Introduction
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian Neurologist who found one of the most influential schools in psychology, Psychoanalysis. It is also known as the second force in psychology. Psychoanalysis gave a detailed account of human personality, structure of the mind, instincts, unconscious desires, and developmental stages. According to Sigmund Freud human behavior is influenced by their unconscious desires.
The Structure of Mind
Sigmund Freud viewed the structure of mind as that of an iceberg. He explained that the human mind is divided into three parts- Conscious, Unconscious and Sub-Conscious.
- Conscious part of the mind refers to all the things we are aware of at present
- Unconscious part of the mind consists of the repressed emotions, motives, instincts and thoughts of an individual
- Sub-conscious part of the mind refers to the memories and thoughts which we are not aware of right now but can become aware with a little effort
According to Freud conscious material is just the tip of the ice-berg rest larger part lies below which makes up the unconscious part pf our mind.
The Structure of Personality
Freud explained that human personality is made up of three elements- id, ego and superego. Id is the basic part of the personality, ego and superego stem out of Id.
- Id- Id is present by birth in a child. It works on the principle of pleasure which seeks immediate gratification. The needs of id have to be satisfied in one way or another. Its impulses are mainly aggressive and sexual in nature.
- Ego- Id cannot operate alone so ego comes into existence. The ego works on reality principle. It helps in delaying the pleasure principle temporarily till the time is right to fulfill the needs of id.
- Superego- The superego works on the principle of morality. It follows the do’s and don’ts dictated to an individual by the society. It helps the child in learning the moral standards.
Instinctual Energies
Freud classified instincts into two main categories- eros and Thanatos.
- Eros refers to the life instincts of an individual. Instincts which are important to an individual’s survival like hunger, thirst, sex, etc. fall under the category of life instincts. Eros is related to the anabolic processes.
- Thanatos on the other hand is the death instinct. It consists of suicidal instincts and aggressive thoughts like self-harm. Thanatos is related to diabolic processes.
Freud also talked about Libido, which according to him is the sexual impulses of an individual. It operates on pleasure principle along with id.
Anxiety
Freud explained the concept of anxiety through id, ego and superego. To function normally an individual must strike a balance between the three of them. If there is imbalance because of anyone one of these the person is flooded with anxiety.
The Id causes Neurotic Anxiety, Ego causes reality anxiety and the Superego leads to moral anxiety. The ego strives to strike a balance between the different types of anxiety. When the individual is not able to cope up with the anxiety, they start using ego defense mechanisms. Freud gave many types of ego defense mechanisms which help in reducing the anxiety. The defense mechanisms are used unconsciously and they distort the reality. Few of the defense mechanisms are mentioned below-
| Defense Mechanism | Description |
| Repression | Pushing threatening thoughts out of the conscious |
| Denial | Totally refusing/blocking anxiety provoking thoughts or events |
| Projection | When one plays “Blame Game” Attributing own thoughts on someone else |
| Displacement | Shifting the emotions from one person (towards it is actually directed) to someone else |
| Regression | Going back to a previous stage of development like curling up like fetus when sad |
| Sublimation | Redirecting an unacceptable impulse to an acceptable one like taking out anger in the form of playing some sport |
| Rationalization | It is the situation where one makes excuses and gives acceptable reasoning instead of actual reasons.
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Psychosexual Developmental Stages
Freud also traced the developmental stages of a child in which he gave 5 stages-
- Oral Stage (0-2 years)- in this stage the child gains pleasure through activities using their mouth like sucking, mouthing and swallowing
- Anal Stage (2-4 years)- in this stage the pleasure-seeking activities are the toilet habits. Toilet training during this stage plays a major role in shaping the personality of the child later.
- Phallic Stage (4-6 years)- in this stage the child becomes conscious about themselves and the boys go through Oedipus complex (Boys develop sexual feelings towards mother) while girls go through Electra Complex (Girls develop sexual feelings towards their father). Successful resolution of this complex leads to development of superego.
- Latency Stage (6-12 years)- During this stage the libido is relatively suppressed.
- Genital stage (adolescence)- This is the stage where the child hits puberty and starts developing sexual characteristics.
Methods used by Freud
Initially, Freud used the method of hypnosis on his patients but soon he realized that not all his patients could be hypnotized. Then he started using two main methods of therapy- Free association and Dream Analysis. Free association is the method in which the client is free to report all their thoughts and feelings without any censorship. Whereas in dream analysis Freud termed dreams as the “royal road to the unconscious”. Freud tried to bring out the latent content of the dreams of an individual.
Evaluation
The psychoanalytical theory was an extensive study on human behavior which helps in providing treatment to the person as a whole. But it also faced a lot of criticism due to the lack of empirical evidence and it has also been criticized by feminists for being a male-oriented theory.
By Shagun Talwar
