Sigmund Freuds Theories - Essay Example

Sigmund Freud’s Theories Psychology’s most popular figure is also a figure who standouts amongst the most persuasive and debatable masterminds of the 20th century. Sigmund Freud’s work and theories helped shape our perspectives of teenage years, identity, memory and sexuality. Other noteworthy theorists have worked on theories that have developed from Freud’s theories, while others created new theories that were against his plans. Freud’s theories were immensely influential, but were the focus of great criticism both now and during his own life. However his ideas are now a part of our society with terms for example, "Freudian slip," "restraint" and "foreswearing" which now seem normal in our everyday dialect. (Cherry, 2014) Freud’s theory states that all intuitive energy is produced by the libido. Freud proposed that our mental states were affected by two contending strengths: cathexis and anticathexis. Cathexis was portrayed as a financing of mental energy in an individual, thought or object. Through anticathexis ego prevents the id from performing actions that are not socially acceptable. In addition to this Freud believed that human behaviour was motivated by two gut feelings: life and death. Life is connected to basic needs such as survival and etc. Death instinct is related to self destructive behaviour. In the basic structure of personality the mind is organized in two ways, consciousness and unconsciousness. The conscious mind includes all those things that we are aware of. The unconscious mind consists of things like wishes, desires, memories and etc; our mind is not aware of these however they continue to have an influence on our mind. He compared the human mind to an iceberg. The tip that is visible represents the consciousness and the rest represents the unconsciousness. Freud also divides the mind into three different modules; the id, ego and superego. The stages of development state that as children grow they go through some psychosexual stages. At each stage the libido focuses on a different body part. If however there is a problem in one of the stages, the process of development might get stuck. There can be obsession with something that might be related to that stage. (Cherry, 2014) Theorists who agreed with him and who did not Sigmund Freud, in addition to his excellent and sweeping theories of the human mind, he left his imprint on various people who turned out to be some of psychology’s greatest researchers. Some of the well known names are Anna Freud, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung and Erik Erikson. (Cherry, 2014). However he was confronted by Otto Rank, Sandor Ferenczi and Wilhelm Reich in 1920. People have stated that Freud’s theories were based on the same assumptions that were made after talking to the elite Austrian women of the 19th century. Influence on society The term and ideas so entrenched in our society were presented in the beginning of the 20th century by Sigmund Freud. Ego, Id, transference and denial are examples of the few terms that people living in the 20th century use and comprehend hail from Freud’s depiction of the working of the human psyche. Professors of mental health may have thrown out specific parts of Freud’s theories, however they still hold fast to his fundamental ideas, furthermore his influence on the Western society continues. Psychologists for the most part recognize that human behaviour is inspired by unconsciousness and experiences one has had in their past can influence their present actions and mind-sets. Both these ideas appeared from Freud’s theories. Initially the idea of talking with a specialist as an approach to figure out ones problems was coined by Freud, however today these sessions are now often mixed with prescriptions as now we believe that a few forms of psychological illness have a biological background. He also stated in his theories that psyche can also affect our physical fitness; today’s knowledge of this “mind-body connection” helps us in keeping away from the negative impact of taking stress. He effected how we raise and teach our children; due to his teachings society now admits that those children have consciousness, unconsciousness and complicated emotional lives. Therefore we need to support them, hear them out and consider their worries as important. We realize that are not really awful but their behaviour might be due to some unresolved childhood issues. Freud’s influence can also be seen in arts, for example in paintings of artists like Dali and Magritte. They utilized the canvas as a mirror of the oblivious. It is also seen in the writings of Woolf and Joyce who determined this method from Freud’s use of free affiliation, which urged patients to talk about what is on their mind. His birth was one and a half century ago however his effect still remains so significant that we can paint our views of the writers who never consolidated psychoanalytical ideas in their work. (Reef, 2011) ID, EGO and SuperEGO In 1923 Sigmund Freud came up with a composite model of our psyche which consisted of id, ego and superego, he called these “the psychic apparatus”. These are the imaginary notions of ones mental tasks. He believed that the id worked at an unconscious stage as stated by the pleasure guidelines. The id consists of two types of natural thrusts which he called Eros and Thanatos. Freud believed that Eros is stronger as compared to Thanatos, it allows people to stay alive. However Thanatos is considered as an instinct that leads to self destruction. This instinct can be expressed in the form of aggression or violence. Eros on the other hand gives life to ideas like respiration, food and sex. During the period of infancy ego is developed from the id. Its main objective is to fulfil the needs of the id in a secure way that is socially acceptable. As opposed to the id the ego takes after the actuality standard as it works in both the consciousness and unconsciousness. The superego is developed through the early years of childhood that is when the child is able to relate to the parent of the same sex and is answerable for following good principles. The superego works on the principle of ethics and inspires us to carry on in a socially capable and adequate way. If one does something immoral the superego will make us feel guilty about it. Whenever a conflict takes place between the aims of the id and the superego, the ego has to act as a mediator and solve this inconsistency. The ego can use defense mechanisms to avoid nervousness. (McLeod, 2013) How ID, Ego and Superego are seen in nursery schools In classrooms today activities are grouped into either behaviourism or cognitivism. Behaviorism refers to physical behaviour, it looks at moulding and learning about social behaviour where a child grabs his identity qualities and tendencies. For example observing two different children of the same age, one child shares toys and the other one does not. Cognitivism refers to the mental processes and occasions rather than tangible behaviours. In cognitive science analysts are concerned with whether practices might be supported with chemicals or by biological contrasts between individuals. At the point when behaviourism and cognitivism are comprehended, teachers, parents and psychologists can endeavour to answer behavioural issue from a social moulding and chemical viewpoint. A behavioural issue may be established in either or both ranges of analysis. References Cherry, Kendra. "The Life, Work, and Theories of Sigmund Freud." About.com Psychology. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. . McLeod, Saul. "Sigmund Freuds Theories, 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. . Monet, Michael. "Psychoanalytic Theory & Childrens Classroom Activities." eHow. Demand Media, 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. . Reef, Catherine. "Freuds Lasting Influence--A Meditation." Meet Catherine Reef, Award-Winning Author., 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. . Read More