What Is Freudian Psychoanalysis
Freudian psychoanalysis is both a method of treatment and a way of understanding the mind, based on Freuds ideas. In his version of treatment, mental illness is thought to be largely rooted in the unconscious, and the psychoanalyst plays a part in bringing pathological mental processes into consciousness.
What Is Sigmund Freud Major Contributions To Psychology
One of Freuds most important contributions to the field of psychology was the development of the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Some of the major tenets of psychoanalysis include the significance of the unconscious, early sexual development, repression, dreams, death and life drives, and transference.
The Interpretation Of Dreams
Another well-known concept from Freud was his belief in the significance of dreams. He believed that analyzing oneâs dreams can give valuable insight into the unconscious mind.
In 1900, Freud published the book The Interpretation of Dreams in which he outlined his hypothesis that the primary purpose of dreams was to provide individuals with wish fulfillment, allowing them to work through some of their repressed issues in a situation free from consciousness and the constraints of reality .
In this book, he also distinguished between the manifest content and the latent content .
The purpose of dreams is to translate forbidden wishes and taboo desires into a non-threatening form through condensation , displacement , and secondary elaboration .
Freudâs ideas about dreams were game-changing. Before Freud, dreams were considered insignificant and insensible ramblings of the mind at rest. His book provoked a new level of interest in dreams, an interest that continues to this day.
Read Also: What Is Matter In Physics
The Founder Of Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud And His Concepts
Its very likely youve heard of the influential but controversial founder of psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud.
Freud was born in Austria and spent most of his childhood and adult life in Vienna . He entered medical school and trained to become a neurologist, earning a medical degree in 1881.
Soon after his graduation, he set up a private practice and began treating patients with psychological disorders.
His attention was captured by a colleagueâs intriguing experience with a patient the colleague was Dr. Josef Breuer and his patient was the famous âAnna O.,â who suffered from physical symptoms with no apparent physical cause.
Dr. Breuer found that her symptoms abated when he helped her recover memories of traumatic experiences that she had repressed, or hidden from her conscious mind.
This case sparked Freudâs interest in the unconscious mind and spurred the development of some of his most influential ideas.
What Are The Id Ego And Superego
Freud created a model of the mind featuring three parts: the id, ego, and superego. The id was the seat of primitive drives, including sexual and aggressive impulses. The ego included conscious processes as well as unconscious defense mechanisms erected to handle conflicts between the id and the demands of reality. The superego was considered the mental embodiment of societys moral codes, which could result in self-blame and guilt.
Don’t Miss: What Is Expanded Notation In Math
D The Efficacy Of Psychoanalytic Therapy
It does not follow that, if Freuds theory is unscientific, or even false, it cannot provide us with a basis for the beneficial treatment of neurotic illness because the relationship between a theorys truth or falsity and its utility-value is far from being an isomorphic one. The theory upon which the use of leeches to bleed patients in eighteenth century medicine was based was quite spurious, but patients did sometimes actually benefit from the treatment! And of course even a true theory might be badly applied, leading to negative consequences. One of the problems here is that it is difficult to specify what counts as a cure for a neurotic illness as distinct, say, from a mere alleviation of the symptoms. In general, however, the efficiency of a given method of treatment is usually clinically measured by means of a control groupthe proportion of patients suffering from a given disorder who are cured by treatment X is measured by comparison with those cured by other treatments, or by no treatment at all. Such clinical tests as have been conducted indicate that the proportion of patients who have benefited from psychoanalytic treatment does not diverge significantly from the proportion who recover spontaneously or as a result of other forms of intervention in the control groups used. So, the question of the therapeutic effectiveness of psychoanalysis remains an open and controversial one.
The Approach: Psychoanalytic Perspective
In the psychoanalytic approach, the focus is on the unconscious mind rather than the conscious mind. It is built on the foundational idea that your behavior is determined by experiences from your past that are lodged in your unconscious mind.
While the focus on sex has lessened over the decades since psychoanalysis was founded, psychology and talk therapy still place a big emphasis on oneâs early childhood experiences .
Recommended Reading: What Is Edge In Geometry
What Is Psychoanalysis A Definition And History Of Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalysis is a type of therapy that aims to release pent-up or repressed emotions and memories in or to lead the client to catharsis, or healing . In other words, the goal of psychoanalysis is to bring what exists at the unconscious or subconscious level up to consciousness.
This goal is accomplished through talking to another person about the big questions in life, the things that matter, and diving into the complexities that lie beneath the simple-seeming surface.
Freud’s Contributions To Psychology
People are skeptical about the legitimacy of Freud’s theories because they lack the scientific evidence that psychological theories have today.
However, it remains true that Freud had a significant and lasting influence on the field of psychology. He provided a foundation for many concepts that psychologists used and continue to use to make new discoveries.
