Sigmund Freud's Psychology Pillars - Term Paper Example

? Psychology Psychology Pillars: Life and Work Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychiatry.He is of Australian decent and his birth place was located in the former Austria-Hungarian Empire (Reef, 2001). He was the first child born of Jacob and Amalia Freud and had two siblings. He is considered throughout the academic world as one of the most outstanding scholars in the 20th century (Reef, 2001). In 1881 he graduated with a medical degree from the University of Vienna and pursed further studies under the guidance of his mentor Jean Charcot. Freud is extensively associated with theories of psychiatry and psychology, which generally seek to address the idea behind the unconscious mind and its role in defending an individual against repression. Most of his life was devoted to formulating theories and dealing with psychopathological problems. His methods at first were not accepted, but later on he acquired international recognition. One of his major hypotheses was that childhood experiences shape a person’s adulthood and personality. Freud’s views on women raised a lot of controversy. He believed that women do not embrace change and cannot add anything on their own. He opposed women movements and had a belief that women were preoccupied with issues of sex. In his psychosexual development theory, Freud suggested that girls at the age of 3-5 years tend to be close to their fathers. This he based on the fact that these girls realize that they do not have male reproductive parts (Boeree, 2009). Carl Rogers (1902-1987) is an American psychologist and one of the most famous thinkers and psychologists in the 20th century (Zimring, 1994). Graduating from Columbia University Teachers Collage with a PhD, Rogers became one of the most influential figures in the US according to the survey study. However, being among the founders of psychotherapy research, Rogers’s views and theories became controversial as his practices differed from those accepted at his times. Rogers’s theories were very humanistic in nature and his main argument was that a person has the ability to free him/herself, which will result in him or her solving his own problem (Zimring, 1994). At the time, this was contrary to the practice that existed in the work of doctors and psychologist solving patient’s problems (Zimring, 1994). Nonetheless, Rogers’s arguments and practices have come to be appreciated and widely practiced in today’s world. In most of his life, Rogers participated in numerous psychology workshops throughout the world, most notably in South America and Europe. Karen Horney (1885-1952) is undoubtedly one of the most famous female psychologists up to date. She was an academician from a very strict family where she managed to go to school despite the societal and familial constraints imposed upon child education at that time (Hitchcock, 2004). In 1913 she graduated with a medical degree from the University of Berlin. Horney is what most describes as neo-Freudist as she was very much influenced by Freud's theories and ideas of psychoanalysis (Hitchcock, 2004). Her interest in psychoanalysis was influenced by Freud’s ideas but at the same time she criticized them a lot (Hitchcock, 2004). In 1939, she was invited to the United States where she joined the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute. She made notable contributions to the field of psychology especially in reference to self-psychology, feminine psychology and psychoanalysis. Comparisons of Freud’s, Rogers’s and Horney’s theories Freud’s psychoanalysis is based on the assumption that the mind of a person is made up of three parts; the unconscious, preconscious and the conscious mind (Boeree, 2009). The unconscious mind is what he identifies as composed of the Id, which is far the largest part and is the source of all things that an individual is unaware of, such as instincts and drives. The preconscious mind is the one that is composed by Super Ego, which tries to record and avoid things that can be harmful to an individual. The conscious part is composed of the Ego and forms the smallest part of the mind where the individual’s memories and ideas can be traced (Boeree, 2009). The Ego strives to keep the Id in check as the latter is predominantly driven by pleasures, avoids pains and disregards consequences. Freud argues that it through Ego that an individual develops defense mechanism that blocks the harmful impulses. Various defense mechanisms have been identified over the years by Freud himself and his followers. However, Freud identifies sublimation which is the conversion of anxiety impulses into socially acceptable activities and the most positive defense mechanism. Freud argues that sublimation activities are predominantly influenced by sex drive (Boeree, 2009). The theoretical difference between Freud, Rogers and Horney is generally based on the basic idea of sex drive. Horney uses Freud’s