This document summarizes Sigmund Freud's theory of the id, ego, and superego - the three parts of the psyche according to psychoanalytic theory. It discusses how Freud developed his structural model of the mind over time based on his clinical observations and theoretical revisions. The id represents basic instinctual drives, the ego regulates id impulses according to reality, and the superego incorporates moral standards and ideals from parents. The development of these structures is influenced by infantile sexuality and the resolution of the Oedipus complex during early childhood.
This document summarizes several theories of personality development. It discusses definitions of personality from various researchers and outlines five major theories: Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory which describes how humans are motivated to fulfill basic needs; Albert Bandura's social learning theory which proposes behavior is learned through observation and modeling; John Watson's behavioral theory stating all behavior is learned through conditioning and stimuli; George Kelly's cognitive theory that personality is explained by an individual's unique thoughts and interpretations; and John Bowlby's attachment theory examining the dynamics of long-term relationships.
Mod 30 classic perspectives on personalityTina Medley
This document provides an overview of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic perspective on personality. It discusses key concepts in Freud's theory such as the unconscious mind, psychosexual stages of development, and defense mechanisms. The document also examines Freud's model of the mind as consisting of the id, ego, and superego. Additionally, it evaluates some of the criticisms of Freud's psychosexual stages theory and discusses how his concepts relate to statements in a survey about personality.
1. The document discusses several perspectives on personality including Freud's psychoanalytic theory, Jung's analytical psychology, Adler's individual psychology, Erikson's ego psychology, Watson's behaviorism, and Skinner and Pavlov's contributions to learning theory.
2. Key aspects of each perspective are summarized such as their views on the structure of personality, abnormal behavior, research methods used, and therapeutic approaches.
3. Their merits and demerits are also evaluated in relation to scientific evidence and cultural considerations.
Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis and its fundamental assumptions include that unconscious factors motivate behavior, early childhood experiences shape personality, and unconscious motives and conflicts are central. His basic concepts include human nature being determined by unconscious drives, instincts being life instincts and death instincts, and the structural theory of personality comprising the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. Defense mechanisms like repression are employed by the ego to reduce anxiety from unconscious conflicts. Psychoanalysis aims to make the unconscious conscious through techniques like free association, dream analysis, and interpretation of transference.
1) Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalytic theory which proposed that unconscious drives influence human behavior and personality development. He described the id, ego, and superego parts of the psyche.
2) Psychoanalytic theory is relevant for marketers because consumer purchase decisions reflect personality traits. Consumers relate personality traits to products and brands.
3) Marketers can segment markets based on which parts of the psyche - id, ego, or superego - are dominant in influencing consumer behavior.
Mod 31 contemporary perspectives on personalityTina Medley
The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a 44-item questionnaire used to assess an individual across five broad dimensions of personality: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Respondents indicate the extent to which they agree with statements describing various traits and behaviors associated with the Big Five factors on a 5-point scale. The BFI aims to provide a comprehensive yet concise measure of an individual's standing on the major dimensions of personality.
This document provides an overview of concepts relating to the mind. It discusses historical perspectives on the mind and soul from ancient Greece and India. It examines why defining the mind is difficult and provides several definitions. It outlines key mental functions like thought, cognition, conation, affect, memory, imagination, perception, and judgement. It explores the concepts of consciousness, psyche, psychic apparatus, and Freud's topographical and structural models of the mind. The document presents information on these topics in a comprehensive but concise manner.
Personality refers to enduring characteristics that produce consistency and individuality. Psychoanalytic approaches view personality as motivated by unconscious forces. Freud's psychoanalytic theory proposed that personality is structured into the id, ego, and superego and develops through psychosexual stages from infancy through adulthood. Neo-Freudians like Jung and Horney rejected some aspects of Freud's theory. Trait theories seek to identify basic traits to describe personality, such as the Big Five traits. Learning and social cognitive approaches emphasize how personality develops from learned behaviors and cognitions. Biological and evolutionary approaches suggest important components of personality are inherited from temperament. Humanistic approaches view personality as uniquely self-actualizing with an inherent need for positive self-
This document summarizes several theories of personality development. It discusses definitions of personality from various researchers and outlines five major theories: Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory which describes how humans are motivated to fulfill basic needs; Albert Bandura's social learning theory which proposes behavior is learned through observation and modeling; John Watson's behavioral theory stating all behavior is learned through conditioning and stimuli; George Kelly's cognitive theory that personality is explained by an individual's unique thoughts and interpretations; and John Bowlby's attachment theory examining the dynamics of long-term relationships.
Mod 30 classic perspectives on personalityTina Medley
This document provides an overview of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic perspective on personality. It discusses key concepts in Freud's theory such as the unconscious mind, psychosexual stages of development, and defense mechanisms. The document also examines Freud's model of the mind as consisting of the id, ego, and superego. Additionally, it evaluates some of the criticisms of Freud's psychosexual stages theory and discusses how his concepts relate to statements in a survey about personality.
1. The document discusses several perspectives on personality including Freud's psychoanalytic theory, Jung's analytical psychology, Adler's individual psychology, Erikson's ego psychology, Watson's behaviorism, and Skinner and Pavlov's contributions to learning theory.
2. Key aspects of each perspective are summarized such as their views on the structure of personality, abnormal behavior, research methods used, and therapeutic approaches.
3. Their merits and demerits are also evaluated in relation to scientific evidence and cultural considerations.
Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis and its fundamental assumptions include that unconscious factors motivate behavior, early childhood experiences shape personality, and unconscious motives and conflicts are central. His basic concepts include human nature being determined by unconscious drives, instincts being life instincts and death instincts, and the structural theory of personality comprising the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. Defense mechanisms like repression are employed by the ego to reduce anxiety from unconscious conflicts. Psychoanalysis aims to make the unconscious conscious through techniques like free association, dream analysis, and interpretation of transference.
1) Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalytic theory which proposed that unconscious drives influence human behavior and personality development. He described the id, ego, and superego parts of the psyche.
2) Psychoanalytic theory is relevant for marketers because consumer purchase decisions reflect personality traits. Consumers relate personality traits to products and brands.
3) Marketers can segment markets based on which parts of the psyche - id, ego, or superego - are dominant in influencing consumer behavior.
Mod 31 contemporary perspectives on personalityTina Medley
The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a 44-item questionnaire used to assess an individual across five broad dimensions of personality: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Respondents indicate the extent to which they agree with statements describing various traits and behaviors associated with the Big Five factors on a 5-point scale. The BFI aims to provide a comprehensive yet concise measure of an individual's standing on the major dimensions of personality.
This document provides an overview of concepts relating to the mind. It discusses historical perspectives on the mind and soul from ancient Greece and India. It examines why defining the mind is difficult and provides several definitions. It outlines key mental functions like thought, cognition, conation, affect, memory, imagination, perception, and judgement. It explores the concepts of consciousness, psyche, psychic apparatus, and Freud's topographical and structural models of the mind. The document presents information on these topics in a comprehensive but concise manner.
Personality refers to enduring characteristics that produce consistency and individuality. Psychoanalytic approaches view personality as motivated by unconscious forces. Freud's psychoanalytic theory proposed that personality is structured into the id, ego, and superego and develops through psychosexual stages from infancy through adulthood. Neo-Freudians like Jung and Horney rejected some aspects of Freud's theory. Trait theories seek to identify basic traits to describe personality, such as the Big Five traits. Learning and social cognitive approaches emphasize how personality develops from learned behaviors and cognitions. Biological and evolutionary approaches suggest important components of personality are inherited from temperament. Humanistic approaches view personality as uniquely self-actualizing with an inherent need for positive self-
Carl Jung expanded Freud's theory of the unconscious to include a collective unconscious shared among all humans. This collective unconscious contains archetypes - common patterns and symbols representing human experiences like heroes and mothers. Jung also described extraverted and introverted personality types, as well as types that make decisions rationally through thinking or feeling, and irrationally through sensation or intuition.
