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It has been suggested that this article be merged into Psychoanalytic theory.
(Discuss) Proposed since December 2015.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 23 September 1939) is considered to be the founder of the
psychodynamic approach to psychology which looks closely at the unconscious drives that motivate
people to act in certain ways.
The role of the mind is something that Freud repeatedly talked about because he believed that the
mind is responsible for both conscious and unconscious decisions based on drives and forces.
Unconscious desires motivate people to act accordingly. The id, ego, and super ego are three
aspects of the mind, Freud believed to make up a person's personality. Freud believed people are
"simply actors in the drama of [their] own minds, pushed by desire, pulled by coincidence.
Underneath the surface, our personalities represent the power struggle going on deep within us". [1]
Contents
[hide]
1Religion
2Psychoanalytic Theory
o
2.1Id
2.2Ego
2.3Superego
4.1Oral Stage
4.2Anal Stage
4.3Phallic Stage
4.4Latency Stage
4.5Genital Stage
9Dreams
10External links
11References
Religion[edit]
Freud did not believe there is any supernatural force that affects the way we think or has preprogrammed us to behave in a certain way. His idea of the id explains why people act out in certain
ways, when it is not in line with the ego or superego. "Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength
from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires.".[2] Freud believed that people rely on religion
to give explanations for anxieties and tension they do not want to consciously believe in. The basis
of Christian Theology states, "God Created Humanity in his image" [3] but Freud argued that humanity
created God in their image. This reverses the idea of any type of religion because he believed that it
is constructed by the mind. The role of the mind is something that Freud repeatedly talked about
because he believed that the mind is responsible for both conscious and unconscious decisions
based on drives and forces. The idea that religion causes people to behave in a moral way is
incorrect according to Freud because he believed that no other force has the power to control the
ways in which people act. Unconscious desires motivate people to act accordingly. Freud did a
significant amount of research studying how people act and interact in a group setting. He believed
that people act in different ways according to the demands and constraints of the group as a whole.
In his book Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, Freud argued that the church and
organized religion form an "artificial group" which requires an external force to keep it together. In
this type of group, everything is dependent on that external force and without it, the group would no
longer exist. Groups are necessary, according to Freud in order to decrease the narcissism in all
people, by creating libidinal ties with others by placing everyone at an equal level. The commonness
among different people with different egos allows people to identify with one another. This relates to
the idea of religion because Freud believed that people created religion in order to create these
group ties that they unconsciously seek for.
Greek Mythology
According to Freuds many theories of religion, the Oedipus complex is utilized in the
understanding and mastery of religious beliefs. In Freuds psychosexual stages, he
mentioned the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex and how they affect children and
their relationships with their same sex parental figure. According to Freud, there is an
unconscious desire for ones mother to be a virgin and for ones father to be an all-powerful,
almighty figure. Freuds interest in Greek mythology and religion greatly influenced his
psychological theories. The Oedipus complex is when a boy is jealous of his father. The boy
strives to possess his mother and ultimately replace his father as a means of no longer
having to fight for her undivided attention and affection. Along with seeking his mothers love,
boys also experiencecastration anxiety which is the fear of losing his genitalia. Boys fear that
their fathers will retaliate and castrate them as a result of desiring ones mother. While the
Oedipus complex presents itself in males, females experience a different form of incestuous
rivalry known as the Electra complex. Girls become jealous of their mothers and begin to feel
desire towards their fathers. Females also experience penis envy which is the parallel
reaction to the male experience of castration anxiety. Females are jealous of their fathers
penis and wish to have one as well. Girls then repress this feeling and instead long for a
child of their own. This suppression leads to the girl identifying with her mother and acquiring
feminine traits.
Psychoanalytic Theory[edit]
Id[edit]
The id according to Freud is the part of the unconscious that seeks pleasure. His idea of the
id explains why people act out in certain ways, when it is not in line with the ego or superego.
The id is the part of the mind, which holds all of humans most basic and primal instincts. It is
the impulsive, unconscious part of the mind that is based on desire to seek immediate
satisfaction. The id does not have a grasp on any form of reality or consequence. Freud
explained that the pleasure principle is controlled by the id because it makes people engage
in need-satisfying behavior without any accordance to what is right or wrong. Freud
compared the id and the ego to a horse and a rider. The id is compared to the horse, which
is directed and controlled, by the ego or the rider. This example goes to show that although
the id is supposed to be controlled by the ego, they often interact with one another according
to the drives of the id.
Freud defined the id as the part of the mind "cut off from the external world, [that] has a world
of perception of its own. It detects with extraordinary acuteness certain changes in its interior,
especially oscillations in the tension of its instinctual needs, and these changes become
conscious as feelings in the pleasure-unpleasure series. It is hard to say, to be sure, by what
means and with the help of what sensory terminal organs these perceptions come about. But
it is an established fact that self-perceptionscoenesthetic feelings and feelings of pleasureunpleasuregovern the passage of events in the id with despotic force. The id obeys the
inexorable pleasure principle".[4]
Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud believed that
people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and
motivations, thus gaining "insight".
The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences,
i.e. make the unconscious conscious.
Psychoanalysis is commonly used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.
It is only having a cathartic (i.e. healing) experience can the person be helped and
"cured".
Ego[edit]
In order for people to maintain a realistic sense here on earth, the ego is responsible for
creating balance between pleasure and pain. It is impossible for all desires of the id to be
met and the ego realizes this but continues to seek pleasure and satisfaction. Although the
ego does not know the difference between right and wrong, it is aware that not all drives can
be met at a given time. The reality principle is what the ego operates by in order to help
satisfy the ids demands as well as compromising according to reality. The ego is a persons
"self" composed of unconscious desires. The ego takes into account ethical and cultural
ideals in order to balance out the desires originating in the id. Although both the id and the
ego are unconscious, the ego has close contact with the perceptual system. The ego has the
function of self-preservation, which is why it has the ability to control the instinctual demands
from the id.
