2. Sigmund Freud
Born 1865 in Freiberg, Moravia to Jacob, his wool-
merchant father. Mother was Jacob’s third wife.
Moved to Vienna in 1860 until 1938.
Vienna exciting place of opportunity and optimism. In
1867, Jews granted political rights and accepted into
society.
Freud assimilated, identifying as a German.
About the time he was 15, liberal political atmosphere
evaporated and anti-Semitism became virulent,
shattering assimilation
Graduated from University of Vienna medical school
with strong interest in research but quickly married and
realized only private practice would provide needed
financial support.
Published well received scholarly papers on
neurological disorders.
Outbreak of WW II forced him to flee to London,
where he died a year later in 1939.
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3. Freud’s theory is complex
because:
He kept modifying it as he went along
He never presented a comprehensive
summary of his final views
His theory is more comprehensive than must
since it has a number of aspects. For
example, he gives us:
◦A theory of motivation
◦A theory of thinking (which includes
dreaming, etc.)
◦A theory of personality development
(psychosexual theory)
◦A theory of mental structures (id, ego,
superego)
◦A theory of psychopathology and symptom
formation
◦A theory of psychotherapy
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4. Personality Theory According to
Freud
Personality is defined as follows:
◦ Our characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling,
and acting.
Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective proposed that
childhood sexuality and unconscious
motivations influence personality.
Freud called his theory and associated techniques
psychoanalysis.
Unconscious-large below the surface area which
contains thoughts, wishes, feelings and
memories, of which we are unaware.
Free association-the patient is asked to relax and
say whatever comes to mind, no matter how
embarrassing or trivial.
5. Personality Structure according to Freud
ID-a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy constantly striving to satisfy
basic drives to survive, reproduce, and aggress.
The id operates on the pleasure principle: If not constrained but reality, it
seeks immediate gratification.
Ego-the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according
to Freud, mediates the demands of the id, superego, and reality.
The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in
ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.
Superego- it represents internalized ideals and provides standards for
judgment (the conscious) and for future aspirations.
8. Freud’s Psychosexual
Stages
STAGE
Oral (0-18 months)
Anal (18-36 months)
Phallic (3-6 years)
Latency (6 to puberty)
Genital (puberty on)
FOCUS
Pleasure centers on the mouth-
sucking, chewing, biting
Pleasure focuses on bowel and
bladder elimination; coping
with demands for control
Pleasure zone is the genitals;
coping with incestuous sexual
feelings
Dormant sexual feeling
Maturation of sexual interest
9. Important Psychosexual Stage Theory
Vocabulary
Oedipus complex-a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings
of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
Castration anxiety
◦ Fear from boys struggle to deal with his love for mother
while knowing he cannot overcome his father physically
Identification-the process by which, children incorporate their parents’
values into their developing superegos
Fixation-a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier
psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved.
Penis envy
◦ Desire for male dominated advantages
Freudian slips
Free recall/free association
◦ Concept of a person having one word and freely
associating any word with it