The document discusses key concepts of psychoanalytic theory including anxiety, ego defense mechanisms, and early stages of development. It describes three types of anxiety: reality anxiety which is proportionate to real threats, neurotic anxiety which is the fear instincts will get out of control, and moral anxiety which is the fear of one's conscience. It also outlines several ego defense mechanisms used to cope with anxiety like repression, denial, projection, and rationalization. Finally, it discusses the three early stages of development in psychoanalytic theory: the oral, anal, and phallic stages.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. He studied under Jean-Martin Charcot and was influenced by his work with hypnotherapy. Freud went on to develop techniques such as free association and dream analysis. He proposed concepts including the unconscious mind, defense mechanisms, and the tripartite model of the psyche consisting of the id, ego, and superego. Freud published influential works such as The Interpretation of Dreams and established psychoanalysis as a school of thought, though some of his theories faced criticism regarding their scientific basis.
The document discusses several theories of personality including psychodynamic, trait, humanistic, and social-cognitive perspectives. It covers Freud's psychodynamic theories of the unconscious mind, id, ego, and superego. It also discusses traits, the Big Five factors, self-actualization, reciprocal determinism between behavior and environment, and research on the self.
Psychoanalytic theory unconscious mind.docDaryl Bambic
Freud proposed that the psyche is composed of three parts:
1. The id operates based on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of instincts like hunger and sex.
2. The ego develops to mediate between the id and reality. It operates based on the reality principle of delaying gratification.
3. The superego incorporates societal values and ideals, forming one's conscience which the ego must balance against the id.
This chapter discusses theories of personality from a psychoanalytic perspective and a humanistic perspective. It covers Freud's psychoanalytic concepts including the id, ego, and superego; psychosexual stages of development; defense mechanisms; and assessment of the unconscious using projective tests. It also discusses humanistic theories of personality including Maslow's concept of self-actualization and Rogers' concepts of unconditional positive regard and the self-concept. Additionally, it covers the trait perspective and use of personality inventories such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
The document summarizes several theories of personality including Freud's psychodynamic theory, trait theories, and neo-Freudian perspectives. Freud believed the mind is divided into the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. He proposed psychosexual stages of development and the id, ego, and superego structures. Jung emphasized the collective unconscious and archetypes. Adler focused on inferiority complexes and birth order effects. Trait theories described types and traits as dimensions of personality.
Analytical psychology Theories of Personality Carl JungGrace Bran
Carl Jung developed the concepts of the personal unconscious, collective unconscious, and archetypes. The psyche consists of the ego, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious. The collective unconscious contains archetypes - universal themes such as the mother, hero, and self. Jung described personality types as introverted/extraverted with thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuiting functions. His method of analysis included dream analysis, word association tests, and active imagination to understand a patient's unconscious and facilitate self-realization through integrating opposing forces. Critics argue Jung's concepts are difficult to empirically test and some concepts lack clarity due to ambiguity.
The document aims to provide a comprehensive view of psycho-dynamic model, its assumptions, historical background, Freud's contribution, causes of abnormality, and role and contribution of other contributors
The psychodynamic approach to therapy focuses on exploring unconscious thoughts and conflicts from a patient's past that may be influencing their present functioning. Therapists help patients gain insight into recurring themes and patterns in their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. Treatment involves free association, discussion of past experiences, transference, and examining defenses and resistance with the goal of resolving unconscious conflicts driving a patient's symptoms. A case study describes a man who developed PTSD after experiencing traumatic events in Israel and details his treatment using psychodynamic techniques.
Carl Jung believed that dialogue between the conscious and unconscious mind enriches people. He coined the term "individuation" to describe personal development involving a connection between the ego and self. Jung identified four main psychological functions: thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. He also distinguished between introversion and extraversion in people's orientations. Jung proposed a personal unconscious similar to Freud's, as well as a deeper collective unconscious containing innate archetypes shared between all people.
Freud believed that unconscious desires and meanings are often revealed symbolically through dreams, slips of the tongue, and other unintended acts. He proposed that the mind is divided into the id, ego, and superego. The id operates on the pleasure principle, the ego seeks to satisfy the id in realistic ways based on the reality principle, and the superego focuses on how we ought to behave based on social norms. Freud also described psychosexual stages of development and defense mechanisms that the ego uses to reduce anxiety, such as repression, regression, and rationalization.
this presentation is to show to everyone how do psyhoanalytic works or it explain how did sigmun freud describe the developmental growth of each person.
Psychoanalytic theory views human nature as deterministic and driven by unconscious motivations and instincts. Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis in the 1890s as a set of philosophical descriptions of human nature, a psychotherapy method focusing on unconscious factors, and a theory of personality development through childhood stages. Psychoanalysis asserts that early childhood experiences stored unconsciously can lead to adult emotional problems. The unconscious stores repressed memories and continues to impact behavior, revealing itself in slips of the tongue, dreams, and other leaks from consciousness. Film spectatorship provides an illusion of power that derives from identifying with the all-seeing camera.
Psycho analytical approach presentation, Freud, theoretical approach, psychiatryCelente French
1. Analysis of assumptions and approaches within the psycho-analytical approach.
2. Relating this theoretical framework in advanced psychiatric nursing science by arguing how this theory influences advanced psychiatric nursing science.
3. Identification of concepts and relevant terminology in psychiatric nursing science and synthesizing these concepts in order to develop a conceptual framework for advanced psychiatric nursing.
This document discusses Freud's dual-instinct theory of Eros and Thanatos, or the life and death instincts. It also covers three contemporary views of the unconscious - the Freudian, adaptive, and implicit unconscious. Key psychodynamic concepts are explained such as the id, ego, ego defense mechanisms, ego effectance, and object relations theory. Criticisms of the psychodynamic approach are also mentioned.
This is a content of PERSONALITY, FACTORS AFFECTING PERSONALITY & HUMAN BEHAVIOR. This content also explains important theories of personality in brief. I have prepared it for my Advance Nursing Practice presentation. Hope it will be helpful for Msc. nursing students.
Human psychology can be summarized as follows:
1. Psychology is the science of the mind and behavior, studying both conscious and unconscious phenomena as well as feelings and thoughts. It aims to understand individuals and groups to establish general principles.
2. The word psychology derives from Greek roots meaning "study of the soul". It refers to the academic study of mental processes and behavior.
3. Key areas of psychology include biological psychology which studies the biological bases of behavior; cognitive psychology which examines mental processes; developmental psychology which focuses on changes across the lifespan; and personality psychology which analyzes enduring patterns of thought and behavior.
Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis in the late 19th century. Some key tenets are that human behavior is determined by unconscious drives, especially from early childhood, and that bringing the unconscious into consciousness can help address mental health issues like neurosis. While Jung initially collaborated with Freud and supported psychoanalysis, he later disagreed with Freud's view of the unconscious and proposed the additional concept of a collective unconscious shared among all people. Freud's early work studied hysteria and the interpretation of dreams, and he later developed the structural theory of the id, ego and superego. Psychoanalysis has since been expanded upon and challenged but continues to influence understanding of the mind.
Carl Jung expanded Freud's theory of the unconscious to include a collective unconscious shared among all humans. This collective unconscious contains archetypes - common patterns and symbols representing human experiences like heroes and mothers. Jung also described extraverted and introverted personality types, as well as types that make decisions rationally through thinking or feeling, and irrationally through sensation or intuition.
The document discusses key concepts of psychoanalytic theory including anxiety, ego defense mechanisms, and early stages of development. It describes three types of anxiety: reality anxiety which is proportionate to real threats, neurotic anxiety which is the fear instincts will get out of control, and moral anxiety which is the fear of one's conscience. It also outlines several ego defense mechanisms used to cope with anxiety like repression, denial, projection, and rationalization. Finally, it discusses the three early stages of development in psychoanalytic theory: the oral, anal, and phallic stages.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. He studied under Jean-Martin Charcot and was influenced by his work with hypnotherapy. Freud went on to develop techniques such as free association and dream analysis. He proposed concepts including the unconscious mind, defense mechanisms, and the tripartite model of the psyche consisting of the id, ego, and superego. Freud published influential works such as The Interpretation of Dreams and established psychoanalysis as a school of thought, though some of his theories faced criticism regarding their scientific basis.
The document discusses several theories of personality including psychodynamic, trait, humanistic, and social-cognitive perspectives. It covers Freud's psychodynamic theories of the unconscious mind, id, ego, and superego. It also discusses traits, the Big Five factors, self-actualization, reciprocal determinism between behavior and environment, and research on the self.
