Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis Therapy Vs. Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Therapy Tracy Asencio Dr. Pam Cingel PSY 420 Theories of Personality 16 April 2014 Sigmund Freud and Albert Ellis are widely recognized as two of the most influential psychotherapists of the twentieth century. “It is argued that the striking differences in their therapeutic systems, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and psychoanalysis, respectively, are rooted in more fundamental theoretical differences concerning the essential nature of client personality” (Ziegler 75). This paper will discuss in detail, both Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytical Therapy and Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Therapy, as well as compare and contrast both theories. Sigmund Freud believed that adults seduced children and this is where their problems came up in adulthood. As for all things, many people did not agree with Freud’s theory. “Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight” (McLeod, “Psychoanalysis”). According to Freud’s Psychoanalytical Theory, there are three elements of personality the id, ego and superego. The id is an individual’s inner child. He believed everyone is born with the id. All humans when they are babies, according to Freud, are pleasure seeking and concerned with having their needs met. This is the original or unconscious personality. The ego is where decision-making occurs, judgments are made and memory is stored. Lastly, the superego contains the individual’s values, beliefs, and morals, which they get from their parents. According to Freud, women get their morals and beliefs from their mothers and men get it from their fathers. He also believes that... ... middle of paper ... ...s, feelings, and thoughts. However, Freud does this by resurfacing the unconscious to consciousness. While, Ellis’ theory focuses on what the client thinks rather than what they do. He believes that irrational thinking leads to irrational behaviour while Freud believes that childhood experiences have an affect on behaviour. Work Cited Cherry, Kendra . "Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development." About.com. 14 Apr. 2014. . Feist, Jess, and Gregory Feist. Theories of personality. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2014. McLeod, Saul . "Psychoanalysis." Simply Psychology. 2007. 14 Apr. 2014. . Ziegler, Daniel J. "Freud, Rogers, and Ellis: A Co." Journal of Rational-Emotive an 20 (2002): 75-91. 13 Apr. .
EYSENCK, page 475) Sigmund Freud developed a theory to explain psychoanalytic or psychodynamic theory he was the founder and practised as a psychotherapist and much of his work comes from self-analysis. Freud’s work suggests that early experiences determine adult personality; he identified five stages within the first five years of life. Freud believed that personality consisted of three main elements, The Id: Basic instincts present at birth (The pleasure principle)
Sigmund Freud is known as the founding father of psychology. If it wasn’t for Freud and his work psychology probably wouldn’t be around today (Javel, 1999). Although Freud had many followers there were some who didn’t agree with his work and found his work to be very controversial. There were also many who criticized his work, one of his most controversial and criticized work was his psychosexual stages of development and his believes about the famous “Oedipus Complex.” Psychoanalysis is the first known modality used to treat individuals with psychological disorders. Freud’s work was a foundation for many whether they believed in his work or not. From his work other psychologist
Freud’s theory is based on the idea that ones personality is derived from conflicts that stem from both our conscious and unconscious mind. To better understand how these conflicts arise he divided the mind into theoretical categories which include the id, ego, and superego.
Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 to Jewish Galician parents in the Moravian town of Pribor in the Austrian Empire (“Sigmund Freud” n. pag). During his education in the medical field, Freud decided to mix the career fields of medicine and philosophy to become a psychologist (“Sigmund Freud” n. pag). During his research as a psychologist, he conceived the Structural Model Theory, which he discussed in his essay Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The theory states that the human psyche is divided into three main parts: the id, ego, and super-ego (“Id, Ego, and Super-ego” n. pag). He concluded that the id was the desire for destruction, violence and sex; the ego was responsible for intellect and dealing with reality; and the super-ego was a person’s sense of right and wrong and moral standards (Hamilton, n. pag). Freud argued that a healthy individual will have developed the strongest ego to keep the id and super-ego in check (“Id, Ego, and Super-ego” n. p...
Initially, Ellis decided to become a psychoanalyst but most psychoanalytic institutes rejected novices who were not medical doctors (Corey, 2013). He located an analyst with the Karen Horney group who decided to train with him. Ellis completed a full analysis and practiced psychoanalytic therapy with a focus on the areas of personality assessment and marriage and family therapy. In the lat...
In all the psychology of the personality is difficult to understand, because trying to read what someone is thinking about you and your personality is a tough process. This was roughly and explanation into the view of Freud’s view of the id, ego, and superego and some of the psychoanalysis stages that come in the crazy world and studies of Sigmund Freud. Even though his views are not popular today some people still research them and think to themselves he might not be as weird as people told me he was.
The basis of this approach is that psychological factors play a major role in determining behaviour and shaping personality. Freud argued that personality is composed of three major systems the id, the ego, and the superego. The id (biological part of personality) is present at birth and consists of inherited instincts and all psychological energies. The id operates according to the pleasure principle, seeking to reduce tension, avoid pain and obtain pleasure. The ego (executive part of personality) is conscious part of the mind, the “real” us.
