Psychopathology of Everyday Life by Sigmund Freud - Book Report/Review Example

? Sigmund Freud -Psychopathology of EverydayLife First Sigmund Freud -Psychopathology of Everyday Life Chapter 1. Forgetting of Proper Names There are times when we forget proper names or when we incorrectly remember a name. While we are trying to recollect the name we substitute another one for it and we end up eventually completely substituting the name with another new one. This substitution and displacement of a name is not accidental but is based on a mental activity we were engaged in when the substitution occurred as the mind tries to repress an event or element. The steps in this process are first having a disposition for forgetting the name in question. Secondly a thought process is suppressed shortly before, and thirdly we establish an association between the name in question and the thought previously suppressed (Freud, 1914). Chapter 2. Forgetting of Foreign Words When we use our own language and we use for normal purposes, it is not that easy to forget it. However when we use a foreign language it becomes very easy to forget and this happens in all parts of speech. Sometimes the way we use words is disturbed by the range of foreign words we use, our general health and how tired we are. Thus if we are presented with a sentence in Latin we are likely to forget parts of it due to the unfamiliarity of the language and we are also somehow unconsciously opposed to the idea that is expressed in that language (Freud, 1914). Chapter 3. Forgetting of Names and Order of Words The forgotten thought is usually linked to an unconscious thought that is the source of the forgetfulness. There exist a number of reasons why certain names or words are forgotten, including professional, family, personal, a grudge against the person in mind or guilt. Sometimes a name can be forgotten as a result of the similarity of its sound to that of another, to which the forgetfulness notion is linked. The forgetting of names can be linked to an unconscious thought, a connection that may not always appear to be genuine or present. Among the reasons for forgetfulness, the personal ones appear to the strongest, with two main types being noticeable: where the name itself touches on an unfavorable thought or where the name is connection to such a thought (Freud, 1914). Chapter 4. Childhood and Concealing Memories Early childhood memories or thoughts that may seem unimportant may have been saved and be recalled in adulthood. There is usually a linkage between the forgotten names and the formation of some of these memories. Some of these linkages may be quite understandable while others may appear quite odd or not make any sense. If we analyze the thoughts or memories that have been retained, there is sometimes no guarantee that they will always be correct. Some of the linked memories may be incorrect, incomplete or misplaced in time and place. Childhood memories are usually preserved as visual elements similar to dreams and can then be remembered in adulthood (Freud, 1914). Chapter 5. Mistakes in Speech Of the slips of the tongue that most normal people experience, some can be linked to particular pathological conditions. Very few of these slips can be attributed to the type of sounds they are associated with. They almost always have a direct linkage to some other outside thought that has nothing with the intended utterance - it may be a single thought that has remained unconscious, which is then brought to the conscious mind or may be linked to an entire suppressed thought process. These slips of the tongue in a speech may give an analyst an insight into the thought process as play in an individual’s mind (Freud, 1914). Chapter 6. Mistakes in Reading and Writing Freudian slips when it comes to writing are made even more easily than slips of the tongue. When one is speaking the inhibiting function of the will is directed at presenting an idea while the speech motion works in harmony with this. When the form of articulation is different, such as when one is writing, this harmony can be easily upset. Twenty one slips of the pen are looked at and analyzed and are found to be caused by the expression of a wish, an unconscious hostility, linkage to the subject, an intended joke or another revision of the thought. These are usually more of a disturbance in the thought process which also demands attention. Thus forgetting to sign a check may be caused by forgetting about the check (Freud, 1914). Chapter 7. Forgetting of Impressions and Resolutions Freud observed some of his own issues of forgetting and distinguished between forgetting an impression from forgetting of an intention. In all cases he found that the forgetting was caused or related to an unpleasant emotional association. Thus misplacing something may be linked to a desire to forget about the place at which the thing has been placed. Thus in healthy persons the recollection of a stressful event brings back memories of the experience. Forgetting impressions is thus similar to forgetting names and could also be accompanied by incorrect memories. In love relationships and the military, human beings are capable of concealed motives – saying one thing but meaning another. This means that people can say something while unconsciously meaning something else with the connection being made through a repressed memory (Freud, 1914). Chapter 8. Erroneously Carried-out Actions Bungled actions occur when the intended result is not what occurs. Such actions, according to Freud, can also be linked to certain memories and these include the actions that may or may not result in breakage or self-injury (Freud, 1914). Chapter 9. Symptomatic and Chance Actions Chance actions are actions that we sometimes perform with no real prior intention, sometimes accidentally. Some of these acts are unobtrusive and do not have much effect. They are more of symptomatic than chance actions in that they may give expression to repressed memories that we do not necessarily want to be known by others. Chance actions to do with marital issues are discussed together with the very human habit of losing things. We may perform some of these acts and by so doing, reveal unconscious memories that may not have anything to do with the present situation but which have affected us deeply (Freud, 1914). Chapter 10. Errors Errors of memory are different from forgetting in that they do not have such