Freud was seen as a celebrity. He was nominated for 2 nobel prizes, was very ambitious, but was also a cocaine addict. He believed that every problem could be solved through psychoanalysis. His ideas were seen as a challenge to the Enlightenment, as he saw sex as a central motivational factor for our actions.
Freud developed the Oedipus complex, which is penis envy by women. He thought that our "self-love" as a race, was a barrier to science in 3 ways.
- Stopped us accepting that the Earth wasnt the centre of the Universe
- Darwins theory of evolution
- The conscious brain was not in charge
This is the key to Freud: The unconscious mind. This is his legacy.
The mind is divided into 3 parts, which are all in conflict:
The id is the impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the "pleasure principle" and only takes into account what it wants and disregards all consequences.
The Ego acts according to the reality principle; i.e. it seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief.
The Ego comprises that organised part of the personality structure that includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the ego, although not all of the operations of the ego are conscious. The ego separates what is real. It helps us to organize our thoughts and make sense of them and the world around us.
"The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world ... The ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which contains the passions ... in its relation to the id it is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse; with this difference, that the rider tries to do so with his own strength, while the ego uses borrowed forces."
—Freud, The Ego and the Id (1923)
The Super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organised part of the personality structure, mainly but not entirely unconscious, that includes the individual's ego ideals, spiritual goals, and the "conscience" that criticises and prohibits his or her drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions.
The Super-ego works in contradiction to the id. The Super-ego strives to act in a socially appropriate manner, whereas the id just wants instant self-gratification. The Super-ego controls our sense of right and wrong and guilt. It helps us fit into society by getting us to act in socially acceptable ways.
Freud believed there were 5 stages of development:
Oral stage: Birth - 18 months (approx.)
Physical focus: mouth, lips tongue (sucking). Sucking is the primary source of pleasure for a newborn. Everything goes in the mouth. Sucking = food.
Psychological theme: dependency. A baby is very dependent and can do little for itself. If babies needs are properly fulfilled then it can move onto the next stage. But if not fulfilled, the baby will be mistrustful or and over-fulfilled baby will find it hard to cope with a world that doesn't meet all of his/her demands.
Adult character: highly dependent/highly independent. If baby becomes fixated at this stage Freud felt that he or she would grow to be an oral character. Mostly these people are extremely dependent and passive people who want everything done for them. However Freud also suggests that another type of oral character is the person who is highly independent and that when under stress the orally fixated person may flip from one type to the other.
Anal Stage: 18 months - 3.5 years (approx.)
Physical focus: anus (elimination). Until now the baby has had it pretty easy. Now baby is supposed to control bowels. Freud believed baby's sexual pleasure centred around the anus at this time.
Psychological theme: self-control/obedience. These things are not just related to toilet training but also the baby must learn to control urges and behaviours (terrible twos). What goes wrong here is either parents being too controlling or not controlling enough (Freud was a great believer in moderation).
Adult character: anally retentive (rigid, overly organised, subservient to authority) vs. anally expulsive (little self-control, disorganised, defiant, hostile).
Phallic Stage: 3.5 - 6 years (approx.)
Physical focus: penis. Freud believed that boys and girls both focussed on the penis. Boys: why hasn't she got one? Girls: why haven't I got one? Children become particularly interested in playing with their genitals at this stage.
Psychological theme: morality and sexuality identification and figuring out what it means to be a girl/boy. Children, according to Freud have sexual feelings for the opposite sexed parent at this stage (and deal with Oedipus / Electra complexes - basically erotic attachment to parent of opposite sex, but since these feelings are not socially acceptable, it may become hostility) and feel some hostility to same-sex parent. Boys experience castration anxiety and girls suffer penis envy. During this time emotional conflicts are resolved by eventually identifying with the same sex parent
Adult character: promiscuous and amoral/ asexual and puritanical
Latency Stage: 6 years to puberty --> (approx.)
The latency stage is the period of relative calm. The sexual and aggressive drives are less active and there is little in the way of psychosexual conflict.
Genital stage: post puberty
Physical focus: genitals
Psychological theme: maturity and creation and enhancement of life. So this is not just about creating new life (reproduction) but also about intellectual and artistic creativity. The task is to learn how to add something constructive to life and society.
Adult character: The genital character is not fixed at an earlier stage. This is the person who has worked it all out. This person is psychologically well-adjusted and balanced. According to Freud to achieve this state you need to have a balance of both love and work.
The battle between the Id, the Ego and the Superego can result in repression and defence mechanisms. All Defense Mechanisms share two common properties :
-They often appear unconsciously.
-They tend to distort, transform, or otherwise falsify reality.
In distorting reality, there is a change in perception which allows for a lessening of anxiety, with a corresponding reduction in tension.
Freud's Defense Mechanisms include:
Denial: claiming/believing that what is true to be actually false.
Displacement: redirecting emotions to a substitute target.
Intellectualization: taking an objective viewpoint.
Projection: attributing uncomfortable feelings to others.
Rationalization: creating false but credible justifications.
Reaction Formation: overacting in the opposite way to the fear.
Regression: going back to acting as a child.
Repression: pushing uncomfortable thoughts into the subconscious.
Sublimation: redirecting 'wrong' urges into socially acceptable actions.
The key to psychoanalysis is that you are hiding something from yourself. Freud claimed that he had found a way to deal directly with the unconscious, through hypnosis, pressure methods, free association and dreams. He also said that "we can never escape the unconscious". He also believed that sex and aggression would never be eliminated.
However, there have been various attacks on Freud: His findings are not falsifiable. Scientific predictions could be proven wrong, but Freud was so vague that it cannot be tested. There is also no proof that psychoanalysis works.
Neuroscience has also found that there are 3 different layers in the brain:
- Reptilian brain: Motor movement, rage, appetite
- Limbic system: hypocampus, amygdala, emotions
- Neo-cortex: language, high concepts, flight or fight reaction
Freud said "Poets and philosophers before me discovered the unconscious. I discovered the scientific method by which is can be studied"
Sources:
Previous A Level Psychology knowledge
HCJ Lecture
www.wikipedia.com
www.freudfile.org/
www.google.com (various websites on unconscious mind, psychosexual stages and defense mechanisms)
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