Psychoanalytic theory unconscious mind.docDaryl Bambic
Freud proposed that the psyche is composed of three parts:
1. The id operates based on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of instincts like hunger and sex.
2. The ego develops to mediate between the id and reality. It operates based on the reality principle of delaying gratification.
3. The superego incorporates societal values and ideals, forming one's conscience which the ego must balance against the id.
This chapter discusses theories of personality from a psychoanalytic perspective and a humanistic perspective. It covers Freud's psychoanalytic concepts including the id, ego, and superego; psychosexual stages of development; defense mechanisms; and assessment of the unconscious using projective tests. It also discusses humanistic theories of personality including Maslow's concept of self-actualization and Rogers' concepts of unconditional positive regard and the self-concept. Additionally, it covers the trait perspective and use of personality inventories such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
The document summarizes several theories of personality including Freud's psychodynamic theory, trait theories, and neo-Freudian perspectives. Freud believed the mind is divided into the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. He proposed psychosexual stages of development and the id, ego, and superego structures. Jung emphasized the collective unconscious and archetypes. Adler focused on inferiority complexes and birth order effects. Trait theories described types and traits as dimensions of personality.
Analytical psychology Theories of Personality Carl JungGrace Bran
Carl Jung developed the concepts of the personal unconscious, collective unconscious, and archetypes. The psyche consists of the ego, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious. The collective unconscious contains archetypes - universal themes such as the mother, hero, and self. Jung described personality types as introverted/extraverted with thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuiting functions. His method of analysis included dream analysis, word association tests, and active imagination to understand a patient's unconscious and facilitate self-realization through integrating opposing forces. Critics argue Jung's concepts are difficult to empirically test and some concepts lack clarity due to ambiguity.
The document aims to provide a comprehensive view of psycho-dynamic model, its assumptions, historical background, Freud's contribution, causes of abnormality, and role and contribution of other contributors
The psychodynamic approach to therapy focuses on exploring unconscious thoughts and conflicts from a patient's past that may be influencing their present functioning. Therapists help patients gain insight into recurring themes and patterns in their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. Treatment involves free association, discussion of past experiences, transference, and examining defenses and resistance with the goal of resolving unconscious conflicts driving a patient's symptoms. A case study describes a man who developed PTSD after experiencing traumatic events in Israel and details his treatment using psychodynamic techniques.
Carl Jung believed that dialogue between the conscious and unconscious mind enriches people. He coined the term "individuation" to describe personal development involving a connection between the ego and self. Jung identified four main psychological functions: thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. He also distinguished between introversion and extraversion in people's orientations. Jung proposed a personal unconscious similar to Freud's, as well as a deeper collective unconscious containing innate archetypes shared between all people.
Freud believed that unconscious desires and meanings are often revealed symbolically through dreams, slips of the tongue, and other unintended acts. He proposed that the mind is divided into the id, ego, and superego. The id operates on the pleasure principle, the ego seeks to satisfy the id in realistic ways based on the reality principle, and the superego focuses on how we ought to behave based on social norms. Freud also described psychosexual stages of development and defense mechanisms that the ego uses to reduce anxiety, such as repression, regression, and rationalization.
this presentation is to show to everyone how do psyhoanalytic works or it explain how did sigmun freud describe the developmental growth of each person.
Psychoanalytic theory views human nature as deterministic and driven by unconscious motivations and instincts. Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis in the 1890s as a set of philosophical descriptions of human nature, a psychotherapy method focusing on unconscious factors, and a theory of personality development through childhood stages. Psychoanalysis asserts that early childhood experiences stored unconsciously can lead to adult emotional problems. The unconscious stores repressed memories and continues to impact behavior, revealing itself in slips of the tongue, dreams, and other leaks from consciousness. Film spectatorship provides an illusion of power that derives from identifying with the all-seeing camera.
Psycho analytical approach presentation, Freud, theoretical approach, psychiatryCelente French
1. Analysis of assumptions and approaches within the psycho-analytical approach.
2. Relating this theoretical framework in advanced psychiatric nursing science by arguing how this theory influences advanced psychiatric nursing science.
3. Identification of concepts and relevant terminology in psychiatric nursing science and synthesizing these concepts in order to develop a conceptual framework for advanced psychiatric nursing.
This document discusses Freud's dual-instinct theory of Eros and Thanatos, or the life and death instincts. It also covers three contemporary views of the unconscious - the Freudian, adaptive, and implicit unconscious. Key psychodynamic concepts are explained such as the id, ego, ego defense mechanisms, ego effectance, and object relations theory. Criticisms of the psychodynamic approach are also mentioned.
This is a content of PERSONALITY, FACTORS AFFECTING PERSONALITY & HUMAN BEHAVIOR. This content also explains important theories of personality in brief. I have prepared it for my Advance Nursing Practice presentation. Hope it will be helpful for Msc. nursing students.
Human psychology can be summarized as follows:
1. Psychology is the science of the mind and behavior, studying both conscious and unconscious phenomena as well as feelings and thoughts. It aims to understand individuals and groups to establish general principles.
2. The word psychology derives from Greek roots meaning "study of the soul". It refers to the academic study of mental processes and behavior.
3. Key areas of psychology include biological psychology which studies the biological bases of behavior; cognitive psychology which examines mental processes; developmental psychology which focuses on changes across the lifespan; and personality psychology which analyzes enduring patterns of thought and behavior.
Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis in the late 19th century. Some key tenets are that human behavior is determined by unconscious drives, especially from early childhood, and that bringing the unconscious into consciousness can help address mental health issues like neurosis. While Jung initially collaborated with Freud and supported psychoanalysis, he later disagreed with Freud's view of the unconscious and proposed the additional concept of a collective unconscious shared among all people. Freud's early work studied hysteria and the interpretation of dreams, and he later developed the structural theory of the id, ego and superego. Psychoanalysis has since been expanded upon and challenged but continues to influence understanding of the mind.
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. It includes understanding how humans and animals think, feel, and act. The document outlines the history of psychology from ancient Greek philosophers to modern approaches. It discusses major schools of thought like biological, behavioral, cognitive, and psychoanalytic perspectives. The branches and applications of psychology are also summarized, including areas like clinical, developmental, educational, and industrial psychology. Research focuses on topics like cognitive development, memory, and social/emotional development.
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. It includes understanding how humans and animals think, feel, and behave under different circumstances. Psychology involves exploring concepts such as cognition, emotion, intelligence, personality, behavior, and relationships through both empirical research and clinical practice. The document provides a brief overview of the history of psychology as a field and discusses some of its major approaches, branches, applications and research areas.
Theoretical orientation to human developmenteagles9984
This document discusses several classical and contemporary theories of human development in psychology. It begins by defining psychology and theories, and explaining that theories aim to describe and predict behaviors. It then outlines some major classical theories from the 17th-19th centuries from thinkers like Descartes, Darwin, and others. Contemporary theories discussed include behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, biological, socio-cultural, and evolutionary perspectives. The document emphasizes that no single perspective can fully explain human behavior on its own.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is an approach that emphasizes the systematic study of unconscious psychological forces that influence behavior and emotions. It focuses on the dynamic relationship between conscious and unconscious motivations. Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis, which uses concepts like the id, ego and superego to understand psychic energy and how it relates to early childhood experiences and internal conflicts. Modern psychodynamic theory continues to explore these unconscious dynamics and how they influence thoughts, behaviors, and relationships.
Personality psychology studies differences between individuals, including their formation of self-image, psychological processes, and reactions in various situations. Major theories of personality include psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behavioral, evolutionary, and social learning approaches. Key concepts in personality theories include Carl Jung's introversion-extroversion types, Sigmund Freud's id-ego-superego model of the mind, and B.F. Skinner's behavioral perspective that human behavior is shaped by environmental influences and consequences.
A FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ANALYSIS OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE S THE SCARLET LETTERGina Rizzo
This document provides a psychoanalytic analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter using Sigmund Freud's theories of the psyche. It first introduces Freud and his development of psychoanalysis, focusing on the concepts of the unconscious mind, repression of desires/memories, and the division of the psyche into id, ego and superego. It then analyzes the main characters in the novel - Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth - examining how their ids, egos, and superegos influence their behaviors and personalities, particularly in relation to repressed childhood memories and desires. The document aims to reveal the psychological states of the characters through this Freudian psychoanalytic lens
Psychoanalytic criminology examines criminal behavior through the lens of Freudian psychoanalysis. It looks at personality and the unconscious mind for motives behind crime. Criminal behavior is seen as resulting from maladjustment and dysfunctional personality. While psychoanalysis provides insights, its theories of the unconscious mind have also faced scientific criticism.
The document discusses Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler's psychoanalytic theories about the human mind and how they similarly and differently viewed childhood experiences, parenting, and dreaming as influencing personality development. It also examines key aspects of each theorist's perspective such as Freud's focus on sexuality, Jung's concept of archetypes, and Adler's emphasis on individuality and inferiority complexes. In conclusion, the document analyzes how these pioneering theorists contributed to modern understandings of personality psychology despite some disagreements in their theories.
A Critical Appraisal of Freud's Ideas on Man and Personality (pre-publication...Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak
This paper is the pre-publication work on Freud. In its published version the paper lost many vital information due to limitation of space. Since the paper has caught the attention of many researchers in Asia and Europe, I have uploaded the actual version of the paper before it went through editing. A more comprehensive analysis of Freud can be read in " Iqbal's Theory of Personality: A Contrastive Analysis with Freud" by Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak.
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Some key points about the history and methods of psychology include:
- Wilhelm Wundt is considered the founder of experimental psychology for establishing the first psychology laboratory in 1879.
- Structuralism and functionalism were two early schools that focused on discovering the structure of the mind and understanding thinking, motivation, and learning respectively.
- Methods of psychology include introspection, observation, experiments, surveys, and statistical analysis to understand, predict, and control behavior.
- There are many branches and applications of psychology such as developmental, abnormal, clinical, educational, and industrial psychology.
Shiva Kumar Srinivasan has a Ph.D. in English Literature and Psychoanalysis from the University of Wales, Cardiff (1996).
His thesis was titled 'Oedipus Redux: D.H. Lawrence in the Freudian Field.'
These clinical notes should be of use to both theorists and practitioners of psychoanalysis in the tradition of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan.
Modern psychology is divided into several subdisciplines focused on different models of behavior. New fields have emerged like industrial/organizational psychology examining the workplace, and health psychology studying how psychology factors influence illnesses. Environmental psychology researches how people react to their environments. Other new areas include counseling, school, forensic, and community psychology.
This document provides an overview of personality psychology and various theories of personality. It discusses major approaches including type theories, psychoanalytic theories, behaviorist theories, social cognitive theories, humanistic theories, and biopsychological theories. For each approach, it provides details on influential theorists and concepts. The document aims to give a broad introduction to the study of personality and different frameworks used to understand personality.
Biol 304 describe what that person did/tutorialoutletWestheadz
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The Enduring Scientific Contributions
of Sigmund Freud
JOHN E. GEDO Psychoanalysis as a Natural Science
The Freud Exhibition organized by the Library of Congress marks the centenary
of the birth of psychoanalysis. Its sole parent, Sigmund Freud, has been dead for
over sixty years—indeed, he was born before the American Civil War, relatively
1. Freud compares obsessive actions to religious practices in order to better understand both phenomena. He uses analogies as a way to structure clinical phenomena that had not been fully analyzed before.
2. Specifically, Freud argues that neurotic ceremonies constitute a private rendition of what is publicly available through religious practices. Both are preoccupied with ritual and ceremony, though religion can more easily subsume obsessional thoughts through social sanction.
3. Freud analyzes specific obsessive patient ceremonies and differentiates between obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions. He contends that studying neurotic ceremonies can provide insights into both clinical practice and theories of religion.
The document discusses several theories of personality, including psychodynamic, behaviorist, humanistic, and trait perspectives. The psychodynamic perspective focuses on unconscious conflicts from childhood, as proposed by Freud and his followers like Jung and Erikson. The behaviorist perspective sees personality as learned through conditioning and social learning. The humanistic perspective views personality as developing through self-actualization and having a positive view of human nature. Trait theories describe personality in terms of consistent traits that predict behavior across situations.
When psychology first emerged as a science separate from biology and philosophy, the debate over how to describe and explain the human mind and behavior began.
The different schools of psychology represent the major theories within psychology.
This document announces the winners of the 2024 Youth Poster Contest organized by MATFORCE. It lists the grand prize and age category winners for grades K-6, 7-12, and individual age groups from 5 years old to 18 years old.
The cherry: beauty, softness, its heart-shaped plastic has inspired artists since Antiquity. Cherries and strawberries were considered the fruits of paradise and thus represented the souls of men.
This tutorial offers a step-by-step guide on how to effectively use Pinterest. It covers the basics such as account creation and navigation, as well as advanced techniques including creating eye-catching pins and optimizing your profile. The tutorial also explores collaboration and networking on the platform. With visual illustrations and clear instructions, this tutorial will equip you with the skills to navigate Pinterest confidently and achieve your goals.
Hadj Ounis's most notable work is his sculpture titled "Metamorphosis." This piece showcases Ounis's mastery of form and texture, as he seamlessly combines metal and wood to create a dynamic and visually striking composition. The juxtaposition of the two materials creates a sense of tension and harmony, inviting viewers to contemplate the relationship between nature and industry.
Boudoir photography, a genre that captures intimate and sensual images of individuals, has experienced significant transformation over the years, particularly in New York City (NYC). Known for its diversity and vibrant arts scene, NYC has been a hub for the evolution of various art forms, including boudoir photography. This article delves into the historical background, cultural significance, technological advancements, and the contemporary landscape of boudoir photography in NYC.
Heart Touching Romantic Love Shayari In English with ImagesShort Good Quotes
Explore our beautiful collection of Romantic Love Shayari in English to express your love. These heartfelt shayaris are perfect for sharing with your loved one. Get the best words to show your love and care.
1. See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237306175
Id, Ego, and Superego
Article · December 2012
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-375000-6.00199-3
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Id, Ego, and Superego
Daniel K. Lapsley and Paul C. Stey
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To appear in V.S. Ramachandran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, 2nd Ed.
Elsevier. Publication date: 2011
Glossary
Eros One of the two classes of instincts that motivate behavior. It is described
as “life” instinct, the “preserver of all things,” incorporating the elements of
sexuality and self-preservation. This is in contrast to the opposing tendency to
reduce life to an inanimate state, or the “death instinct,” which is revealed by
aggression and sadism.
Erotogenic zones The zones of the body (oral, anal, phallic) that are
sequentially invested with sexualized energy (libido), and are hence the source
of autoerotic pleasure. The sexual instinct is thus a composite instinct, only to
become organized in the service of reproductive, genital sexuality upon
maturity.
Libido The name reserved for the sexual instincts.
Oedipus complex The libidinal cathexis of phallic erotogenic zone leads to a
desire for union and contact with the opposite-sex parent, and a concomitant
desire to displace the same-sex rival parent. The competition for the opposite-
sex parent engenders anxiety, insofar as the retaliation of the rival is feared
(“castration complex”). This is resolved by repressing incestuous desires, and
identifying with the same-sex parent, which is the foundation of superego
formation. Freud once suggested that the course of Oedipal development
between boys and girls was exactly analogous, but later formulations
postponed the resolution of the Oedipal conflict for girls until marriage and
childbirth.
Pleasure principle The motivating principle of behavior is the pursuit of
tension reduction, which is experienced as pleasure.
Primary process The workings of unconscious (id) processes. Instinctual
energy is freely mobile, and capable of displacement and condensation. In
contrast, secondary process, attributed to ego functioning, attempts to
postpone, revise, or otherwise deflect instinctual motivations.
Transference In the therapeutic situation, the (unconscious) incorporation of
the analyst in the internal conflicts of the patient.