Don’t Miss: How Do I Use Math In My Everyday Life
Group Psychology And The Analysis Of The Ego Analysis
One of historys well known and most influential psychologist was Sigmund Freud. He founded the study of Psychoanalysis, which is the study of the unconscious mind. He also did other studies such as dream interpretations and repression. However, up to this day some of Freuds theories are controversial in our world today. Freud wrote a book called Group Psychology & the Analysis of the Ego where he argues and investigate group behavior is psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis Test: The Freudian Personality Test
If youâre interested in taking a quick and easy test to determine whether you are stuck, or fixated, at a stage of development, you can find one here. It presents 21 items that may or may not describe your personality, and you decide how well it describes you, generally on a scale from Very Inaccurate to Very Accurate.
Although you will need to visit a psychoanalyst if you want a more valid and reliable diagnosis, this test can give you an idea of where your personality lies. However, please note that you will need to make an account with Psychologist World to obtain your results.
For a test with free access to your results, check out this Freudian Personality Style Test from the Individual Differences Research Labs. This test is composed of 48 items rated on a 5-point scale from Disagree to Agree. Your results are in the form of scores ranging from 0% to 100% on eight personality styles:
You can find this test here.
Don’t Miss: What Is Vector Quantity In Physics
Backdrop To His Thought
Although a highly original thinker, Freud was also deeply influenced by a number of diverse factors which overlapped and interconnected with each other to shape the development of his thought. As indicated above, both Charcot and Breuer had a direct and immediate impact upon him, but some of the other factors, though no less important than these, were of a rather different nature. First of all, Freud himself was very much a Freudianhis father had two sons by a previous marriage, Emmanuel and Philip, and the young Freud often played with Philips son John, who was his own age. Freuds self-analysis, which forms the core of his masterpiece The Interpretation of Dreams, originated in the emotional crisis which he suffered on the death of his father and the series of dreams to which this gave rise. This analysis revealed to him that the love and admiration which he had felt for his father were mixed with very contrasting feelings of shame and hate . Particularly revealing was his discovery that he had often fantasized as a youth that his half-brother Philip was really his father, and certain other signs convinced him of the deep underlying meaning of this fantasythat he had wished his real father dead because he was his rival for his mothers affections. This was to become the personal basis for his theory of the Oedipus complex.
Freud Idea : Infantile Sexuality
While under hypnosis or in free association, many of Freuds clients recounted stories of sexual abuse. By using psychoanalysis, Freud enabled his clients to remember, recount, and then resolve incidents of incest and molestation. However, he soon changed his mind about what was happening and developed an alternate theory that drew criticism in his own time and even more so as time passed.
Two explanations are generally presented for Freuds change. The first is that some clients, when confronted with the evidence of childhood sexual abuse, denied it. Apparently, some clients simply didnt believe that such events had taken place. Secondly, in late 19th-century Victorian Europe, talking about childhood sexual abuse was about as politically incorrect as walking down the street naked. Anyone publicly talking about such a nasty and despicable behavior would likely be outcast and demonized.
Even at that time, various experts disagreed with Freud, some even accusing him of copping out. He had uncovered a nasty and pervasive secret about childhood sexual abuse and was now backing down, they claimed. One detractor at the time was psychoanalyst Dr. Karin Ahbel-Rappe who wrote: Freud marked out and started down a trail of investigation into the nature of the experience of infantile incest and its impact on the human psyche, and then abandoned this direction for the most part.
You May Like: Are You An Algebra Ace Answers
The Theories Behind Freudian Psychoanalysis
The fundamental principle behind psychoanalysis is the belief that dysfunction and disorders can be treated by bringing unconscious elements, such as repressed fears, desires or memories into the conscious mind, thereby allowing the client to achieve catharsis . This is achieved through talk therapy, with a particular emphasis on free association .
But behind the psychoanalytic method lies the revolutionary theories that Freud developed, profoundly altering our understanding of human nature in the process. For example:
Criticisms Of Psychoanalytic Therapy
Although psychoanalytic theory laid the foundations for much of modern psychology, it is not without its flaws. Psychoanalysis is still practiced today, and psychoanalytic theory has been updated to fall more in line with current knowledge about human behavior and the brain, but there are many criticisms of the theory and its applications.
The major criticisms are:
- Many of the hypotheses or assumptions of psychoanalytic theory cannot be tested by empirical means, making it nearly impossible to falsify or confirm
- It overemphasizes the deterministic roles of biology and the unconscious, leaving little room for influence from the conscious mind
- Psychoanalytic theory was deeply rooted in Freudâs sexist ideas, and traces of this sexism still remain in the theory and practice today
- It has generally not been supported across cultures, and may actually apply only to Western culture
- Freud may have relied too much on a pathology framework, seeing behaviors as inappropriate and/or harmful when they might be inherent to the normal human experience
- The theory was not developed through the application of the scientific method but from personal reports from Freud on his experience with clients
- There is little evidence of many of Freudâs theories, including the repression of childhood sexual abuse and trauma.
You May Like: What Is Ionic Bond In Chemistry
Freudian Psychology In The Crucible
We never touched, Abby . The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an incredibly complex play depicting the fictional events of the Salem Witch Trials. If one is to begin to dissect the contents of said play, you must look at it from a psychological point of view. Particularly, a view of Freudian psychology might provide insight as to why some characters made certain decisions and carried out the actions they did. Using a Freudian psychological lens to examine The Crucible, readers can take a closer look at the actions of John Proctor and Abigail Williams and form hypotheses as to their deeper motives.
Critical Evaluation Of Freud
It should be evident from the foregoing why psychoanalysis in general, and Freud in particular, have exerted such a strong influence upon the popular imagination in the Western World, and why both the theory and practice of psychoanalysis should remain the object of a great deal of controversy. In fact, the controversy which exists in relation to Freud is more heated and multi-faceted than that relating to virtually any other post-1850 thinker , with criticisms ranging from the contention that Freuds theory was generated by logical confusions arising out of his alleged long-standing addiction to cocaine to the view that he made an important, but grim, empirical discovery, which he knowingly suppressed in favour of the theory of the unconscious, knowing that the latter would be more socially acceptable .
Here we will confine ourselves to: the evaluation of Freuds claim that his theory is a scientific one, the question of the theorys coherence, the dispute concerning what, if anything, Freud really discovered, and the question of the efficacy of psychoanalysis as a treatment for neurotic illnesses.
Also Check: What Does Conservation Mean In Geography
Freudian Ideas And The Test Of Time
If anyone has increased our consciousness about the mind it is Sigmund Freud. He is synonymous with the exploration of the psyche and undoubtedly was one of the most influential figures of the late 19th and 20th centuries. He significantly advanced the concept of treatment of psychological conditions through a type of talk therapy he called psychoanalysis. Freud had many believers and followers but also many detractors. So what is his true legacy? How original were his ideas, how were they initially received, and are they still relevant today?
On The Couch: Why You Lie Down During Treatment
Although it has frequently been used in satire and cartoons to poke fun at psychoanalysis, there are some good reasons why the couch is an important aspect of the psychoanalytic treatment experience.
Dr. Harvey Schwartz explains that having the client lie on the couch instead of sitting face-to-face with the analyst frees both participants from the social constraints established by looking at one another:
âBoth have the opportunity to let their minds run free in relation to each other. The unconscious communication that can result fosters a more profound intimacy and deeper self-discoveryâ
Further, Schwartz notes these important points regarding the couch:
While the couch isnât necessary for patients in psychoanalysis, it is recommended and encouraged for optimal results.
Also Check: What Is Hooke’s Law Physics
What Did Francis Galton Do Ap Psychology
John Watson was a behaviorist psychologist who studied observable behaviors and led the Little Albert experiment, where he trained an 11-month-old boy to fear a white rat ud83dudc01 The boy was not initially afraid of the rat, but when the white rat was paired with a loud sound the boy would show signs of distress.
Levinson’s Theory Of Seasons Of Adulthood
As children are able to differentiate themselves from their parents they begin to recognize the difference between them and others. Also, between the ages of 17-22 there is a transitional period of about five years from pre adulthood to young adulthood. At this point, the affiliations with family begin to change as people begin to assert themselves in the adult world . Next, is the early adulthood stage that goes from 17-45. Levinson states, It is the adult era of greatest energy
Don’t Miss: What Does Recreational Mean In Geography
A Psychoanalyst Vs A Psychotherapist: Is There A Difference
In case the descriptions above didnât make it clear, there is certainly a difference between a psychoanalyst and a psychotherapist.
A psychoanalyst has a particular set of skills gained from specific psychoanalysis training.
While psychotherapists may practice multiple types of therapy , psychoanalysts generally stick to practicing only psychoanalysis.
However, the two professions both focus on helping people via talk therapy, and both use their skills to help their clients gain insight about themselves, address their mental and emotional issues, and heal.
In fact, a psychoanalyst is often considered to be a type of psychotherapist, just one who specializes in psychoanalysis. With that in mind, every psychoanalyst is also a psychotherapist, but not every psychotherapist is a psychoanalyst.
What Is Free Association According To Freud
Freud claimed free association gave people in therapy complete freedom to examine their thoughts. This freedom would come, in part, from a lack of prompting or intervention by a therapist. Freud proposed the technique helped prevent three common issues in therapy: Transference.
What is Freuds technique of free association?
based on the technique of free associationthe production by the patients, aloud and without suppression or self-censorship of any kind, of the thoughts and feelings about whatever was uppermost in their minds. From this beginning Freud gradually developed what became known as psychoanalysis.
What is psychoanalytic theory in psychology?
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.
When did Sigmund Freud use the free association method?
Freud adopted the method of free associations during 1892-1898, starting from several criteria. The method was to replace the use of hypnosis in the exploration of neurotic antecedents in his patients. It relied on Freuds belief in psychic determinism. According to that perspective, psychic activity is not subordinated to free choice.
What did Sigmund Freud contribute to the field of psychology?
Also Check: What Is Variability In Math