Freud key words

Alpha Male

The dominant male in a community or group

Collective Neurosis

A neurotic illness that afflicts all people

Ego

The decision making part of the psyche that is conscious and it experiences moral conflicts that are reflected in our dreams and neurotic symptoms

Id

The primitive part of the psyche in the unconscious that relates to our instincts, needs and desires

Illusion

Something which is believed in but unlikely to be true - eg religion

Neurosis/Obsessional Neurosis

A state of mind that allows individuals to remain childlike in the way they deal with people or their lives - it is a mental disorder associated with hysteria, anxiety, depression or obsessive repetitive disorder

Oedipus Complex

Freud’s theory that at an unconscious level all men wish to have sex with their mothers and hate/fear (want to kill) their father

Psyche

Technical term for the mind or psychological structure of a person

Regression

Opposite of becoming mature - desire to return to womb-like state and the desire for religious experience is described as regression

Sublimation

Using the sexual energy or destructive impulses in socially acceptable ways

Superego

The moral part of the unconscious mind that relates to our conscience

Taboo

A prohibition and something that is considered to be wrong in society

Totem

A symbol - religious symbol such as crucifix in Freuds theories

Wish fulfilment

The false belief that something is true just because we would like it to be - eg heaven

Neurotic illness

Involves physical pain (such as pain and compulsive behaviour) but have no physical cause but are rooted in the mind - symptoms may include hysteria, obsessions and phobias