PSY502 Lectures 34-35

Neo-Freudians

1. Harry Stack Sullivan
2. Karen Horney
3. Erich Fromm

HARRY STACK SULLIVAN

Who was he?

Sullivan was a psychiatrist (a medical doctor who treats mental illness). He believed that personality develops from relationships, especially early ones with caregivers. Big idea of Sullivan: Your personality (your psyche – meaning your inner mental world: thoughts, feelings, self image) is shaped by how people treat you, starting with your mother. He said a baby feels euphoria (strong pleasure and comfort) when the mother feeds and protects him. If the mother is calm, the baby feels safe. If the mother is tense, anxious, or rejecting, the baby feels insecure. So anxiety (uneasiness, fear, emotional tension) starts early and comes from

SULLIVAN’S THREE PARTS OF SELF

Sullivan said the “self” develops in three parts:

1. Good-me Meaning: The parts of you that you like and feel proud of. These parts do not create anxiety.

Example: You think, “I am kind. I am helpful. I am smart.” You show this side to others easily.

1. Bad-me Meaning: The parts of you that make you feel guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed. These create anxiety.

Example: You remember a time you lied, hurt someone, failed an exam, or acted rudely. You do not like thinking about this version of yourself.

1. Not-me Meaning: The parts of you that are so scary that your mind pushes them out of awareness. This is similar to Freud’s idea of repression (pushing things into the unconscious).

Example: A person who was abused might block out certain memories or feelings because thinking about them creates too much anxiety. So:

• Good-me = safe and accepted
• Bad-me = shameful
• Not-me = terrifying, buried in the unconscious

THREE TYPES OF EXPERIENCE (MODES OF THINKING)

Sullivan said we experience the world in three ways:

1. Prototaxic experience Meaning: The raw, unorganized experience of a baby.

Example: A newborn feels hunger, warmth, pain, comfort. But the baby does not think logically yet. It is just sensation.

1. Parataxic experience Meaning: The child feels things but does not understand logical connections. Example:

A child thinks, “Every time I wear this shirt, something bad happens.” There is no real cause, but the child connects things emotionally, not logically. This is magical thinking.

1. Syntaxic experience Meaning: Logical, socially shared thinking. This is adult thinking.

Example: You understand cause and effect. You use language that others also understand. You think in ways your culture agrees with. So:

• Prototaxic = baby feelings
• Parataxic = emotional, illogical connections
• Syntaxic = logical, adult, social thinking

SULLIVAN’S STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Infancy (birth to about 1 year) Focus: Comfort, safety, mother–infant bond.
2. Childhood (up to about 8 years)