Sigmund Freud 's Psychoanalytic Personality Theory Introduction Personality can be defined as the difference in patterns of thinking and feeling in an individual. In most cases, the study of personality focuses on understanding differences in certain peoples’ characteristics, such as how social or irritable an individual is. The father of psychoanalysis is deemed to be Sigmund Freud. With time, Freud theory has been modified so that it can meet the present needs. His theory mainly focuses on the aspect of unconsciousness in the human personality. According to Freud, people often repeat their bad behaviors even though they are not willing to do so, or have a desire to stop those bad behaviors (Esterson 42). Freud believed that this was because …show more content…
The theory included the phenomenon of enjoying pain and sadism, which is all about finding pleasure in pain. Freud ascertained that the unconscious constitutes of three senses. These senses include the life instinct, the Eros, which initiates skill improvement in an individual and helps them to be better, successful, people. Eros plays a key role in improving an individual’s personality. Another instinct is the sex sense which brings about libido energy to individuals, and bodily pleasures, such as having a meal or having a good conversation. The third instinct is known as Thanatos which is a death instinct. This deals with pushing people towards death. The superego is always alert to subside the pressures of Thanatos, but ultimately the unconscious takes full control (Myers 84). From this brief introduction, this paper is going to explore the psychoanalysis theory of personality, its key components, and its relevancy to the modern culture. With his theory, Sigmund Freud was, …show more content…
According to Freud, personality is built from internal psychological forces. The theory provides an elaborative framework which describes human personality. Through the theory, new treatments were derived to help people in mental distress. Freud encouraged a more positive way to approach psychological distress so that even the mental illnesses themselves could be treated; many of the therapies that the theory suggested have helped to treat people with different psychological issues. Another strength of the theory is that it acknowledges the existence of a subconscious which has an impact on our behavior and not only superficial thoughts. The theory was an eye opener to health professionals of the time, by introducing insights into the human mind, and how it functions, the psychoanalysis approach became greatly important for dealing with psychological treatment (Langs 83). Many researchers claim that, even though the psychoanalysis theory has its strengths, the weaknesses outweigh them in that, from the start, this theory had no scientific evidence, only theoretical explanations. For example, the psychodynamic model explains why or what causes abnormalities in children but it lacks research evidence to back it up. Sigmund Freud based all his arguments in his own analysis. It is evident that psychoanalysis is mainly dependent on what the therapist
Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856, in Austria (?). His family moved to Vienna in 1860, and that is where Freud spent, mostly, the remainder of his life (?). Freud is considered the father of Psychoanalysis, the first acknowledged personality theory (?). His theory suggest that a person’s personality is controlled by their unconscious which is established in their early childhood. The psychoanalytic theory is made up of three different elements interacting to make up the human personality: the id, the ego, and the superego (?).
The data and observations are gathered from case studies of clinical practice in psychoanalysis, as well as from Freud's self-analysis. The key motivational forces are sex and aggression; the need to reduce tension resulting from internal conflicts. Personality is structured around three interacting components (id, ego, superego) operating at three levels of consciousness (conscious, preconscious, unconscious). Developmental emphasis is on fixation or progress through psychosexual stages; experiences in early childhood (such as toilet training) can leave a lasting mark on adult personality. Origins of disorders are unconscious fixations...
Personality is broad and intense subjects that people either understand or do not get it at all. Many people that study psychology also study different people and their own personal views on that person’s analysis. The views range from the founder or real first known one to study this subject Freud, to people that took his views and went in a different direction. Some of the more relevant psychologist is Skinner and Rotter who have taken personal psychology to greater depths and studies. All the people that study the personality of psychology have taken one another’s views and either agreed with them and added to it, or didn’t agree at all and made changes to make their own analysis, and everything between. As for Sigmund Freud he is the one who started it all with his studies of psychoanalysis. Most people think his view are absolutely out of line and incorrect, but after studying him more in depth, you will find that he was not that crazy as you might have thought. For example, in this paper you will come to find that personality and Freud’s views on it aren’t really that off point.
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, was the principle proponent of the psychoanalytic personality theory. Psychoanalytic personality theory is tells us that the majority of human behavior is motivated by the unconscious, a part of the personality that contains the memories, knowledge, beliefs, feelings urges, drives, and instincts that the individual is unaware, and that only a small part of our psychological makeup is actually derived from the conscious experience. The problem is our unconscious mind disguises the meaning of the material it contains. As such, the psychoanalytic personality theory is ver...
