Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory, psychosexual stages, structural personality components, and topographical levels of consciousness.

Sigmund Freud

An Austrian Neurologist (1856–1939), born Sisigmund Schlomo Freud in Freiberg, Moravia, who founded Psychoanalysis as a theory and method for understanding human behavior and mind.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A theory developed by Sigmund Freud explaining how unconscious thoughts, feelings, and experiences influence behavior, emphasizing the role of childhood experiences in personality development.

Erogenous Zone

A specific pleasure area of the body associated with each stage of psychosexual development.

Fixation

A condition resulting from too much or too little satisfaction during a psychosexual stage, where unmet needs linger and influence adult personality development.

Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development

A five-stage model of personality development based on specific erogenous zones: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, and Genital.

Oral Stage

The first psychosexual stage (birth to 18 months / 0–1 year) where the mouth is the primary erogenous zone and satisfaction comes from sucking and biting.

Anal Stage

The second psychosexual stage (18 months to 3 years) focused on the anus as the main erogenous zone, where toilet training and bowel/bladder control are primary focuses.

Anal-Retentive Personality

A personality type resulting from fixation at the anal stage, focused on extreme cleanliness, perfection, orderliness, and control.

Anal-Expulsive Personality

A personality type resulting from fixation at the anal stage, characterized by messiness and disorganization.

Phallic Stage

The third psychosexual stage (3 to 6 years) centered on the genitals, during which children become aware of gender differences and experience the Oedipus or Electra complex.

Oedipus Complex

A psychosexual complex occurring in boys during the phallic stage, as described in Freud's theory.

Electra Complex

A psychosexual complex occurring in girls during the phallic stage, as described in Freud's theory.

Latency Stage

The fourth psychosexual stage (6 years to puberty / 6–12 years) where sexual urges remain dormant, and focus shifts to acquiring physical and academic skills and same-sex peer relationships.

Genital Stage

The fifth psychosexual stage (puberty onwards / 12+ years) where sexual urges reawaken toward peers, pleasure centers on the genitals, and mature sexual intimacy develops.

Id

The personality component present from birth operating on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification with the impulse 'I want it now.'

Ego

The practical component of personality operating on the reality principle, acting as the deciding agent to find logical and realistic ways to meet desires.

Superego

The moral aspect of personality developing near the end of preschool years, influenced by authority figures, that judges right from wrong.

Personality Components (Id, Ego, Superego)

Freud's structural model of personality consisting of the Id (desire), Ego (planning/reality), and Superego (moral rules).

Conscious Mind

The part of the mind containing thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and experiences that a person is actively aware of at any given moment.

Preconscious Mind

The level of mind containing stored knowledge and memories that are not currently in active awareness but can be readily recalled when prompted.

Unconscious Mind

The deepest layer of the mind containing instincts, fears, selfish motives, and impulses outside conscious awareness that strongly drive behavior.