Psychoanalytic Theory And Psychodynamic Theory

Psychoanalysis is a therapy of psychological theory that aims to treat mental illnesses based on the concepts of Sigmund Freud, who emphasized the importance of free association and dream analysis. The model of psychoanalysis aim is to release repressed emotion and experiences, by making unconscious thoughts, conscious. The fundamental principles of psychoanalysis are practiced by putting an emphasis on the patient to gain insight into the origins of their respective problems like a patient presenting symptoms of anxiety would be encouraged by a licensed professional to explore their past, in hopes of discovering problems that manifested the anxiety. The anxiety created may be a defense mechanism directed towards displacement in their world.

The ego is the mediator between the id and the circumstances of the external world to aid their interaction. The ego represents reason in contrast to the id. Freud called the ego ich, which translates to English as “I”. The ego follows the reality principal. The ego does not exist independently of the id. The ego exists to help the id, and is constantly striving to bring about satisfaction of the id’s instincts. If the ego fails to keep a balance with the id and superego, a person may have difficulty

The human psyche is an incredibly complex system. It controls us in every aspect of our lives, rewarding us for a job well done while also making us feel guilty for each mistake we make. Our psyche is influenced by the world in which we live, by our immediate family and friends and also by those who we will meet during our lives. Each and every stage of life will result in us experiencing more, and in doing so, those experiences will shape who we will become. Our psyche is made up of three very important parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality. It consists of all the biological components of personality, including the life instinct and the death instinct. The id is the only part of our psyche which is present from birth. It is concerned only with the immediate satisfaction of our needs and has no respect for the consequences or impact on other people. The ego is the part which attempts to reconcile our id’s irrational tendencies with the realities of the world. The ego is tasked with working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society. The superego 's function is to control the id 's impulses, especially those which society forbids and to reward us when we do good (ideal

The superego is a projection of the ego. It is the moral censoring agency; the part that makes moral judgments and the repository of conscience and pride. It brings reason, order and social acceptability to the otherwise uncontrolled and potentially harmful realm of biological impulses (Guerin 128-31).

The psychodynamic perspective focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in the development of personality. Freud believed that the personality develops in a series of five stages that develop the three divisions of personality. In the oral stage, the fixation is in the mouth, and would be the cause of his introverted nature; likewise, in the anal stage, Roberto would discover his reserved nature, while the phallic stage, he would further refine his reserved nature as a sense of humility in his actions, also defining his mild mannered portion of his personality. In the latency stage, his social skills would refined and he would become introverted. Freud would think that Roberto’s mild-mannered, reserved, and invertedness is caused by intense suppressing of the id by the ego, having Roberto adopt the personality that he does; however, Karen Horney would classify Roberto’s personality in respect to her theory of neurotic personalities- personalities typified by maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships- with moving away from people by withdrawing from personal relationships.

However, According to Freud, the super-ego exists as a way to level out the ego, and, in a way, keep it in check. Therefore, the super-ego is responsible for an individual’s conscience, or, their ability to feel guilt. Freud continues his explanation of these concepts by asserting the idea that the super-ego calls our attention to our own failures and misconducts, and attempts to assist us in learning from them in order to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Furthermore, the conscience is the form in which the super-ego controls our actions and thoughts, and creates guilt within us. Therefore, the ego is the decision-making, acting part of an individual, while the super-ego acts as the ego’s voice of authority and control (Freud).

According to James Rachel, an author of “Elements of Moral Philosophy,” there two main arguments exist against psychological egoism.

Sigmund Freud created strong theories in science and medicine that are still studied today. Freud was a neurologist who proposed many distinctive theories in psychiatry, all based upon the method of psychoanalysis. Some of his key concepts include the ego/superego/id, free association, trauma/fantasy, dream interpretation, and jokes and the unconscious. “Freud remained a determinist throughout his life, believing that all vital phenomena, including psychological phenomena like thoughts, feelings and phantasies, are rigidly determined by the principle of cause and effect” (Storr, 1989, p. 2). Through the discussion of those central concepts, Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis becomes clear as to how he construed human character.

Human beings are unique and individual in one way or another with different personality theories. Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Alder psychoanalytic theories about the human mind were very similar and different at the same time. To this day, attempts to prove the theories of these men are still taking place. All three of these men agreed that human behavior, as an adult, was a direct result of the individual's childhood experiences that would paint a lasting impression on the world around them. Freud, Jung, and Adler believed parenting and childhood development was the significant impact for shaping the personality. Dreaming and daydreaming played a major role in shaping character as well.

The psychoanalytic perspective, is the outlook that behavior and personality are effected by the conflict between one’s inner dreams n and expectation of society. Most of this conflict occurs in unconscious, which is outside the knowledge of an individual. Renowned psychologist, Freud established the psychoanalytic theory as an explanation for perplexed phenomena such as the meaning behind dreams, slips of the tongue, and behavioral reflex reactions to stressful situations. The unconscious is a primary focus in psychoanalytic theory due to its typical development in childhood and the ways in which it influences nearly every detail of an individual’s life. The unconscious mind also holds unvented memories and unexpressed urges that make their process into the conscious mind through a variety of different means. However, topographical theory of the mind states that conscious, preconscious, and unconscious serve as motivating forces in human behavior. Corsin & Wedding (2011) define the conscious as mental activity which individuals are fully aware of, preconscious as thoughts and feelings that could be easily brought to mind and unconscious as thoughts, feelings, and desires of which one is unaware of.

Id: Describes the biological or instinctive response. This is our original personality we are born with and controls responses in the early stage of life.

The Ego Acts as ‘mediator’ between the Id and the super-ego. It is the rational part governed by the ‘reality principle’. Freud Created ‘defence mechanisms’ in an attempt to protect the ‘ego’ from constant threat from the ‘super-ego’. These include ‘Repression’ meaning re-directing negative thoughts to the ‘Unconscious‘. As well as Projection’ this being the shifting of blame or thoughts and feelings onto someone or something less intimidating. ‘’ The idea of psychological defence itself was not problematic; it was a

The following essay is an interpretive analysis of Psychoanalysis and Humanism as two influential schools of thought in Psychology. In this essay, the main assumptions of each school of thought will be highlighted, starting with Psychoanalysis followed by Humanism. Furthermore there will be a comparative analysis of both schools of thoughts based on both their strength and weaknesses, in attempt to find where the two complement each other and more over to see where the two schools of thought come into dispute with one another particularly on the basis of Humanism being reaction to psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis was the name given by Sigmund Freud to a system of interpretation and therapeutic treatment of psychological disorders. (McLeod, 2007) In particular, we present five key concepts on psychoanalytic therapy: structure of personality, psychosexual stages, defense mechanism, anxiety, and the unconscious mind.

Freud said that the Ego is the mediator between the Id and Superego and the outside world. For the Ego to do its job, it has to delay the desires of the Id until it is socially acceptable to give the Id the needs. So our conscious-driven Ego is a balance of the Id and Superego, evening out our primal needs