ToP Sigman Freud

SIGMUND FREUD

• Prominent figure in psychology

• Founder of Psychoanalytic Theory

OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

• Freud's understanding of human personality is derived from:

  • Experience with patients

  • Personal dream analysis

  • Readings from science and humanities

BIOGRAPHY

• Born in Moravia (now part of Czech Republic) in 1856

• Had a close relationship with his mother, being her favorite

• Felt hostility towards his newborn brother, Julius

• Curiosity about human nature directed him to the study of medicine, not out of a love for the profession but for understanding humanity

• Faced financial issues during medical school, leading to work in a laboratory and exposure to psychiatry and nervous diseases

Further Education

• Received a traveling grant to study in Paris with Jean Martin Charcot

  • Learned hypnotic techniques for treating hysteria

• During medical school, partnered with Joseph Breuer, leading to the concept of catharsis

• Publication of "Interpretation of Dreams" in 1900/1953 signals his analysis of personal dreams

LEVELS OF MENTAL LIFE

• Three key levels:

  • Unconscious: drives and instincts beyond awareness

  • Preconscious: elements not currently conscious but easily transitioned

  • Conscious: mental awareness at all times

UNCONSCIOUS

• Contains repressed drives and urges

• Explains dreams, slips of tongue, and certain kinds of forgetting

• Can be evidenced by:

  • Punishment and suppression leading to anxiety and repression

  • Phylogenetic endowment: inherited unconscious images from ancestors

PRECONSCIOUS

• Holds elements that can be conscious

• Sources include:

  • Conscious perception: fleeting ideas that can shift to preconscious

  • Unconscious elements

CONSCIOUS

• Minor role in psychoanalysis

• Defined as mental awareness at all times

PROVINCES OF THE MIND

• Freud's three-part structural model introduced in 1920:

  • Id (Das es): seeks pleasure and is completely unconscious

  • Ego (Das Ich): decision-making entity in contact with reality

  • Super ego (Das uber-ich): represents moral ideals and social rules

Characteristics of Id

• Dominated by the pleasure principle

• Functions through the primary process (escapist fantasy)

• Amoral and illogical in nature

Characteristics of Ego

• Partly conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

• Guides actions based on reality principles

Characteristics of Super Ego

• Develops from parental rewards and punishments

• Contains conscience and ego ideal, representing moral aspects of personality

DYNAMICS OF PERSONALITY

• Freud theorizes motivation behind actions is linked to two drives:

  • Eros: associated with sex

  • Thanatos: associated with aggression

ANXIETY

• Central in Freudian theory:

  • Felt as an unpleasant state warning of danger

  • Types of anxiety:

    • Neurotic Anxiety: fear of unknown dangers

    • Moral Anxiety: conflict between ego and super ego

    • Realistic Anxiety: linked to tangible fears and dangers

STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

• Five stages:

  • Oral Stage (0-18 months): experience centered on feeding

  • Anal Stage (18 months to 4 years): toilet training conflict

  • Phallic Stage (4-6 years): rivalry with same-sex parent, Oedipus Complex

  • Latency Stage (7-puberty): development of ego, social skills

  • Genital Stage (puberty to young adulthood): focus on relationships

DEFENSE MECHANISMS

• Unconscious methods to protect ego from threats:

  • Displacement: redirecting emotions to safer outlets

  • Rationalization: justifying failures with excuses

  • Reaction Formation: transforming anxiety into opposite emotions

  • Regression: reverting to earlier behavior

  • Repression: blocking threatening memories

  • Denial: refusing to accept unpleasant realities

APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

• Therapies developed by Freud facilitate understanding unconscious conflicts:

  • Free Association: speaking freely to reveal hidden thoughts

  • Dream Analysis: interpretation to uncover subconscious conflicts

CONCEPT OF HUMANITY

• Key concepts in Freud's perspective:

  • Determinism vs. Free Choice: behavior largely influenced by past events

  • Pessimism vs. Optimism: awareness of the reasons behind behavior is often lacking

  • Causality vs. Teleology: behavior aimed at reducing tension and anxiety

  • Conscious vs. Unconscious: deep-seated desires shape actions

  • Social vs. Biological Influence: biology plays a role in infant fantasies and anxieties

  • Uniqueness vs. Similarity: individual experiences shape personality differences

CLASS DISCUSSION TOPICS

• Analyze characters using Freud's psychoanalytic framework:

  • Personality structure and development

  • Ego defense mechanisms against obstacles

  • Assessing healthiness of personalities and potential psychopathologies

MOVIE REFERENCE

• Discussion inspired by "The Theory of Everything"

THANK YOU!

• Appreciation for engagement and participation.