SP

Freud, Core Concepts, and Psychosexual Development — Comprehensive Study Notes

Overview: Freud and the Psychoanalytic Tradition (Notes for Exam Preparation)

  • Session focus: Introduction to theoretical perspectives with emphasis on Sigmund Freud as the father of psychoanalysis and the talking cure. Biography used as a learning tool to contextualize theory.

  • Course logistics covered in today’s class:

    • APA style research paper: choose one theorist from the textbook (16 theories total). Initial focus on Freud, then others (neo-analytic, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, social-cognitive).
    • Topic selection: submit theorist name and nickname of the theory via Canvas. Examples discussed include Maslow and Erikson as popular alternates to Freud.
    • Paper requirements: 4–5 scholarly sources minimum (books, scholarly articles, websites not allowed as sole references). 5–7 pages of written content, plus cover and reference pages in APA style. Total pages: minimum 7, maximum 12.
    • In-text citations and references must follow APA style. Support available from the Writing Center via tutoring (online/Zoom).
    • Paper topic due date: today (with a window to October 2 for approval). PowerPoint presentation: 5–7 minutes (max 10 minutes with video) to accompany the paper; due on the presentation date. Sign-up for presentation dates starts December 4; early presentations possible by advance request.
    • Presentations: slides must include APA-style citations and a references slide; each slide should not be just three sentences with no citations.
    • Dream journal and next steps: keep a dream journal for Jung’s perspective; start chapter three and Jung’s Analytical Psychology with a dream journal. The instructor notes that dream content can reflect personal psyche and should be interpreted personally if remembered or felt upon waking.
    • Course reminders: recordings of sessions are posted on Zoom Pro cloud; chapter powerpoints and assignments are on Canvas.

  • Personal expectations: Freud’s biography is used to frame the theory; students should engage critically with Freud’s ideas, acknowledge historical context, and consider ethical and practical implications.

Freud Biography (Key Points and Timeline)

  • Birth and family:
    • Born in 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). Jewish family.
    • Father was a wool merchant; Freud was the eldest son of his father’s second wife; Freud had five sisters and two brothers.
  • Early intellect and education:
    • Described as a serious, high-achieving student; could memorize pages verbatim and recall content of lectures.
    • Developed a voracious reading habit, studying playwrights, poets, and philosophers (e.g., Shakespeare, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche).
    • A debt to a bookstore as a youth highlighted early financial pressures; father pressured by finances.
  • Medical training and early career:
    • Entered the University of Vienna and graduated in 1883 with a medical degree.
    • Initially content in medical practice but sought greater intellectual challenges and financial security.
    • Influenced by physician-psychologist Ernst (Ernest) Brücke; worked as Brücke’s assistant on neurological problems in lower animals.
    • With Brücke’s encouragement, left the lab for private medical practice to support a fiancée and later marry.
  • Postgraduate study and key collaborations:
    • In 1885, obtained a traveling stipend to study with French neurologist Jean Charcot in Paris, focusing on nervous disorders.
    • Returned to private practice; formed a mentorship with Dr. Brauer; investigated hysteria and introduced hypnosis as a treatment context.
    • Under Brauer, treated Anna O. (Anna O. described by Breuer and Freud) whose symptoms (paralysis, disturbances of sight/speech) reportedly vanished when she discussed them under hypnosis; concept of catharsis emerged.
  • Evolution of therapy: from hypnosis to free association
    • Freud and Brauer eventually parted ways due to disagreements over sexual etiologies of disorders.
    • Freud developed “talking cure” methods inspired by Breuer’s work; progress from hypnosis to cathartic methods to free association (1892–1895).
    • Free association: patients express every thought, no matter how irrelevant or unpleasant; Freud believed deeper forces governed thoughts, despite seemingly aimless recollections.
    • Resistance and repression: patients resisted returning to painful memories; Freud posited that traumatic memories are repressed and must be uncovered through analysis.
  • Sexuality, dreams, and early theories:
    • Freud proposed that early memories and sexual experiences shaped symptoms and later behavior; he argued that sexual life begins earlier than commonly assumed and that childhood sexuality is a driver of development.
    • Initial seduction theory: Freud originally believed that early childhood seductions explained hysteria; later revised to see these accounts as fantasies that had real psychological effects, with memories potentially not literally true.
    • Dreams as pathways to the unconscious: Freud asserted that dreams reveal unconscious wishes and conflicts; dreams can be used to understand a person’s problems.
  • Major publications and intellectual milieu (1900–1910s):
    • 1900: Interpretations of Dreams (dreams as wish fulfillment and a route to understanding problems).
    • 1902: Founded the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society (later expanded to Zurich and New York).
    • 1905–1906: A prolific period with several important works; some faced fierce public and professional backlash (e.g., The Psychopathology of Everyday Life; Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality).
    • Controversies: Freud’s assertion that children have innate sexual urges and that parents are first sexual objects provoked widespread criticism; some historians later noted that Freud did not always publish direct evidence for certain recollections of sexual abuse.
  • Break with contemporaries and the broader psychoanalytic movement:
    • Differences with Adler and Jung: Adler minimized sexual factors; Jung emphasized broader psychic energy and challenged Freud’s emphasis on sex in development.
    • Despite splits, Freud’s fame grew and psychoanalytic societies proliferated globally.
  • World War I and the later years:
    • World War I intensified Freud’s pessimism about humanity’s future; he framed war experiences as universal death instincts.
    • Major later works include: Totem and Taboo, Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, The Ego and the Id, The Future of an Illusion, Civilization and Its Discontents, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, and An Outline of Psycho-Analysis (1940 publication).
  • Persecution and exile:
    • In the early 1930s, Hitler’s rise and anti-Semitism targeted Freud’s work; his books were burned in Berlin.
    • With the Nazi occupation of Austria (1938), Freud fled to London; he died there in 1939 after a long battle with mouth cancer and heavy tobacco use (over 20 cigars per day), and numerous operations.
    • Freud remained professionally active and committed to psychoanalysis despite illness.
  • Legacy:
    • Freud’s work opened new ways of understanding the unconscious and its role in personality and behavior; his ideas have been foundational to modern psychotherapy and influenced countless theorists, clinicians, and scholars across multiple generations.

