Sigmund Freud

The Psychoanalytic Approach

Early Years

1856-1939 Czechoslovakia Lived most of life in Vienna, Austria Began as a physician (neurologist) In seeing patients, began to formulate basis for later psychoanalytic theory Was working with nervous disorders In 1885 did a fellowship with Jean Martin Charcot who was focused on hysteria and the use of hypnosis

New Career and Practice

Started a new Psychology Practice Colleague Breuer used a talking method while patient was under hypnosis (Anna O.) allowing patient to retrieve from unconscious. the talking cure Freud eventually left out the hypnosis and simply talked to the patient encourage to discuss ideas, memories and feelings. Started using free association to avoid repression Called his new approach psychoanalysis

Instincts
Basic elements of the personality Life instincts: Serve purpose of survival
Libido: Pleasurable behaviors

Death instincts: Unconscious drive to death and destruction

Aggressive drive: Compulsion to destroy, conquer, kill

Levels of Personality
Conscious: Ordinary everyday meaning Preconscious: Between 2 layers
Memories of which we are not consciously aware, but can be easily called into consciousness

Unconscious: Instincts, wishes and desires that direct all behaviours Freud theorized a cycle in which ideas are repressed, but remain in the mind, removed from consciousness yet operative, then reappear in consciousness under certain circumstances which he attempted to create

3 Part Model of Personality

Id

Ego

Pleasure principle Instinctual Reality principle Mediator between id and superego Morality principle Conscience Ego ideal: Moral ideal for a behaviour to which a person should strive

Superego

Anxiety
Feeling of fear and dread w/o an objective cause
Reality: Fear of tangible dangers in the real world Neurotic: Conflict between id and ego Moral: Conflict between id and superego

Defense Mechanisms
Function: Used by ego to defend against anxiety Involves distortion of reality Operate unconsciously

Defense Mechanisms
Repression Denial Reaction Formation Projection Regression Rationalization Displacement Sublimation

Psychosexual Stages of Development

5 Stages Oral - Birth to 1 year, Id dominates, Mouth is pleasure center, State of total dependence on caregivers

Anal - Ages 1-3 years, External reality (toilet training)

interferes with gratification received from defecation, Learn to control id impulses

Phallic - Ages 4-5, Pleasure derived from genitals

Oedipus complex: Unconcsious desire of a boy for his mother, desire to replace his father, Castration anxiety Electra complex: Unconscious desire of a girl for her father, desire to replace her mother, Penis envy

Psychosexual Stages cont

Latency - Age 5-puberty, Structures of personality largely formed by age 5, Sexual instinct temporarily dormant Genital - Adolescence-adulthood, If no major fixations from earlier stages are present, the individual leads a normal life, Sexual energy finds acceptable outlets First 5 years of life determine adult personality Fixation: Portion of libido is stuck in 1 stage because of excessive frustration or gratification

Criticisms of Freud
Deterministic, negative view of human nature Flaws in case study approach Neglect of social factors in personality Emphasis on past to neglect of present and future behavior View of women Ambiguous concepts

Contributions of Freud
Contributed to empirical (looking at facts) study of psychology Role of unconscious in behaviour Role of childhood experiences Defense mechanisms

His Death

Heavy smoking and cigar addiction left him with painful mouth cancer last several years of life Died September 23, 1939 in England