Freud's Theory (psychoanalytic theory)

1. Freud’s Theory (Psychoanalytic Theory)

Key Ideas:

• Personality is shaped by unconscious drives and early childhood experiences.

• Three structures of personality:

  • Id – Instinctual desires (pleasure principle).

  • Ego – Mediates between Id and reality (reality principle).

  • Superego – Morality and conscience.

Psychosexual Stages of Development:

• Oral Stage (0-1 yr): Focus on sucking (fixation = dependency, oral fixation).

• Anal Stage (1-3 yrs): Toilet training (fixation = control issues, OCD tendencies).

• Phallic Stage (3-6 yrs): Oedipus/Electra complex (fixation = relationship issues).

• Latency Stage (6-12 yrs): Social development, suppressed sexual feelings.

• Genital Stage (12+ yrs): Mature relationships.

Defense Mechanisms:

• Repression: Pushing unwanted thoughts into the unconscious.

• Denial: Refusing to accept reality.

• Projection: Attributing your own feelings to someone else.

• Displacement: Redirecting emotions to a safer target.

• Sublimation: Channeling impulses into acceptable activities.

Freud’s View of Human Nature:

• Deterministic: Behavior is driven by unconscious forces.

• Tension Reduction: The goal of life is to reduce tension.

• Universal Personality Structures: Everyone has an Id, Ego, and Superego.