Freud’s Core Concepts and Principles (Foundational Ideas)

  • Three-part model of the mind (iceberg metaphor): conscious, preconscious, unconscious
    • Conscious: awareness of current experiences.
    • Preconscious: not currently in awareness but can be quickly brought to consciousness with effort.
    • Unconscious: deepest level; contains hidden wishes, needs, and conflicts; difficult or painful to access directly; can influence thoughts and behavior; access via psychoanalytic techniques.
  • Techniques to access the unconscious:
    • Free association: speak freely; aim to reveal underlying conflicts.
    • Dream interpretation: dreams reveal repressed wishes and conflicts; dreams serve as wish-fulfillment devices.
    • Interpretation of dreams: Freud’s practice to analyze dream content as symbolic expressions of unconscious wishes.
    • Resistance: patients’ reluctance to discuss painful memories; Freud’s method aims to overcome resistance to reveal unconscious material.
  • Instincts and drives:
    • Instincts drive personality development; four basic characteristics include originating from bodily deficits, aiming at gratification, propelled by energy, and object that serves the aim.
    • Life instinct (Eros): propels growth, preservation of life; energy associated with libido; originally tied to sexual energy but later broadened to a general life force.
    • Death instinct (Thanatos): a drive toward return to an inorganic state; yields aggressive patterns and restlessness; operates alongside life instincts to shape behavior.
  • Libido and energy dynamics:
    • Libido: psychic energy tied to life and sexual gratification; originally linked to sexual urges but later conceptualized as a broader energy for life and pleasure.
  • The role of society and individuals:
    • Individuals must gratify their needs while adhering to societal norms and morality; tension between internal drives and external constraints shapes behavior.
  • Structural theory of personality (Freud): id, ego, superego
    • Id: primitive, unconscious; seeks immediate gratification; operates on the pleasure principle; instincts (sexual and aggressive) drive behavior.
    • Ego: executive part; operates on the reality principle; negotiates between id impulses and external reality; helps plan and regulate actions.
    • Superego: internalized societal values and morals; contains conscience and ego ideal; guides behavior according to learned rules.
  • Defense mechanisms (ego protects against anxiety):
    • Repression: push painful memories into the unconscious.
    • Suppression: conscious avoidance of thinking about a distressing thought.
    • Denial: refusing to acknowledge external reality; can be adaptive in extreme stress but often maladaptive if persistent.
    • Sublimation: channel unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable outlets (e.g., aggression into achievement).
    • Regression: return to earlier developmental stages under stress (e.g., bed-wetting after a new sibling).
    • Projection: attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts to others.
    • Reaction formation: converting unacceptable impulses into their opposite (e.g., overly kind to conceal hostility).
    • Rationalization: justifying unacceptable behavior with plausible but inaccurate explanations.
    • Intellectualization: focusing on facts and logic to avoid emotional distress.
    • Undoing: attempting to cancel out an unacceptable act via a socially acceptable behavior.
    • Compromise formation: overtly displaying one aspect while privately negating it behind the scenes.
  • Psychosexual development (stages): biological basis; stages reflect shifting libidinal focus as children progress