rigid rules for when they happen. Usually an error of memory indicates that some mental activity has been disturbed by some outside influence. Slips of the tongue or pen are thus caused by an external disturbance that does not succeed in imposing any part of its own character on the resulting mistakes speech or writing (Freud, 1914). Chapter 11. Combined Faulty Acts Here Freud looks at various combined slips and gives examples. Displacement and forgetting are taken to be as a result of some repressed memory. Repeated forgetfulness can result in bungled performance. Thus even though the repressed thought finds its way into the current action, it does not succeed in preventing or impeding the current activity (Freud, 1914). Chapter 12. Determinism, Chance, and Superstitious Certain of the shortcomings and unintentional performances are usually motivated by our unconscious memory. These phenomena have the following conditions: they do not exceed the dimensions of our judgment, they are momentary and temporary in nature and we are not aware of any motive for it.The conscious motivation does not always extend to all our motor decisions – some are influenced by unconscious motivations. These unconscious motivations are what is responsible for the belief in superstition which is largely due to an expectation of trouble, as well as deja vu, where we feel that we have been in certain situations or places though it is never clear enough to remember the full details. The determinants of the normal forgetfulness are unknown but the motive for forgetting is usually an unwillingness to remember events or memories that evoke stress. Thus these repressed memories and recollections have been pushed away by the conscious mind but they are still capable of being expressed (Freud, 1914). The institutionalization of the central theme of this book, in the well-known and well-used phrase - The Freudian Slip – which has been a subject of a lot of discussion and a very real phenomena in real life is what makes Psychopathology of Everyday Life one of the most pre-eminent and popular works of this psychoanalyst that was way ahead of his time. This book was borne out of Freud’s observations of his patients and his own self and looked at the simplest of things – why do we make certain “mistakes” in the remembering of certain facts that we are usually very sure and aware of and what is the motivation for such forgetfulness. Even more curiously, we not only forget the facts, we are also capable of replacing the memories we have of those facts with others and in so doing change completely the outcomes of some of our thoughts, speech and actions. Freud spent a lot of time trying to understand what the role of all the three types of consciousness that he came up with – the conscious, unconscious and pre-conscious – interact with each other and what role each plays when we “inadvertently” forget certain things or replace words, thoughts and items with others. This is a key concept that is particularly relevant when one is trying to analyze the way a patient’s mind works and what the motivations for certain acts – both rational an irrational – come from and has been instrumental in analyzing why human beings function in the way they do. By studying this concept, Freud was able to explain, in great detail the reasons why we end up disclosing things that are in the unconscious parts of our mind and more specifically those that we have tried our best to suppress (Reason, 2000).The conditions that Freud identified as giving rise to the Freudian slip are first the thought that one is trying to suppress and secondly the presence of a stress factor such as a distraction, or time pressure or a conflicting mental image or thought. Other stressors that may give rise to increased slipping include consumption of alcohol or other such substances, ageing or tiredness. The concept of why we forget some things and remember others selectively is one that has been the subject of a lot of study but none have really been able to challenge the psychoanalytic theories of Freud on the matter. If anything, a lot of the studies have only gone ahead and confirmed Freud’s theories. The suppression of unpleasant, awkward or uncomfortable memories or thoughts is a key defense mechanism that people have always employed to keep from confronting such subjects. The fact that a lot of the memories that are retained in the unconscious are able to come up to the conscious with seemingly no deliberate prompting from the conscious part of our minds is one that is both fascinating and frightening. It is a concept that to many. The theories that Freud laid down in this book formed the basis for what were later to become another esteemed product of Freud’s research, the defense mechanisms that the mind employs to not only defend but also to protect it from intrusive and disturbing thoughts. The repression that is so manifestly talked about in this book is one of key defense mechanisms employed by the mind, usually through an interaction between the conscious and the unconscious parts of the mind. Since Freud conducted his ground-breaking research into the Freudian slip, it has come to be accepted as being an almost inevitable feature of everyday life and speech. Apparently for every 1000 words spoken a speaker usually makes two errors, usually of a Freudian nature. Since people speak at the average rate of 150 words a minute, there is bound to be a slip in every seven minutes of a continuous speech. That means that on average the average person makes anything between 7 to 22 verbal slips, making this Freudian concept one that is with us literally every day (Pincott, 2012). In conclusion, this book is one of the key texts that laid the ground for psychoanalysis and has been an invaluable tool in the understanding of how the mind works and in analyzing why these instances of speech hiccups happen, and understanding the way the mind works in suppressing unpleasant or uncomfortable and awkward thoughts. References Freud, S. (1914). The psychopathology of everyday life. London: Ernest Benn. Pincott, J. (2012). Terrorized By The Tongue. Psychology Today, 45(2), 54-86. Reason, J. (2000, December). Freudian Slip revisited. The Psychologist, 13(12), 610-611. Retrieved July 11, 2013, from http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm/volumeID_13-editionID_51-ArticleID_157-getfile_getPDF/thepsychologist%5Cfreud3.pdf Read More