Psychology Facts

▲ Sigman Freud ▲

》Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who developed psychoanalysis, a method through which an analyst unpacks unconscious conflicts based on the free associations, dreams, and fantasies of the patient.

》 His theories on child sexuality, libido, and the ego, among other topics, were some of the most influential academic concepts of the 20th century.

》Sigmund Freud's Key Theories:

Talk Therapy. One of Freud's greatest contributions to psychology was talk therapy, the notion that simply talking about our problems can help alleviate them.

Personality Driving Forces. According to Freud's theory, there are a few different factors that affect personality. They include cathexis and anticathexis, along with life and death instincts.
In addition to these two main components of the mind, the Freudian theory also divides human personality into three major components: .

- The id is the most primitive part of the personality that is the source of all our most basic urges. This part of the personality is entirely unconscious and serves as the source of all libidinal energy.

- The ego is the component of personality that is charged with dealing with reality and helps ensure that the demands of the id are satisfied in ways that are realistic, safe, and socially acceptable.

- The superego is the part of the personality that holds all of the internalized morals and standards that we acquire from our parents, family, and society at large.

The Psyche.
In Freudian theory, the human mind is structured into two main parts: the . The conscious mind includes all the things we are aware of or can easily bring into awareness. The unconscious mind, on the other hand, includes all of the things outside of our awareness—all of the wishes, desires, hopes, urges, and memories that we aren't aware of, yet continue to influence behavior.

Oedipus complex

The Oedipal complex occurs during the Phallic stage of development (ages 3-6) in which the source of libido (life force) is concentrated in the erogenous zones of the child's body (Freud, 1905).

During this stage, children experience an unconscious feeling of desire for their opposite-sex parent and jealousy and envy toward their same-sex parent.

The is a term used to describe the female version of the Oedipus complex. It involves a girl, aged between 3 and 6, becoming unconsciously sexually attached to her father and increasingly hostile toward her mother.

Psychosexual Development. Freudian theory suggests that as children develop, they progress through a series of.
At each stage, the libido's pleasure-seeking energy is focused on a different part of the body.

The five stages of psychosexual development are:

The oral stage: The libidinal energies are focused on the mouthThe anal stage: The libidinal energies are focused on the anus.The phallic stage: The libidinal energies are focused on the penis or clitoris.The latent stage: A period of calm in which little libidinal interest is present.The genital stage: The libidinal energies are focused on the genitals.

Dream Analysis. The unconscious mind played a critical role in all of Freud's theories, and he considered it to be one of the key ways to take a peek into what lies outside our conscious awareness. He dubbed dreams "the royal road to the unconscious"

Freud believed the content of dreams could be broken down into two different types:

- The Manifest Content, of a dream, included all the actual content of the dream—the events, images, and thoughts contained within the dream. The manifest content is essentially what the dreamer remembers upon waking.

- The Latent Content, on the other hand, is all the hidden and symbolic meanings within the dream. Freud believed that dreams were essentially a form of wish fulfillment. By taking unconscious thoughts, feelings, and desires and transforming them into less threatening forms, people are able to reduce the ego's anxiety.

Defense Mechanisms.

Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies used to cope with reality and maintain self-image. They safeguard the mind against feelings and thoughts that are too difficult for the conscious mind to cope with.

Rationalization – involves explaining an unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner, avoiding the true reasons for the behavior.

Projection – involves attributing your own unacceptable or undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, or feelings to another person (or animal).

Suppression – is the conscious or semi-conscious decision not to dwell on, or express a particular thought or feeling.

Reaction formation – reduces anxiety by replacing unacceptable emotions with their direct opposite.

Regression – involves abandoning coping strategies, and reverting to patterns of behavior used in an earlier stage of development.

Sublimation – is the redirecting of unacceptable impulses into acceptable activities. For instance, a man who is feeling angry may focus his energy on boxing as a way to vent his frustration.

Suppression – is the conscious or semi-conscious decision not to dwell on, or express a particular thought or feeling.

》 As a medical student, Freud conducted research on cocaine (which was not considered illegal during his time) and published an article about cocaine's health benefits and called it a miracle drug.

》 He gave more importance to sexual conflicts and considered that neurosis has a sexual basis. He believed that early traumatic sexual experiences lead to neurotic behavior during adulthood.

》 He even discussed about child sexual abuse which he called "child's traumatic sexual experiences". However, he considered that these experiences are mere fantasies that the clients believed as real.