his Ego may have repressed them. However, when confronted by Lord Voldemort, the death instinct was expressed when he gave up the Potter's location.

​Source: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Process of Defense Mechanisms

The id, superego, and outside world can each be a source of anxiety, but only the ego feels anxiety.

To cope with this distressing feelings, it turns to defense mechanisms as a way to protect itself from the pain and unpleasantness of anxiety.

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

Freudian Defense Mechanisms​

• Repression (present in all)

• Reaction Formation

• Displacement

• Projection

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

• Regression

• Fixation

• Introjection

• Sublimation

Going back to Wormtail, his Superego may have deemed his feelings of anger and jealousy as inappropriate and unacceptable. To deal with this and avoid further anxiety, his Ego may have repressed them, in order to protect itself. However, when confronted by Lord Voldemort, these feelings may have been made conscious, but in a different form (choosing between his life vs the life of his friend)

​Source: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Stages of Development

• Infantile Period (Birth-5 y/o)

  • Oral Phase

  • Anal Phase

  • Phallic Phase

    • Male Oedipus Complex

    • Female Oedipus Complex

​

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

• Latency Period (5 y/o -puberty)

• Genital Period (puberty-adulthood)

• Maturity

Early childhood experiences are the most influential to personality formation.

Let's check your understanding of Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory, by identifying where his theory lies when looking at the 6 Dimensions of Humanity.

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory