Sigmund Freud's Psychodynamic Theory

A student will be more susceptible to doing better on a test with a threat of grounding than one that doesn’t care if he or she is punished. This happens because some ideas mean more to an individual than others. (p.21, 22)

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory allows anthropologists to study the intrapsychic reasons behind cultural concepts such as rituals, lineage patterns and specific behaviours. Certain behaviours and emotions such as conflict, sexual desire or mental disorders are considered universal, but they are manifested and treated differently, determined by cultural variation. Anthropologists make use of certain crucial concepts of Freud’s theory to explain the way culture affects the expression of these behaviours (Keesing & Strathern, 1997:58,60).

Psychoanalytic therapy is psychotherapy Austrian physician Sigmund Freud spirit founded in the late 19th century. Psychoanalytic theory holds that people have been unconscious motivation, a significant impact on impulse and repressed the conflict between defense mechanisms and early experience. In mind the analysis of treatment must be familiar with Freud's psychodynamic theory, in particular, as well as knowledge of the unconscious and conscious of the various psychological defense mechanisms. The purpose of the talks is to analyze the patient is exposed, repressed in the subconscious psychological information to make the patient aware of the root causes of anxiety. Way talks in general is a quiet, warm room, the patient reclined on a comfortable

Freud’s psychodynamic theory suggests that behaviors and emotions are strongly affected by unconscious motives. There is two instinctual drives from the “id” that motivates behavior: Eros, the sex drive and life instinct, and Thanatos, the aggressive drive and death instinct. Freud suggests that these drives must be repressed because they are threatening to the individual. Defense mechanisms are mental processes and motivated behaviors that are utilized unconsciously as a form of protection against emotional pain, anxiety, and upsetting memories. Defense mechanisms allow individuals to cope with life stressors, but may also be problematic if used excessively. Behaviors used to protect an individual create impairment for problem solving and

One of Freud’s greatest contribution was his theory that the human psyche has multiple levels of consciousness structured into three parts, the id, ego, and superego (Van Der hart & Horst, 1986). Ranking amongst the most influential psychoanalytic theories of the aetiology of DID is Kelly and Kodman’s, (1993) ego state theory, which proposes that the psyche of an individual with DID comprises of multiple conflicts between the incompatible ego states that represents themselves as separate individuals. According to Kelly and Kodman (1993) within both the normal and the abnormal individual the mind is polypsych with multiple psychological systems and processes existing synchrony with one another. The theory argues that the distribution of personalities lies on a continuum ranging from normal adaptive differentiation at one end to pathological maladaptive dissociation at the other (Kelley & Kodman, 1987, Watkins, 1993).

For some reason I have been having difficulty grasping this chapter. I hope this assignment will help me pick something up and will also answer some questions I have about Freud. Immediately I went to the websites that offer more information about Freud and the psychodynamic perspective. I would like a better understanding of why everything is so heavily linked to sex and the subconscious or unconscious mind? What made Freud propose the belief that small children desire their parents? Did Freud himself experience these feelings or thoughts?

You brought up a good point by mentioning how someone who is aggressive is likely going to be aggressive whether they are someone of high-status or low-status. I think that Freud’s hydraulic theory can be used to describe how people of all statuses can exert aggressive behavior’s. Freud theorized that humans were born with an instinct toward life, called Eros, as well as a powerful instinct toward death that can lead to aggression, which Freud called Thanatos (Aronson, 2012). Using this notion it could be suggested that the more stressors and conflict one experiences, the more likely they are to express their aggression.

Ever since Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis theory, its applicability has been extended beyond therapy to literature. In the interpretation of dreams, Sigmund Freud coins the term the oedipus complex in reference to the greek mythology of Oedipus the king. The application of psychoanalysis to myth is treated by Dowden with scepticism and he states that the only significance of the psychoanalytic approach is in its recognition of how fundamental the images that recur in the myth are (Dowden, 1992, p.23). This essay will argue that Dowden’s treatment of the theory of psychoanalysis is valid but needs to be supplemented with a more comprehensive view of psychoanalysis and the various arguments for scepticism towards psychoanalysis.

Through experiences with his practice and consulting with various friends also in the field, Freud began to develop the idea that many neuroses (such as phobias, some forms of paranoia, etc.) originated in extremely traumatic experiences in the patient’s past that they had repressed and forgotten. If he could get a patient to recall this trauma, their consciousness would then be able to confront it and defeat it.

Sigmund Freud was one of the great psychologist whose theories are still studied today. He studied the human mind more thoroughly than any other psychologist who came before him. Sigmund Freud has influenced different areas such as: psychology, art, literature, and even how people think and make choices today. Freud is said to be the founding father of the psychodynamic perspective and believed that most human behavior is caused by dark, unpleasant, unconscious impulses pressing for expression (King). When Freud came up with psychoanalysis he discovered a new science and incorporated a new scientific method of dealing with the mind and mental illnesses. “[Psychoanalysis] has the appearance of being not just a scientific theory but an enormously strong one, with the capacity to accommodate, and explain, every possible form of human behavior,” (Thornton). If a theory is compatible with all possible observations it is unscientific because it is not falsifiable (Thornton). Freud did a self-analysis and that is where he came up with the Oedipus complex, because he related his inner thoughts to those of Oedipus. Since Freud’s theories are said to not be scientific since they cannot be falsifiable, his Oedipus complex can also be said to be falsifiable.

Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia on May 6TH 1856 in a Jewish family. He later moved to Vienna where he later became known as the father of psychology. Freud earned his medical degree in 1881, and in 1882 he later became engaged and married to his wife which led to the birth of his 6 children. Only one of Freud’s children chose to follow his footsteps in the field of psychology. Throughout his life Freud wrote twenty volumes on theoretical works and clinical studies until he died of cancer in England 1939 at the age of 83, some of his writings are Psychopathology, Theory of sexuality, and The Interoperation of Dreams. I believe that Sigmund Freud seemed like the most interesting man in the world at his point in time; he started the first Vienna school of psychoanalysis, worked in Paris for a long period of time with a French neurologist named Jean Charcot and used hypnosis on patients with hysteria. Freud also worked with Josef Breuer and discovered that by having hysterical patients’ describe the earliest occurrence of their symptoms that it could be linked back to some traumatic event. Sigmund Freud is extremely important to the field of psychology; he laid down the building blocks for most of the different studies in psychology when he stated that the mind is a complex energy system. All of the studies, treatments and theories we know today about the human

The psychodynamic perspective stems from the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud distinguishes between the conscious and the unconscious; our conscious mind is where we are aware of our motivations for behaviour and which we can verbalise explicitly, however this perspective believes that this is only a small part of our psychological make-up. The unconscious mind is where our motivations for behaviour are often complex and related in some way to sex, and largely hidden from our conscious mind and this is believed to be the driving force.

Through experiences with his practice and consulting with various friends also in the field, Freud began to develop the idea that many neuroses (such as phobias, some forms of paranoia, etc.) originated in extremely traumatic experiences in the patient’s past that they had repressed and forgotten. If he could get a patient to recall this trauma, then their consciousness would be able to confront it and defeat it.

From a modern perspective, we can see that the results were produced by the hypnotic suggestion of a fluid draining from the body, a wonderful healing metaphor that wouldn’t be out of place in a 21st century hypnotherapy practice. Even Mesmer realized that the magnet had nothing to do with the cure. His system rested on the belief that illness was caused by depleted levels of animal magnetism, and that these could be replenished by the healer transmitting some of his own abundant magnetic force across the ether to the patient. The magnet was simply a device that allowed this to happen, along with the complex and lengthy sequence of hand gestures and touch known as the “mesmeric pass” (Kirsch et.al., 1995).

Sigmund Freud was born, May 6, 1856, and died 23 September, 1939. He was beyond a doubt one of the founding fathers of modern psychology. Sigmund Freud examined the human mind more in depth than anyone before him. His contributions to psychology are immeasurable. He was very influential throughout the twentieth century. His theories, and research have influenced not only psychology, but many other areas of culture, including the way people raise their children even today.