Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939) is famous for his provocative and influential psychodynamic theory.

Life

Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia (today's Pribor in the Czech Republic) in 1856. However, Freud spent most of his life (from ages 4 to 82) in Vienna. In 1938 he left his home for London, pressured by the threat of Hitler's invading army. He died the following year.

Freud attended medical school in Vienna. He was a brilliant student whose early work focused around the nervous system; particularly brain functioning. Freud became interested in psychology while studying under Jean Charcot, an emminent French neurologist. Charcot was treating patients who suffered blindness and paralysis (a disorder called conversion hysteria). Freud's observations of these patients led him to believe that there was a subconcious part of the mind, capable of exerting a powerful control over behaviour. In the years following his work with Charcot, while treating neurotic patients, Freud invented his famous psychoanalysis.

Freud's methods attempted to access the subconscious aspect of the mind and included hypnosis, dream interpretation and free-association (saying aloud whatever comes to mind). Freud himself suffered from depression, and attempted to treat himself through the interpretation of his own dreams.

His first book, The Interpretation of Dreams, was published in 1900. Freud's radical work was immediately unpopular with the Victorian society of his time. However, followers slowly became attracted to his ideas -- which proved to be revolutionary.

Freud's Psychodynamic Theory

Freud's Tripartite Theory of Personality

Freud viewed the human personality as having three discrete structures which interacted with eachother: the id, the ego and the superego.

The id is a fundamentally irrational aspect of personality. It seeks the immediate gratification of it's instinctual wants, and because of this is said to operate according to the "pleasure principle". However, the id is wholey subconcious and can not directly effect the external world.

Since the id cannot effect the external world itself, another aspect of personality called the ego develops. Unliked the id, the ego operates on a primarily conscious level. It's purpose is to mediate between the id and reality, and operates according to the "reality principle". The ego tests and monitors reality, finding safe ways to outlet the irrational desires of the id.

Finally, a third structure called the superego develops. The superego is a moral center which absorbs the values and ideals it's parents and society. It's function is self-control, thus with it's development external controls (such as parenting which reinforces and punishes) are subtituted.

Freud's Three Psychosexual Stages of Development

The first of Freud's three psychosexual stages is the oral stage. During this stage the id seeks gratification through pleasuring the oral errogenous zone. This stage begins at infancy and revolves around eating and sucking.