Sigmund Freud

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Reporter: Maezel Joy B.

Aclan
AUSTRIAN NEUROLOGIST
Born: May 6, 1856
Died: September 23, 1939 (aged 83)
Founder: Psychoanalysis

'Most influential intellectual


legislator of his age.'

SIGMUND FREUD

The Psychoanalytic Theory is the

personality theory, which is based on


the notion that an individual gets
motivated more by unseen forces that
are controlled by the conscious and
the rational thought.

According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality


development, there are two basic factors which drive an individual and

help in shaping his/her personality.

These two basic drivers are love and aggression which have a direct
impact on what an individual does and thinks. According to Freud, love
and aggression have a direct control on our minds and thoughts.

Freud referred to Love and Aggression as “Eros” and “Thanatos”


respectively.

“Eros” refers to intimate and passionate love between two partners. It is


often defined as a kind of madness which one experiences for his/her
partner.

“Thanatos” was a figure in Greek mythology, though he never really


existed as a person. Thanatos symbolizes death.

Freud believed that Eros represents an individual’s instinct to survive.


Eros refers to an individual’s determination to live, where sex is the major
driving force. Thanatos on the other hand represents aggression which
ultimately leads to death.

According to Freud, an individual’s mind has a fixed amount of


desire towards sexual activity, often called as libido ( sexual


instinct or erotic desire and pleasure 'sexual drive'). The libido
is part of the id and is the driving force of all behavior.

An adult personality generally has three determinants: Id, Ego


and Super Ego
Sigmund Freud is closely related to the psychoanalytic
theory. According to him, the human behavior is formed
through an interaction between three components of the
mind, i.e. Id, Ego and Super Ego.
ID: Id is the primitive part of the mind that seeks immediate gratification
of biological or instinctual needs. The biological needs are the basic
physical needs and while the instinctual needs are the natural or
unlearned needs, such as hunger, thirst, sex, etc. Id is the unconscious
part of the mind; that act instantaneously without giving much thought
to what is right and what is wrong.

Example: A hungry baby cry until he was fed.


EGO: Ego is the logical and the conscious part of the mind which is
associated with the reality principle. This means it balances the demands of
Id and super-ego in the context of real life situations. Ego is conscious and
hence keep a check on Id through a proper reasoning of an external
environment.

Example: Clifford wanted to borrow his brother's laptop but knew his brother
would be upset if he took it without asking, so he asked his brother if he
could use it.
SUPEREGO: The Super-Ego is related to the social or the moral values that an
individual inculcates as he matures. It acts as an ethical constraint on behavior and
helps an individual to develop his conscience. As the individual grows in the society,
he learns the cultural values and the norms of the society which help him to
differentiate between right and wrong.

Example: Sarah knew she could steal the supplies from work and no one would
know about it. She also knew that stealing was wrong, so she decided not to take
any- thing even though she probably wouldn't get caught.
THE MOST IMPACTFUL IDEA PUT FORTH BY FREUD
WAS HIS MODEL OF THE HUMAN MIND. HIS MODEL
DIVIDES THE MIND INTO THREE LAYERS, OR
REGIONS:

Conscious
Preconscious
Uncounscious

CONSCIOUS: This is where our current thoughts,


feelings, and focus live;

PRECONSCIOUS (sometimes called the subconscious):


This is the home of everything we can recall or retrieve
from our memory;

UNCONSCIOUS: At the deepest level of our minds


resides a repository of the processes that drive our
behavior, including primitive and instinctual desires
(McLeod, 2013).

Freud believed these three parts of the mind are


in constant conflict because each part has a
different primary goal. Sometimes, when the
conflict is too much for a person to handle, his or
her ego may engage in one or many defense
mechanisms to protect the individual.
These defense mechanisms include:

REPRESSION: The ego pushes disturbing or threatening thoughts out of


one’s consciousness; Unsavory thoughts, painful memories, or
irrational beliefs can upset you. Instead of facing those thoughts,
people may unconsciously choose to hide them in hopes of forgetting
them entirely. That does not mean, however, that the memories
disappear entirely. They may influence behaviors, and they may
impact future relationships. You just may not realize the impact this
defense mechanism is having.
These defense mechanisms include:

DENIAL: The ego blocks upsetting or overwhelming experiences from


awareness, causing the individual to refuse to acknowledge or believe
what is happening; People in denial may block external events or
circumstances from the mind so that they don’t have to deal with the
emotional impact. In other words, they avoid painful feelings or events.
These defense mechanisms include:

PROJECTION: The ego attempts to solve discomfort by attributing the


individual’s unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and motives to another
person;

For example, you may dislike your new co-worker, but instead of
accepting that, you choose to tell yourself that they dislike you. You
start to interpret their words and actions toward you in the worst way
possible, even though they don’t actually dislike you.

DISPLACEMENT: You direct strong emotions and frustrations toward a


person or object that doesn’t feel threatening. This allows you to
satisfy an impulse to react, but you don’t risk significant consequences.

A good example of this defense mechanism is getting angry at your


child or spouse because you had a bad day at work. Neither of these
people is the target of your strong emotions, but your subconscious
may believe reacting to them is likely less problematic than reacting to
your boss.

REGRESSION: As a defense mechanism, the individual moves backward in


development in order to cope with stress. This type of defense mechanism
may be most obvious in young children. If they experience trauma or loss,
they may suddenly act as if they’re younger again. They may even begin
wetting the bed or sucking their thumb as a form of regression.

Adults can regress, too. Adults who are struggling to cope with events or
behaviors may return to sleeping with a cherished stuffed animal, overeat
foods they find comforting, or begin chain-smoking or chewing on pencils or
pens. They may also avoid everyday activities because they feel
overwhelmed.

SUBLIMATION: Similar to displacement, this defense mechanism involves


satisfying an impulse by acting on a substitute but in a socially acceptable
way. This type of defense mechanism is considered a mature, positive
strategy. That’s because people who rely on it choose to redirect strong
emotions or feelings into an object or activity that is appropriate and
safe.
For example, instead of lashing out at your coworkers during a stressful
shift, you choose to channel your frustration into a kickboxing class. You
could also funnel or redirect the feelings into music, art, or sports.
(e.g., channeling energy into work or a constructive hobby)

Finally, one of the most enduring concepts associated with Freud is his
psychosexual stages. Freud proposed
that children develop in five distinct
stages, each focused on a different source of pleasure:

First Stage: Oral—the child seeks pleasure from the mouth (e.g.,
sucking);

Second Stage: Anal—the child seeks pleasure from the anus (e.g.,
withholding and expelling feces);

Third Stage: Phallic—the child seeks pleasure from the penis or clitoris
(e.g., masturbation);

Fourth Stage: Latent—the child has little or no sexual motivation;

Fifth Stage: Genital—the child seeks pleasure from the penis or vagina
(e.g., sexual intercourse; McLeod, 2013).

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