ideas to criticize his theories where, according to her theory of Neo-Freudianism, she disputes the idea of penis envy that is presented in Freud’s stages of psycho-sexual development (Heffner, 2002). She claims that as much as women are penis envious, men are also womb envious and, thus, men strive to compel women succeed their names as a sign of exerting power. This idea is among the basic arguments in the Feminine psychology (Heffner, 2002). The argument of penis envy is presented in the Oedipal complex in which Freud asserts that a girl aspires to have penis because of the power associated with it. Horney did not like Freud because Freud did not like other cultures. Horney believed that individuals should not be slaves of their pasts or unconscious minds. She believed that people should be more tolerant to the views and ideas of others. In relations to Rogers’s theory of personality, Rogers argues that humans have drives that lead them to participate in activities that make them satisfied with the contribution to the overall welfare of the society (Prevos, 2005). For this, Rogers agrees to some extent with Freud in terms of human nature arguing that the aggressiveness and violent nature of humans might stems from the unconscious mind or Id but at the same time disagrees with him on the premise that the core of human nature is characterized by self actualization and aligned to positive activities (Prevos, 2005). This is the opposite of Freud’s notion that the core or Id is made up of aggressive and sexual instincts (Prevos, 2005). In addition, there are disagreements between Freud and Rogers in terms of human behavior where the former argues that human behavior driven by uncontrollable and irrational instincts. The latter argues that human behavior is driven by rationality and the reason that is controlled by personality. Another difference between Rogers and Freud’s theory is that Rogers views people as good or healthy or bad or ill. In this manner, good mental health is viewed by Rodgers as the normal advancement of life. On the other hand, criminality, mental illness and other problems experienced by human beings are considered as distortions of the natural tendency of growth. Comparing the Works of Freud, Rogers and Horney The works of the three theorists are based on the same assumptions but take a different approach. Sigmund Freud’s ideas are the ones that set the basic arguments for the other two theorists, who take up to develop their own works and theories. This implies that Freud’s thoughts and ideas forming the argumentative basis for the other two. Freud is an original thinker drawing his ideas for studying patients and developing ideas through his own thought process. On the other hand, Horney and Rogers opt for a more humanistic and idealist approach by adopting and basing their arguments on Freud’s ideas. For instance, Horney's Feminine psychology and Neo-Freudianism are based on the stages of psycho-sexual development that were offered by Freud. As a result, she uses the basic idea presented to incorporate the gender perspective into this argument. Similarly, Rogers uses unconscious mind in Freud’s psychoanalysis as a basis of his personality theory, although his view differs from that of Freud in terms of the composition and the nature of the drives. It can also be argued that the contrast in idea presentation is heavily dependent on the life experience of the theorists and ideas that one has come across. For instance, Horney’s ideas are largely influenced by other schools of thoughts such as humanitarianism, as well as her own experience. She had a difficult time growing up; her gender was supposed to be the reason for that. As for Freud, being a critical thinker and an individual with the desire to carry out research made his ideas original and full of controversy. Finally, Roger’s experiences growing up made him a very idealistic individual; it is represented in his arguments and thoughts about human nature and behavior. References Reef, C. (2001). Sigmund Freud: pioneer of the mind. London: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Zimring, F. (1994). Carl Rogers. UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, Vol XXIV, Issue 3. Pp. 411-422. Retrieved Nov 8, 2011, from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/ThinkersPdf/rogerse.PDF Heffner, L. C. (2002, August 21). Personality Synopsis. Psychodynamic and Neo-Freudian Theories. Retrieved Nov 8, 2011, from http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/horney.html Hitchcock, T. S. (2004). Karen Horney: pioneer of feminine psychology. New York: InfoBase Publishing. Boeree, G. C. (2009). Personality Theories. Sigmund Freud. Retrieved Nov 8, 2011, from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html Prevos, P. (2005). Hidden Personalities According To Freud and Rogers. Monash University. Retrieved Nov 8, 2011, from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html Read More