Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist, physiologist, psychologist and influential thinker.

He is regarded as one of the most influential minds of the 20th century.

His most accomplished professional work is being credited with being the founding father of psychoanalysis.

Freud developed the psychoanalytic theory which is a theory that explains human behaviour.

Freud believed that behaviour could be caused, as well as maintained, by early experiences that we had apparently forgotten.

He believed these experiences would be stored in the unconscious and were beyond our normal consciousness but would still have a profound effect on our behaviours.

He considered that our personality was shaped via the events in our childhood which had a great impact.

Freud was responsible for embedding within society many words in our vocabulary that we use today.

The introduction of the words through his theories are are now used commonly.

Words such as:

• Anal in reference to personality
• Libido
• Denial
• Repression
• Cathartic
• Freudian slip
• Neurotic.

Freud proposed there were three levels of the mind as part of his work and based on clinical investigations.

He used the analogy of an iceberg to describe the three levels of the mind.

Imagine an iceberg and on the surface is consciousness. This consists of thoughts that are the focus of our attention now.

The consciousness is the tip of the iceberg that we can see.

The pre-conscious consists of all which can be retrieved from memory.

The most significant region is the unconscious. Here lie the processes that are the real cause of most behaviour.

Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part you cannot see.

1. The conscious mind: Involves your immediate awareness and your thoughts or memories.
2. The pre-conscious: Comprises of memories or thoughts that although not immediately conscious can easily become so,
3. The unconscious mind: The memories that lies beyond normal awareness.

Sigmund Freud emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind. He considered that the unconscious mind governs behaviour.

A key element of Freud’s work was the goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious.

Later in his career he developed the concept of a more structural model of the mind.

These were hypothetical conceptualizations of important mental functions.

He argued that personality is formed through conflicts among three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego.

• The ID: which is the source of all ones wishes and desires. It exists at birth and it wants whatever it wants when it wants it and cannot cope with delay.
• The ego: this comes into a child’s life around the 1st year. The ego is partly conscious and is responsible for dealing with reality and satisfying the needs and desires. It matures as they grow older, it becomes stronger.
• The super-ego: is comparable to one’s conscience. The super ego compares your behaviour with what it believes it should be like.

He believed that each stage of a child’s development beginning at birth is directly related to specific needs and demands.

Freud was also considered controversial as his theory was rooted in a sexual base. One criticism with his theory of  overemphasis on sex drive, and also for failing to consider motives toward personal growth and fulfillment.

He believed that one would progress through each stage depending on the individual need.

Gratification at each stage was important so as not to become fixated on a particular stage. He claimed that becoming fixated at a stage could cause bad habits and/or present problems in one’s life.

1. Oral stage: Birth to 18 months
2. Anal stage: 18 Months to 3 Years
3. Phallic stage: 3 to 6 Years
4. Latency stage: 6 Years to Onset of Puberty
5. Genital stage: From Puberty On