Sigmund Freud divided mental life into three agencies or
“provinces,” id, ego, superego. The id is the oldest and most primitive psychic
agency, representing the biological foundations of personality. It is the
reservoir of basic instinctual drives, particularly sexual (libidinal) drives, which
motivate the organism to seek pleasure. The ego is a modification of the id
that emerges as a result of the direct influence of the external world. It is the
“executive” of the personality in the sense that it regulates libidinal drive
energies so that satisfaction accords with the demands of reality. It is the
center of reason, reality-testing, and commonsense, and has at its command a
range of defensive stratagems that can deflect, repress, or transform the
expression of unrealistic or forbidden drive energies. The superego is a further
differentiation within the ego which represents its “ideal.” The superego
emerges as a consequence of the Oedipal drama, whereby the child takes on
the authority and magnificence of parental figures through introjection or
identification. Whereas the id operates in pursuit of pleasure, and whereas the
ego is governed by the reality principle, the superego bids the psychic
apparatus to pursue idealistic goals and perfection. It is the source of moral
censorship and of conscience.
(I.) Freud in Context
Psychoanalysis is one of those rare intellectual achievements that had
the effect of radically transforming human self-understanding. Indeed,
Freudian notions have so thoroughly permeated human culture that the jargon
(if not the substance) of psychoanalysis is accessible to even the most
untutored observers of human behavior, so much so that the poet W. H.
Auden could write that for us Freud is not so much a person but rather “a
whole climate of opinion under whom we conduct our different lives.” By Freud’s own
estimation psychoanalysis effectively completed the intellectual revolution
begun by Copernicus, and advanced by Darwin, a revolution that undermined
human conceit regarding its putatively special and privileged position in the
cosmos and in nature. Whereas Copernicus displaced mankind’s planet from
the center of the heavens, and whereas Darwin showed that no comfort can be
taken in the idea that we are nonetheless above the forces of nature, Freud
completed the assault on human pretence by showing that even human reason
is not what it has been supposed, that human psychology is, in fact, besieged
and driven by irrational, unconscious motivations. Indeed, Freud’s discovery
of a hidden psychic reality that is beyond the pale of sensible consciousness
was thought (by Freud) to be an application of the same Newtonian dualism
that accepted the distinction between human sensory abilities (percepts) and a
3. 2
hidden physical reality that could only be apprehended by mathematics and the
armamentum of physical science. The Newtonian scheme was invoked by
psychoanalysis to advance an understanding of psychic life, an application that
hinges on the distinction between conscious and unconscious mental life. Just
as physics develops scientific techniques to apprehend a physical universe that
is beyond immediate human sensibility, so too does psychoanalysis attempt to
pierce hidden unconscious realities with its special clinical techniques.
Psychoanalysis, then, according to Freud, is to be counted among the natural
sciences; it is a specialized branch of medicine (with the caveat that medical
training gives no necessary expertise in psychical affairs), with mental life the
object of inquiry.
Although psychoanalysis shocked Victorian sensibilities, particularly
with its claims regarding unconscious mental dynamics and infantile sexuality,
it was grounded nonetheless in themes common to 19th century science. The
Freudian theory of instincts seemed at home in a culture that was getting used
to the ideas of Darwinian biology. Freud’s use of spatial models to locate
psychic structures was in keeping with efforts in neurology to localize brain
functions. And the mechanistic Freudian image of the psychological
architecture as an apparatus for channeling instinctual drive energies was not
out of step with the energy mechanics of 19th century physics. Yet, for all the
trappings of scientific positivism that Freud was wont to claim for
psychoanalysis, the Freudian project was met with considerable resistance, and
the history of the psychoanalytic movement is a history of a struggle for
academic, clinical, and popular respectability, a respectability that is still not
completely won. Freud himself was at pains to recount this struggle in a
number of histories, outlines, and encyclopedia articles. Although one aim was
to popularize the new science of mental life,
Freud was also keen to demarcate psychoanalysis from rival depth
psychologies (e.g., Jung, Adler), and to show that controversial psychoanalytic
claims were the result of careful scientific investigation of the positivist, natural
science kind. He would claim, for example, that the hypothetical entities and
forces of psychoanalysis were not different in kind from the hypothetical
entities and forces claimed in the ostensibly harder, more respectable sciences.
It will be of interest for our purposes to recount the early development of
psychoanalysis in order to set the proper context for considering Freud’s
account of the tripartite personality. The structural notions of id, ego, and
superego were rather late theoretical developments that can be understood
properly only in the context of prior theoretical revisions — revisions that
Freud would claim were forced upon psychoanalysis by the evidential warrant.
II. The Cornerstone of Psychoanalysis
Freud was drawn initially to the dynamics of depth psychology by the
inability of the neurological community to come to grips with the problem of
hysteria. Hysterics appeared to suffer a host of somatic and physical maladies
(e.g., motor paralysis, glove anesthesia) that had no apparent neurological
basis. One promising treatment was the use of hypnosis. Josef Breuer, a
medical colleague of Freud, claimed to have relieved the hysterical symptoms
of a female patient (“Anna O.”) by such means. In Studies on Hysteria (1895)
Breuer and Freud presented a series of case studies and theoretical articles on
the etiology of hysteria and the role of hypnosis in treating it. The authors
claimed that hysterical symptoms have a symbolic meaning of which the
patient had no conscious knowledge. Symptoms are substitutes for mental acts
that are diverted from normal discharge because the affect associated with the
mental processes becomes “strangulated” (as a result of trauma) and channeled
into physical symptoms (“conversion”). That is, a strong affect is prevented
from being consciously worked out in consciousness, and is diverted instead
into “the wrong path,” taking the form of somatic symptoms. Under hypnosis
this strangulated affect can be set free or purged (“abreacted”), allowed normal
discharge into consciousness, thereby leading to a removal of symptoms. This
treatment was called the cathartic method.
Moreover, patients, under hypnosis tended to recall “psychic
traumas” from a remote past, extending to early childhood, so that Breuer and
Freud could claim that hysterics “suffer from reminiscences.” When these
traumas are allowed expression in the hypnotic state, strangulated affect is
released and directed into normal consciousness. One sees in these studies,
and in the papers that followed the preliminary delineation of some of the
foundational notions of psychoanalysis. To observe that traumatic
“reminiscences” could be recalled only under hypnosis suggests that their
conscious expression is met with certain resistances (defensive repression).
These reminiscences, though resisted, continue to exert pathogenic effects (as
symptoms), which are suggestive of unconscious mental processes. [See
HYPNOSIS.]
Freud was soon to abandon the hypnotic technique for the good
reason that not all of his patients were amenable to hypnotic induction. In
addition, Freud observed that the amelioration of symptoms seemed to
depend more on the nature of the patient–analyst relationship. If this
relationship was disturbed, symptoms reappeared. This clinical insight was
later reformalized as transference love. Transference describes a phenomenon
4. 3
that emerges during the course of psychoanalytic treatment whereby the
patient comes to involve the analyst as a substitute for a past interpersonal
relationship, a finding that some consider being one of Freud’s great
discoveries.
The hypnotic technique was replaced by the method of free
association, a method that requires that patient to read off the content of
conscious experiences and memories without judgment or embarrassment.
The choice of this technique depends on the assumption of strict determinism
which holds that associated ideas and memories are not randomly yoked but
are instead determined by a dominant (and often pathogenically repressed)
trend of thought which is unconscious (but is causally active nonetheless).
Given the assumption that symptoms have sense and meaning, and are
substitutes for actions that are omitted or repressed, the task of the analyst was
to interpret the free associations in a way that successfully deciphered their
meaning, a meaning that was otherwise obscured by censorship. To distinguish
this technique from the cathartic method, Freud called this treatment
“psychoanalysis.” Freud claimed that the transition from catharsis to
psychoanalysis yielded two important novelties: the extension of
psychoanalytic insights to phenomena associated with normality, and the
discovery of the significance of infantile sexuality for understanding the
etiology of neuroses.
In The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) and in The Psychopathology of
Everyday Life (1901) Freud extended this notion of mental determinism to
include not just the symbolic character of neurotic free associations which of
necessity require analytic interpretation, but also the various parapraxes of
normal life (“Freudian slips,” accidental self-injury, and other putatively
“haphazard” acts) and dreams. These too are like neurotic symptoms in that
they express a meaning that can be deciphered by analytic interpretation. The
difference between normality and neurosis was not as great as had been
supposed. Indeed, the interpretation of dreams was to provide important clues
to the nature of the unconscious and the process of symptom formation.