    • Oral stage: infancy; mouth as the primary source of gratification; caregiver responsiveness and feeding cues are critical; overfeeding or underfeeding can impact development.
    • Anal stage: 1–3 years; potty training and control of elimination; ego differentiation begins; harsh parenting can cause long-term consequences for self-control and sense of autonomy.
    • Phallic stage: 3–6 years; genital exploration; Oedipus complex in boys; Electra complex in girls (later revised by feminists); superego development is tied to resolution of these conflicts; female development themes (penis envy) were heavily debated and challenged by later theories (e.g., Karen Horney).
    • Latency: 6–12 years (roughly); libidinal energy lies dormant; focus on social skills, peer interactions, and school-related activities.
    • Genital stage: puberty onward; mature romantic and sexual relationships; renewed interest in genitals and sexuality; energy directed toward intimate relationships and productive adult sexuality.
  • Freudian theories about gender and critique:
    • Freud’s penis envy and Oedipal framework were controversial; feminist critiques emerged (notably Karen Horney) arguing that envy is more about social power and status rather than anatomical destiny; Horney argued women’s neurotic needs reflect social constraints and gendered power dynamics rather than innate deficiencies.
  • The role of dreams and the unconscious in therapy:
    • Dreams are symbolic representations of unconscious wishes and conflicts.
    • Dream interpretation helps reveal unconscious material that can be worked through in therapy.

Cognitive-Developmental and Historical Context Notes (Connections to Later Theorists)

  • Psychoanalytic tradition and neo-Freudians:
    • Jung and Adler offered alternative interpretations of libido and development; Jung emphasized collective unconscious and archetypes; Adler emphasized social interest and drive for superiority; later neo-Freudians diverged from Freud on sexualism and aggression emphasis.
    • Horney, a feminist psychoanalyst, critiqued Freud’s emphasis on penis envy and argued that cultural and social factors shape women’s development and psychology.
  • Modern therapy and practice:
    • While Freudian psychoanalysis remains foundational, contemporary psychotherapy often integrates multiple modalities (psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic) with couch-based and non-couch-based approaches.
    • Some clinicians pursue formal psychoanalysis training in addition to regular practice; therapy today is commonly eclectic and tailored to client needs.

Historical Context and Controversies (Why Freud Matters—and Where Critics Push Back)

  • Social and ethical context:
    • Victorian Vienna framed responses to sexuality; Freud’s claims about early childhood sexuality challenged prevailing norms and faced public scrutiny.
    • Nazi persecution and book burnings in the 1930s targeted Freud’s work as Jewish scholarship; Freud fled Vienna in 1938 and died in London in 1939.
  • Critical debates:
    • The seduction theory and its revision: Freud revised his position about early childhood sexual abuse based on clinical experience and criticized for lacking published evidence for all alleged repressed memories.
    • The “penis envy” and female development debates raised questions about gender, power, and social structure in psychology.
  • Legacy and ongoing relevance:
    • Freud’s ideas introduced enduring concepts: the unconscious, defense mechanisms, psychosexual stages, and the structure of personality (id, ego, superego).
    • Contemporary psychology continues to study and critique these concepts, often integrating them with empirical research and newer theories.