Over the years, people have wondered what goes on in a person's mind that guides them to meet their needs. Sigmund Freud developed a system of personality that boldly attempts to explain the course of personality and what was it origins. Freud theory assumes that one's personality is shaped and some powerful inner forces motivate one's behavior. According to Freud, personality differences commence from the different ways in which people deal with their underlying drives. By picturing a continuing battle between antagonistic parts of personality, Freud was able to develop three systems that make up the total personality. The three systems of personality are the id, ego, and the superego. If the three systems work together in harmony and unite together to form one complete organization, it enables one to create a positive transaction with the environment. If the systems are fighting with each other, one is said to be dissatisfied with himself or the world. By examining the ego, the id, and the superego, one should see how these three systems of personality play an important role in the development of one's personality. In doing so one should understand what conscious and unconscious, and the functions of the id, ego, and superego.
The psychodynamics theory which was introduced by Freud to understand the human mind and psyche, reached a new level in the continuous analysis from therapists. Psychodynamics originally has been explained as a study of various psychological forces that affect human behavior which is related to early experiences. It specifically discusses the connection between the conscious and subconscious motivations. The theory was further analyzed and developed by Melanie Klein, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler. Based on the theory, the psychodynamic therapy evolved to help patients through psychoanalysis. With time other therapies like individual, group and family therapy evolved to offer treatment by understanding the present day complexities in more detail. The main aim of the therapy is self –awareness through identifying the various influences of many past events in life. The therapies are continuously evolving since it was introduced by Freud to help in solving a variety of psychological disorders within people.
Many psychologists throughout many years present theoretical approaches in an attempt to understand personality. Hans Eysenck’s approach of personality differed from that of Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytical theory of personality. Eysenck’s theory of personality relies on the scientific basis of biology in explaining human personality. Although Freud’s theories are intriguing to an open mind, Eysenck’s approach made measurable scientific sense. He relied on the use of trait and factor analysis, which is a statistical method. Freud relied on faith and his personal opinions based on observational research to reach the assumptions that set forth his theories (Feist & Feist, 2009). Eysenck and Freud did not agree on anything about understanding how and why the mind operates the way, it does.
Psychoanalysis is a theory that explores personality traits on the conscious and unconscious level. According to TheFreeDictionary.com, “Psychoanalysis is the most intensive form of an approach to treatment called psychodynamic therapy. Psychodynamic refers to a view of human personality that results from interactions between conscious and unconscious factors. The purpose of all forms of psychodynamic treatment is to bring unconscious mental material and processes into full consciousness so that the patient can gain more control over his or her life” (Psychoanalytic Treatment). Sigmund Freud is the founder of the Psychoanalysis Theory. He had many followers. One of those followers was Jung. As time went on, Jung’s perspective on personality
The theory from Sigmund Freud split the personality in three different subjects of the id, the superego and the ego. The humans personality bases in terms of conscious and unconscious forces, such as unconscious desires and beliefs. The explaination of the theory is holding commonly on childhood experience. The point of the Psychodynamic theory is on the inner struggle and conflicts. (www.psychologytoday.com)
We begin with our first founder, Sigmund Freud, of psychoanalysis and who is one of the most outstanding psychologists and whose contribution can hardly ever be underestimated. In this regard, Freud 's theory of personality is significant because his theory is changing views of psychologists as well as everyday people
The aim of this essay is to clarify the basic principles of Freud’s theories and to raise the main issues.
A person’s childhood, repressed memories, and biology are taken into account when labeling abnormalities in behavior. In this approach, psychoanalysis is used in diagnoses to interpret ones relationships, beliefs, and environment, but it is not scientific. The theory of whole-person psychology was founded by Sigmund Freud in the early 1900s when he discovered the psychoanalysis technique as he was treating his widely known patient, Anna O. In his discovery, his patient seemed to be curing each symptom as she talked through her situation. After each session, the symptoms would lessen until there was no problem at all. This was the beginning of
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.
Sigmund Freud was one of the trailblazers of modern-day psychology. After several years of clinical practice, Sigmund Freud became concern about finding a new way to cure his patients. He developed a new way of treatment, the psychoanalytic therapy based on the existence of the unconscious. According to his theory, our behavior is driven by sexual and destructive feelings. Freud mentions in his psychoanalytical theory of personality there are five stages of psychosexual stages structure of personality. However, the three main elements of a personality are id, ego and superego, which come together to generate intricate human behavior. The three essential parts of human psyche are listed below.