Freud distinguished between the manifest and latent content of
dreams. The manifest content was simply the recollected dream, often bizarre
and strange. The latent content is provided by analytic interpretation. Latent
dream thoughts are distorted and condensed “residues” of the previous day.
They are arranged so as to allow pictorial representation and, through
“secondary revision,” are given a sense of coherence. The motivation for
dream formation is a repressed unconscious wish that seeks satisfaction (“wish
fulfillment”) in the form of the latent material of the dream. Dreams represent,
then, a disguised attempt at fulfillment of an unconscious wish that was denied
satisfaction. The attempt is disguised, that is, the manifest content is strange
and bizarre, because of the efforts of a restrictive, disapproving agency in the
mind (e.g., the ego). Dream censorship, according to Freud, points to the same
mental process that kept the wish repressed during the day. So, on the one
hand, there is an unfulfilled, repressed wish that is striving for expression. On
the other, there is a disapproving, censoring ego that is striving to repress it.
The result is a compromise formation that takes the form of dreams, in
normality, and of symptoms, in the case of neurosis. Dream formation and
symptom formation, then, are expressions of identical mental dynamics. Both
are compromise formations that reflect the conflict between unconscious
impulses (wishes) and the censoring ego. [See DREAMING.]
The second novelty revealed by the psychoanalytic method was that
the search for pathogenically significant traumatic experiences typically took
one back to early childhood. And these experiences were invariably a reflection
of a disturbance of infantile sexual life. This remains one of the most
controversial aspects of Freud’s theory. Infantile sexuality refers to the
sensations of pleasure that accompany holding, maternal caressing, and oral
and anal satisfactions. Freud’s use of the term sexuality is thus much broader
and more general than common use of the term. Freud claimed that the
development of human sexuality was diphasic. There is, first of all, an infantile
period where the sexual instincts are sequentially invested in different zones of
the body (“erotogenic zones”), and then a more adult period when the
component sexual instincts (oral, anal, phallic) are organized in the service of
genital, reproductive sexuality. Intervening between the infantile period and
adult period is a latency period of childhood where the sexual motivations are
diverted to other purposes (e.g., skill building, school work).
The sexual instinct is thus an organization of component instincts
that takes the adult form only at puberty, and it is decisive for understanding
the etiology of neuroses. This is particularly true when libido becomes invested
in the phallic region, which gives rise to the Oedipus complex (ages 2–5). The
Oedipus complex is foundational for the emergence of the superego and more
will be said about it below. Suffice it to say here that this emotionally charged
complex of family relationships is the source of the neuroses. As Freud noted,
normal individuals survive and master their Oedipal feelings; neurotics
continue to be mastered by them.
5. 4
To this point we have reviewed what Freud called the “cornerstones”
of psychoanalytic theory: the discovery of unconscious mental processes, the
theory of repression and of transference, and the importance of infantile
sexuality and the Oedipus complex for understanding neuroses. No one could
be called a psychoanalyst unless one accepted these tenets. Yet we are still far
from articulating the structural features of the personality (id, ego, superego).
This is best done by further recounting the evolution of his thinking on these
important constructs.
(III.) Evolution of Theory and the Emergence of the Tripartite
Personality
The division of mental life into that which is conscious and
unconscious suggests a topographical hypothesis, viz., that mental life can be
demarcated into psychic portions or regions. Unconsciousness is at once a
quality that can be attributed to a repressed idea or impulse, and also a region
or “province” (the “system Ucs”) to where the idea is banished. Consciousness
and its precursor (“preconsciousness”) too, was formulated as a psychic
province (“system Cs, Pcs”), and attributed to the workings of the ego. Psychic
conflict, then, was a matter of unconscious ideas, emanating from the system
Ucs, struggling against the repressive forces of the conscious ego. Furthermore,
unconscious and conscious processes are seen to follow different laws. The
Ucs consists of “instinctual representatives” or impulses that seek discharge.
These impulses are illogical (not subject to contradiction) and timeless (not
ordered temporally) and not oriented to reality. They are driven by the
pleasure principle. They are also characterized as primary process. This means
that wishful instinctual impulses are undirected and freely mobile, and
therefore could be displaced or connected to various objects. This is in
contrast to the Cs (Pcs), where secondary process is dominant. Secondary
process is a later developmental achievement associated with the ego. As a
reality oriented process it revises, censors or binds the discharge of instinctual
impulses.
Although Freud never abandoned the notion of primary and
secondary process, he did come to revise the provisional topographical model of
the psychic architecture as one involving “systems,” and also the dynamic
hypothesis that the unconscious was in conflict with the conscious ego. These
notions were revised in light of Freud’s clinical observation that his patients
were often unaware of the fact that they were employing certain resistances. If
the ego is responsible for repression but is also the seat of consciousness, then
it was inexplicable how one could not be conscious of one’s own resistances
and one’s own act of repression. Freud concluded that much of the ego, too,
must be unconscious. In other words, the unconscious does not consist
entirely of that which is repressed (although all that is repressed is
unconscious), a fact that makes the division of the psychic architecture into
systems Ucs and Cs (Pcs) less compelling.
The ego concept was further clarified as a result of revisions to the
instinct theory. Instincts arise from internal sources, and exert a constant force
or pressure demanding satisfaction. The relentless pressure of instinctual drive
energies makes it possible for the nervous system to remain in an unstimulated
condition (“principle of constancy”), and hence motivates psychic adaptations
so as to effect the satisfaction of internal needs. The pressure of an instinct is a
“motor” factor, that is, a demand for psychic work. The aim of an instinct is
gratification through tension reduction. The object of an instinct is anything
through which satisfaction can be achieved. The source of an instinct is a
somatic process experienced as a kind of “hunger” or “need.” Indeed, Freud
often described instincts as the “psychic representatives” of somatic processes.
In The Three Essays on Sexuality (1905) Freud identified the sexual
instincts as “libido.” Libido is both a quantitative and qualitative variable—
quantitative in the sense that it serves as a measure of the forces of sexual
excitation, qualitative in the sense that it can be distinguished from other kinds
of psychic energy. Psychoneurotic conflict could then be described as a clash
between sexuality and the various functions of the ego (e.g., reality-testing,
resistance, repression). However, in addition to libidinal (sexual) instincts,
Freud later identified a second group of primal instincts, called ego instincts. Ego
instincts subsumed the functions of self-preservation, repression, and all other
impulses that could be distinguished from sexual (libidinal) instincts. By
identifying a second group of primal instincts Freud could now characterize
psychoneurotic conflict as a clash between libidinal (sexual) and the self-
preservative (ego) instincts.
Matters are further complicated, however, by the pivotal paper On
Narcissism (1914). Here Freud argues that the sexual instincts are attached
originally to self-preservation, which is an ego instinct. The sexual instincts
detach from self-preservation only later when libido seeks external objects
(e.g., mother). Libido that cathects with external objects was called object
libido. Yet Freud observed that libidinal attachment towards objects (such as
mother) could be derailed. Instead of seeking an external object it was possible
to libidinally cathect one self. That is, rather than choose mother as a love
object, one chooses oneself. Libido could be apportioned, then, depending on
6. 5
the kind of object choice one made. Libido apportioned to oneself was called
“narcissistic” (or ego) libido, to distinguish it from the libidinal cathexis of
external objects (object libido). In Freud’s view the narcissistic libidinal
cathexis of the ego is the original state of things, and therefore the initial phase
of libidinal development was one of primary narcissism. It is from the stance of
primary narcissism that one seeks out interpersonal relations.
By 1920, however, in Beyond the Pleasure Principle Freud rejected the
dualism between libidinal instincts and ego instincts. In his view this
distinction is no longer tenable because narcissistic self-preservative instincts
were also libidinal. It would thus seem that all of instinctual mental life could
be reduced to the sexual instincts after all, a conclusion that would either
justify Jung’s monistic use of “libido” as a term denoting a generalized psychic
drive or vindicate those critics who accused Freud of pan-sexualism.