Key Takeaways and Exam-Relevant Connections

  • The talking cure and the couch:
    • Freud promoted patient talk as central to psychoanalytic therapy; couch setup allowed more free expression by reducing the patient’s visual focus on the therapist.
  • The iceberg model (conscious/preconscious/unconscious) remains a foundational metaphor for understanding internal mental life and its influence on behavior.
  • The tripartite structure (id, ego, superego) highlights internal conflict between primitive impulses, realistic control, and moral standards.
  • The defense mechanism taxonomy remains a core language in clinical discussion and is frequently referenced in ethics, psychology, and everyday language (e.g., repression, denial, sublimation).
  • The psychosexual stages offer a framework for discussing early development, but students should be aware of cultural and historical limitations and feminist critiques when applying these stages to people’s lives today.
  • Dream interpretation links to contemporary interest in symbolism, meaning-making, and the unconscious; Jung’s approach to dreams will be explored next (Chapter 3).
  • Readiness for critical analysis: students are encouraged to understand Freud’s historical context, examine evidence (and lack thereof), and consider ethical implications of treating and diagnosing conditions through early psychoanalytic lenses.

Practical Implications for the Exam and Coursework

  • APA paper planning:
    • Topic selection due today; you may choose Freud or another theorist (e.g., Maslow, Bandura) based on interest.
    • Write five to seven pages of content, plus a cover and reference pages; include 4–5 scholarly sources minimum; APA in-text citations required.
    • Use the end-of-chapter critical thinking questions as a guiding framework for analysis; do not format the paper as a Q&A.
  • Presentation:
    • Prepare a 5–7 minute PowerPoint presentation with APA-style references; slides must include citations and references; total presentation time not to exceed 10 minutes (including video).
    • Sign up for dates starting December 4; early presentations possible in November with instructor approval.
  • Dream journal assignment:
    • Begin Jung’s dream journal practice in preparation for the next chapter; record dreams and emotional responses; provide personal interpretations.
  • Reading plan:
    • Next class focuses on Carl Jung; chapter three and Jung’s Analytical Psychology; watch a documentary; prepare to discuss Jung’s views and dream analysis.

Quick Reference: Key Dates and Numbers (from the Transcript)

  • Freud born: 1856; died: 1939; exile to London: 1938; death year recorded as 1939.
  • Freud’s key publications and milestones:
    • 1900: Interpretation of Dreams
    • 1902: Vienna Psychoanalytic Society founded
    • 1905–1906: Highly productive publishing period; major works include The Psychopathology of Everyday Life and Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
    • 1910s: Ongoing debate and development with neo-Freudians; internal disagreements with Adler and Jung
    • 1923: Mouth cancer diagnosed (due to long-term smoking); continued to work despite illness
  • Stages of development (Freud): oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
  • Defense mechanism examples and order provided in lecture notes (not exhaustive): repression, suppression, denial, sublimation, regression, projection, reaction formation, rationalization, intellectualization, undoing, compromise formation
  • Intellectual themes introduced for the exam: unconscious, preconscious, conscious; libido and life/death instincts; id/ego/superego; and the psychosexual stages with their associated conflicts and outcomes.

Connections to Real-World Psychology and Ethical Implications

  • The enduring impact of psychoanalysis on modern psychotherapy, including the emphasis on talking therapies, exploration of unconscious processes, and the integration of defense mechanisms into clinical language.
  • Ethical considerations when interpreting childhood experiences and memories; the seduction theory and role of memory in therapy require careful, evidence-based approaches and ongoing critical reflection.
  • The importance of historical context in evaluating theories; Freud’s work arose within a specific cultural moment (late 19th–early 20th century Vienna) and must be understood within that frame while acknowledging its influence on contemporary practice.
  • The feminist critiques (e.g., Karen Horney) demonstrate how gender and power dynamics shape psychological theories and suggest the value of cross-cultural and inclusive approaches to theory development.

What to Study Next (Upcoming Class)

  • Chapter 3: Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology (biographical sketch, documentary, and Jungian concepts)
  • Dream journals: keep entries for the week and note feelings upon waking; prepare for discussion and reflection in class
  • Final emphasis: integrate Freud’s concepts with later theories to understand the evolution of the field and how contemporary practice blends multiple perspectives.