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Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud
• May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939

• He qualified as a doctor of medicine in 1881 at University of Vienna

• An Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis

• Psychoanalytic theory

• He proposed that the behavior and development of an individual are influenced by the
interaction between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the person’s mind. Three
components of the psychic apparatus function on different levels of consciousness and
interact with each other to generate behavior.

Psychoanalytic Theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality
development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology. First laid
out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many
refinements since his work.

Psychoanalysis - Began with a young physician for the treatment of his patients with emotional
problem.

Freud’s Theory of Personality Development

Three levels of consciousness:

 Conscious - The conscious consists of what someone is aware of at any particular

point in time. It includes what you are thinking about right now, whether it is in
the front of you mind or the back. If you are aware of it then it is in the conscious
mind.
 Preconscious - The preconscious contains information that is just below the surface of
awareness. It can be re-trieved with relative ease and usually can be thought of as memory
or recollection.

 Unconscious - The unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are buried
deep in ourselves, well below our conscious awareness. Even though we are not aware of
their existence, they exert great influence on our behavior.

Freud’s theory suggest that personality is composed of the id, the ego, and the super ego.

Id: energy constantly striving to satisfy basic drives, contains our needs, instincts, and repressed
material. “Pleasure Principle”

Ego: seeks to gratify the id in the realistic ways. Strives to balance/meet the needs of the id and
the superego in socially acceptable ways. “Reality Principle”
Superego: voice of conscience that focuses on how we ought to behave. Counteracts the socially
undesirable impulses of the id. “Moral Principle”

Psychosexual Stages of Development

1. Oral Stage (0-1y/o) - child derives pleasure from oral activities, such as sucking and tasting.

2. Anal Stage (2-3y/o) – anus is the primary erogenous zone and pleasure is derived from
controlling bladder and bowel movement.

3. Phallic Stage (3-6y/o) – the focus of pleasure is the genitals. Boys start to perceive their fathers
as rivals for their mother’s affections while girl feel similarly toward their mother.

4. Latency Period (6yrs-puberty) – at this stage, sexual urges are repressed and the individual spend
most of his time interacting with the same sex peers, engaging in hobbies and acquiring skills.

5. Genital Stage (Puberty onward) – focus is on the sexual urges that are reawakened and are
directed toward opposite sex peers. Individual who completed the earlier stages successfully
become well- adjusted, caring and secure individuals.