One solution to this theoretical problem was to group the libidinal
instincts as Eros, or the life instincts, the “preserver of all things,” and to
contrapose to the life instincts (Eros) a contrary instinctual impulse that seeks
to restore organic life to an inanimate state, which Freud called the death
instincts. Freud was led to postulate the existence of death instincts by his
observation that those who suffer from traumatic neuroses tend to repeat
traumatic dreams. The dreams of war neurotics, for example, seemed contrary
to the general case that dreams represent symbolic wish fulfillment. The
compulsion to repeat traumatic experiences appeared, then, to operate
“beyond the pleasure principle,” and to point toward an instinctual tendency at
odds with libidinal self-preservation.
The struggle of Eros and the death instincts can be observed at every
level of biology, in every particle of substance, even in molecular organisms.
Eros attempts to preserve life through combinations, and this to neutralize the
instinctual striving toward death. The two instincts can also fuse together
which results, at the psychic level, in sexual sadism. De-fusion can result in the
discharge of death instincts toward objects, which then takes the form of
aggression, destructiveness, or sadism. Masochistic tendencies result if the ego
is the object of discharge. Indeed, if it is possible for erotic libido to cathect
the ego and to result in a phase of primary narcissism, it must correspondingly
be possible for the death instinct to cathect the ego and result in a phase of
primary masochism, a possibility that Freud did not reject outright.
Freud’s account of the two classes of instincts, Eros (sexuality and
self-preservation) and death (aggression), allowed him to preserve a dualistic
classification of the instincts. The question now loomed as to how these twin
instincts interacted with topographical features of the mind, now that the
notions of “consciousness” and unconsciousness” no longer had any
straightforward implications for a structural depiction of mental life. This issue
would be taken up in Freud’s seminal work, The Ego and the Id (1923). In this
work Freud amends the structural theory to include three psychic provinces,
id, ego, and superego. He also describes how instinctual drive energies can be
transmuted economically among these structures, and how certain neurotic
conditions can be explained as a result of this hydraulic model of the mind.
(IV.) Id, Ego, and Superego
The mature structural theory largely replaces the ill-defined notions
of unconsciousness and the system Ucs with the “id.” The id becomes a
psychical province that incorporates instinctual drive energies, and everything
else that is part of our phylogenetic inheritance. The id operates unconsciously,
accords with primary process, and impels the organism to engage in need-
satisfying, tension-reducing activities, which are experienced as pleasure.
Within the id are undifferentiated elements that would later emerge
as the “ego.” Freud’s conceptualization of the ego and its functions show clear
lines of theoretical development. In early formulations it was identified with
the system Cs (Pcs), and known largely in terms of its repressive and self-
preservative functions, and for its putative opposition to things unconscious.
As noted above a clear change became evident in the paper On Narcissism,
where Freud argued not only that ego instincts were libidinal, but also that ego
functions were largely unconscious. Two further developments are evident in
this paper. First, the ego begins to be described not only as an impersonal
“apparatus” whose function is to de-tension the biological strivings of the
organism, or as a “device” for mastering excitations, but rather as a personal
self. A second development is Freud’s tentative hypothesis that ego
development entails the renunciation of narcissistic self-love in favour of the
idealization or aggrandizement of cultural and ethical ideals, which is
represented to the child by the influence of parents. This “ego ideal” becomes
a substitute for lost infantile narcissism at which time the child was his or her
own ideal. Freud goes on to suggest that perhaps a special psychical agency
emerges to observe the ego and to measure it by its ideal. This self-observing
agency, and the ego ideal, will later take the form of a third psychical province,
the superego.
7. 6
What is the nature, then, of ego and superego formation, as outlined
in The Ego and the Id? At the outset the psychic system is described as an
undifferentiated id-ego matrix. Topographically, a portion of the id lies in
proximity to the boundaries of preconsciousness and external perceptual
systems (system Pcpt), which brings the influence of the external world upon it.
The resulting modification results in the formation of the ego. Hence, the ego
is that part of the id that is modified as result of the perceptual system and by
its proximity and access to consciousness, although the ego itself, like the id, is
unconscious.
The ego takes on a a number functions. It commands voluntary
movement. It has the task of self-preservation, and must therefore master both
internal (id) and external stimuli. The ego masters external stimuli by becoming
“aware,” by storing up memories, by avoidance through flight, and by active
adaptation. Regarding internal drive stimuli, it attempts to control the demands
of the instincts by judiciously deciding the mode of satisfaction, or if
satisfaction is to be had at all. Indeed, the ego attempts to harness instinctual
libidinal drives so that they submit to the reality principle. If the id is a
cauldron of passions, the ego is the agent of reason, commonsense, and
defense. Yet the ego is never sharply differentiated from the id. Freud argues
that the “lower portion” of the ego extends throughout the id, and it is by
means of the id that repressed material communicates with (presses “up”
against the resistances of) the ego.
The nature of ego functioning is further clarified, and complicated,
by superego formation. One clue to understanding superego formation was
provided by Freud’s analysis of melancholia. He suggested that when a
personal (or “object”) relationship is “lost,” the lost object can be regained
nonetheless by “identification,” that is, the lost object is “set up again inside
the ego.” When the sexual object is given up, the ego is altered, insofar as the
abandoned libidinal object is now set up inside the ego. The ego incorporates
the object within itself (as an introjection), “identifies” with it, and thereby
builds up its structure or “character.” In this way an object cathexis is
substituted by an introjection. Freud suggests that perhaps the id can give up
its objects only by identifications of this sort, and that the ego can
consequently be considered a precipitate of abandoned object cathexes.
It was from this analysis of how the ego can be built up and altered
by identification that Freud found the theoretical foundation of superego
formation. He argued that the first identifications in early childhood would be
those that would have lasting and momentous significance in the sense that
here would be found the origins of the “ego ideal.” Moreover, the necessity for
making these identifications would be found in the triangular character of the
Oedipus complex.
For illustrative purposes consider the simple oedipal situation for
boys. The boy develops a libidinal attachment to mother while identifying with
father. Eventually, the erotic investment in mother intensifies and father now
comes to be seen as an obstacle or as a jealous rival. The boy desires to
possess mother but also to displace his rival, who is now viewed with some
ambivalence. Yet this engenders considerable anxiety insofar as the powerful
rival is capable of significant retaliation through the threat of castration.
Hence, the oedipal situation is untenable for the boy given the surge of
castration anxiety. The libidinal cathexis must be given up. Although many
complications are possible, some with pathological consequences, the standard
maneuver is for the boy to repress his oedipal desires for mother.
Yet the infantile ego is still too feeble to carry this out effectively.
Since the expression of oedipal desires is met with an obstacle in the person of
the boy’s father, one way of repressing these desires suggests itself: set up the
obstacle within oneself by intensifying one’s identification with father. In this
way the boy musters the wherewithal to carry out the required act of
repression, insofar as this identification is a way of borrowing the strength of
the powerful father. But, as we have seen, identification typically results in an
alteration of the ego. Indeed, the incorporation of father as a solution to the
Oedipus complex is so momentous that a new psychical agency emerges from
within the ego, the superego, which will thereafter retain the character of the
father. Furthermore, every act of identification results in a sublimation of
libido. Libido is “desexualized.” But this sublimation also means that the
aggressive (death) instincts are no longer bound to erotic libido—it is now
“defused,” set free, and no longer neutralized. Freud suggested that herein lies
the source of the cruel harshness of the dictatorial injunctions (“Thou shalt”)
of the superego—it lies in the pool of aggressive energies set free by the act of
identification and libidinal diffusion.
The superego is thus a precipitate of family life. It is an agency that
seeks to enforce the striving for perfection, as it holds out to the ego ideal
standards and moralistic goals. As a consequence the superego is the
“conscience” of the personality, and it can retaliate against the imperfections
of the ego by inducing guilt. Insofar as the superego is derived from the id’s
first object cathexis (in the oedipal situation), the superego remains close to the
id “and can act as its representative” (in contrast to the ego, which represents
8. 7
reality). And because the origin of conscience is tied to the Oedipus complex,
which is unconscious, the corresponding sense of guilt, too, must be
unconscious. Indeed, Freud asserts that the superego reaches down into the id,
and is consequently “farther from consciousness than the ego is.” This leads to
an interesting paradox that was noted by Freud. Because one is unconscious of
having irrational libidinal and aggressive desires, one is far more “immoral”
than one believes. But because the superego (and the guilt that it imposes as
punishment) is also unconscious, one is also more moral than one knows.