His research on children was lacking, as was his use of empirical studies, his research was male-dominated and also lacked universality. The theory of the id, ego and superego develops from birth into childhood; therefore, the use of case studies on adults and the lack of empirical study does not seem feasible enough to have developed this theory. First of all there is no guarantee that the memories of these adults in their childhood would be accurate, there was not any factual, re-testable data so it lacked reliability and validity, secondly each case and person’s experience is different and therefore cannot be used to determine the development of an entire population. Freud’s theory was further biased due to him overlooking social and environmental aspects, which prevent universality; he was a European man who researched other upper middle class Europeans whose everyday living and circumstances differed greatly from others in society.
“Psychological - or more strictly speaking, psychoanalytic -investigation shows that the deepest essence of human nature, which are similar in all men and which aim at the satisfaction of certain needs... [are] self-preservation, aggression, need for love, and the impulse to attain pleasure and avoid pain...” At its simplest form, this quote perfectly explains Sigmund Freud’s theory on human nature. Human beings, according to Freud, are in a constant state of conflict within themselves; trying to satisfy their animalistic instincts, while also maintaining a socially appropriate life. Freud termed these animalistic tendencies that we have, the Id. The Id is essentially our unconscious mind, it is the part of us that has been there since the day we were born and is what drives our life’s needs and desires. The Id simply aims to satisfy our sexual or aggressive urges immediately, without taking into account any further implications. On the other hand, Freud used the term, the Superego, to describe man’s conscience and sense of morality. It is the Superego’s job to keep the Id in check by combatting the desire to satisfy urges with the feeling of guilt or anxiety. Finally, the Ego, is the conscious representation of the constant battle between the Superego and the Id. It must work to satisfy human’s instinctual tendencies while taking into account their conscience and doing what is rational and acceptable. Freud argues that these internal process that are constantly at work in our mind are what shape humans to do the things that they do. Thus, he believes, the goal of human nature is to satisfy our basic aggressive and sexual desires while adhering to cultural and social standards.
From a Freudian perspective, human development is based on psychosexual theory (Wedding & Corsini, 2014). Psychosexual theory indicates that maturation of the sex drives underlies stages of personality development (Shaffer et al., 2010). It was Freud’s perspective that there are three components of personality (the id, ego, and superego) that become integrated into his five stage theoretical model. The id was the biological or drive component that is innate from birth. The sole purpose of the Id is satiate an individual’s internal drives (Wedding & Corsini, 2014). The ego is the conscious portion of our personality that mediates between our id and superego. Throughout development the ego reflects the child’s emerging ability to...
Sigmund Freud is best known for his development and use of psychoanalysis. The theory of psychoanalysis focuses on the concept of how our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and emotions play an active role in our daily lives. The id, ego, and superego are the three mental zones that encompass our psyche. Each zone has a specific function: The id functions on the pleasure principle; the ego on the protection of the individual; and the superego on protection of society. The degree of which each zone has been developed can be broken down and then analyzed. These three zones can be visualized by imagining a pie cut into three slices.
There have been many theorist in psychology such as Erik Erickson, Gordon Allport, and Raymond Cattell, among others. They have all made significant contributions to psychology and understanding human behavior. However, two theorist have distinguished themselves over the rest of them. Sigmund Freud is known as the father of psychoanalysis. He developed numerous theories to facilitate the understanding of the different stages humans go through. As well as Freud, Karen Horney also created her own theories. Her theories were relatively similar to Freud’s, however, they also have their differences. It is essential to have general knowledge of their background and to understand both of their theories before we begin contrasting them.
In examining the Freudian view of human development, the main characteristic of human development is one of a primitive and sexual nature. Freud defines the id as a unconscious part of the mind focused on the primitive self and is the source of the demands of basic needs. Freud explains that the mind of an infant consists only of the id, driving the basic needs for comfort, food, warmth, and love. In later stages of early development, as a child’s mind begins to grow, the ego is formed. The ego is defined as the connection between consciousness and reality that controls one’s thought and behavior. In late pre-school years a child begins to develop what is called a superego. At this stage values are internalized, and the complex connection between the id, ego, and supere...
Sigmund Freud was one of the original pioneers in the field of Psychology. The work that he accomplished throughout his lifetime laid a foundation for many theorists after him. The theorists that worked in Psychology, after Freud, were able to form their own thoughts, ideas, and hypotheses about the human mind after learning from his work. Sigmund Freud’s major contribution in the field of Psychology was his theory about the human psyche; which he called the Id, the Ego, and the Super-Ego. This theory was based on the human personality and its formation. Many of Freud’s analysis strategies became common practice in the field of Psychology and are still used today. Sigmund Freud will always be one of the most influential figures in the
Personality is an individual’s characteristic pattern of feeling, thinking and acting. Psychodynamic theories of personality view human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts (Myers & Dewall, pg# 572, 2015). These theories focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences. Psychodynamic theories are descended from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, which is his ideology of personality and the associated treatment techniques. Psychoanalysis attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. This theory also includes the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions. He proposed that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality. Freud’s historically significant psychoanalytic theory became part of the human cultural legacy.