Sigmund Freud is one of the biggest contributors to the field of psychology. Many of the expressions that people use in their day to day lives have been derived from the works and theories related to psychoanalysis that Freud came up with. Such theories include denial, subconscious, anal personality, and depression among many more. According to Freud, the things we go through and see as we grow up heavily influence our behaviors after we become adults. To add to this, he suggests that individuals rarely have the free will to make their own choices in life. What happens is that our unconscious minds make the choices for us based on the experiences we go through in our childhood state.
From the introduction above, it is clear that Freud’s psychoanalysis has hints of both therapy and theory. In fact, his theory is what originally inspired psychologists such as Erikson and Jung to formulate the psychodynamic theory. Psychoanalysis is a vast field and Freud is considered to be among the main contributors to the field of psychology.
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Psychoanalysis compares the human mind to an iceberg. This analysis states that, just like an iceberg, only a small part of the human mind is visible and the visible part comes in the form of observable behavior. The part that is mostly submerged is the unconscious mind. The good thing is that we can try to reach the unconscious mind as it is that influencesour behavior (Bornstein, n.d.). To access the unconscious mind, Freud suggested three main methods. They include:
Free association
Dream analysis
The slip of the tongue
With these analyses, Freud drew the conclusion that the Unconscious mind has three aspects. The first is the id, the second is the ego, and the last is the superego. Each of these aspects has its main instincts:
Id – The id has two instincts. The Eros and the Thanatos. The Eros, which is also referred to as the life instincts, is composed of aspects of sex and self-preservation. These aspects derive their energy from the libido energy force. The Thanatos is also referred to as the death instinct. The energies of the Thanatos are significantly less powerful as compared to the energies of Eros. This implies that the energies of Thanatos tend to be channeled away from our instinctive lives and show themselves in the form of humans being aggressive towards others.
The ego and superego are more of what we understand them to naturally be. Unknowingly, id instinct and the superego instinct are always conflicting and it is the ego that acts as the mediator between the two (Powell, 2009) . These conflicts tend to be solved most of the time. However, there are instances in which they go unresolved. In such an instance, we resolve to use defense mechanisms which help to reduce our anxiety levels. Freud’s psychoanalysis functions to try and help patients work on the conflicts they face. Psychosexual development is an important aspect of psychoanalysis. It is one of Freud’s theory. Psychosexual development tries to point out exactly how one’s experiences as a child shapes his personality as an adult. From the explanation of the theory, we recognize the importance of stimulating the different body parts of children as they grow. A lot or a little stimulating may cause grave consequences later.
What divides the adulthood and childhood stages is the phallic stage which is the most important period. During this stage, one’s libido entirely focuses on the genitalia. It is during this period that boys get the Oedipus complex whereas the girls get the Electra complex resulting from the children identifying with their parents.
I critic this theory based on the argument that it puts more emphasis on the sexuality aspect so much that it forgets to factor in social relationships. The theory is just circular and has no aspects of science in it. This means that it cannot be proved. However, Freud’s theories have contributed a lot in psychology in that it provided an entry point through which other psychologists have built their networks of modern theories that have been modified using the basic principles of Freud’s theories. The major flaws have been eliminated in modern theories. This is why we see the theory still being studied despite it being outdated. It contains the very fundamental ideas and logic that are still being used by psychologists to date to develop modern theories.
References
Bornstein, R. The Psychodynamic Perspective. Retrieved from https://nobaproject.com/modules/the-psychodynamic-perspective
Powell, P. (2009). The emotional experience of adoption: A psychoanalytic perspective. Psychodynamic Practice , 15 (3), 328-333. doi: 10.1080/14753630903016081