Superego formation, then and the ideals that it represents, allows one
to master the Oedipus complex. And because it emerged at a time when the
ego was still vulnerable, it retains a dominant position with respect to the ego.
Freud was keen to point out that the superego is that part of his theory that
expresses the “higher nature” of man. He argued that as children we knew
these higher natures in the person of our parents, “we admired and feared
them; and later we took them into ourselves” as introjections. And if religion,
morality, and sociality are held to be what is higher in mankind, these too find
their psychological origin in the workings of the superego. The religious
longing for a protective and nurturing God finds its origin in the fact that the
superego is a precipitate of our infantile longing for father. Our religious
humility in the face of a judgmental God is a projection of the self-criticism of
an ego that has fallen short of the ideals held out by the superego. With
development the injunctions of the father (which are introjected as the
superego) are supplemented by other moral authorities, which then fortifies
the workings of conscience and thereby intensifies the feelings of moral guilt.
And social feelings of all kinds are rooted in the kind of object identification of
which superego formation is the model.
In addition to representing that which is higher in human nature, the
superego is also implicated in a variety of pathological conditions. It is
implicated in a “resistance to therapeutic recovery,” since the prolongation of
neurotic suffering is a kind of punishment for failing to meet the exacting
demands of the superego. Melancholia results when the superego appropriates
the violence of aggressive instincts and directs them against the ego. Certain
kinds of obsessional neuroses (“tormenting” the object, as opposed to the
self), too, can be linked to the harsh reproaches of the superego.
It should be clear that the ego is besieged from two directions. It
must cope with the libidinal and aggressive drives of the id, from “below,” and
also the harsh moralistic and perfectionistic demands of the superego, from
“above.” The ego must further reconcile these contrary tendencies with the
demands of external reality. “Whenever possible,” Freud writes, “it [the ego]
clothes the id’s Ucs. commands with Pcs. rationalizations; it pretends that the id
is showing obedience to the admonitions of reality, even when in fact it is
remaining obstinate and unyielding; it disguises the id’s conflicts with reality
and, if possible, its conflicts with the superego, too.” Freud also likened the
ego to a man who struggles to check the superior power of a horse, to a
constitutional monarch who is ultimately powerless to frustrate the will of
parliament, and to a politician who too often “yields to the temptation to
become sycophantic, opportunist and lying.” One has recourse to
psychoanalysis when such a struggle batters the personality into neurosis.
V. Summary
One way to summarize Freud’s account of the tripartite personality is
to make explicit the metapsychological assumptions that have until now
remained only implicit. Freud’s topographical perspective is that the critical
determinants of human behavior are unconscious; emanating from a biological
province which he calls the “id.” The dynamic point of view is that these critical
determinants are instinctual drives, of which two classes can be identified:
Eros (sex, self-preservation) and the death instinct (aggression, sadism). The
economic point of view is that the “hydraulic” dispositions of these drive
energies among the psychic regions is a regulator of behavior.
VI. Selected Post-Freudian Developments
Although there are still many adherents of Freud’s classical theory, a
palpable development since Freud has been the proliferation of competing
psychoanalytic theories, all of which claim some support or other from the
many searching insight to be found in the vast Freudian corpus. The most
important post-Freudian development is a collection of related theories that is
denoted as the “object relational” school. Although these theories can be
cleanly distinguished on both obvious and subtle theoretical points, it is fair to
say that they share in common distaste for Freud’s emphasis on energy
dynamics as the foundation of human personality, and for his division of
personality into tripartite, evolutionary layers. They deny, for example, that the
human organism is at first asocial, convulsed by bestial instinctual passions,
embedded in primary narcissism, and only later to become social and
socialized. To picture the human person as one driven by libidinal and
aggressive energies is to liken it to a “centaur”—the mythological creature with
a human head affixed to the body of a beast.
9. 8
One objection to the “Centaur model” is that it is yoked to an
implausible notion of “instincts.” Freud suggested that human motivation can
be explained with reference to two instincts, sex and aggression. But sex is not
an instinctual impulse that exerts constant pressure but is rather like an
“appetite” that shows a measure of periodicity. Aggression is not even an
appetite, but is rather an ego reaction to a threat to the personality. And both
sex and aggression are aspects of personhood that are ineradicable from
interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, Freud’s notion that human
psychology is driven by the energies afforded by the struggle between life and
death instincts has been dismissed by some critics as mere “biological
mysticism.” [See AGGRESSION.]
A related criticism concerns Freud’s account of the ego. In Freud’s
theory the rational ego emerges from a portion of the irrational id, but only as
an impersonal apparatus or device for channeling drive energies and for
securing the de-tensioning of the organism. What Freud described is a control
system and not a personal self who is involved in motivated relationships from
the very beginning. When Freud describes the tripartite personality as
consisting of “provinces” that are “extended in space” he is describing a
material reality that is based on a biological model of localization, and not the
psychodynamic reality that whole human selves are formed in meaningful
relationships that begin at birth. Hence, object relations theory rejects the
Centaur model, rejects the instinct theory, rejects primary narcissism (and
masochism), and rejects the impersonal ego.
Yet the object relations approach is often thought of as a movement
that develops Freud’s own best object relational insights. The notion of
transference, for example, and the Oedipus complex of family relations, and
the account of the ego as an “agency” (as opposed to a “province”) would be
ready examples of object relational insights that counter Freud’s own
preoccupation with impersonal, biological energy mechanics. It is ironic that
the oedipal theory, which is generally considered to be that which is most
unpalatable about Freud’s theory, is actually the foundation of the keen object
relational insight—that personality is grounded in the nexus of family
relationships. Of all the psychic structures the superego is the only one to
emerge as consequence of interpersonal relationships. It comes to represent
the influence of family and societal institutions on the formation of
personality. Transference enshrines the view that the history of our experience
of interpersonal relationships provides us with a template by which we attempt
to manage our current relationships. Hence, the object relations approach
tends to focus on the agentic whole self (the “person ego”) whose personality
develops within the dynamics of complicated, meaningful relationships—and
the warrant for this conceptualization, too, is often to be found in Freud’s own
writings.
We noted at the outset that psychoanalysis has revolutionized human
self-understanding in this century. Yet, for all that, the theory is still very much
a product of 19th century conceptions of science. While one has cause to
question Freud’s reliance on outdated biological and physical science
metaphors, his mechanistic conception of energy dynamics and his
preoccupation with brain physiology and with localization, what will survive
are the psychodynamic features of his theory, and the clinical insights about
human personality that have given everyone a new vocabulary. Defense
mechanisms, ego, insight therapy, unconscious processes, the symbolic nature
of symptoms, dreams, parapraxes, and transference—these are notions that are
not far from even lay discourse. Indeed, some core Freudian notions such as
unconsciousness, and the localization of “psychic provinces” in the brain, are
being rehabilitated by recent developments in cognitive and social
neuroscience. Contemporary attachment theory has strong object relational
elements that bear resemblance to Freud’s theory.
Although it is not easy to divorce the clinical facts attributed to Freud
from the theories developed to explain them, especially when the probative
and epistemic status of the theory is at stake, it is fair to say that the
contemporary study of psychopathology and personality, the conduct of
clinical practice, and the way ordinary people confront themselves and others
would be very different were it not for Freud’s monumental, pioneering work.
When one adds to this the whole domain of “applied psychoanalysis”—the
extension of psychoanalytic insights for understanding the artistic process,
group psychology, esthetics, religious experience, and other cultural products,
then the justice of W.H. Auden’s elegy is apparent. Freud lurks wherever one
considers the human condition: a “whole climate of opinion under whom we
conduct our different lives.”
10. 9
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Gay, P. (1989). Freud: A life for our times. New York: Anchor/Doubleday.
Greenberg, J. R., & Mitchell, S. A. (Eds.) (1983). Object relations in psychoanalytic
theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Grunbaum, A. (1984). The foundations of psychoanalysis: A philosophical critique.
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Hassin, R. R., Uleman, J. S., & Bargh, J. A. (Eds.) (2005). The new unconscious.
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York, NY: Columbia University Press.
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