Q Note or Theiry of Sigmund Freud ?
Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 in Moravia (now known as the Czech
Republic). His father, who was a wool merchant, was skeptical, liberal, and free-thinking. Freud
began his private practice, and specialized in nervous disorders, using
treatments such as baths, massage, and rest cures. In 1882 Freud met Josef Breuer, who
had treated a 21-year-old woman (Anna 0.) who developed psychosomatic symptoms
(hysteria) after the death of her father. Breuer had her talk freely about her past and also
used hypnosis. Anna's symptoms disappeared when she described her childhood
memories, and she coined the term "the talking cure." Hypnosis was called the "cathartic
cure." The case of Anna 0. was very influential on Freud.
Freud also met Charcot, who demonstrated that he could use hypnosis to induce
tremors, paralysis, and many other symptoms of hysteria. This proved there was a
powerful psychological component to the physical symptoms. Freud decided that
unconscious conflicts could cause symptoms
According to Freud, human behavior results from the operation of internal
dynamic forces; the person is a closed system of energy (libido). Conflict between the id
(instincts) and the ego (reality) is inevitable. Lack of enough satisfaction of impulses at a
particular stage results in fixation. The ego represses inappropriate impulses into the
unconscious, but they cause pressure, which is felt as anxiety. These impulses may be
displaced (resulting in a phobia); converted (resulting in somatic symptoms); or
dissociated (resulting in amnesia). The surface manifestations of the underlying conflict
are symptoms.
According to Freud, human behavior is never free, random, or spontaneous. It is
determined and governed by our biological instincts. Balancing impulses and external
demands is difficult, so normality and health is difficult to achieve. Unless instincts are
gratified in early childhood, the child will have some degree of fixation. Later the person
may regress to earlier patterns to achieve gratification.
Freud thought that psychopathology resulted from sexual problems. Thirteen of
his patients said that a parent had attempted or achieved their seduction as children: "The
cause of hysteria is a passive sexual experience before puberty, i.e., a traumatic
seduction." Freud later decided these childhood seductions had in fact never occurred, but
were at first fantasies, and then the reversal of a desired role (this was called the
"seduction theory"). Freud called the memory of psychic trauma in childhood the
"precious metal" hidden in the ore of memory.
Freud's concept of psychic determinism was based on the idea that nothing is
random; there are good reasons for our behavior, though we may not be consciously
aware of the reasons.
Freud called his psychotherapy process "psychoanalysis," and used the techniques
of free association, dream analysis, and analysis of the parapraxes. He developed a theory
of the erotic life of childhood, though he did not want to believe in it (nor did his patients
or colleagues) since it was so shocking.
According to Freud, we all have fantasies of wish fulfillment, which are expressed
in both dreams and daydreams. Some people make their dreams reality. Freud said that
the artist transforms wishes into art, while the neurotic transforms them into symptoms.
Major Contributions of Freud
The idea that all behavior is caused (determined), and hence lawful.
The idea that the search for causes of behavior is the central task of psychology.
The idea that psychological insights can be useful in relieving suffering.
The emphasis on the durable effect of childhood experiences and trauma.
The idea of unconscious motivation as a cause of behavior
The description of the defense mechanisms, which reduce anxiety.
The description of a set of tools for personal analysis: self-examination, reflection, and
noting recurrent patterns of thought and behavior.
Common Criticisms of Freud's Theory
Many aspects of the theory are difficult or impossible to test scientifically, so it is
difficult to know how valid they are.
It over-emphasizes the influence of biological instincts (particularly sexuality) on the
person.
Freud generated universal statements about human nature based on a small number of
case histories.
There is little explanatory and predictive power to concepts such as the Oedipus complex,
castration anxiety, and sublimation.
Freud' s ideas regarding the Oedipus complex, the stages of psychosexual development
(oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) and the personality model (id, ego, superego)
have not been supported by scientific research.
Today Freud' s theory of dream interpretation is generally considered invalid.
Few people are appropriate for psychoanalysis, since they should be very verbal,
psychologically minded, intelligent, affluent, and capable of self-reflection.
Psychoanalytic theory leaves no room for environmental manipulations.
The theory emphasizes talking about feelings to the neglect of acting on feelings.
The theory stresses understanding at the expense of action