Psychoanalytic approach, • FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM, • NATURE VS NURTURE , • PAST EXPERIENCES VS PRESENT EXPERIENCES, • UNIQUENESS VS UNIVERSALITY , • EQUILIBRIUM VS GROWTH

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FOUNDATION OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychoanalytic approach:
Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis and the psychodynamic approach to
psychology. This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on
behavior. Freud introduced three basic structures in the anatomy of personality; the id, the ego and
the superego. Id according to Freud corresponds the earlier notion of unconsciousness.
 FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM
Free will Determinism
Free will is the idea that we are self-
determined; free to choose our behavior
Determinists believe that people’s actions are
totally determined by the external
(environment) and internal (hormones etc.)
forces operating on them
Those Psychoanalysts who believe in freewill argue that matters are more complicated. Most of
them accept that external and internal forces exist. However, they argue that people have free will
because each individual is nevertheless able to choose his/her own behavior within the constraints
of these forces. Determinists argue that it is impossible to predict human behavior without
deterministic approach. If determinism is regarded as not applicable to psychology, then
psychology is either a very different science from physics, chemistry, and so on, or it isn’t really
a science at all.
1. Sigmund Freud:
Free will Determinism
2. Carl Jung:
Free will Determinism

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3. Alfred Adler:
Free will Determinism
4. Karen Horney:
Free will Determinism
5. Erich Fromm:
Free will Determinism
6. Henry Murray :
Free will Determinism
7. Erik Erickson:
Free will Determinism
8. Gordon Allports:
Free will Determinism
9. Raymond Cattell:
Free will Determinism
Regardless of their position on the issue of free will versus determinism, most psychoanalysts
accept that heredity, past experience, and the present environment, all influence our behavior.

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 NATURE VS NURTURE
Nature Nurture
Nature refers to all of the hereditary factors
that influence who we are, from our physical
appearance to our personality characteristics.
Nurture refers to all the environmental
variables that impact who we are, including
our early childhood experiences, how we were
raised, our social relationships, and our
surrounding culture.
Difference between nature and nurture can be understood by the example of anorexia nervosa.
Mostly teen girls suffer from this disease in which they stop eating to get perfection and become
fatally slim. Holland, Scottie, and Treasure (1988; see A2 Level Psychology page 211) studied
anorexia in identical and non-identical twins. The concordance rate for identical twins was 56%
compared with 5% for non-identical twins (who are genetically less similar). This indicates a high
inherited factor, but it is not 100%. We can explain this in terms of the psychological factors that
trigger the disorder, such as troubled families or stressful life events. This is an example of nature
and nurture interacting.
1. Sigmund Freud:
Nature Nurture
2. Carl Jung:
Nature Nurture
3. Alfred Adler:
Nature Nurture

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4. Karen Horney:
Nature Nurture
5. Erich Fromm:
Nature Nurture
6. Henry Murray:
Nature Nurture
7. Erick Erickson:
Nature Nurture
8. Gordon Allport:
Nature Nurture
9. Raymond Cattell:
Nature Nurture
The most important conclusion with respect to the nature–nurture debate is that heredity and
environment are always both important. Research indicates that about 50% of the variation in most
adult characteristics is due to genetic factors.

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 PAST EXPERIENCES VS PRESENT EXPERIENCES:
Past experiences Present experiences
Past experiences are actually the memories
that effect our present and future behaviors
e.g. if a child is bit by a dog he might be
afraid of dog in his future life. Some
psychoanalysts believe that memories effect
our future behavior more than our
experiences.
Some people give preference to their present
life and try to make their future successful
and prosperous depending on their present
situation and ignoring their past experiences.
Some psychoanalysts believe that our
behavior depends more on present
experiences rather than memories.
1. Sigmund Freud:
Past experiences Present experiences
2. Carl Jung:
Past experiences Present experiences
3. Alfred Adler:
Past experiences Present experiences
4. Karen Horney:
Past experiences Present experiences
5. Erich Fromm:
Past experiences Present experiences

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6. Henry Murray:
Past experiences Present experiences
7. Erick Erickson:
Past experiences Present experiences
8. Gordon Allport:
Past experiences Present experiences
9. Raymond Cattell:
Past experiences Present experiences
Most of the psychoanalysts believed that both memories and experiences have equal contribution
in determining ones behavior.
 UNIQUENESS VS UNIVERSALITY
Uniqueness (Ego and super ego) Universality (Id)
People possess such unique personalities that
we cannot compare one person to another.
We can compare people's personalities and
categorize them.
Sigmund Freud introduced three basic structure in the anatomy of personality; id, ego and
superego. Id corresponds to the unconscious. Id is the powerful component that supplies all the
energy for the other two components. Id has no awareness of reality. Ego, on the other hand,
is the rational master of personality. It does not prevent id’s satisfaction but since ego works
between id and reality it tries to postpone id’s demands. Freud called our choices of right and
wrong, that we acquire from childhood, Super ego which consists of two parts; conscience

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(behaviors for which children are punished) and ego-ideal (behaviors for which children are
praised).
1. Sigmund Freud:
Uniqueness Universality
2. Carl Jung:
Uniqueness Universality
3. Alfred Adler:
Uniqueness Universality
4. Karen Horney:
Uniqueness Universality
5. Erich Fromm:
Uniqueness Universality
6. Henry Murray:
Uniqueness Universality
7. Erik Erikson:
Uniqueness Universality

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8. Gordon Allport:
Uniqueness Universality
9. Raymond Cattell:
Uniqueness Universality
 EQUILIBRIUM VS GROWTH
Equilibrium Growth
Equilibrium is the balance between id, ego
and superego. If a person is able to balance
his drives, he automatically gains an
acceptable personality. The goal, however,
remains largely the same: to characterize the
way people balance basic desires and
realities as they adjust to the world around
them.
When a person is not able to maintain the
balance between those three components of
personality during his growth patterns of
childhood, teenage etc. he suffers from
anxiety which is sometimes relieved through
dreams.
1. Sigmund Freud:
Equilibrium Growth
2. Carl Jung
Equilibrium Growth
3. Alfred Adler
Equilibrium Growth

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4. Karen Horney
Equilibrium Growth
5. Erich Fromm
Equilibrium Growth
6. Henry Murray
Equilibrium Growth
7. Erik Erikson
Equilibrium Growth
8. Gordon Allport
Equilibrium Growth
9. Raymond Cattell
Equilibrium Growth
 OPTIMISM VS PESSIMISM
Optimism Pessimism
Positive approach in life is optimism. Negative approach in life is pessimism.
Optimism/pessimism refer to broad, stable individual differences that are influenced by
interactions between environment and genetics. Early interest in dispositional (inherited
qualities of mind and character) optimism/pessimism arose from its role in self-regulation

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models, because our expectations drive our responses during goal achieving, especially when
we encounter obstacles. Dispositional optimism is associated with a wide variety of positive
outcomes, including better mental and physical health, motivation, performance, and personal
relationships. Dispositional pessimism leads to the opposite of optimism.
1. Sigmund Freud
Optimism Pessimism
2. Carl Jung
Optimism Pessimism
3. Alfred Adler
Optimism Pessimism
4. Karen Horney
Optimism Pessimism
5. Erich Fromm
Optimism Pessimism
6. Henry Murray
Optimism Pessimism
7. Erik Erikson
Optimism Pessimism

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8. Gordon Allport
Optimism Pessimism
9. Raymond Cattell
Optimism Pessimism
Most of the psychoanalysts believe that human behavior is more towards optimism than
pessimism.
 REFERENCES
 Duane p.schultz and Sydney Elle – theories of personality -11th edition(2017)

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