Intro

:Throughouttime,anyscientifictheoryisconstantlyevolving.Differentevidenceisbeing
beingdiscovered,aswellastheuseofnewtechnologies.PeoplelikeSigmundFreudhavehad
alargeinfluenceonpresentdaystudies,butthatdoesnotindicatethathistheoriesarenot
extremelycontroversial.
EvenThoughFreudstheoriesaboutthehumanmindwere
extremelypopularduringthetwentiethcentury,astimeprogressedasignificantamount
ofquestionsaroseregardinghisstudies.

#1:Id,Ego,Superego
Id:t
wokindsofbiologicalinstinctswhichFreudcalledErosandThanatos.
Eros:
lifeinstinct,helpstheindividualtosurviveitdirectslifesustainingactivities
suchasrespiration,eatingandsex
Thanatos:deathinstinct,isviewedasasetofdestructiveforcespresentinall
humans,whenthisenergyisdirectedoutwardontoothers,itisexpressedas
aggressionandviolence
believedthatErosisstrongerthanThanatos,thusenablingpeopletosurvive
ratherthanselfdestruct
Ego
developsfromtheidduringinfancy.Theegosgoalistosatisfythedemandsof
theidinasafeasociallyacceptableway
Superego
developsduringearlychildhoodandisresponsibleforensuringmoralstandards
arefollowed
makeapersonfeelguiltyifrulesarenotfollowed
Freudusedthetermegostrengthwhichistheego'sabilitytofunctiondespitedueling
forces
Apersonwithgoodegostrengthisabletoeffectivelymanagethesepressures,while
thosewithtoomuchortoolittleegostrengthcanbecometoounyieldingortoo
disrupting.
AccordingtoFreud,thekeytoahealthypersonalityisabalancebetweentheid,the
ego,andthesuperego

#2:PsychosexualStages
VictoriansocietyinwhichFreudlivedandworkedwomen,inparticular,wereforcedto
represstheirsexualneeds
usuallyresultsinneuroticillnesses
retractedsexualhistoryofpatients
patientswishesanddesires,theirexperienceoflove,hate,shame,guiltandfearand
howtheyhandledthesepowerfulemotionswasveryimportanttohim
believedthatchildrenwerebornwithasexualurgeandtheyseekeddifferentformsof
satisfyingthisurgethroughdifferentstagesofchildhood
Tobepsychologicallyhealthy,wemustsuccessfullycompleteeachstage
Mentalabnormalitycanoccurifastageisnotcompletedsuccessfully
thepersonbecomesfixatedinaparticularstage

adultpersonalityisdeterminedbytheirchildhoodexperiences.
Stages:
Oral
Birthto18months
thechildiffocusedonoralpleasures(sucking).Toomuchortoolittle
gratificationcanresultinanOralFixationorOralPersonalitywhichis
evidencedbyapreoccupationwithoralactivities.
mayhaveastrongertendencytosmoke,drinkalcohol,overeat,orbite
hisorhernails
Anal
18monthsto3years
childsfocusofpleasureinthisstageisoneliminatingandretainingfeces
effectsofananalfixationduringthisstagecanresultinanobsessionwith
cleanliness,perfection,andcontrol
Phallic
3to6yearsold
pleasurezoneswitchestothegenitals
Freudbelievedthatduringthisstageboydevelopunconscioussexual
desiresfortheirmother.Becauseofthis,hebecomesrivalswithhisfather
andseeshimascompetitionforthemothersaffection
Latency
6yearsoldtopuberty
sexualurgesremainrepressedandchildreninteractandplaymostlywith
samesexpeers
Genital
Pubertyandon
adolescentsdirecttheirsexualurgesontooppositesexpeers,withthe
primaryfocusofpleasureisthegenitals

#3:DreamAnalysis
considereddreamstobethe
royalroadtotheunconscious
asitisindreamsthatthe
ego'sdefenses
areloweredsothatsomeoftherepressedmaterialcomesthroughto
awareness,albeitindistortedform.
Dreamsperformimportantfunctionsfortheunconsciousmindandserveasvaluable
cluestohowtheunconsciousmindoperates.
Twotypesofcontent
Manifest:whatthedreamerremembersandisoftenbasedoneventsthattook
placeduringtheday
latent:symbolicmeaningorunderlyingwish
Universalsymbolsofdreams
hehateddreamdictionaries
Freeassociation

youstartwithonedreamsymbolandthenfollowwithwhatautomaticallycomes
toyourmindfirst
Youcontinueinthismannerandseewhereitleads

Errors
:ThemanytheoriesthatFreuddevelopedregardingthehumanbrainallwerevery
rationalduringthetwentiethcentury.But,duetotheamountofsciencethatispresenttoday,
scientistscanconcludethatmanyofhistheoriesarenotnecessarilytrue.Freuddidnotconduct
anyscientificresearchallhisdatawaswhathemerelythoughtwascorrect.Thereisalsono
evidenceshowingthathetrieddifferenthypothesestohelpruleoutirrationaltheories.Freud
couldhaveignoredalldatathatwasagainstwhathethoughtandsolelyfocusedonwhathe
wantedtosee.Theamountofstudiesdonealsocouldhaveaffectedhisresultsduetothefact
thathemostlystudiedwomenduringavictorianera.Itwouldhavebeenmuchmorebeneficial
ifheconductedresearchondifferentgroupsofpeoplefromdifferentareas.

Conclusion
:SigmundFreudwasanastonishingpsychologistofhistimeandwasgreatly
admiredforhisworkonthehumanmind.EvenThoughhehadmultiplefollowerswhosupported
hiswork,theyallfailedtorealizethatFreudcouldhavebeenmakingupeverywordhesaid.
SigmundFreuddidnothaveanyscientificbasedresearchnordidheconductenoughdiverse
researchtofullysupporthisideas.Theamountofquestionsthatmodernscientiststhoughtof
regardingFreudstheoriesissomewhatexcusedbythefactthathistheorieshavelargely
impactedmanystudiesandpracticestodayregardingthehumanmind.

WorksCited
Cherry,Kendra."Id,Ego,andSuperego:Freud's3PartsofPersonality."AboutEducatiom.N.p.,
n.d.Web.19Feb.2015.
"DreamMoods:DreamTheories:SigmundFreud."DreamMoods:DreamTheories:Sigmund
Freud.N.p.,2June2014.Web.03Mar.2015.
Heffner,ChristopherL."Chapter3:Section4:Freud'sStagesofPsychosexualDevelopment."
AllPsych.N.p.,n.d.Web.03Mar.2015.