NR 326 MENTAL HEALTH EXAM 1 STUY GUIDE
WITH ANSWERS( CHAPTER 1-29)
MENTAL HEALTH EXAM 1
Mental health & Mental illness (2) (CHAPTER 2)
Theories
... [Show More] of Mental health (4)
Personality is defined as
“the characteristic way in which a person thinks, feels, and behaves; the ind pattern of behavior that each person evolves, both
consciously and unconsciously, as his or her style of life or way of being.”
• Life-cycle developmentalists believe that people continue to develop and change throughout life, thereby suggesting the
possibility for renewal and
growth in adults.
• Stages are identified by age. However, personality is influenced by temperament (inborn personality characteristics) and the
environment.
• It is possible for behaviors from an unsuccessfully completed stage to be modified and corrected in a later stage.
• Stages overlap, and individuals may be working on tasks from more than one stage at a time.
• Individuals may become fixed in a certain stage and remain developmentally delayed.
• Personality disorders occur when personality traits become inflexible and personality functioning becomes individually and
interpersonally impaired.
o Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud, who has been called the father of psychiatry, is credited as the first to identify development
by stages. He considered the first 5 years of a child's life to be the most important, because he believed that
an individual's basic character had been formed by the age of 5.
Freud's personality theory can be conceptualized according to structure and dynamics of the personality,
topography of the mind, and stages of personality development.
Freud organized the structure of the personality into three major components: the id, ego, and superego.
They are distinguished by their unique functions and different characteristics.
Id
o The id is the locus of instinctual drives—the “pleasure principle.” Present at birth, it
endows the infant with instinctual drives that seek to satisfy needs and achieve immediate
gratification. Id-driven behaviors are impulsive and may be irrational.
Ego
o The ego, also called the rational self or the “reality principle,” begins to develop between
the ages of 4 and 6 months. The ego experiences the reality of the external world, adapts
to it, and responds to it. As the ego develops and gains strength, it seeks to bring the
influences of the external world to bear upon the id, to substitute the reality principle for
the pleasure principle. A primary function of the ego is one of mediator; that is, to maintain
harmony among the external world, the id, and the superego.
Superego
o If the id is identified as the pleasure principle, and the ego the reality principle, the
superego might be referred to as the “perfection principle.” The superego, which develops
between ages 3 and 6 years, internalizes the values and morals set forth by primary
caregivers. Derived out of a system of rewards and punishments, the superego is
composed of two major components: the ego-idealand the conscience. When a child is
consistently rewarded for “good” behavior, the self-esteem is enhanced, and the behavior
becomes part of the ego-ideal; that is, it is internalized as part of his or her value system.
The conscience is formed when the child is punished consistently for “bad” behavior. The
child learns what is considered morally right or wrong from feedback received from
parental figures and from society or culture. When moral and ethical principles or even
internalized ideals and values are disregarded, the conscience generates a feeling of guilt
within the individual. The superego is important in the socialization of the individual
because it assists the ego in the control of id impulses. When the superego becomes rigid
and punitive, problems with low self-confidence and low self-esteem arise.
Freud classified all mental contents and operations into three categories: the conscious, the preconscious,
and the unconscious.
Topography of the Mind
The conscious includes all memories that remain within an individual's awareness. It is the
smallest of the three categories. Events and experiences that are easily remembered or retrieved
are considered to be within one's conscious awareness. Examples include telephone numbers,
birthdays of self and significant others, the dates of special holidays, and what one had for lunch
today. The conscious mind is thought to be under the control of the ego, the rational and logical
structure of the personality. [Show Less]