Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Strengths and weaknesses of freuds id ego and superego
Theory/concept of Freud
Freud psychodynamic approach theory
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Freud’s Mind Structure Theory
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a famous neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. One of his theories was that the mind is made up of three parts: the id, the superego, and the ego. According to Freud, the id is the evil demon on your shoulder; it represents your most primitive impulses, such as hunger, sex, and violence. The superego, on the other hand, is the innocent angel on the other shoulder. It decides what is morally right and wrong according to what society has taught the individual. The ego basically serves as a regulator between the id’s primitive urges and the superego’s moral ideals. It assures that the id’s needs are met without over-angering the superego. Although this theory may appear reasonable, it is based on hopelessly improvable premises and is thus useless for any scientific purposes.
John D. Mayer, an expert on emotional intelligence, stated that Freud’s structure of the mind is potentially useful “to organize sub-parts of personality such as traits […] and to communicate generally about personality” (Mayer 461). However, less than a paragraph later, he asks the question, “In an age where we know more and more about brain function, could the idea of separable psychological units, free floating apart from the brain, be utterly retrograde?” He is questioning as to whether the structure of the mind can be considered scientific, or whether it is simply backwards thinking. If Mayer is uncertain about whether this structure can be scientifically proven, how can he see it as being useful? Facts need to be strongly established before an idea can even be considered for usefulness. Also, it must be taken into consideration that psychology is the science of d...
... middle of paper ...
... New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1960.
Izenberg, Gerald, N. The Existentialist Critique of Freud: The Crisis of Autonomy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976.
Macmillan, Malcolm. Freud Evaluated: The Competed Arc. North-Holland: Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., 1991.
Mayer, John D. “Primary Divisions of Personality and Their Scientific Contributions: From the Trilogy-of-Mind to the Systems Set.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 31 (2001): 449-478.
PsychINFO. EBSCOhost. University of South Alabama Digital Library. 14 Nov. 2005 < http://web5.epnet.com.libproxy2 .usouthal.edu>.
Nuttin, Joseph. Psychoanalysis and Personality: A Dynamic Theory of Normal Personality. Trans. George Lamb. New York: Sheed & Ward, Inc., 1962.
Webster, Richard. Why Freud Was Wrong: Sin, Science, and Psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books, 1995.
Freud's perception of the human mind splits it into three separate sections: the id, the ego and the superego. The id is purely primal instincts; it is based on the mind's pleasure principle and is present in babies when they are first born. All the id wants is to have its needs fulfilled-no matter what the consequences. The ego is a balance; it works on the reality principle, and, while it works with the id to gain pleasure, it is constantly wary of the consequences. The superego is the id's opposite. Its main objective is to maintain morals, and it is the effective counter to the id. For instance, if the id wanted the person it inhabits to get some money, the superego would counter the id and make the person earn the money legitimately because stealing is wrong. The superego is split in two sections: the conscience and the ego ideal. The conscience differentiates between right and wrong, while the ego ideal works with morals instilled by society, such as prejudices. These three sections of mind balance each other in order to k...
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., Smith, R.E. (2004) Introduction to Personality. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Of the copious number of topics in the world today, nothing captivated Sigmund Freud’s attention like psychology did. Known as the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud laid the foundations for comprehending the inner workings that determine human behavior (1). Through his involvement with the hypnosis, dream analysis, psychosexual stages, and the unconscious as a whole, Freud began a new revolution that faced its own conflict but eventually brought the harvest of new knowledge and clarity to the concept of the mind.
Freud, Sigmund. New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. Ed. James Strachey. Trans. James Strachey. Standard. Vol. 22. London: Hogarth Press, 1964.
Freud, S., Strachey, J., Freud, A., Rothgeb, C., & Richards, A. (1953). The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (1st ed.). London: Hogarth Press.
I’ve learned about Freud and his eccentric theories countless times throughout my undergraduate career, which led me to be unenthusiastic about the Psychoanalytic Approach at first. I was astonished to realize that I enjoyed the lecture more than I expected to. I don’t agree with many of his ideas, and gravitate towards more contemporary theories. Nonetheless, I have respect and openness towards Freud because I understand how essential his ideas were to shape the field of counseling.
(1910). The origin and development of psychoanalysis. The American Journal of Psychology, 21, 181-218. Isaoglu, I.H, (2015). A Freudian psychoanalytic analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorene’s the scarlet letter. International Journal of Social Studies, 32, 499-511.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2013). Theories of personality (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage/Wadsworth.
Sigmund Freud created strong theories in science and medicine that are still studied today. Freud was a neurologist who proposed many distinctive theories in psychiatry, all based upon the method of psychoanalysis. Some of his key concepts include the ego/superego/id, free association, trauma/fantasy, dream interpretation, and jokes and the unconscious. “Freud remained a determinist throughout his life, believing that all vital phenomena, including psychological phenomena like thoughts, feelings and phantasies, are rigidly determined by the principle of cause and effect” (Storr, 1989, p. 2). Through the discussion of those central concepts, Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis becomes clear as to how he construed human character.
Stwertka, Eve. Psychoanalysis: from Freud to the Age of Therapy. New York: Franklin Watts, 1988. Print.
Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: Contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: Wiley.
Since their conception, Freud’s ideas about how our mental lives are organized were central to psychoanalysis until the mid 19th century. His thoughts about personality and development were the cornerstone of early psychoanalysis. However, Freud’s proposed structural model is not sufficiently robust to be consistent with Freud’s previous ideas about psychoanalysis. Specifically, if psychotherapy is a method to cure neuroses then the mental categories in the structural model are incompatible with classic psychoanalytic theory. Furthermore, the consequences regarding the very nature of human thinking and action arising from the structural model are inconsistent with observed human nature.
Hergehhahn, B. R. and Olson, M. H. (1999). An Introduction to Theories of Personality. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2013). 2,5. Theories of personality (10th ed., pp. 41-84,139-158). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
McAdams, D. P., & Pals, J. L. (2006, April). A new big five: Fundamental principles for an integrative science of personality. American Psychologist, 61(3), 204.