"The ego is first and foremost a bodily ego; it is not merely a surface entity, but is itself the
projection of a surface. If we wish to find an anatomical analogy for it we can best identify it
with the cortical homunculus of the anatomists, which stands on its head in the cortex,
sticks up its heels, faces backwards and, as we know, has its speech-area on the left-hand
side. The ego is ultimately derived from bodily sensations, chiefly from those springing from
the surface of the body. It may thus be regarded as a mental projection of the surface of the
body, representing the superficies of the mental apparatus." [5]
Superego[edit]
The superego, which develops around age four or five, incorporates the morals of society.
Freud believed that the superego is what allows the mind to control its impulses that are
looked down upon morally. The superego can be considered to be the conscience of the
mind because it has the ability to distinguish between reality as well as what is right or
wrong. Without the superego Freud believed people would act out with aggression and other
immoral behaviors because the mind would have no way of understanding the difference
between right and wrong. The superego is considered to be the "consciousness" of a
persons personality and can override the drives from the id. Freud separates the superego
into two separate categories; the ideal self and the conscious. The conscious contains ideals
and morals that exist within society that prevent people from acting out based on their
internal desires. The ideal self contains images of how people ought to behave according to
societies ideals.
mind through meaning and purpose. The ranges of instincts are in great
numbers. Freud expressed them in two categories. One is Eros the selfpreserving life instinct containing all erotic pleasures. While Eros is used for
basic survival, the living instinct alone cannot explain all behavior according
to Freud.[10] In contrast, Thanatos is the death instinct. It is full of selfdestruction of sexual energy and our unconscious desire to die. [11] The main
part of human behavior and actions is tied back to sexual drives. Since
birth, the existence of sexual drives can be recognized as one of the most
important incentives of life.
Oral Stage[edit]
The first stage is the oral stage. An infant is in this stage from birth to eighteen months of
age. The main focus in the oral stage is pleasure seeking through the infants mouth. During
this stage the need for tasting and sucking becomes prominent in producing pleasure. Oral
stimulation is crucial during this stage; if the infants needs are not met during this time frame
he or she will be fixated in the oral stage. Fixationin this stage can lead to adult habits such
as thumb-sucking, smoking, over-eating, and nail-biting. Personality traits can also develop
during adulthood that are linked to oral fixation; these traits can include optimism and
independence or pessimism and hostility.
Anal Stage[edit]
The second stage is the anal stage which lasts from eighteen months to three years of age.
During this stage the infants pleasure seeking centers are located in the bowels and bladder.
Parents stress toilet training and bowel control during this time period. Fixation in the anal
stage can lead to anal-retention or anal-expulsion. Anal retentive characteristics include
being overly neat, precise, and orderly while being anal expulsive involves being
disorganized, messy, and destructive.
Phallic Stage[edit]
The third stage in psychosexual development is the phallic stage. This stage begins at 3
years old and ends when the child reaches six years of age. The phallic stage focuses on the
genitals as pleasure seeking areas of the body. Boys in this stage experience the Oedipus
complex while girls experience the Electra complex. In both cases the child develops
incestuous feelings for the parent of the opposite sex. Children tend to develop
characteristics of the same-sex parent during this stage. Fixation in the phallic stage has
different personality traits depending on ones gender. Males may take great pride in their
masculinity and their sexuality while women may become flirtatious and promiscuous. In
both instances, these personality traits are a sign of low self-esteem and self-worth. This also
leads to an Oedipal Complex.
Latency Stage[edit]
The fourth stage is the latency stage which begins at the age of six and continues until the
age of eleven. During this stage there is no pleasure seeking region of the body; instead all
sexual feelings are repressed. Thus, children are able to develop social skills, and find
comfort through peer and family interaction.
Genital Stage[edit]
The final stage of psychosexual development is the genital stage. This stage commences at
the age of eleven, lasts through puberty, and ends when one reaches adulthood at the age of
eighteen. The onset of puberty reflects a strong interest from one person to another of the
opposite sex. If one does not experience fixation in any of the psychosexual stages, once he
or she has reached the genital stage, he or she will grow into a well-balanced human being.
Dreams[edit]
The Interpretation of Dreams, was one of Sigmund
Freuds best known published works It set the stage for
his psychoanalytic work and Freud's approach to the
unconscious with regard to the interpretation of
dreams. During therapy sessions with patients, Freud
would ask his patients to discuss what was on their
mind. Frequently, the responses were directly related
to a dream.[15] As a result, Freud began to analyze
dreams believing that it gave him access to one's
deepest thoughts. In addition, he was able to find links
between one's current hysterical behaviors and past
traumatic experiences. From these experiences, he
began to write a book that was designed to help others
to understand dream interpretation. In the book he
discussed his theory of the unconscious. Freud
believed that dreams were messages from the
unconscious masked as wishes controlled by internal
stimuli. The unconscious mind plays the most
imperative role in dream interpretation. In order to
remain in a state of sleep the unconscious mind has to
detain negative thoughts and represent them in an
edited form. Therefore, when one dreams the
unconscious makes an effort to deal with conflict. It
would enable one to begin to act on them. There are
four steps required to convert dreams from latent or
unconscious thoughts to the manifest content. They
are condensation, displacement, symbolism, and
secondary revision. Ideas first go through a process of
condensation that takes thoughts and turns them into a
single image. Then, the true emotional meaning of the
dream loses its significance in an element of a