It is generally agreed that western psychology and psychotherapy has been largely influenced by the theories of Moravian (now Czechoslovakia) born, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud’s theories are considered ground breaking yet controversial and supporters of Freud have described him as “psychology’s one man genius” (Ryle 1963 p. 324). Freud’s approach to understanding human behaviour and personality is referred to as Psychoanalysis.Freud noted that in order to practice Psychoanalysis one must assume that there are “unconscious mental processes…recognise the theory of resistance and repression and appreciate the importance of sexuality;” These beliefs all “…constitute the principle subject-matter of psychoanalysis” (Freud 1923 p145).
In the following essay these theories will be explored. The unconscious mental process that Freud referred to where not a new concept, Philosophers had discussed this theory years before, but what Freud attempted to do was discover a way to unravel these unconscious mental processes and find a way to try to interpret what is hidden.Freud’s original theory was based on the concept that the mind had 3 variable levels. The conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious and it was referred to as the model of Consciousness (Jacobs 2003). If we imagine the mind as a filing cabinet! Conscious thoughts are in full awareness, these feelings or thoughts are placed at the front. They can be easily read and tend to be logical, obeying the laws of reason.
Pre-conscious thoughts are rather like recalled memories such as phone numbers or names.These memories have been placed in an easy access file, you have to search for a while, but you’ll eventually find them! Unconscious thoughts are thoughts and feelings that have been forgotten, pushed to the depths of the filing cabinet, some are ancient and dusty; others so painful they are folded up tight and placed in a top secret file! The key to opening this file is what Freud attempts to discover through a “talking cure” (Freud 1895 as cited in Kahn 2002).The job of the psychoanalyst is to help the patient unlock this file when they feel safe to do so and with the analysts support, begin to interpret its contents. Freud was aware that if his theories where to be taken seriously he had to present Psychoanalysis as a science. A way of doing this was to create a model which incorporated his views and represent an almost tangible concept of the human mind.
This model became known as the model of personality and it was made up of 3 different parts or agents of the personality called the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego (Freud 1933 as cited in Kahn 2002).The ‘Id’ or otherwise referred to as ‘It’ or ‘I’ was based on the instinctual desire to seek gratification at all costs and immediately, this desire was called the pleasure principle (Eysenck 2000). The chaotic energy of the Id lacks in values or morals and lurks in the unconscious mind. The energy of the Id was called the life energy or the libido and Freud believed it to be largely sexual in nature (Jacobs 2003 p44). The second agent in the model is the Ego which develops around the first years of life; it is thought to be rational and acts as a mediator between the desires of the Id and the demands of the Super Ego.You could say that this is the reasoning adult part of the personality which restrains desires of the Id based upon the reality principle ie; ‘what would be a consequence of my actions? ’ Its domain lies within conscious thought processes (Bracegirdle 2011).
The Super Ego is our conscience, it persists in governing the belief of what it thinks to be right or wrong, it can be almost rigid in its views. The Super Ego develops throughout childhood and its ideals are usually introjections of parental commands or cultural beliefs.Guilt resides in the Super Ego and its thoughts are partly conscious and partly unconscious (Eysenck 2000). As Freud structured his theories around personality, he also looked at the energy that drove its functioning, also if there was a connection between the balance or unbalance of the personality and anxiety (Freud & Breuer 1895). According to Freud, the energy behind the human drive to survive and reproduce is sexual in nature and it was often referred to as the the life drive as well as Libido (Jacobs 2003 p44) and this can be found in the Id as previously described.The anger and destructiveness in our personality is fuelled by what Freud referred to as the death instinct or death drive (Freud as cited in Kahn 2002).
Freud’s theory behind the death instinct was mostly developed near the end of his life and it has been suggested that this theory was perhaps a result of his own experience of pain, loss and anger towards his terminal illness and the death of family members. Other influences may have been the experience of living in the time of the Great War and also his uncertainty towards life after death itself? (Jacobs 2003).Freud goes on to hypothesise that the outcome of how the energy of the life and death drive is filtered and used is largely determined by how we develop throughout childhood. Freud goes on to explore this in what was to be called psychosexual development theory (Jacobs 2003) Psychosexual development was seen in its time as a controversial theory and still is today according to some. According to Freud, sexual desire goes through five stages and begins at birth, most theories to date had pointed towards sexual desires starting from the onset of adolescence (Jacobs 2003).
