1. According to the Freudian Theory, personality consists of three vital components that include instinctual drives, unconscious processes, and childhood influences. With regards to the instinctual drives, the factors making it up include food, sex, and aggression (Theories of Personality). In the story about Hunk in the text, Hunk displays some of the instinctual components that make up the Freud’s Theory. He particularly exhibits the desire for food and the tendency to be aggressive. He had a tendency of eating and smoking too much that he became overweight. ‘’Hank continuously had something in his mouth, either food or cigarettes.’’ He depicted his aggressive behavior on many occasion including his verbal outbursts and tantrums that he threw on his date with Sally. While standing in for his company when meeting with a client, the encounter ended with the client describing him as a ‘’loud-mouthed, belligerent cretin.’’ According to Freud, strong conflict can lead to fixation of people at an early stage. In the text, Hank exhibits an oral receptive and aggressive personality. The oral receptive personality is depicted when he is described that he eats and smokes whenever he is in tension. He also shows oral aggressive personality when he ridicules Sally’s profession, has an altercation with the client, and also the waiter in the restaurant.
2. Hank’s argumentative and eating behavior can be described as internally motivated because they are closely related to the oral fixation. It is imperative to note that orally fixated behaviors are directly connected to the internal locus control which states that all events in an individual's life are as a result of factors that can be controlled (Freud’s psychosexual Stage Theory)
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3. Hank employs the projection and regression as his preferred defense mechanism. Projection means the act of attributing uncomfortable or bad feeling towards others. On the other hand, regression means an adult going back to behave like a child ( Schultz & Schultz, 2016). In showing projection, he is dissatisfied with his physical appearance and associates it to the reason why he broke up with Sally. He also asserts that his smoking problems coupled with his weight are the key reasons why no woman would fall into a relationship with him. In regression, he normally resorts to sucking his thumbs while under stress or tension.
4. Regression is when individual acts like a child in reaction to problems. When stressed, the only remedy that Hank finds solace in is eating and smoking. He also occasionally sucks his thumb when in tension or anxiety. The text also gives a flashback of the relationship between hank and his mother to prove his regressive behavior. When he cried, the sounds used were described to be air-piercing, and the only thing that would stop him from crying was a cookie which would give him some peace and make him quiet. This was despite the fact that he had eaten recently.
5. A Freudian therapist would view the problem exhibited by Hank in two broad ways. First of all, it could be viewed as a behavioral problem because he has failed to handle his stressors appropriately. It could also be viewed in a symptomatic way which has been shown by his oral fixation symptoms that include smoking and eating. According to the Freudian Theory, Hank is in the oral stage, and therefore it will be difficult for him to pass this particular stage of fixation.
6. The Freudian therapist would likely use free association followed by dream analysis for unconscious behavior as the therapeutic techniques of choice. When using dream analysis, the therapist will emphasize on the latent content which means the hidden meaning of a dream. It is also vital to note that healing in Freudian therapy occurs as a result of self-help and the therapist might not necessarily help in the area of healing.
References
Freud’s psychosexual Stage Theory http://changingminds.org/explanations/learning/freud_stage.htm
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). Theories of personality . Cengage Learning.
Theories of Personality https://www.simplypsychology.org/personality-theories.html
