For a man that caused much controversy with his views but is still adored by psychologists and regular people alike, Sigmund Freud’s contributions to Psychology have had a massive impact on the way we learn the subject. In this segment, you will be taken through Freud’s psychoanalysis. So, what is psychoanalysis? It’s quite simple. Freud believed that an individual’s life was shaped by what they held in their unconscious. So naturally, if the individual was facing troubles, the problem could be traced back to the unconscious.
In most modern therapies, such as hypnotherapy and more, the ideas of regression originally suggested by Freud are applied- and are known to have very high success rates.
Structure of the mind
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory states that human behavior is a result of the interactions between the three parts of the mind- the Id, the Ego and the Superego.
Now, what are these components? I will take you through a simple explanation.
The Id is Latin for that. The Id is the part of the mind which that takes care of satiating needs of the human. This part of the mind is almost animal; it is simply concerned with fulfilling needs.
The Superego is the part of the mind that is concerned with moral obligation and the ‘conscience’. It is the part of the mind that learns what is right and what is wrong in different cultural and social contexts.
Freud suggested that the Id and the Superego are constantly in a state of conflict. This is where the Ego comes in. The Ego is the more rational part of the mind- it’s in the middle of the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. It maintains equilibrium between the demands of the Id and the Superego.
Now to understand the functions of these three constituents of the mind, we can take a simple example.
You are outside, at a party, let’s say. You see someone walk by with a purse that seems to catch your eye. You want that purse. Here’s what a conversation between your Id, Superego and Ego would sound like:
ID: I LOVE that purse. I want one. I’m going to go take it from her.
SUPEREGO: Are you insane?! You can’t just take someone’s bag like that! That is SO rude. That’s like stealing! Stealing is REALLY wrong.
ID: First off, it’s a purse not a bag. Get you fashion facts right. Besides, I like it and I want it. Hence, I WILL take it.
SUPEREGO: What part of you are NOT supposed to steal do you not get?!
EGO: Guys! Hold on. I agree with Id, the purse is really cute. But like Superego said, it isn’t right to steal. Here’s what we can do. We can walk up to her and ask her where she got her purse from and then we can go out and buy our own!
SUPEREGO:That way we don’t steal!
ID: That way we get the purse!
EGO: It’s a win-win(-win?) situation! Yay! Ego saves the day!
Hopefully, this little dialogue helps you understand the functions of the three parts of the
mind better!
Psychosexual stages of development
Per Freud, the stages of personality development are all governed by internal psychological conflict. These stages of development occur in a series and if the needs of a particular stage remain unfulfilled, the child remains fixated in that stage. As he believed, occurences in our childhoods shape the person we are to become in the future. Thus, using this as a basis, he coined the five “psychosexual stages of development”. These stages are determined by the child’s pleasure seeking areas, also called the erogenous zones. With each stage of development, the erogenous zone changes.
Stage 1: The Oral Stage (infancy – 1 years)
During the oral stage, the pleasure center for the child is the mouth. Freud attributed this to be the fact that during this time, the child develops a suckling instinct because of breastfeeding during this time period. However, if the needs of this stage are not fulfilled, the child may end up with habits such as nail-biting and thumb/finger-sucking in later stages of development.
Stage 2: The Anal Stage (1 year – 3 years)
During this stage, the pleasure area for the child is the anal region. During this stage, the child gains pleasure from excretion. Proper development in this stage is important as it is the stage in the child’s life in which they develop proper toilet training habits. If the child is trained harshly, they tend to become obsessed with cleanliness and order in their later stages of life. If trained carelessly, the child tends to become messy, unorganized and rebellious.
Stage 3: The Phallic Stage (3 years – 5 years)
During this stage, the child derives pleasure from their genitals. They begin to experiment with their genitals and try masturbating. During this stage children begin noticing differences in their anatomies. During this stage, the child develops Oedipus (boys)/Electra (girls) complex.
Stage 4: The Latent Stage (5 years – 12 years)
During this stage the child’s sexual tendencies fade away. They begin to notice the society around them and its norms, allowing for the development of the Superego. During this stage, the child also chooses appropriate role models.
Stage 5: The Genital Stage (12+ years)
During this stage the child’s sexual instincts resurface and they try to engage in sexual activities. If the child undergoes proper physiological and emotional development, it may ultimately lead to marriage and childbirth.
Although this theory was widely popular, it is no more believed to be valid.
Defense mechanisms
As we said previously, the ego is a mediator between the superego and the Id. Often, the Ego cannot satisfy the needs of its counterparts equally and so it makes use of tools- or ego defense mechanisms. These tools help justify the ego decisions. Some examples of defense mechanisms include-
- Denial: Refusing to acknowledge something in fear of its consequences or simply because it is too much for the individual to digest.
Example: Smokers refusing to accept the fact that smoking has an adverse effect on their health.
- Displacement: Gratifying and impulse with the help of a substitute.
Example: An abused child might in turn direct his anger towards animals, younger children and similar helpless individuals.
- Regression: Psychologically moving backwards in time.
Example: Throwing a tantrum like a child would, when things don’t go your way.
- Repression: Traumatizing events that are too harsh for the mind to handle are pushed to the unconscious.
Example: Child abuse victims tend to repress graphic and violent memories.
- Sublimation: Finding a substitute to satisfy an impulse in a socially accepted way.
Example: Channeling aggression into sports or dance. Channeling sadness into writing or music.
People tend to assume that defense mechanisms are unhealthy, but that is not the case. Defense mechanism are a manner of ensuring that the right need is satisfied or the individual does something which is socially acceptable.
Defense mechanisms best help individuals in need of a coping mechanisms to get through troubled times.
Life and death instincts
Freud believed that all instincts fell into one of two categories- life instincts or death instincts.
Life instincts or Eros were all instincts concerned with survival, pleasure seeking nature and reproduction. The energy created by one’s life instinct is called libido.
Death instincts or Thanatos, is the individual’s subconscious desire to die, which is inhibited by their own life instincts. When the energy of the death instincts is expressed, it is expressed in the form of violence and anger.
~ Mullai Manian Sampath (1733255) & Neha Nimbal (1733261)
The History and Systems of Psychology 