The Oral stage from birth to around 18 months is when the Id is dominant in driving its pleasure ruling desires to fulfil its needs. This is referred to by Freud as the pleasure principle (Bracegirdle 2011). An infant will satisfy this need through oral stimulation; this can be achieved from suckling the milk from mother’s breast, sucking a thumb or exploring toys with the mouth. The anal period from 18mths to about three years enables the child to manipulate control through letting go or withholding of faeces!The reaction and response of the parent towards this will strengthen the development of the Ego (Bracegirdle 2011).
The Phallic stage lasts from the age of 3 to 6 years of age and the genitals become the main source of satisfaction. Freud goes on to suggest that boys and girls develop a desire for the same sex parent and this causes them conflict, envy and guilt. He refers to this complex as the Oedipus complex for boys and the Electra complex for girls (Eysenck 2000).The smooth passage through this stage is the balance of identifying with the parent and the actions of the parents themselves and the outcome affects the behaviour of the Super Ego. Freud suggests that at this stage most psychological problems develop (Bracegirdle 2011).
The latency period at age 7 to puberty, is a time when the child develops their recognition of who they are and what are their goals in life. “Children learn to feel for other people who help them in their helplessness and satisfy their needs for love”. (Freud1905 p145).The time of puberty and throughout adolescence is referred to as the genital stage and this sees the return of the Oedipus and Electra complex. This can be an emotionally challenging time for the adolescent and if earlier Oedipus/Electra conflicts where not diffused by balanced parenting this could impact on the outcome of future relationships and adult behaviour (Eysenck 2000). Freud’s theory of psychosexual development and the links of this development with hysteria or neurosis where developed through patient observations (Jacobs 2003, Kahn 2002).
Freud noticed a tension which he later concluded to be based around a fear which seemed to cause a person to repress desires and needs in order to stop the fear becoming reality this is referred to the reality principle versus the pleasure principle. It is believed that a person’s fear or anxiety stems from the unmet or unsatisfactory outcome of this need and this process is referred to as repression and denial (Freud 1926 as cited in Kahn 2003).The repressed thought or feeling is then places in the unconscious domain of the mind. This is where Freud believes a catalyst of unmet, unfulfilled energy gains force and then at some point explodes in an outburst of unusual, inappropriate behaviour, Freud referred to this as ‘somatic innervation’ (Freud 1895 p180). Freud noticed that the Ego somehow finds a way to defend itself from the anxiety of undesirable behaviour.
This coping strategy is referred to as the Egos defence mechanisms (Bracegirdle 2011).Some of the common Ego defences are; repression and denial as previously discussed; Reaction formulation, projection, displacement, rationalisation, sublimation, regression, introjections, identification and compensation (Cory 2009). Conclusion Freud’s theories have often been referred to as the origin of psychology and psychotherapy but criticisum over the years begs to differ. One of the many critiques has described Freud’s theories as the “most stupendous intellectual confidence trick of the twentieth century” (Medawar 1915 cited in Brunner 2001 p xxi).Freud’s biographer Ernest Jones (1964) observed that his theories where largely supported by observations made “from the couch” which makes Freud’s theories arguable in their scientific credibility. However Freud has been viewed over the last century, one cannot help admire his courage to openly explore the puzzling and sometimes in his opinion, erotic workings of the mind.
Freud’s theories incorporate a flavour of his bourgeois European upbringing, the destruction and grief of the Great War and the excitement of the industrial revolution (Kahn 2002).His theories also reflect his own struggle to surrender to the rigidity of his Jewish faith (Badri 1979). Freud refers to himself as “expected to feel myself inferior and an alien because I was Jew” (Freud 1925 as cited in Jacobs 2003 p7). This struggle to identify with his origin and his destiny reflects in his work as he strives to uncover a truth in order to create a system that would be accepted by his peers (Jacobs 2003). Freud’s contributions, however controversial have certainly brought up interesting questions and greatly contribute to the human search for truth and recognition.
